The Prelude

So this is my first entrepreneurship check in publicly and I am excited to share my journey with you! If you are apart of my exclusive style society community then you have heard me talk about some of the wins and hardships that I have endured during my first year of being a full time entrepreneur. Now I’m retelling this story for all to hear. My hope is that it encourages you, inspires you to make better decisions in your own business, and helps you avoid the same silly mistakes that I made. With that being said.. let’s get into this years recap!

Before I get into any specifics, I want to fill you in on my back story so that you can understand how I got to this point. On up until last year (2019) I worked full time in corporate America for a healthcare research firm while simultaneously working on Styled by Breyana part time. My full time job was amazing (I had great pay, a great schedule, and my job wasn’t too demanding), but the management team started to become toxic. Even though I tried to persevere and stick things out, my work environment just kept getting more toxic each day and eventually I was at a loss on what to do. After weeks of assessing my options and contemplating my next move, I started having the urge to work on my business full time so I prayed for clarity about the situation. After continuous amounts of prayer…the workplace started to get unbearable for me. I would enter and leave the workplace angry, I was extremely stressed out, and the toxic situations that I dealt with daily started to take a serious toll on my mental health.

I felt in my spirit that it was God’s will for me to leave the company, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure if it was all in my head so I asked him for another sign (one that I couldn’t miss). He didn’t disappoint. About two months later my entire department got laid off and for the first time in life I was without a job. When I got the call that everyone had been laid off I felt nothing but joy, relief, and excitement that my prayers had been answered. Not only did I get to witness the power of God up close, but I was I free from my toxic work environment as well. What’s more is that the company had offered us severance pay for the next 4-5 months which would allow me to spend more time on my business and pay all of my bills. In addition to that, I had gotten hired for a visual merchandising role within that same week (I had applied for it a few weeks before the lay off).

I started my visual merchandising role the following week and I worked there for the next two months before quitting. I quit because, just like my previous job, the management was terrible (even though it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had just left from). Plus I learned everything that I needed to learn from that role so staying there felt like a complete waste of time. At first I felt strange about quitting because I wasn’t used to being at jobs for such a short amount of time, but then I felt at ease because I knew that God had a hand in the situation.

Now fast forward a bit, and here I am sharing my experience with you as a full time entrepreneur (isn’t God amazing?!). Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons that I’ve experienced within my first year.

How My First Year of Full Time Entrepreneurship Is Going

Pros

• I have the freedom to create my own schedule. I don’t have to worry about being confined to a specific morning, afternoon, or evening shift. I don’t have to worry about switching schedules with coworkers, I can choose if I want to work weekends or not, I can decide which days I want off, and most importantly I don’t have to be nervous about asking for time off (because I am the decision maker). I’ve always been one to value freedom so having the ability to set my own schedule has been true freedom indeed!

• I have more time to dedicate to my clients. When I was working for another company I had very limited time. In corporate, I worked during the afternoon which meant that if I had styling clients I would have to style and consult with them before work hours (typically mid morning to noon). As for my retail clients, nothing has changed (I’ve always had majority of the day to ship out orders before heading into work so it never affected my company’s shipping times). Now I have the best of both worlds! I have majority of the day to ship out orders AND my private styling clients can set up an appointment with me during the morning, afternoon, and early evening (I love every minute of this!).

• My growth has accelerated. Now that I have more time to focus on my business I’m able to learn at a faster rate which has accelerated my growth. Three of the main areas that I’ve been accelerating in are marketing, sales, and styling. When I was working on my business part time I wasn’t able to dedicate an extensive amount of time to learning due to limited time and being caught up in the hustle and bustle of my daily routine. Now that I have the whole day to work I’m able to dedicate a larger portion of my time to learning and fine tuning my skills. Not only has this benefited my business, but it has helped me personally as well.

• I have more opportunities to network. This year I have networked more than I have any other year. Since I am not working both my job and business simultaneously, I have more time (and energy) to attend networking events no matter what time of day it is. Investing time into these events has definitely contributed to my growth as an entrepreneur and has helped increase my brand awareness and company sales.

Cons

• No steady paycheck. When I had a job I always knew that I would have a check coming twice a month. Now that I am an entrepreneur there are months where I have no income at all. Because of this I may have to skip out on events with family and friends, buy gifts at a later time in the year, and limit vacations.

• Longer work hours. In corporate I worked about 8-9 hours a day and did a weekend or two throughout the month. When I worked as a visual merchandiser my hours were typically 7-8 hours unless they had asked me to stay over. Now I work 12 hours straight for 6 days a week. If you asked me a few years ago if I would be able to work 12 hours a day six days a week I would’ve laughed in your face and told you no, yet here I am doing it with a genuine smile on my face (it’s crazy how situations can change!).

As you can see there have been some tough times in this journey but honestly I don’t regret a single thing. I am so grateful to God, my fiancé, and my entire community for their unwavering support and offering me advice when I need it the most. I am unsure of what other challenges I will face later on this year, but when the time is right I will have an update for you. Thanks for tuning in!

What Was Your First Year of Being a Full Time Entrepreneur Like?

Okay so now that you know some of the struggles that I’ve faced, I want to know if you’ve gone through similar issues in your own journey as well. Chime in with your own experience below. I’d love to encourage you!