Deciding on a Business Structure

There are several ways you can structure your business legally here in the U.S. It can be a Sole Proprietor, Partnership, LLC, LLC Partnership, S Corporation, or  C Corporation.

Logo Design

I apologize for my absence. I've been working hard to get Excelsior Events, my event business, off the ground. You know, that other creative business. I've been focusing mostly on building my brand, logo and website. People when I tell you to get help with these things, get help. I designed my own logo and it took forever. There are too many options and I went way off the image I wanted to have (well not totally). Now I'm wondering if I should start over. I wound up editing my slogan to better explain my logo but then I didn't feel like it fit my business name. So I shortened it. The full version and explanation are in my business plan of course but I was recently reminded that too much information confuses people. 

That aside, I did a pretty good job. Its not completely original art but its distinctive enough. I used Gimp, a program I didn't have much familiarity with but I found its similar enough to photoshop, with its many features, and its free. It moves slowly on my old computer but that's the price I pay. With some instruction reading and lots of youtube video watching I got what I wanted.

My hesitation in changing the logo is because I don't think my other idea will translate well for more serious and sober business events clientele. Also my website launch date has long passed. Thinking about keeping it at this point doesn't feel like settling. More like a good business decision. Maybe one day I will have a pro update it. For now, I am quite proud of my creation. And I am happy with its versatility.

It is easily blown up or downsized. I have a black and white version for when necessary. 3 colors can get expensive when printing but not beyond what I am willing to pay. I also think it looks pretty enough for potential wedding clients as well as meeting clients.

Check it it below. Tell me what you think.

~Lashette
  Excelsior Events
  Scarlet Moon Creations

A look back and a glance ahead

As 2015 is coming to a close we all naturally look back at the year we've had as well as look forward to the new year ahead. This year for me was very hyper-focused on moving ahead and moving on. I did something very scary and huge which was quit my job. I didn't have another job lined up and neither did I immediately go out looking for one.

My goal was to work on my businesses and myself. And I did. My family was very supportive in that and I found various new friends to support me online as well. This I am grateful for because after taking this plunge I was able to research and finally write a business plan for Excelsior Events. I was also able to drastically increase my sales for Scarlet Moon Creations. Not only those tangible changes occurred but I was able to improve my mindset and emotional state. So I am good and I have a positive outlook for my future.

With 2016 about to start I am nervous and excited to see what the future holds but I have a plan so that it is not completely unknown. More importantly I believe this plan is doable by none other than myself. For Scarlet Moon Creations, that plan is to continue promoting my products with a consistent social media schedule. Product-wise, I will first be bringing back some older products with better photos. I will try to work in some outdoor photos as well as more dynamic photos of my products in use. This will happen over time since I now have 70 products. Then, I plan to start pushing more gift sets for various purposes and to hopefully get two new product lines out there. The first being the long awaited handmade books. The second being Bath Magic, a line of intentional and mood altering bath and body products.

Meanwhile, my main focus next year is to launch my successful event services business, Excelsior Events. I've already been working on draft #2 of my business plan and cementing the image I want this business to have. I'll be buying the business license very soon maybe even before the year is out. From there its designing the logo, finishing the website and creating all the forms I will need. Then marketing myself and my business. I hope to have at least 8 clients next year.

That's a lot but I know now that I can do it. This will be my last post of the year. I figured I would give us all a break next week and come back with new stuff on the 4th. For me the holidays started already but no matter what your beliefs I wish you and yours a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

~Lashette
Scarlet Moon Creations

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 I - SCORE

Hello world! I wanted to share my experiences so far with several small business initiatives available here in New York City (NYC). I plan to stretch this out into several posts; at least three but maybe more.

As a New Yorker, I have several options and many overlap; there's the US Small Business Administration (SBA), then there is the NYS Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and lastly, NYC Small Business Services. These are the main government programs at the federal, state and city levels available to small businesses. They each have many branches and several partnerships with private companies and I have been specifically looking into those geared towards pre-startup and startup small business assistance. It can get a little confusing at first but they all seem to work together is some way, shape or form since NYC encourages small business ownership and entrepreneurship.

Up until several months ago I did my business research strictly online; I had a job that kept me very busy during the day and my commute was 1.5 hours each way mostly on the subway, so this was the only way that I knew of. Also, I am known for my internet research skills and am good at separating the wheat from the chaff and it seems my findings online held up in the real world. However, becoming a business owner on my own leaves for some lonely times and times when doubts can become pervasive. So, to verify my sources (and make myself feel better), I decided it was time to go out and talk to people in person. Find out what the people at these various initiatives have to say. I was definitely looking for mentoring. Someone with experience letting me know whether or not I am on the right track.

My first foray was to sign up for SCORE mentoring. SCORE is an SBA resource partner. Its "...a national network of more than 12,000 entrepreneurs, business leaders and executives who volunteer as mentors to America’s small businesses." It is basically a national small business mentoring program. They have local chapters for face-to-face mentoring, online mentoring, as well as workshops for both. This seemed perfect for me. So, I looked up my local SCORE office, which was not far from my home and went down there. Located in the Bronx County courthouse they share an office with some other initiatives. Not surprising since that's just part of living and working in this city; sharing space. I went down and made an appointment to see a mentor and was supremely disappointed. I had not looked at their website beforehand since my goal was to move my research out of the virtual world. If I had, I would have saved myself some frustration.

I was not paired up with a mentor specific to my needs, though I didn't expect that right off the bat. I thought there would be some sort of intake interview first. But the gentleman I got as my "mentor" was sort of flippant and very general in most of his answers to my questions. I admit to not asking as many questions about how SCORE works because I was thrown off by his attitude. He was also somewhat dismissive of my financing concerns. I was told "you could pay for most of that with one of your credit cards." Just FYI, I don't have any credit cards, so no I can't; he just assumed I did. While he did confirm most of what I'd learned online and did give me a couple of nuggets of new online resources, for the most part he was not at all mentor-like and after being dismissive of how much previous work experience I have had in this field, I didn't want to share my hopes and dreams with him. I was looking for someone to trust and he wasn't it. At the end of out 15-20 minute talk, he then told me the SCORE mentors only work out of this office on Thursdays and they rotate so you may get a different person each time. That led me to thinking that this was not as well run an operation as I had thought. I left feeling that I wasted my time. I have since gone to the SCORE.org website and filled out a mentoring intake form so that I can be matched up with a mentor. Hopefully, things will work out better that way.

Look for Part II soon. Things start to look up as a join a forum for NYC's newest small business initiative WE NYC!

Aromatherapy Laws in the U.S.A.

As promised I am back to talk about the recent Aromatherapy webinar I attended and its outcome regarding my business plans.

A few weeks ago, thanks to a great Facebook post by The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, I found out about a free webinar they were hosting along with the East West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies. The webinar was about the labeling of aromatherapy products for sale. I have been having an issue deciding what I should include on my own labels so this webinar was timely.

Out turned out to be very informative in a way I was not expecting. I signed up for the webinar in hopes of getting ideas for label design as well as what I should include on my labels. There was no label design elements but there was tons of information on what could and could not be included on an aromatherapy product label as per the laws in the US, Canada and Europe. But since I live, make and sell in the US, that's the information I am going to share here. Its the most complicated as well.

Required label information included: brand name, product name and net size/weight on the front facing labels. Business name and location as well as a list of ingredients should also be included on your product label but can be put on side or back panel labels. Ingredients should be in order of amount used; greatest to smallest; and use their INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) names. INCI was set up back in the 70s by the Personal Care Products Council and is maintained and updated by them. This system is followed here in the US as well as in many countries around the world. That concludes the MUST HAVEs for your product labels; now on to the DO NOTs. What you are not allowed to use are drug claims in your descriptions. This was the hot topic and the one that brought me to a very important business decision.

To explain what drug claims are and why they are not allowed on aromatherapy labels, I will need to explain the drug, cosmetic and aromatherapy laws in the US. So bear with me and do click the links so that you can get a fuller picture. Here in the US, there is the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), who mostly oversees the Food, drug and cosmetic industries. There is some overlap with the the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) though. These government entities have stricter laws and rules for the creation, manufacturing, promotion and sales of food and drugs. This is for multiple reasons; the two most important in this instance being fair competition in those industries and also so that consumers have choice and variety without subterfuge. Basically, it's to make it easier for the average Joe to buy what they need and knowing it works as the labeling and marketing says it will. That being said, the cosmetics industry does not have those same rules nor the same amount of oversight. Probably because it is a newer industry comparatively.

FD&C Act, Sec 201(i)

As for products in the even newer aromatherapy industry, those mostly get categorized under cosmetics as far as the law is concerned. One specific law in particular specifies whether a product is the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act which defines cosmetics and drugs by their intended uses. Even though essential oils, which make up most of the aromatherapy industry, have therapeutic qualities that have been known for centuries, they are at most used in the alternative medical fields. Which is to say most people think of them as a last resort in most cases there. Anywho, I will speculate that this is because essential oils cannot and do not give the same results all the time to most people so they were never seen as big money makers to the pharmaceutical companies. So they were relegated to aromatherapists and massage therapists. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those professions but both are required by law to go through more training than say your average bath and body product maker since they use essential oils for therapeutic purposes which classifies them as working with 'drugs.' 

This all leads us back to what is allowed on aromatherapy labels and what is not. Because the cosmetic industries, which includes aromatherapy, does not have the rules that the Food and Drug industries do, it makes it simultaneously easier and harder to make a living in these areas. It is easier because there is less oversight and almost anyone could start a home business because the fair business practices are suggestions rather than requirements as in other industries. The FDA does not have to approve products before they go on sale. They do not inspect labs or products nor do they require companies to register with them or get any licensing. This is a bit scary as a consumer since it explains people getting infections from some lipsticks and things like that. But on the plus side prices for aromatherapy products that can be used for therapeutic purposes are cheaper than most medications.

FD&C Act, Sec 201 (g)(1)

Now, for the negative side of this from a business owners point of view. We are not allowed to make drug claims on our packaging, websites, etc. The FDA is on the internet too. Drug claims include pretty much any of the therapeutic qualities of essential oils. For example we cannot use the words, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, which most essential oils are. You are not allowed to claim that your product has any altering affect on the body, particularly internally. For example, relieves aching muscles, removes scars, expectorant, soothes stomach upsets, suppresses coughs, removes acne, etc. These are all drug claims. You would be claiming that your product does what a drug would do without having followed any of the rules and practices required for selling a drug in the US. There is this huge long list if things you cannot say if you run an aromatherapy business.

Now, there are a few alternatives. You can say things like soothes muscles, reduces the look of scars or acne, refreshing, comforting, etc. Sound familiar? Now you know why every cosmetic ad and commercial sound and look the same. You're welcome. What can and cannot be put on your labels is covered by the FDA under the FP&L (Fair Packaging and Labeling) Act. This is also where the FTC and USDA come in as well. The FTC regulates all advertising of products with the FDA and the USDA regulates the term organic and any organic products under its National Organic Program (NOP) regulation 7, CFR 205. Some of this all goes for the use of herbs as well. Herbal supplements are classified as drugs by the FDA.

Its frustrating that once you've created something that you can only use about a dozen words to describe it, none of which can go in depth about the ingredients true qualities and all of which every other business even remotely similar to yours uses as well. That being said, I understand why. However, as I reiterated back during my first blogging 101 post, I had plans to write ingredient posts giving my followers and customers a look into why I use certain items and their benefits. With the rules about drug claims, I would not be able to do that. I already do not do that in my Etsy product descriptions since when I joined Etsy, they decided that all if their sellers should follow FDA rules.

Now, I was assured that the FDA is not going to come arrest every small business owner during this webinar. Most companies just get a warning or a fine. They don't have time to look for and find everyone. But, some of the big, popular essential oil companies have gotten warnings or fines. After this webinar, I had a choice to make. As many of you know, I have a Scarlet Moon Creations shop on Etsy from which I sell the physical things I create, the majority of which are bath and body products. I use all natural ingredients which means I fall into the cosmetic/ aromatherapy category. I created this shop for a bit of extra income.

What you do not know is that I have struggled with how much of myself to put into this business. You see my ultimate career love goal is to have my own event services business. My bath and body products were to simultaneously help soothe my need to physically make stuff while funding my startup. I've been working as if this business was my end goal and putting my all into not only creating but researching for the benefit of my customers. I'm an all or nothing kind of girl and I want the best for everyone. But, this could be classified as a hobby and if so I would not feel obligated to keep information from my potential customers in order to follow business rules. Honestly, I don't really make a profit on this business and I have decided to just keep the Etsy shop in the hobby category. This way I can focus more on my plans for event services. That webinar really clarified my personal priorities.

Moving On and Moving Up

The last few months has been full of my ending yet another phase of my life as well as preparing for the next one. I quit my day job. I had agreed to do work with my boss for two years minimum and that time is up. I felt ready to move on. And also, ready to work on achieving my dreams.

I knew this time was coming so I took part in the Daily Prompts Blogging 101 course for this blog to help update it as well as improving my blogging content and frequency. In addition to this, I have improved upon my promotional process for Scarlet Moon Creations.

However, my main goal; my dream, to start my own event planning business is well under way. I have named my business and come up with my business model. From here I have but a few more steps to make it official. I'll document that process in upcoming posts.

Blogging 101 has helped me find a few great blogs and bloggers whose interests sometimes dovetail with mine in both the crafting and event communities.  Many have become and inspiration to me and have helped me feel strong enough to take this step.

But I cannot forget my recent boss. He has taught me a lot both directly and indirectly. And of course, we met each other when we were both in unstable positions in our lives. I am as grateful for his help as he says he is with mine. So this is not an ending but a new beginning.

Clone Wars

Today’s assignment: publish a post based on your own, personalized take on a Daily Prompt.

So that was today's assignment from Blogging 101. I just went to the Daily Post front page and my prompt is Clone Wars: If you could clone yourself, how would you split up your responsibilities?

You all have no idea how apt this prompt is. I was just thinking that maybe I should give up on Blogging 101 since I didn't have the time for it. But as you can see I persisted. 

My first thought was about how I would clone myself. If I had the choice of how my ability would manifest, I'd choose to clone myself like Naruto does with his Shadow Clone Technique (Kage Bunshin no Jutsu; yes I'm an anime fan). I came to this decision because unlike other types of cloning that I know of, this technique is both temporary and any experience a shadow clone has you will have once the clone has dispersed. For those who have never watched the show here's an example. If I made a clone of myself so that while I got some work done, my clone sat back and read a book, when I get rid of the clone it will feel as if I've done both my work and read the book. How awesome is that? Think of the things I could do? 

Now as to how I would split up my responsibilities, as of now I technically have 3 jobs. I have my day job as a Personal Assistant (check out my IG if you want to get little peeks at that), I also run Scarlet Moon Creations via Etsy and through word-of-mouth, and lastly I am trying to get my event services business up and running. Each of those work positions obviously require multiple tasks. For example, Scarlet Moon Creations entails my creating something, testing it, taking pictures, doing the math for pricing and shipping, posting the product on Etsy and on social media sites for promotion, and finally using the same social media sites as well as this blog as a behind the scenes look at my process. That's a lot of time as each of those tasks have sub tasks and its the same for my other work. Add in  my personal life where there is both work (cleaning, shopping, grooming, etc) and leisure (reading, watching tv or movies, dancing, etc) and I feel like most people do, like there's not enough time in the day. 

So, to answer the question, I think I would split myself into 5 (1 me + 4 clones), 1 for each business and the other two for personal business and errands and leisure activities. I think I'd have the original me rotate which I was going to do each day. Note: I'm not sure how this cloning technique works with physical changes to the body so I think I'll keep myself whole for bath time.

Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself

Ha! I got a song lyric title.

Anywho, today is the first day of Blogging 101 for me and the topic is: Introduce Yourself to the World. Hence, the song lyric title of this post.

Hi, my name is Lashette but here mi llamo Scarlet Moon. Why am I using spanish? Because its my second language (though I've lost a lot of it) and I tend to use it playfully when making and creating. I do like to create stuff and after gifting some of the things I have created in the past, a few people told me I should try selling some of what I make. I thought maybe that's a good idea. That way, I make a little extra money and don't become a hoarding recluse, surrounded only by the stuff I've made. No cats or dogs since I'm allergic to both. Alas.

If you've read my blog before, you know that I started this blog a little over two years ago (I used spanish there too). Looking back at that first, welcoming post, I realize that not too much has changed. That's not a bad thing but I had also forgotten that I originally wanted to turn this blog into a newsletter.  I don't know if that will still happen; its not completely off the table though. But what is the same is the content of this blog. I have spoken of new product ideas (just this morning, in fact), I have linked so many links, I do believe I have become the Queen of Links (put that on a tarot card!). Over the past year, I've been consciously trying to incorporate at least one picture in every post. And of course I have included my wordy thoughts all over.

The one thing I do want to get around to is including others recipes (mine are a secret. shhh) because there are tons of awesome creators on the internet and they give me lots of inspiration. I've been trying to build up a blog roll of sorts for places I love to visit for inspiration. Unfortunately, most of those reposts get sent to my Facebook page, which you should all check out. No, I have not given up on it. Yes, I know the algorithm has changed yet again and if you haven't you should read my facebook post.

The last thing I want to include more of is ingredient posts. I've been wanting to for awhile, but I learned something earlier this year that changed my goals for the Etsy business. There's a post about that coming next week so I won't spoil it now. Suffice it to say, I will be working on ingredients posts in the future. Also, in the future will be more Event Services posts. I will be focusing more on that in the future of this year and my life and business-wise I feel that starting an event services business is a blogging niche I can fill.

Essentially, this is a business blog. I am not one for being the traditional type, so this blog will show the emotional side of business ownership as well as .... well.... the business side of business ownership. Over the past two years of blogging my journey so far, I've found that sharing my creations with the world is what I really want to do. Not just as a backup or a little extra money. The foundation of all this is my need to create. I love to create with my mind; I love to create with my hands; I love to create electronically; and I love sharing my creations with others. Its my passion. Hence, Scarlet Moon Creations.

End of a Partnership

I've delayed writing about this for months. Literally, delayed writing,not just posting. I am only now putting words together. First, I was kind of lost and didn't know what to do. Then I didn't know how to explain what felt like a failure. Now, I only hesitate because I don't want to seem like I'm badmouthing anyone when my intention is only to update and share my experience.

Well from all of that you probably already know what I am about to say. My partnership with R is at an end. It was short but sweet. As a reminder, back in December I asked R to partner with me in the creation and running if an event planning business. They agreed and we excitedly embarked on this new venture. For the first few months if this year we met often, brainstorming and business building. 

Jason Eppink (Flickr)

Then we hit a bit of a snag on my end due to traveling for my day job (like Japan for a month, then LA and Pasadena for another month). Then I got sick and then they got sick and suddenly we haven't met, updated, or anything for months. I buckled down ans tried to get our rhythm back. Our first talk about funding seemed to make R wary. Neither of us are so financially stable enough to carry a new business but we had options to explore, being minority women looking to open our first small business.

Unfortunately from there things fell apart and after a month or two R told me it was probably bet that I go on with the business without her. I was left with a huge feeling of uncertainty since I had been unsure about going into business by myself before which was why I asked R to join me. Also, the way she worded her 'decision' left me unsure as to whether she was completely out of it or not. Lastly, we had spent quite a lot of time coming up with our business plan and other business ideas together. I didn't know if it was ethical to continue with those plans rather than starting from scratch with something that was completely my own.

So, I put it all in the back of my mind and let it percolate. I did talk to a few others to get their opinions and add that to the pot. This all happened back in July. And though I am still unsure about what rights I have to the plans we made, I know I can get a professional opinion about that, and I feel now that I can go on and start a business on my own.

Other Business

Early on in this blog I mentioned that I had plans for another business. A two-pronged event services business. Event planning is where my heart is. Not that I don't love making and selling my own products. This is just another business where the goal, or at least my goal, is to help people and make them happy. Events just have all my loves in one place so to speak.

Event planning has both the creative elements as well as the practical ones. Plus there is the variety, the deadlines, the stress (yes, I love stress), and the almost constant gratification. I could do three events a day and that would give me that high of a job well done and a client being happy three times. Just knowing that I did a good job and everything went well and that the client is happy, makes me happy . Plus event planning has a definitive outcome. You know what your purpose is and can actively work towards it.

So, this business I want to start is an event services business that would cater to mostly personal and business events; meaning personal life events like weddings, vacations, etc and business meetings, lectures, etc. The two-pronged part comes in because I am Pagan. Pagan event planning is an unexplored niche that I'd like to take advantage of. That sounds bad but there are so many people and events in the pagan community that I would like to lend my event planning experience to to help make things easier on the hosts and help build a bigger more successful community. The two parts of this business would be named the Pagan Event Planner and Excelsior Events. And hopefully there will be some overlap in clients since for me its all one and the same. I want to help everyone equally, and get paid for doing what I love. I can even offer some of my products for certain events.

As far as this blog is concerned I will be making event business posts as well as event ideas and interest boards, so please look out for those. Also, for those who may be confused, please remember that this is my business blog and I did mention from the first post that I would include posts about both businesses. There is some overlap but I will keep each clearly marked on this blog with tags. Also there will be no event business posts open the Scarlet Moon Creations Facebook or Etsy pages.

So please lock forward to my event planning posts.