Me, Myself and I...The Entrepreneur

I met Felicia Bittle at a gathering and we were fast friends. Anytime you can dance all the steps to If It Isn't Love by New Edition ya'll are meant to be! I am happy for you WWRS to hear her story.

The struggle of entrepreneurship is real. Point. Blank. Period. And may the good Lord give you strength if you are accustomed to a certain standard of living that includes designer purses, gourmet dinners and international travel. Or consistency, time management, or 8-hour days. Because that my friend, that’s when the struggle of entrepreneurship becomes really, really, real. I would know. Because I am that entrepreneur.

The Launch:

There wasn’t this big epiphany moment for me when deciding to launch my own business. Honestly, I was just tired of the bullshit taking place in my life. Tired of the trivial trappings that keep women like me in miserable situations. You know the life cycle expectations of education, marriage and making money. I had just quit my job in banking for the 3rd time because I was over it. I was over the corporate politics, the fakeness, and the high school clique’s mentality. I was also over my marriage. I was over both of us holding on to something for appearances that neither one of us no longer wanted. I can’t speak for my ex-husband, but I wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout from my happily ever after being ruined. But at the end of the day we were both cowards. I don’t even remember the day he left. That’s how oblivious I chose to be. And the more we fell apart, the more I focused on launching my business. I needed to do something that provided fulfilment and accomplishments.

My business became my refuge. I began “wooing” potential clients, creating the website, consulting for newspapers, magazines and tv segments. I was immersed in all things fashion and styling. This was my dream and I refused to fail.

What Have I learned Along the Way:

(1) Not everyone becomes an entrepreneur to be a baller. You must ask yourself what is your measure of success? Is it money, presence, ownership, etc. I was styling 3-4 clients at a time because I wanted to make a lot of money. I thought that was how this entrepreneurship life worked. It’s all for the money. And for a time, it satisfied me. But eventually I was right back in that same rut of feeling unfulfilled. I had to take a step back and truly examine my expectations.

(2) I run my business the way I want to, not to please other people. Everyone has an opinion on how you should manage your business. And little by little you start giving in to accommodate everyone’s inputs. I found myself notoriously in the mode of pleasing people. Screw that. Its ok to say, “I got this…fall back” to folks. They’ll be just fine.

(3) And last, trust your decisions. One more time, TRUST YOUR DECISIONS!!! You didn’t get this far by doubting yourself so don’t start now. For every failed decision, a lesson was learned to make you stronger. It’s called growth.

Most Challenging Moment:

Yeah, wow. Changing my business model while it was successful because I didn’t want to do it anymore. Wait…what? Who does that? I was turning a profit, I was getting visibility and I had a steady flow of clients. But I was miserable. I started to feel like I was just churning folks and services without adding any real value to their lives. I needed to feel like there was a purpose to my business and not just to make people look good. I started first by changing my title from Personal Stylist to Styling Consultant. And I re-built my brand to focus on teaching my clients how to realize their best personal image.

The Art of Managing Business and Pleasure:

I have defined what works for me to keep balance. This includes schedules, exercise, to-do lists, and affirm business hours. Its ok not work on Sundays to enjoy brunch with friends. Enjoy your life as much as you can!!!

And I leave work…at work. When it’s time to stop working, I stop creating meetings and following up on emails. No more reviewing business-related items. I turn off the computer, stop answering my work phone, and mentally check out as Felicia Bittle, Entrepreneur. I choose to be present in my moments and enjoy the experiences.

Final Word:

I’ve gone from full-time entrepreneur to part-time entrepreneur to never-ever again entrepreneur to ok let’s try it again entrepreneur many, many times. Life can cause all types of interruptions that will make you adjust to varying realities. The goal is to stay focused and determined. Never to give up on your dreams because you never know who you are inspiring. And life is so short but moves quickly, so make sure when you are sitting in your quiet space and reflecting over what you’ve done, you can always say, “I did it all!”

2019 Mantra:

Ok, so I haven’t decided on one yet. But I can tell you that I do ask myself the following deliberate question when making life choices: “If it doesn’t make me happy, then why am I doing it?”

To contact Felicia Bottle

fabstyles@feliciabittle.com

Follow on Instagram

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*Dedicated to my beautiful Sadie Bell, who never could understand why people spent good money to have me tell them how to dress…Love you granny!