Where Do I Begin?

Whether I'm on a speaker's panel, doing a book signing, supporting others or pitching QS Simple Treasures Greetings & Collections. Among all other questions, the most popular of choice I run into is;  where do I begin? I have to say, I love that question because I used to feel that way when I was in the beginning of furthering my passions with purpose. I found that often, some people will really encourage you, as well as fluff you with all of the what I call "Build To Nothing" talk. They invite you to seminars and other events with promises to answer that question and when you get there, they begin spouting platitudes that you've heard all too frequently before such as:

• Believe in yourself
• You can do it
• Build a team
• Find someone who believes in you and what you're doing
• Go for it
• Take a leap of faith and trust yourself

Etcetera, blah blah and so on. Don't get me wrong, all of that is good, it is, especially for pep-talks if that's all that is needed. But when you leave all that manifestation of hoopla, you're probably feeling motivated but yet and still left with again, the desire of an unanswered question, Where do I begin? After experiencing this high of the "Build To Nothing" inducement chatter, I made a promise that if I was ever in a position to answer that question, I would try to counter with substance and not a cosmetic spew of jargon or leave someone with the feel of impelled emptiness.

At a young age I understood what type of person I was and growing to become. I learned that I am a dreamer and a doer. I am a visionary and an executor. I am a boss and a worker bee. So, if I ever aspired to do something, I will seek out help from people who I think possess the information, or the knowledge and know-how. However, if that gets me no where, then best believe Quanda R. Graves will find out how to do it herself, even at the cost of big trials and errors, because  what I truly believe about life is that if you try hard enough, eventually you'll be placed in the right location or with the proper people to further your steps, it's just that way. In essence, I look at it like this, if you can help me, I will see what you're sharing, if not, I will find my own way.

I then, learned how to give that question some thought and how to respond. Because often, people know what they want and how to expand it but not how to begin, and vice versa. Sometimes, it's really just the basics we need. Now, some years later, I'm here, and I'm pursuing my dreams and running across people who own some similar, and as I said at the top of this feature, I'm now faced with that a question. Where do I begin? I'm happy to report that I've provided responses to that question many times over and gotten gratefulness and appreciation thrown back at me which let me know that the advice that I've given that I currently use for myself to become an author, poet, entrepreneur and indulge in other endeavors, have worked for others. May they work for you as well.

Basic Beginnings

• First figure out which dream you would like to tackle first.
• Research and write down all that is associated with your dream that you need.
• Create a price list for everything you need.
• Purchase a device or planner (if you're a planner person) to begin keeping track of all of your purchases and steps.
• Began purchasing off of your list and crossing them off as you go and move forward from there.

The above is just the basics for your beginning but there is more. Such as deciding if you're going to start from scratch with your savings, or working to launch one product to furnish another product to start. Maybe you want a small business loan, you can also research grants. Last but not at all least, is to remember you are your own team until you can add team members to build one. People don't often see it like this, as none of my friends did until I broke it down on how I envision it. Here it is, the breakdown:

• You are the accountant: Keep your financials in order (receipts, taxes and business documents, records of revenue and expenditures).

• You are the administrative assistant: Keep your appointments listed, write the emails, memos, proposals, set up your budget, and contact excel sheets, create and organize your files, check your messages and follow up on your tasks, etc.

• You are the social media manager: Set up your social medial profiles, write and set up the content for them and update them often.

• You are the publicist, product manager, advertiser and Marketer: Write your press releases and publish them, write scripts for advertising or have them written, seek out radio features, and other places to be featured. If you have a product, you must find places to host them and more. How your product or services should be marketed , find where to advertise and so on.

• You are the designer and visionary: You are to create the look, the packaging, come up with the logo, the mission statement, the plan and vision, overall and execute it. Not to mention continuously brainstorming of new ideas to keep your product or services fresh and always work to project your company's future direction.

 I'm just given you an idea as to what you encompass and what your journey entails for your beginning business. So don't sell yourself short. Grow and learn to know to take it one day at a time, at your own pace and make sure to create a belief system that constantly inspires you, keeps you motivated and willing to accept the challenges you will face. 

Whether it's your favorite playlist of music, a vision board of quotes, pictures and scriptures and/or a creatively set up environment, do it. In order to start, this >>>>is  >>>>   where>>>   you>>>  begin. 

Happy beginnings! 

Warmly,

QRGU