Happy Hump Day, First name / babe.
Someone recently asked me, “How do you stay motivated in business?”
That question instantly had me realize how nearly 4 years of Chanel & Lee has passed me by in, what feels like, the blink of an eye. 😳 It seems like just yesterday I was dreamin' and schemin' how to take my humble side-hustle of a VA business full-time while still working a 9-5 agency job.
But this wasn't my first rodeo… In fact, my entrepreneurship journey has had a few different faces over the past decade.
My journey with entrepreneurship began when I started my first photography business at just 16. Ah yes, the humble beginnings of a photographer – but little did I know that business would carry me through college from photographing hundreds of clients to being featured in art galleries in Houston, Austin, and New York City, and being accepted to one of the best art schools in the country. (
In case you didn't know, I still have a photography business + you can hire me nationwide 😜).
Then in 2013, I started a vintage resell shop on Etsy. I even raised money to help me “fund” the business - spending my hefty $800+ of “fundraising" on scoring vintage clothing in a 100 degree warehouse in Houston for dollars on the pound. I even learned how to wash, mend, and salvage old clothing to make it new again. (It was a fun little escapade, but it didn't last me long.)
Me and entrepreneurship took a much needed break while I navigated some serious dark valleys of life (divorce, depression, and lots of partying). But all in due timing, business made its way back to me in the most beautiful of ways.
Now I sit here, a 3x business owner with multiple 6-figures under my belt with Chanel & Lee alone and an impact beyond what I could ever imagine.
So how TF do I stay motivated to keep this thing going??
Regardless of season, or doubt, or uncertainty, or setbacks… the answer is that I'm doing something I fucking love.
I've said this before and you'll hear me say this again - setting up systems and educating businesses on how to use them isn't my end goal. I wasn't born babbling Dubsado as my first word (although that would be awesome) 🤣
But what I do love is connecting, leading, and teaching, and this business gives me the platform to do just that.
Every day I get to wake up and 1) set my own rules & my own goals 2) connect with people from literally all over the world and 3) lead people to become better business owners and, in turn, facilitate more people sharing their strengths and creativity with the world. It's fucking awesome.
So even though yes, the money has been great. The time freedom is amazing. I get to work in my pajamas… at the end of the day, I'm doing something that brings me the upmost joy. And without that, motivation doesn't come easy.
So ask yourself this, First name / babe. Are you doing what you love? Or are you settling?
Your motivation will lie in your answer to the above.
