Dress: Femme Luxe
Sneakers: FILA
Hat: Urban Outfitters
Sunglasses: Afroblisso Brand (Midnight shades)
Handbag: Boohoo (sold out)
I wanted to keep this look cute and simple; I am wearing a Rust-colored bodycon dress from Femme Luxe with a pair of chunky FILA sneakers (yes, I am here for the chunky sneaker trend) and I accessorize with a cream-colored fluffy hat, a pair of shades from my brand, and gold jewelry. I also accessorize with a small black graphic handbag, which is my fave accessory for this outfit; graphic handbags just add a nice touch to any look because it draws attention. This outfit was perfect for a nice evening spent in the park with friends; let's not forget that there is still a pandemic going on and I am not comfortable with just going out anywhere to sit and dine just yet. Honestly, I do not know how some people are but we have been dealing with this pandemic for a while now so I can understand the urgency...but I am more of a "let me grab my food and go home" kind of person anyway.
I really needed thus picnic day with friends because recently I have been mentally exhausted with everything; I was taking two summer classes for a month all while working to grow my business and implement new ideas and visions. I have probably mentioned this before, but I am a perfectionist. I know that nothing and no one is perfect but I work hard to be perfect in my own eyes; when I shoot content, I want it to fit my aesthetic and meet my own expectations. If you look at my camera roll on my laptop right now you will see over 8,000 photos and 200 videos and most of them are content that never make it on here or my Instagram because they do not meet my expectations. This often leads to me procrastinating with shooting content, but I honestly spend most of my time creating content strictly for my brand now. When I work with other brands, I merge it with content for my brand to save time because I am primarily focused on expanding my brand.
The main thing I have learned since starting my brand is: patience is key. I consider myself to be very patient; I do not like to be rushed and or pressured so I do not rush results. Would I like to make thousands of dollars overnight? Absolutely but that is not realistic when you first start a business. Business can be great some weeks but there will also be some weeks where my website's statistics drop and I do not get a single order; I have been mentally exhausted from marketing like crazy because that is what really drives traffic and sales for my brand. It is important to see what works well for your business and note what may not be working; I rely heavily on social media, specifically Instagram and Facebook because potential customers get a preview of my brand based on the content I create.
Now that I am entering my last year of college, I have also been exhausted from thinking about my future. I am currently studying to go to Law school but I need to take a gap year to just breathe for a moment. I not only want to take a year to work and build up my confidence to attend Law school but I also want to work on my business because it is currently my main source of income. I ended almost all of my PR contracts to focus on my brand but I secured 2 paid sponsorships within the past week; I have reached the point where I do not want to work for any brands if I am not getting paid. Quick advice to my fellow Black content creators: monetize your time and what you have to offer!
If you are thinking about starting your own brand/business I have soooo much advice but the main ones are: start RIGHT NOW, be patient, and do not compare yourself to anyone else. I wanted to create my brand in October 2019 but procrastinated and started overthinking about the kind of products to sell. Then, a pandemic happened and made me realize that there is no reason for me to not start. Now that I have started, I have to constantly tell myself that I cannot expect to make a lot of money overnight and that should not be my main focus. Most people think that starting a business is all about money and while that is a big factor, I love seeing people tag my brand in their pictures and express how much they love the products. Honestly, it makes me forget about the money especially since I created my brand to provide high quality, affordable and stylish products for fashion-forward individuals so it feels amazing to see how confident people are wearing my sunglasses and other accessories. Running a business is definitely not easy, especially when you are doing it alone, but it is very rewarding.
Be sure to check out the new styles of sunglasses on my brand's website here! And check out the DANGEROUS Collection here!
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I will read all comments, and try my best to respond to most of them. I appreciate feedback and any suggestions, but I do not appreciate any sort of negativity that is posted.