When One Door Closes, A Window Opens

Just learned some disturbing news about a friend. My mental response was flat out shock. She is extremely talented, very focused and driven, good at her job and compassionate. How could this happen? Why did this happen? You do all the right things, take all the right steps and still things can go wrong. You can be wrenched out of your reality, your comfort zone. I am feeling for her because I’ve been there and was lost because of it. I didn’t have a contingency plan and following the rules got me nowhere.

This got me thinking about how as much as I know about planning and organizing, I hardly apply those techniques to my life. I’ve thought this before and am trying to rectify that but its still true. Back up plans, emergency plans, contingency plans, worst-case scenario plans; we need them for every aspect in life and then we can be relaxed when something goes wrong. I’m an advocate of planning. I’m not saying this would have saved my friend from this situation. It literally just happened so she deserves a moment to readjust. I just think planning could have helped me more when it happened to me. Also, listening to my instincts, my gut at the time was telling me to get out, to move on but I didn’t because I was comfortable. And I wasn't for along time. But when one door closes, a window opens.

At the end of the day (and the beginning) I have to tell myself that I am 31 (almost, I have less than two months so I have to start practicing ) but it’s not the end of the world. I can still do this. All of it. And I will if I plan. People are living longer lives. I’m not automatically destitute spinster if I don’t have it altogether at this age. That whole 20-45 years at one job with full benefits to retire at 65 is not the reality anymore. Its not impossible but it is improbable in today’s times.

Plus variety is the spice of life. Its why I love event planning. I can start my business in the social events. Start as an officiant, start as a wedding planner. Make money, go back to school for meeting planning while getting certifications. Offer event marketing to small businesses and work my way up to conferences and the like. I think my blog can evolve the same way and I am already working on those steps with my etsy shop. Start small, keep my eye on the next milestone while working hard on the current steps.

I wrote this post as soon as I heard the news. This wasn’t my planned post for this week. I had one that was supposed to come out last week but the images have been giving me such a hard time I had to delay it. But this, the feelings behind working for what you want no matter what your chosen field are just as important as the work you put in. I knew I had to share this publicly. I know I am not the only one feeling this way and I know that my friend and I are not the only ones who have gone through this in their lives. Others deserve to know that they are not alone.

To my friend, you should know I still find you to be an amazing person. I know you will rise from the ashes once again. You inspire me in many ways. This post being just one of them. I can only hope that between the two of us we inspire many others.

~Lashette

NYC Small Business Initiatives Part III - NYC Business Solutions.

Hey ho! I am back. I seem to have lost the month of July somewhere. I'll probably find it behind the bed someday when I m no longer looking for it.

Today's post is in continuation of NYC Small Business Initiatives series. This series is about my personal experiences with several of the Federal, State, City and local initiatives and programs for the small business owner and for those who want to be a small business owner in NYC. So this is Part III and it can be read alone.Click to read parts I and II.

Today, I am going to talk about NYC Business Solutions. So far, I have had the best experience with this initiative run by the city. But again that is my personal experience. NYC Business Solutions is an initiative that offers free assistance with starting your business, growing your business and running your business. They offer free online and in-person business courses on topics ranging from Business Plan Basics to Selling to the Government. Their other services include recruitment assistance, management and mentorship, Financial and legal assistance, M/WBE certification and much more.

I myself have taken quite a few classes to help me get a more concrete picture of what my goals are as far as my businesses are concerned. Thanks to NYC Business Solutions I have been able to write a great business plan and meet so many new friends and contacts. Everyone I have met at the various locations are knowledgeable, professional and friendly. I have shared my dreams with no better people than those that have worked for NYC Business Solutions. They have given me practical yet positive advice and solutions. These people know what they are doing and I, for one, am grateful for NYC Business Solutions. I plan to work with them more in the future to help grow my business and become a successful M/WBE certified Event Planner.

At this point, I am not sure what other government-run business initiatives I will work with. This is NYC so there are plenty more but there are also so many non-government initiatives and programs out there that I would like to try working with. This is not just for the sake of sampling but to learn and grow as a business woman. I do know that I will be keeping tabs on WE to see how that can benefit me in the future. So expect an update on them as well. But I think I will turn to writing about more private organizations soon.

NYC Small Business Initiatives Part II - WE NYC

We are back with Part II of my experiences with local initiatives for small businesses here in NYC. This is part of a series and though each post is written to stand alone, you may want to read Part I to learn about some of the acronyms I will mention here.

So, as you know my first foray out into the world of small business initiatives didn't go so well. My next one however, was definitely promising. I regularly check the websites for the SBA, SBDC, and SBS for updates and help for whatever new step I am on in my path to business ownership. One day, or night, the work never stops, I came across a promotion on the SBS site about a new initiative called WE NYC. WE NYC stands for Women Entrepreneurs New York City. This new initiative was created by the first lady of NYC, the Commissioner of SBS, and many others, to focus on giving more support to women entrepreneurs here in NYC.

I, as a woman in NYC looking to start my own business, thought this was a lovely idea. Now this is a brand new initiative so they haven't gotten off the ground quite yet. But, they did hold forums to ask local women entrepreneurs questions about what kind of support they need. I attended the forum held in the Bronx at Startup Box a South Bronx-based organization co-founded by Majora Carter, a local celebrity business  woman. Or at least that's how I think of her. 

Anyway, the forum went great. They asked us lots of questions about how we feel, what our experiences with starting our businesses were, and what we would want out of this new initiative. It was nice to be listened to for once; to be asked about my wants and needs as an entrepreneur. The workshop was also a great networking event as well. It was nice to meet and hear from other local women entrepreneurs; to see what we had in common and what made each of us different. Also in attendance were several partners of SBS. They shared their client feedback and experiences during the workshop and afterwards were glad to talk to those entrepreneurs in attendance that were looking for the types of assistance they provided. 

Overall, I had a good time at the WE NYC workshop. Even though the initiative didn't give me anything concrete they helped by letting me interact with others in a similar situations and they let me be apart of brainstorming ideas for future programs that will be to my benefit. Also, I believe that many of the people met may become beneficial relationships in the future. If nothing else, I got a confidence boost because I know that I am not the only one doing this and that there are people out there ready and willing to help us all succeed.

Look out for next week's post about the NYC Business Solutions and the classes I have taken with them.