Team "Be Shameless"

Hey y'all,

Watch this video.



Have you ever felt this way? What could you do today to start shamelessly promoting your strengths and talents?

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty!

The 6 Steps to Success: Step 3- Affirm

In my last entry, I talked about the It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle and how I felt inspired by meeting other women of faith who own their own businesses. It's funny how the keys to success that were mentioned were things that I had already talked about before. But, I decided to revisit them because sometimes I don't truly "get it" until the second time around. It's affirmation time.

I've talked about affirmations before. I believe they work hand in hand with visualization. An affirmation is basically a statement about yourself that you start with "I am" or "I have". It's a way of having positive reinforcement. Here are the ones I wrote from my previous post.

- I am confident.
- I am smart.
- I am beautiful.
- I am determined.
- I have healthy skin and hair.
- I have big beautiful eyes.
- I have a good sense of humor.
- I am giving.
- I am fun.
- I have joy in my heart.

Those were easy because when it comes to myself, I exude confidence. My business sometimes, not so much. Ever since I had to close my Royal Oak location I have been walking a thin line between "I'm going to be alright" and "I'm a failure." I guess I was secretly waiting on validation from people to tell me I was great at what I do. I felt like because I'm not name dropping that I was somehow lacking. What I had to realize is that what I may lack in the want to name drop, I make up for in talent and determination. Plus, I understand the importance of paying my dues. Like they say, slow and steady wins the race.

It gets frustrating sometimes, but it all has to start with me. So we were encouraged to write some affirmations about our business at the It's Not Enough to Dream seminar. And although it took me a couple of days to come up with some really good ones that I truly stand behind, I am proud of them and will always keep them in mind when the road to success gets tough.

- I am mastering my craft.
- I am breaking though my own self-imposed limits to build a profitable business.
- My clients get tremendous value from doing business with me and appreciate my spirit.
- My vision for my business is minuscule in comparison to what God has planned.
- The more I trust my skill, the better my business becomes.
- I am not afraid to ask for help.
- I am not afraid that I will regret saying "no" to a project. What's for me is for me.
- I am a woman of power, purpose and praise.
- I am blessed, talented and committed to my craft.
- I am divinely protected and only great things happen to me.

I don't know about you, but just reading those affirmations makes me feel good. What affirmations have you made lately?

Wishing you love, peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
                  Rhonda

The 6 steps to success: Step 2- Visualize

In one of  my last entries, I talked about the It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle and how I felt inspired by meeting other women of faith who own their own businesses. It's funny how the keys to success that were mentioned were things that I had already talked about before. But, I decided to revisit them because sometimes I don't truly "get it" until the second time around. Let's focus on how to visualize.

This has to be one of my favorite steps because I 'm a visual person anyway. I have visualized so many things in my head that have come to pass that I am a firm believer that what you put out into the universe comes back to you. I visualized graduating from college and that happened in a blink of an eye. I visualized a smooth delivery for the birth of my second child and after 5 hours of labor I was done (the first one was a little traumatic). And the thing that I put on my vision board that I thought was 5 years down the line happened in just a few months- I am a published make-up artist and writer for a local magazine and it was nothing but the grace of God that got me there. When it comes to the purpose of vision boards, motivational speaker Christine Kane said it best, "Vision boards add clarity to your desires and feelings to your visions."

About a week before going to the It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle launch, I was working on updating my vision board. There were few things I wanted to take off and a few I wanted to add. But, the women there had given me a few other ideas that I may be trying. Instead of a vision board, one of the ladies recommended a vision letter. You write a letter to yourself dated a year from now and you read it every week or so. You put in it things that you want to achieve but in present tense as if it has already been done. It not only holds you accountable, but reading it so often helps you to keep your eyes and ears open to that goal.

Other ideas that were mentioned were a dream box and a God box. The dream box is just like a vision board, just in a box. You take images and quotes or whatever inspires you or is representative of your goal and you put it in a box. The only thing about that is that you have to make time to sit down and look through it so that those goals are kept in the forefront of your mind. The God box is a little different because you put things that are representative of your problems or issues and it's a physical representation of "giving it to God in prayer." I really like that one and am currently creating my box.

Whether you decide to do a board, box or letter, being visual is a good idea and an important step in achieving success. Go out and be the visionary that God made you to be.

Wishing you love, peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
                                 Rhonda

The 6 steps to success: Step 1- Commit

In my last entry, I talked about the It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle and how I felt inspired by meeting other women of faith who own their own businesses. It's funny how the keys to success that were mentioned were things that I had already talked about before. But, I decided to revisit them because sometimes I don't truly "get it" until the second time around. Today we talk about how to commit.

Over the course of my 31 years of life I have dabbled in a few things. When I was in high school and during my first year in college I wanted to act, dance and a sing. "Nothing but death could keep me from it." Or so I thought- I kept my voice to the choir, sat my flat footed and knobby kneed behind down somewhere and decided I didn't want to be a starving artist. Me plus broke equals no fun. Then, I changed my major to journalism so that I could write, do a radio show and possibly be a producer at the news station. I learned that that ladder was harder to climb than I had expected. I was reaching out to a mentor who didn't want to have a mentee. And after graduating I learned how to sew, started writing a novel, made jewelry, started another novel, along with a few songs and some poetry, did skin care, makeup and hair and am currently back to writing for a magazine and currently learning photography. And lets not forget me and my best friends attempt at wedding planning (that was short lived). I thought all that was just pure talent. I mean, I'm an artist at heart. But, what it truly was, was the inability to commit.

Not to sound over confident, but I've always been smart. I have always had the ability to catch on quick with little effort, so I have never really had to work hard or as consistently at something as I have this business. (Except my marriage, but you have to wait for a girls night out to get those juicy details.) So how do you commit? It so simple, but yet so hard for some to do. Just pick something and put your all into it.

The only thing that I can warn you about, because I have done it so many times is that because I am committed to my business and I want it to succeed, I will say yes to everything. During my first year, every product, vendor show or event that I felt I could possibly meet someone to network with I was there. I paid for advertising for several magazines and bought more beauty products than I knew what to do with. Out of all the marketing and promotional things that I did, only 20% of them panned out like I had hoped. Something that the ladies said at the Detroit launch was, "Not every good idea is a God idea." Instead of being so quick to say yes, I ask myself two questions. One, can I afford this and two, will it benefit my business in a way that has never been done before.

For two years I have put my money, time and sanity on the line to see this dream come true. I finally know what it feels like to pick a profession and not only start it, but see it through to the end. Soul Deep Beauty is more than just skin and makeup, it's a beauty business and anything that falls under beauty can be involved. That, my friends is the real beauty in committing yourself to your business- you can make and change the rules as you see fit.

What new business venture will you commit to? Share your story with me here or on my Facebook page @Soul Deep Beauty.

Wishing you love, peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
                                  Rhonda

Business Spotlight: It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle

I am in transition. My business (and personal life) is going through some things that will in the end help me to become a better woman and business owner. During this time I have found it hard to put pen to paper, or in this case, fingers to keyboard. That is, until today.

This month marks the 2 year anniversary of Soul Deep Beauty, and while I couldn't be happier, this shift in my marketing, website, business goals, etc, are kicking my butt. Then, I was invited to attend the Detroit Chapter Launch of a wonderful group, the It's Not Enough to Dream Women's Circle. They are a women's support group and magazine for women of faith who have or are just thinking about starting their own business. Started in 2010 by sisters Adrienne Adams and Bridgette Outten in Chicago, the Detroit chapter presentation was titled "I Came to Win" and will be the fourth city in their ever growing corporation, where they join Chicago, Indianapolis and Milwaukee.

It was a great experience, filled with an overwhelming sense of sisterhood that I walked away from feeling uplifted and inspired. As the women introduced themselves I was comforted in knowing that I wasn't alone and that we all face some sort of struggle when running a business. It felt good to be in a room of like minded women who believe in purpose, power and praise.

Although I have financial obligations that won't allow me to officially join the circle at this time, they definitely have not seen the last of me. They offer business boot camps and other offerings that I want to be a part of and am looking forward to the road ahead. I now know that what I'm lacking in myself right now is confidence and I'm not one who takes or accepts failure easily.

I encourage any woman reading this who has ever had that business or book idea or job opportunity that you wanted to try, to not only consider the possibility but set yourself up to win. I'm getting myself back on track and to prove it, over the next several weeks, I'm going to talk about the six steps to success that Adrienne covered and reflect on how I can improve on each one.

Like I always say, the best is yet to come.

Wishing you love, peace and Soul Deep Beauty,
                                                Rhonda

Soul Deep Beauty is under construction

This October Soul Deep Beauty will be celebrating it's two year anniversary. Get out the streamers and noise makers cause it's on and poppin! (Sorry). I'm just excited because I did something that three years ago wasn't even a thought in my mind to do. I started a business from the ground up. It may not be exactly were I want it to be, but it it's still going and that's enough for me. That's the good news. The not so good news is that as of Sept. 1st, I will no longer be working out of the Wellness Clinic.

I have decided that it is more economical for me to forgo the rent every month and become a mobile/ on location business because I rarely do work out of the clinic anyway. I want to focus more on my pamper parties and the make-up aspect of the business, so I think that this would be a good move for me.

I have redone just about everything- my website, my online scheduling, and business cards. I even set up a Google Number for my business. So for the next month, I will be in the process of moving and getting myself prepared for the next part of my journey. Wish me luck!

Wishing you Love, Peace and Soul Deep Beauty.

The Business Expo: wins, losses and great finds

So, it's been a few weeks since my last post but, in my defense I have been super busy. Juggling home life and business life can be exhausting at times, but it has been all worth it. I had been preparing all week for the South Oakland Business Expo, which is basically, an expo for all the Chamber of Commerce groups (I'm a member of Royal Oak's Chamber) in the South Oakland County area and it was a great experience. I was a vendor at last years expo as well, with very few prospects that would actually benefit me and my business. However, as my determination grows with each passing year, I decided to give it another try and I couldn't be happier with the results.

The Wins-
Let's start with the obvious. Whenever you do a trade show or expo, the whole point is to tell people about your business- put your name out there. Because I don't have a particular product to sell and I am "selling" a service, my job basically is to educate people about who I am and what I do. So I had my brochures out, my makeup portfolio was available for people to look at and I had some candy and other giveaways available for people who stopped and talked with me.

I met a lot of people who were interested in my services and even had one make an appointment the following day. I have a few prospective spa parties lined up and overall I felt like there was a need for my services (unlike the holiday fair fiasco last year).

My table was simple, cute and effective.

The Losses-
So when I first got to the expo, I found myself in the tech world underneath the twitter screen they had up for the whole show and around a whole bunch of male vendors who couldn't have been the least bit interested in what I was offering. None the less, I made do so it wasn't a complete loss.

The other thing that you have to keep in mind when being a vendor is the cost. I think I spent a good $600 to prepare for a 7 hour event. That's including the table rent, marketing materials, my giveaways and the shirt and suit jacket I bought the day before. (The temperature dropped drastically so I couldn't wear original outfit- that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) So my bank account is definitely at a loss right now, but like I said, it was worth it in the long run.

The Great Finds-
Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a total nerd at heart. A very cute nerd, but still I take classes for just about everything. So, when they said there would be some free seminars during the event, I left my table for a couple hours and got me some free education. The two classes I went to were about Internet marketing- one talked about the new Facebook Timeline and the other about  FB, Twitter and LinkedIn. The info was good and gave me some things to think about. I also joined the Twitter world finally (BTW, follow me @RhondaSoulDeep). I don't know how often I will tweet, but we'll see how it goes.

I also met a woman who is a life coach and she may just have a business opportunity for me to become one myself. I always wanted to do something for young girls, as far as some sort of mentoring program and this may just be another door opening for me.

So there you have it, the wins are many when it comes to business expos. If you have the opportunity to vendor at one, I highly recommend it.

This is me at home after the expo- all smiles.