2015 Goals in Motion: Celebrating Partnership With Our First Boutique!

Sunday, January 25th marked an exciting milestone for the up and coming Purity W/Style brand. We were picked up by our first boutique!!! I am so excited about this, that I am still pinching myself! While, no sales in association with the boutique have been made yet, this is a phenomenal opportunity for brand visibility. Not only that, but by making this partnership the Purity W/Style brand is allowed to gain access to a whole different audience of people that would have been non existent without this partnership.

I understand that sometimes all you need is the opportunity. So many great things (relationships, businesses and life changing opportunities) have come from not only being seen, but additionally being prepared through daily preparation to seize that opportunity. In the midst of this dream chasing and entrepreneurial journey being filled with difficulties of all sorts (emotional, financial, relational), it  is always great to be interrupted with times like this of positive milestones and accomplishments. It is times like this that help to continuously keep you encouraged and fueling your passion to keep moving forward. When your hard work and effort is recognized even in the slightest of ways, it reminds you that in spite of the difficulties it is all worth it! That is exactly what Sunday felt like.

I first established a relationship with this boutique back in July of 2014. I was looking to be styled by a boutique for the Purity W/Style Launch Party last August, and this is where my connection with Boutique1029 was first formed. From the first time I walked in, I loved everything about that boutique. The colors, the accessories and even the size and cozy style of the boutique. As you can imagine, I was thrilled when the one of the owner's Kellie mentioned to me after the launch party was over, that she would be happy to bring me on as a designer they carried in their boutique. Let's be real, I was ecstatic!

All that excitement leveled out when my Fall semester of classes started. I became so busy with classes and my role as President of the newly formed Entrepreneurship and Marketing Club, as well as being a Co-Founder of the Student Leadership Team for the Business and Graduate Studies, and a Student Ambassador. This was actually pretty hard on the brand. I had done so much work that summer in regards to creating buzz for the brands launch. I had been on numerous radio shows, and even reached out to media and bloggers that came to cover the event. And then to be presented with this opportunity, it was like icing on the best cake you can imagine! When I started my fall semester I actually lost so much momentum that I had worked so hard to build up. But, that was partly my fault because I wasn't really thinking of the timing that I had the launch party (right before school) and more importantly now that I think about it, I didn't have a plan in place to successfully make that transition. Lesson learned.

Although my focus had to change, I never lost that connection. I would check in periodically with an email, but it wasn't until last week that the pieces came together. With my top goal for 2015 being to rebuild and launch the Purity W/Style brand along with introducing a new line set to launch in June 2015 I knew that I had to begin seeking out avenues for heightened brand visibility. So, like any good entrepreneur I began looking for ways to create these opportunities. I went to Instagram and found a number on the boutique's page, sent a text and got a response back. That text led to us setting up a meeting, and ultimately to me now experiencing the joy of this accomplishment that has been 6 months in the making. Wow! This has taught me first hand the importance of leaving a great impression, keeping connections in tact, and never giving up on positive goals.

What is it that you started pursuing, but somehow it fell to the wayside? I encourage you to pick back up where you left off and continue to move forward. If it worked for me, I know it can work for you!

xoxo
-D

From Young Inexperienced Entrepreneur to Now.......My Continuous Journey

Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated when taking the path to entrepreneurship. As sexy as being your own, and running your own business may sound, the reality of it is that it is probably the hardest thing you will do in life! I say this not just coming from what I have heard, but from what I have experienced. This is not my first entrepreneurial venture. No, not at all. When I was younger I sold candy, lemonade and was the President of our neighborhood Friends Forever club. In college I worked with a direct sales company selling Cutco Cutlery knives where I started as a sales rep. I sold over $50,000 in personal sales of Cutco knives and then went on to become an asst. manager, then branch manager. As a 20 year old college student I ran an office in Hartford county, MD. For one summer I did everything from hire and train receptionist, sales reps, run team meetings and manage a sales force of 40+ people, majority high school grads and college students. Not to mention that I was a college student myself! That was literally one of the hardest summers of my life. I remember being on the phone with my parents and business mentors battling through the good and bad days, not to mention the roller coaster of emotions that comes with entrepreneurship. But I loved it so much that the next summer I became a District Manager with the company in Southern Maryland. 

When I look back on that time, as what I will call my baby/adolescent entrepreneurship stage,  it was a great time of learning, growing and character building. While it was so tough, it was also extremely rewarding. I also learned an important lesson with each experience, that although it was tough and even at times painful, I did not die. As a matter of fact, I gained invaluable experience in something that I am so passionate about. Not just entrepreneurship, but working with people, developing a great team culture and collaborating to achieve something great! 

Actually, I am truly appreciative of those years that I was developing as a young entrepreneur and sales rep. In many ways they were soooooo fun! I developed friendships and bonds with many of the people in these pictures that are still in tact today. It was also a really trying time, especially being so young. I felt at times like I wouldn't make it, but I did. Now that I am gearing up to be an entrepreneur again, not as a summer internship or a short stent as a full time District Manager, but this is about to be my life, my bread and butter! As scary as it still is, (that's the nature of entrepreneurship)I I know that I will not only survive as an entrepreneur, but I will thrive! And have a ball building great teams, organizational culture and numerous companies based on the foundations of hard work, having fun and integrity that change the world along the way!  The foundation and training ground has already been set. Now it's time to just allow what has already been developed and matured in me over these years to come out. It's time to pursue and Just Do! 

By the way, I am putting this disclaimer out: I was slightly heavier when I was younger, as you will see from these pics :) Now that I am out of that eat whatever you want, whenever you want college mindset, and have learned the art of healthy living, I am ready to see how this positively impacts me as I prepare to tackle round 2 of entrepreneurship. 

Whatever your field or passion, make the decision to put all your chips on the table, and TOTALLY ROCK IT in 2015! NO what if's, NO regrets! And lastly, know that all the events in your life whether good, bad,  challenging or championing have been leading you to this point. They have been shaping you and molding you. The question that I have to ask myself daily, and what I leave you with is, Will you allow yourself to use these experiences to elevate or deflate you from reaching and operating at your best? 

Passionate & Determined! 

Danielle 

The Struggle!- The mindset to make it through and Stay Encouraged

There are times when things can get so tough in life. When you can easily get stressed by worrying about how things are going to work out. But it is in those times that you are challenged to truly live out your faith. It is in those times where your character is tested and you are left with a choice. Will I give in and allow these negative feelings to overtake me? Or, will I stand firm and stay focused along the path that I know is right for me even in the face of difficulty?

I don't know about you, but this is where I am now. There are days when things get really tough. Being in this whole new space of stepping out to become an entrepreneur, especially while being a student trying to complete your Master's is NOT easy.  But, even through the mental, emotional and financial struggle that is associated with taking the initial steps to pursuing the entrepreneurial path, I know this is the right path for me. It is that assurance that helps to ground my determination and passion to successfully achieve the things that have a hold on my heart, even more. It is my confidence in myself and my goals that even when I don't know how all my bills will get paid that I do not let that stop me, but I continue to move forward.

There are so many great things awaiting us at the end of our struggles. Instead of running away, we should embrace them, knowing that whether we understand it or not, they are there to serve a purpose. I know this is not always easy to see when you are in the midst of them, but be encouraged! Although some days are easier than others, know that you can make it. And, not just make it, but attain success and grow in wisdom, as an added bonus. One of the best things that this time of finishing school, starting a company from the ground up and making the sacrifice of not working throughout my last semester to focus my time and attention on successfully completing school and preparing to launch the company is the ability to manage my emotions. When we learn to manage our emotions we are able to weather and navigate through life more successfully. The reality is that everything in life will not always be rainbows and butterflies, and that's ok, but when we have learned how to wisely respond and not negatively react to things it not only makes life more manageable, but it makes our learning curve that can then be applied and duplicated in other situations that life throws us that much easier. Remember that life is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

I'm sure we have all heard the saying that the struggle is real. And while it is, don't underestimate the power of the struggle. More importantly, don't underestimate the ability for the struggle to help to build and ground you into something greater! No matter how hard it gets, stay encouraged and believe in yourself. That is exactly what I am doing, so let's do it together!

No one ever accomplishes anything great alone.

Have a great weekend :)

xoxo
-Danielle

My Faith Move in 2015!

Happy New Year! Today is the third day of 2015 and I am both excited and terrified as I think about what this year has in store. Excited because I know that this is the year that all my hard work will pay off. The year that my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and graduate with my Master's degree will all come true. The year that doors will be opened, the impossible made possible, and the beginning of building some extraordinary friendships, relationships and opportunities. While all these things have me sitting anxiously on the edge of seat, the reality is that I am terrified as well. Terrified because while I know 2015 will be one of the best and life changing years of my life, I know these things will not come without challenges, without struggles and without sacrifices.

I have seen how even now, just day 3 of 2015 has already began with sacrifices. I am beginning 2015 by quitting my job and focusing on building/launching a startup business while finishing up my Master's degree. At this point I am totally walking by faith. I know that this is the right move that I was supposed to make. I also know that as crazy as quitting my job may seem to some, in order to pursue your dreams, even if you were just a student working part time at a restaurant, like myself, this was a necessary step for me to go to the next level.

At this point I am fully committed. I am betting on myself, my drive, my determination, my passion and most importantly my faith. These are the secret ingredients that keep me going daily. Even when I feel like I have been knocked down, when I feel like giving up and when I feel like crying, it is these elements that provide me with comfort and confidence to hold my head up and continue on this path to the journey to my dreams, that I know will be worth every bit of the sacrifices that I have been making.

2015 will be life changing in so many ways!

xoxo
-D