Dust yourself off and try again..!

Good day beauts!

It's been a long time since I've written a blog!

It's always in the back of my mind but I never put those thoughts into action!

Sometimes life happens and days become weeks and weeks turn into a month before you realise you haven't been as productive as you would like.

I thought I'd write again just to get my juices flowing and start a habit.

I've got a few things I want to post so I need to work on my self discipline and keep my goals in sight!

Until next time (very sooon) xoxo

Happy New Year! :)

Happy New Year!

Wow what a year for me!!

After having a blitz of a start (setting up website, photo-shoot, made samples, set up social media etc) things came to a real halt. It was a mixture of falling quite ill and simply not know what to do next!

I felt like I took off so quickly and burnt out even quicker and didn't have the resources I needed to continue.

What did I learn from this? I learned that patience is truly a great virtue. Take your time and plan every step and think over things at least twice. I would have avoided some very awkward and sticky situations!!

Also get everything in writing and signed!! I'm learning quickly that while business can be all smiles and laughs it can quickly turn sour when people don't honor their word or disappear on you. I have a new mantra "They are not my friends....it's just business!!"

Anyone considering staring their own venture this year I would say you need to  definitely grow a big pair of balls and skin as thick as a crocodiles - take nothing personally and rather than wallowing over a set back think about your next move.

Also research, research, RESEARCH! You will lose nothing by being well educated but will lose a lot through lack of education. I don't have a fancy degree in business and I can't afford to join evening/weekend courses so do like me and head down to Waterstones (or of the like) or even hit-up the library to save even more pennies. The British Library has great business resources and it's a part of my resolution to be in there a lot more often!

While starting Miss Simone is still a terrifying thought I'm extremely excited for this year. It's all about funding and getting my jeans out there. Also I intend on hitting up all the fashion exhibitions, meeting buyers and fellow designers and networking and getting my name out there! If I don't start now then I never will!

*Recap*

1. Have Patience
2. Plan ahead (plan for the worst)
3. Grow thick skin
4. Research!
5. Educate
6. Network
7. GO FOR IT!

I've been very slack and lazy with my social media and can now see why it's a full time job! But I promise to update more, stay in touch and keep you up to speed with what's happening with Miss Simone!

Friends and business: a bad cocktail

Morning beauts,

Its been a long while since I've posted! The xmas season just snuck up on me and can't believe it's going to be a new year already!!

I just wanted to share my thoughts on a thing thats been bugging me and probably will for as long as I'm a business woman...

Friends. Some we love, some we hate. But I will always try to help my friends if I can. Recently I helped a friend out who was looking for work and long story short they messed me about and failed to see the importance of what I tried to do, the time it took me and the fact that I could of been helping someone else who would have put money in my pocket!!!

But I think the fact we're "friends" is why they felt they could be so blazay about the situation.

It annoyed me, but oh well you move on! I also came to the conclusion that I won't mix my work with friends and won't extend that arm to help. Not because I don't won't to but as I get older and deeper into my career/business I really can't afford to have people wasting my time or money.

Am I being to harsh? What do you think?

xoxo

"If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done!!"

Procrastination, procrastination PROCRASTINATION!!!

Hi beauts,

To be completely honest I'm struggling to write this post, mainly because I'm in a lazy mood and would rather watch The Real Housewives of Vancouver!

Why is it that we deeply want all the riches and success but we're too lazy to do the hard work to reach our goals!

While trying to develop Miss Simone I constantly find myself saying "I'll do it later" or "I'll do it on the weekend" but when it comes to later or the weekend I suddenly find an unimportant task to fulfill instead!

Personally I try to battle my habit of procrastinating by reminding myself of how good it feels to have a productive day and how crappy it feels when you get in bed at night and realise you achieved nothing you wanted to!

As they say "You get back what you put in!"

Daily I vision my dreams and what Miss Simone can someday become and that fuels my drive towards my ambition.

(I stopped for about 10 minutes because I got distracted by the TV!!! Aaaargh!)

Ok...I'm back!

I searched the internet for some tips on how to stop procrastinating:

• Make a list! - I have a white board and notebook and I find writing my goals down and always reading them back to myself helps my drive to complete them.

• Create a work schedule - This one applies to young entrepreneurs like myself. I haven't attempted this yet but I will schedule days and time solely for Miss Simone. This will ensure I don't over/under work and will allow me to concentrate and work efficiently! (I'll let you know how this goes!)

• Remove distractions! - This is my main problem! I tend to work in front of the TV - big distraction! - so I either need to find a quiet room or go to a cafe or the library.

• Laugh in the face of fear!  - One thing that always plays on my mind is "will I completely fail?!" This fear stops me from grabbing the bull by the horns. Fear/nerves is a natural feeling for something you care about and have passion for, so don't let it stop your progression!

• Get a buddy - I've read that getting a 'business buddy' is a great way to have someone to relate to, attend events with and help motivate each other. 

Please leave a comment if you have any tips yourself and how you deal with procrastinating!

Until next time,

xoxo

www.misssimone.co.uk
misssimonejeans@gmail.com
Facebook - Miss Simone
Twitter - @misssimonejeans
Instagram - MissSimoneJeans 

Hello Old Friends! - YEAh Live....BIG disappointment

Hi Beauts!

It's been a while since I've written a blog post!!

A mixture of being on holiday and also having a lot on my mind and major procrastination has kept me away from the Miss Simone blog post, but I'm back and ready to get on it!

I wanted to share my experience of attending one of my first entrepreneur networking events. It was an event called YEAh Live (Young Entrepreneur Association). It boasted that there will be great speakers, networking opportunities, workshops etc.

I arrived at a hall near the Oval in Vauxhall, London. I immediately wasn't impressed by the location. It was dirty, cold, paint chipping and the flow of the space wasn't zen at all. People were rushing about, carrying tables, chairs etc and I was greeted by a flustered dreaded lady, asking me who I am. I informed her I'm here for the event and she told me it hadn't started yet and I could take a seat in the foyer.

I had arrived at 3:30pm (the time the event was supposed to start) by 4:30pm the event still had NOT started!!!! By this time I was highly frustrated but I didn't want my journey to be in vein. So I went and bought my self a patty from the food table (£2.50...bloody expensive!!) and sat down again.

Finally I was told I could go into the hall and take a seat. I picked one of the 12-15 seats and waited for the first speaker. It was a young guy who apparently owns a few of his own businesses (he failed to mention what they were or how he built them) and he informed us that he was being rushed off the stage due to the organisers running late. I thought this was a great shame as it meant he couldn't give an effective talk, instead he was nervous and babbled and repeated himself throughout.

After the first speaker we was told we would have a short break. At this point I'm thinking "why on earth are we going to have a break, we just got started an HOUR late!?"

Anyway, I decided to look at the few exhibitors in the hall and ended up buying myself a beautiful Silver ring :)

I sat down again hoping the event will kick back in and found myself twiddling my thumbs for about 10 minutes. by this time is was already 5:30pm and I had enough!! So I left and went home!

I don't understand how an event that is supposed to be encouraging entrepreneurship in youths ran late, was disorganised and just looked sooooo tacky!

I don't know if I'm putting my foot in my mouth by saying this but it was a black run event (I'm black!) and I find that this is typical of the black community. We have great ideas and great ambitions but we don't seem to know how to execute them effectively.

Here are some future tips for YEAh Live:

• Start on time
• Have name/title badges for organisers
• Have complimentary drinks and sandwiches (It was a paid ticket event £7 - it's the least you could do!)
• Hire a hotel conference room instead of the community hall
• Hand out a proper floor plan/timetable of the evening
• Make sure all the organisers are dressed nicely (lord knows what half of them looked like!)

This experience has taught me to think more carefully about what events I attend in the future. It's important to network but you can't go to anything and everything as it could turn out to be a big waste of time!

Until next time,

xoxo

www.misssimone.co.uk
misssimonejeans@gmail.com
Facebook - Miss Simone
Twitter - @misssimonejeans
Instagram - MissSimoneJeans

Keep on keepin'!

Good evening beauts,

I thought I'd write something short and sweet before I hit the hay.

Just a quick note to buddy entrepreneurs as myself. Keep pursuing your dreams, don't be afraid to take risks
and don't make decisions based on what people think.

Remember misery loves company and there will always be those who wants to see you fall.

"Falling from a great height means you get scars which will remind you of your mistakes and you learn not to do them again. If you just fall from the safety of the ground, you just get bruises which fade, thus forgetting those mistakes and repeating them." - Miss Simone

xoxo

Twitter: @misssimonejeans
Facebook: /Miss simone
Instagram: misssimonejeans

Mistakes are great!!

Good day beauts,

I thought I'd post some words of encouragement.

Looking back on my business journey I sometimes kick myself and think "why did I do that?!" But what's key is not beating yourself up over what you done wrong but looking at that mistake and saying "Now I know not to do that again!"

If you are willing to take risks and be quite brave I believe the reward will be immense. You'll wise up a lot quicker and have the ability to make sound decisions. Also your more prepared and resilient to things going wrong and probly won't have a breakdown but will be able to handle the problem at hand.

Playing it safe and listening to someone throughout the process can damage you creatively, make you sensitive to the business world and unprepared for the worst! But don't get me wrong there are people out there with valuable advice so take it all in and make it work for you.

I'm still on my business journey and I'm probly at the hardest part - trying to get my name out there as a recognised brand, but I live in a time where I have the internet at my finger tips and I could become global over night if I played my cards right! :)

Happy business developing!

xoxo

Almost there!!

Hello my beauts,

So Miss Simone is almost there!! Site has launched, slightly prematurely but it's benefited because loads of fresh eyes have set their sights on it and have come back with great feed-back and constructive criticism.

The store is now live, although there are going to be slight changes. To be honest it will probably always be changing as time goes on....that's how times are now!!

I am so grateful for the support and reception so far. Still loads of work to do but will definitely get there in the end!!

Go to www.misssimone.co.uk  to see the complete collection and shop!!

Please check out https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miss-Simone/463700633704471 the new Facebook page for Miss Simone.

Also follow Miss Simone on Twitter @MissSimoneJeans

Look out for all the great things coming up with Miss Simone.

Like, Comment and Share! xoxo

Laserific!!

Morning beauts,

Blogging on the go from my mobile!! I'm so in with the times! :)

I didn't want to leave Miss Simone on a sour note with 'bad business' so I thought I'd talk about another small business that rocks!!

My jeans have a leather patch on the back which I wanted personalised with the Miss Simone logo. I searched high and low online to find a company with good rates and quick lead times. I got faced with endless online forms and sites with not much information. When I finally did get through to someone the prices were ridiculous and the leads times were way to long for my needs. Also people were quite unhelpful and always seemed to be in a rush to get off the phone!

As I almost reached panic mode I came across Laser Bean based in Peckham. I gave the number a call and was greeted by a friendly warming voice. I explained my situation and highlighted the fact I needed this service done asap!! "Of course! Come in next week with your leather and I can do it on the day" music to my ears!!

I arrived at Queens Road (I think) to a row of warehouses. I was greeted by a young Chinese girl who has started her own business in the laser world. She showed me other bits of work she had done, which was amazing.

I got my leather out and watched her get to work. It was quite late as I had come straight from work but she was more than happy to be flexible. Within an hour I had my leather laser branded and I was more than pleased with the results.

For laser cutting and engraving services please visit www.laserbean.com

Until next time,

xoxo

Bad Business

Hello Beauts!

It's been a while! I've been so busy with the jeans line and getting my website sorted, but it's all exciting as things are rolling and Miss Simone will be launching soon ready to sell!! Yipeee!!

I just wanted to talk about one issue I had to deal with in the making of my jeans.

Back in late January/early February I met a pair of lovely pattern cutters. One stouty full blooded Irish lady (let's call her Helga) and the other a delicate English girl (let's call her Diana). After meeting a few other pattern cutters I decided to work with them because they appeared to have so much passion for their craft and Helga had actually made a pair of her own jeans, encouraging me think that she would know exactly what she's doing.

We talked about my line and designs and I clearly explained that I had a tight deadline due to the photo-shoot. Although they expressed they we're concerned that the deadline was tight they said it could be done.

Fast forward.....

I found that they we're working very slowly and the pattern didn't seem to be developing much. I didn't say anything because I had trust that they knew what they were doing and I didn't want to step on any toes. Eventually I showed my consultant how far they had gotten with only two weeks till the shoot. A lot of alterations got revealed and I informed the girl's that changes had to be made. They panicked and Helga spoke extremely rudely to my consultant. Mistake number 1. I wasn't impressed with how rude Helga was, we're in the business where changes happens all the time, this would have been their chance to shine and reveal themselves as the best in their field. Instead they panicked and came up with all the excuses under the sun.

This resulted in them out-sourcing the grading process (which they went ahead and done without checking with me first) and they had to out source the production (which I'm quite please with as I believe they wouldn't have been able to deliver the quality needed).

Attitude problem...

My next issue came with Helga (again). So I was at the bank about to make a payment and the pattern cutters sent me an invoice. Everything was fine except for a £15 payment that said travel and negotiation. I called Helga to ask what this travel cost is, she said it's for the trips to and from the factory. I said this is fine but for future reference I need to know of all costs and what I'm being charged and to confirm them. Helga didn't seem to understand my point to which she responded "so I'm supposed to tell you every little charge?" I said "yes!! It's my money and whether it's £10 or 10p I need to know exactly what I'm being billed for!" Helga went into a rant about how hard she's work and blah blah blah, continuing to not get the point that she's being paid for a service so she's doing me no favors.

The last straw...

On day of the pick-up Helga became very difficult to communicate with and I ended up having to wait over an hour than scheduled to pick up my jeans.

A result of all this is I don't want any association with them and I definitely wouldn't recommend them to any one else, they didn't take this too well but....oh well!!

My advice, if you own a business don't take on more work than you can handle. Work to your deadline and organise your time so your prepared for any unexpected changes and be nice to your PAYING customers!! Be fair and if needs be stern but you can still be nice, there's no need for bad customer services.

It's taught me that these people are not my friends no matter how nice they are. At the end of the day they are being paid for a service, so I have to be clear and concrete in my dealings with them. Fair but NOT rude.

I hope my little experience can help you too!

Onwards and upwards!

xoxo

Small Businesses Rock!!

Hi Beauts,

As a small business in progress I understand the HARD work and time it takes. I'm learning how difficult it is to to have people working for you and making sure everyone is staying in their lane and doing what needs to be done. I've experience some frustration with my "hired help" as I believe if I'm paying you to do something then it needs to be done.

Fortunately the people I'm working with are extremely nice and handle pressure very well. So far they've produced what they need to one way or another and the ball is still rolling.

I wanted to share my experience with a fellow small independent business called Uniformes. It's a guy in Beckenham who works from a room in his house and offers a embroidery service.

After days of calling different companies I was face with long waiting times for sampling and expensive set-up fees. No-one could offer a quick service at a low cost...until I met Ali.

I called Ali on the Saturday morning and he told me I could come down later and see a sample...great I thought!! I went down there and low and behold there was my sample which I was very pleased with. I then asked how soon can he create the rest he said in 3 days and I can go there after work and pick them up....quick and flexible!!

Ali was very sweet and very helpful and as my jeans lines expands I would definitely use him again!!

Please see a sneak exclusive preview of what my embroidered jeans pocket will look like!! :)

If you need embroidery services visit Ali's website and give him a call:

http://www.uniformes.co.uk/

Have a happy Easter xoxo