Lessons in 365
Recently, I celebrated my first year as an official brand (yayy!!), and leader of a business that I absolutely LOVE! Just B’n Fit is a year old this month, and the most precious thing to me. It’s my baby!
I mentioned in my very first blog post, that years prior to 2017, I had the idea of branding myself, and creating this website full of fitness and lifestyle tips, but I was living in FEAR! Allowing FEAR to keep me from thriving, and actually helping others to live a holistic lifestyle. I felt like i was being selfish, in some way, because I kept all this information to myself, and never shared it with others. I mean, I may have posted a fitness picture or video on social media, but never took that chance to at least educate someone on why it was important to move, or why I’m drinking so much water. I went from creating a profile that displayed tons of selfies and miscellaneous things. To redirecting my posts to at least have some valuable content. From @BrePetite to @JustBnFit (Ha! Flashback moment!)
I say all that to say this...I’ve learned many lessons from beginning to end, and I’ve embraced every moment from start to finish. Many of my lessons helped me grow as a leader, a blogger, a trainer, and even in other areas of my life. So here I give you my top 5 (because I just love to do Top 5) lessons I’ve learned in my first 365 days of branding. I may not have it all together now, but I’m glad I’m here, and still able to push myself to get better at this new part of me. Of course there are plenty other lessons I've learned over the year, but here are some of my current [and honest] thoughts at the moment...
(You have entered the judge free zone)
Lesson 1: Work with what you’ve got!
Starting out, I didn’t have the best camera (Thank God for photographers), the knowledge on blogger etiquette, the popular branding tools, the huge following, or any of the connections I have today. I had to do my research. I had to go to the drawing board, and actually figure things out, with what I had. And that was, my body, my laptop, my iPhone, my exercise science background, and my social media profiles. But with the help of social media, some influencers and blogger friends, I expanded on those things. I've created some of my best work with little to nothing. One thing I've learned about the beginning stages of branding, is that a lot of the things you do, you will do yourself and build from scratch! I didn’t have the luxury of someone doing it all for me; and to some degree I really wanted do it all myself. I’m very hands on. Creating from the ground up takes time...TIME...TIME!! And if you want to be great at it, you have to make time for it! So in a nutshell, I’ve learned to use what I have, expand on it and be hella creative!
Lesson 2: Doesn't matter how big or how small, they're watching!
Now, one thing that I've always reflected on about my accomplishments, is how in the world did they find me? With little experience with blogging and this new brand, but a lot of PASSION, I was so amazed at how many organizations and big names noticed my work. But throughout my first year, I've trained myself to think BIG, and to present content as if I were presenting to millions of people. Yes, I may not be the biggest name in the book (in due time..DREAM BIG!! Haha) BUT I know that with Lesson 1 in mind, my passion, hard work and consistency, my work will not be done in vain! With the right attitude and a heart to win, people will pay attention!
Lesson 3 - Your support will show up!
You may think everyone that you know, everyone you support, or everyone that you find to be very close to you, will support what you do! That's not always the case. But you can't get caught up in that! I thought that once I launched my site, my apparel line, and everything in between, that I would get most of my support from people that I genuinely cared for (not to say that I don't have a great support system from some of my close friends and relatives..I REALLY DO!). But like they say, when you go hard for others, don't expect them to go hard for you. You focus on the people that genuinely support you, and be grateful for those folks!!
Lesson 4 - Believe in yourself.
This may seem simple, but probably one of my hardest lessons. I had moments of doubt about executing on certain projects, and really didn't believe I was the right fit for a lot of my ideas (crazy right? yeah i know...). But every time, I proved myself wrong. I proved to myself that the idea that was planted in my head, was not placed there for me to give to someone else, but for me to execute. I had to believe that I was qualified. I disqualified myself before even trying. Never do that to yourself.
Lesson 5 - Nothing comes easy, nothing happens fast.
I had to learn that with every thing that I do, I needed to practice patience. With every new apparel piece or challenge I presented, not everyone will jump on it at the same time. Of course, when I didn't see things happening fast, I was all in my head. I would think.."bad idea...too soon....delete...etc etc." But everything was right on time. There were days where site visits were low, sales were silent, and program/challenges were dry as a bone. But eventually, I would receive notifications of people supporting programs and products. I had to learn that not everyone is going to jump on it right away! It doesn't mean that they didn't see it, or they don't believe in what you're doing, they just didn't jump on it right away. Simple as that *kanye shrug* Recently, I've had people just share with me of how proud they are of me, and how they've been watching my brand, and think everything I do is pretty solid. And it feels so good to hear that feedback, because it means more to me than anything.
I believe I work hard, and do the best I can to deliver the best for Just B'n Fit. I want Just B'n Fit to be one to remember for a lifetime. But for now, I'm going to embrace my lessons and buckle up for the next 3 SIXTY 5, and enjoy the ride...
XOXO,
