blog launch: beginning of April 2024
and now…
I can’t even really believe I just wrote that headline; a MONTH… a whole MONTH?
It’s been such a journey to even starting this blog and brand, that I can say it’s been a ride getting here!
I want to thank you all, and those of you constantly joining, it makes me so fulfilled to share as much value with you all as possible.
If you haven’t already, check out my other blog post on How to Build a Profitable Online Business as an Introvert: How I plan to and how you can too!
This is where the idea all started for me, aligned with my purpose and desire to connect with like-minded other girlies in their 20s. However, I plan to share a lot more along the way in all arenas of relatable life in our 20s, making money online and my personal experience.
Disclaimer: there may be affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only recommend what I personally use and enjoy!
So, let’s go!
introduction
I’m so blessed to have such a gorgeous platform and community, as in her Full Effect.
Though, I have to admit, it has been as much of a personal growth journey, as it has been business-wise! There have been so many lessons and learning curves so far, and it’s only the beginning.
Never did I think I’d ever feel so aligned and connected with Blogging as a business model, considering the fact that (fun fact) I had already created a blog before on a completely different sector, but didn’t feel like it felt right. Now, I realise, that was because what I was going to be writing about, and committing to, wasn’t something I felt as wholeheartedly passionate about, as I do with in her Full Effect.
This feels right. This feels aligned with my goals and passion. This is the one for me.
If you’re contemplating whether your business model is the one for you, simply follow your gut! Deep down, we all know what feels right, what action to take, but can easily let other people, our thoughts or fear stop us.
My advice to you: if you feel really good about an idea for an online business, do it! JUST. DO. IT.
If it serves as reassurance, everyone says your 20s are the time to take risks (even though what other people say doesn’t matter, and I believe you should take risks whenever if that’s what you desire, however, if it helps you, go for it; let’s use it in our favour!).
A bit of a hearty introduction, but blogging has truly already revolutionised my way of feeling, seeing and doing things, and I hope you can feel all my excitement through the screen!
1 month in, and many more to come…
my experience
I can deduct from the introduction, that you already have an idea as to how blogging has been for me as a journey in this first month, but my experience is a lot deeper than what meets the eye, and unravels many complex layers that got me to feel as accomplished as I do now.
That’s what we’ll be getting into in this section.
Where do I begin?
Remember me saying it was as much of a personal growth journey, as it was a business one? Well, I think you’ll see what I mean.
Emotionally, this experience has come with a lot of fear along the way, and by that, I mean, EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY. Constantly feeling fear of everything I was doing, for it being new, for the not knowing how it will turnout or how I will do it, or the self-doubt of how I will make it happen. A lot of fear, anxiety and doubt pretty much sums it up for me in this first month.
- Nevertheless, I never doubted that I’d be able to make it happen, or that this is something that will become truly bigger than what it is currently. Why? Because I genuinely believe in it (and it goes back to paying attention to our gut; what feels right).
Psychologically, there was a lot of battling through thoughts, realising people I know will actually read these one day, and also, trying to not get too stuck in thinking for too long. Specially, when your brain is constantly working to think of ideas, strategize your business plan for the month, or even simply make sure your blog is fully set-up on the platform, technicalities; it can get mentally tiring to add this to the mix.
- On the other hand, the self-awareness that our thoughts are not reality really grounds you in the process. When you place the worst-possible scenario, there is always a solution you can come up with, so nothing really is as bad as what your mind wants to trick you into. Your body is simply trying to protect you from the uncertain, but to succeed in blogging, or anything online (something you most-likely have never done before) you need to practice awareness and action.
Personally, it has been a super fruitful journey; the confidence growth in doing something that provoked all these fears and thoughts, the adventuring out of my comfort zone, taking action, taking risks, the knowing that this will set me free from my 9 to 5 and build my dream life for me, has been unmatched.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with having done it, and where I am now!
This happiness comes as a result of feeling all of the above uncomfortable emotions, thoughts, and challenges but keeping it going anyways, because I knew it was just part of the process.
The Layers: We usually don’t see much of what goes on behind-the-scenes of a successful brand, platform, business owner, but just know that wherever there is success, there is also leaping out of your comfort zone and huge personal growth that comes with it. I’m super happy to embark on this journey, but it wouldn’t have happened without the nerves, the doubt, the questioning, the learning, the adapting, the figuring it out, the taking longer than anticipated, and more.
There are so many layers, and the happiness and fulfilment that arises when you accomplish something, only comes because you took action anyway; in spite of all of the above.
We all see what’s on the surface, but the experience of the outcome heavily lies under it, and that’s why I thought it was so important to share my experience with you all. Not to say it has been a bad experience, not at all! It has been a challenging journey of growth, action, confidence and fulfilment. Like anything in life, if you’re about to do something new, that you’re passionate about, you will be fluctuating and navigating between these highs and lows, but it will only make you happier and feel fuller with life!
Let this serve you as assurance and inspiration that all of these are normal, and simply part of the journey of creating and living your dream life each day!
takeaways
As you may have picked up on, along my experience, there were some crucial practices that facilitated me pushing through the challenges, in order to get to where I am now.
Here, is your jam-packed store of healthy takeaway knowledge to empower and motivate you to keep going when blogging or creating your online business.
AWARENESS
Being conscious is all that I mean by this. Something so simple, but that can be hard to spot or put into practice.
A few simple examples, and how you can apply this to your experience starting or building your online business is, for example:
- Next time you feel anxious, stop for a moment and realise it, feel it, and ask yourself why. If you have an answer, make peace with it and know there is always a solution. If you don’t, deep breaths are great!
- Practice Mindfulness; allow yourself moments in your day to not have anything at all; no phones, no tasks, no expectations, and simply be. Practice observing how you feel, what comes to mind, whether these need further attention or not. Practice feeling at peace, and being present. This will help get you out of your head, and into action.
- Use Guided Meditation; great if you need some guidance on this, specially when starting off.
- Pay attention to your posture, and tension. Relax your face, and see where you hold tension; maybe its your jaw, your forehead. Practice relaxing these muscles so we can tell our bodies, we are safe, and in peace.
Awareness comes with getting to know yourself better, and constantly ties even more deeply with your own personal development, as mentioned before.
NORMALCY
Knowing that it is normal. Simplicity is a recurring practice you’ll see here for learning how to manage your experiences going for your dream life.
It is normal to feel uncomfortable, to think a lot about what you are doing, and how you are doing, to feel as if you have to put a lot of conscious effort into this. After all, most of the time, you have never done this before. How can you expect it to come so effortlessly?
The good catch here though is that: it can only get easier with time.
So, keep going, keep doing it, and sit at peace with the normalcy of the experience that comes with it. Someday, it will be second-nature to you.
ACTION
The act of doing.
In order to have any kind of experience building your dream life, you need to do something about it!
The key here is to take it a step at a time, a day at a time, and only focus on what task is at-hand. Distractions will come up, and it can be hard to prioritise tasks for maximum productivity, specially when working a 9 to 5, but keep practicing this muscle of focus; and taking action will gradually become easier.
BREAKDOWN
Break it down; the goal, the steps to get there, and then give it a timeframe.
You won’t always know how long something can take, even more so when you have never done it before. Give yourself an estimate; it doesn’t have to be a time limit but maybe a task-focus for a day, for example.
This takeaway is all about PLANNING.
Plan how you will get to your goal, breaking down what you need to do by quarter, month and week. You’ll see by the end of those 3 months, you would have done it all and have accomplished so much, all because you kept it realistic.
For example, in the next quarter:
- I will make sure my blog is set-up,
- Launched,
- I will have email marketing in place (using Convertkit since it is free up to 10,000 subscribers and beginner-friendly),
- Have a content strategy.
In the first month of that quarter:
- I will focus on setting up and launching my blog.
The second month:
- I will focus on email marketing with Convertkit.
The third month:
- I will increase my content, and have a content strategy I stick to.
See what I mean?
This takes away all the effort needed to figure it out, because each day you simply focus on what you have at-hand. Some things may take way longer than you want, or expect, but it will get done, because you broke it down in your plan.
REASSURANCE
A gesture that soothes, comforts, or restores confidence.
This is all about making yourself feel better, picking yourself up, elevating your morale, and keeping yourself moving forward!
You may have heard some of this practice in my other blog post of Build Your Dream Life Whilst Working 9 to 5.
This one is one of my favourites (yes, I have a favourite), and it is all about being your own bestfriend. I’m talking pep-talks to yourself, and affirmations, to have you feeling like you’ve got this, because you do!
Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if it feels weird at-first, big yourself up, be proud of yourself, be proud for being brave enough to make your dreams a reality, be proud of not letting your circumstances stop you from taking control over how you want to live your life, and the list can go on.
The essence here is to be proud of yourself, feel amazing for being you, and intentionally celebrating yourself.
If you need a nudge starting off, use affirmations online, youtube other girlies in their 20s for inspo, use Pinterest, use whatever works for you!
RELATIVIZE
Treat as a reference point to shape your perception.
A word we don’t hear too often, or at all, but this one is all about realising nothing is ever as bad as it seems.
This practice forces you to place yourself in a situation where you are questioning what if, how, where, which, to then realise that there is always an answer or solution. Even if your answer is “I don’t know”, there is always someone or something that can help you.
An example of me relativizing:
- What if my business doesn’t earn me any money, and I’m stuck in my 9 to 5 forever?
- Relativized response: I will keep trying other ways until I get there.
This skill provides you with an anchor to ground you in perceiving that everything is in the mind, and nothing is ever unsolvable.
Knowing Your Body
I’m sure this one has you with BIG question marks, but hear me out.
We are constantly getting to know ourselves; who we are based on what we like, dislike, how we think, and act. Interestingly enough, as women, in our 20s, we have never really been taught about our menstrual cycle and hormones. (I bet you see why I included this one now).
Womanhood does not exist without the building block that makes us so different, as women, which is our ability to conceive, and therefore, our hormonal fluctuations and menstrual cycle that construct our nature.
In future, I will go further in-depth into this topic, as it pertains to being an online business woman. However, this one needs to be touched upon here because we cannot indicate how we can improve our experiences, creating our online businesses, without accounting for the pure effect of how our body is operating.
Getting to know how you feel, and act, and how your unique body works, according to your menstrual cycle, will empower you to better know what to expect, be prepared, better know how to self-soothe at certain times, and how to schedule for your work during these times also.
Certain times of the month will make us more vulnerable to certain feelings, and thoughts, that will, in turn, influence how we perceive and act.
To know our body is to master our lives, as women, building our dream life.
Some examples of this in-practice:
- If we know that we need more rest during our luteal phase (before our period), then we can prepare for earlier nights.
- If we know we have more energy in our follicular phase (before ovulation), we can plan to work a bit more or later in the day, because we know we will have the brainpower to be even more productive and creative during this phase.
Tailoring life to how you are during each phase will make your life easier, and same applies when building your dreams.
You don’t have to know specific phases, dates, or times, all at-once, but just start by being more in-tune with patterns of behaviours, and requirements, your body needs at certain points in the month. This will make everything smoother for you in business, and life.
There we have it, all the takeaway actionables!
What you will see in all of these takeaway practices, is that simplicity and knowledge is key.
The knowing, and keeping it simple is what will make any challenge, in your experience, creating or building an online business more sustainable and more compassionate towards yourself.
You’re doing amazing! Feel it and embrace it.
Comment if you’re on the same journey of creating an online business, and if you can relate on any of this! Thank you for sharing your time in my exchange.