30 Days of Blogging

Well Folks, I did it ! 30 days of blogging ! This was a really fun way to become a more regular blogger ! I might just do another one, just to stay on task !

Anywho, if you happen to be the 500th viewer of the blog, please leave a comment and tweet me ! @_simplycare_ I would love to know : )

WOW !

Almost 500 page views ! This blog has only been online for a month! Thats great, I wish I could get my subscriber and follower count higher. I'm working on it though. At least I know people view it, now the trick is to get those viewers  to subscribe !

I had a great time at the Small Business Seminar ! I learned a lot and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go. Now I'm hanging out with my family : )

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend !

Goals for the Weekend

Hello all,

I just wanted to share my goal list for the weekend ! After attending the Small Business Seminar, I hope to have a better business plan, mission statement, and plan of action for both Simply Care and for Smartist Logic Artistry.  I want to better understand the inner workings of running a business, how to stay on task, within budget and reaching milestones that I set for myself.  Along with that, understanding how to attract potential customers to my product. I really just want this to be such much information that I come back with a hand cramp. LOL. I want to come back reassured and more positive in myself and believing that I can do this. I also hope to network a little bit and possibly gain a mentor or at the very least someone else to to be able to speak with.

I may not have time to put together everything that I wanted but at least I have a few notes.

Now on to the less serious side of the goal list, I plan on coming back with a mixer, coffeepot, food processor, possibly a few ingredients, and a batch of twist and braid creme.

WHEW... Do you think I can do it ???

Happy November !

Happy November everyone ! : )

#TribeThursdays starts in a few minutes, but it will probably  have started by the time this is posted ! Will you be participating ? _SimplyCare_ will be chatting via tweetchat and I hope to see you there !

This week has flew past for me, and I have barely gotten any sleep. I'm pretty sure it's catching up with me now, plus I think I ate some bad food. The beau and I felt kind of odd today. Hopefully it's just because our SleepBank (as my Mother calls it) is overdrawn. lol.

I also think I have nailed down the few product samples that I want to include in my Holiday Sample Package ! YITADEEEEEE

'tis all for now : ) Short, simple and sweet : )

WHEW !!!

Well, Homecoming Weekend was a success ! Clearly that is obvious by missing 3 days of blogging.

I had a great time and once I can figure out who took photos of my hairstyle I will post them ! : )

In SimplyCare News, I will be attending a Small Business Seminar this weekend with my Beau, and I am so excited to learn new things : ) I really can't wait.  I also found some great design inspiration for my letter head and comp slip ! Plus I found inspiration for to FINALLY finish the website design for MEA Piano Studio.

Anywho, to get ready for the Small Business Seminar, I want to try to put together a packet of information about my businesses, so that I can just write notes down and ask pertinent questions. We shall see how that goes though, this week is slipping by fast.

I have a lot of freelance projects that need to get wrapped up before the end of November, so this will be a busy month ! I intend to stay on top of everything !

Oh, and before I forget, I plan on buying some products this weekend !!!!! Yay, I can't wait to mix some goodies up : )

Books, Hair and Homecoming

Today I did a braid out on my hair for the first time in a year. I usually stick to twist outs because they take less time. With my braid out, my hair of course is longer(stretched because of the braids) and more defined than the twist outs. I found a photo of probably the 2nd braid out I ever did. Look at the differences in my hair. Now my hair is a richer, deeper, and healthier black. It has a nice sheen to it and it is almost double the length.

Check it out !

I picked up a couple of hair product books too. Mostly reference about ingredients and oils ! Fun !


Also, this weekend is HOMECOMING WEEKEND ! Good ole' Virginia State University : ) I plan on doing a really cute style, just stay tuned for photos ! : )

Oh, and here is my hair after the icky rain got to it ! >:-/  

Later Lovelies ! : )

New Twitter Background

Hello all !

So last night or if you want to get technical....really early this morning, I designed a new Twitter background. I love it ! I need to change the width so that my "Thanks for Following" shows up, but other than that I'm really happy with my end results.

Also, @TribeCalledCurl held her first #naturalhair #tweetchat and it was just as great as @HGKWW's chat.  I'm so glad that the #naturalhair chat has been brought back ! I really missed it.

Anywho, check out a screenshot of my twitter background

 Any thoughts ?? Opinions ??

Natural Hair Chat

Today was one of the best #naturalhair chats I've ever participated in ! It was so thought-provoking, informative, and funny all at the same time. It was hosted on Twitter by Hair Gets Kinky When Wet ... check her site out here #HGKWW .


I absolutely loved it ! : )  What's great is that @tribecalledcurl is hosting a tweetchat tommorow at 1pm ! Are you going to tweet with us ? Check that out on her twitter page... #tribecalledcurl . Hope to see you there !


Oh my blog also had a couple of mini milestones ! I now have 5 followers, and I received my first two comments ! woot woot ! Plus, I'm almost to 500 page views ! It would be cool to host a giveaway ! Alas, I have nothing to give away.... lol Regardless, I'm so happy to see that this blog is blossoming the way it is : ) #LookatGod 




Anywhooo, Back to designing I go !  

Blah

Today wasn't a very productive day, I woke up with a horrible headache from the night before and it finally went ALL THE WAY AWAY like 4 hours ago... and now I'm recuperating. lol.

I did find some cute bake pans and molds to use if I make shampoo bars, lip balms, or other types of bars. I'm still looking for containers and stuff like that. I did finished my business cards tho. Take a look and let my know which one is your favorite !

Oh, and in the middle is SimplyCare's We Care wallet size list of no-no ingredients that you don't want in any of your skin, beauty, hair products..

So, feedback anyone ? Don't all jump at once !

Evernote Notes

Today I don't have much of a blog post, just mostly notes that are from EVERNOTE... 


One thing that I am going to do is Research marketing, advertisements, social networking of other body care and hair care lines. 

How do they market a new line or new product. How do they rev up interest. 

Set up a goal chart. Keep thinking BIG..

- when I want to have products by

- when do I want to have samples ready

- who would try my samples 

- feedback sheet    

- we care card ( :) products :(products)

-thanks for sampling card/ thanks for purchasing card

- hooking up with bloggers/vloggers to sample, review, host giveaways, shout out SimplyCare and it's products.  

Also, research packaging. I think it would be interesting to have jars and bottles that aren't "normal" 

Use the packaging of my products as another way to stand out from the sea of natural products  

Growth :)

Posting my first Growth Chart, but its in the color scheme that I first picked out. My next one will be with the correct scheme.

I was recently harping over the fact that I didn't feel like my hair had achieved any growth, but it's health was at an all time high. Then I decided to put all my "natural files" into one spot and I happened across some old photos. Boy, was I surprised. I guess the growth tricked me ! lol I wish I had all my old videos and photos but when I had my computer fixed the techinician erased EVERYTHING and didn't give me a chance to back it up. I had thought my videos and photos would be safe... le sigh.

Anyways, Hope everyone had an awesome weekend ! I know I did : )

ta-ta loves ! : )

EyBeauty Hair Extravangza Goodies

Today was the EyBeauty Hair Extrvanganza in Richmond. I had a pretty good time and although I wasn't able to purchase butters and oils like I thought I would be, I still had a great time. It was a really fun event in a small cozy setting.

I also sat in on some of the sessions and kept my fingers crossed that I would win a giveaway....which I didn't. *kicks rock* It's all good though, I didn't come back empty-handed. Check out my goodies !!!

I purchased 3 pair of earrings, a ring, a necklace, two bracelets, and a locsoc for a grand total of $34.00, not too shabby if I do say so myself. The goody bag and hair ties were all complimentary. The plastic bag of goodies have an assortment of hair ties and Jane Carter Nourish & Shine. 

Since I missed the Baltimore Hair Expo (the humongous one) I was glad to be able to go to this one. 

Later loves ! : ) 

Friday Funday Recap : )

Hellooooo !!! : ) 


Tomorrow is the EyBeauty Natural Hair Extravaganza !!! Im so excited to see other naturals, meet and greet, network, and buy some products ! I will try to tweet as much as I can about it.. Keep up with my tweets here _SimplyCare_ . 


Also, just some other things I was thinking about today. I was thinking about the type of research that I need to do about product lines and etc... 


- Taken from Evernote-



Research marketing, packing, advertisements, social networking of other body care and hair care lines. 

How do they market a new line or new product. How do they rev up interest. 

Set up a goal chart. Keep thinking BIG..

- when I want to have products by
- when do I want to have samples ready
- who would try my samples 
- feedback sheet    
- we care card ( good ingredients bad ingredients)
-thanks for sampling card/ thanks for purchasing card
- hooking up with bloggers/vloggers to sample, review, host giveaways, shout out SimplyCare and it's products.  

Late Night Thoughts

Today my mind was a whirlwind, but when is it not ? I had the chance to sit down and write down everything that I want to accomplish within the next couple of months for my business.
- Completeing my Logo Design
- Bloggr Background (which will be able to double for my website background as well)
- Bloggr Header (will also double for my website)
- Business card design
- Letterhead Design


Also I wrote down a list of everything- project wise that I need to do that are outside of SimplyCare, which is kind of a lot..lol. I just have to  stay on top on things to get it all completed. I'm thankful for all the side projects though.


Last night I was really thinking about this whole business and everything that can potentially come with it.


How as a potential owner of a hair care product line and body care product line I should be ready to answer questions that a customer or person might have. Take yesterday night for instance, I was asked to help style a friend's hair. It's short like a twa but could have length if stretched and styled. She saidto me "I don't know what to do with this, can you help me ?" 


I need to be ready to answer questions like this. I know how to answer them but I need to be able to explain it in a way that is understandable. 
What would I tell someone that has no clue what or how to do their natural hair ? How would I direct them in the right way? To make sure that they know the proper way and have to proper tools to continue to take care of their hair ? 


Also I think I need to read up in public speaking.  I really feel that I can come across even more competent and confident vocally. I need to become more comfortable with public speaking. Even though I have already learned so much and researched so much I know there is even more that I can learn and need to learn. Good thing that is all exciting to me ! lol 

Random Ramblings Thrown Together : )

I have started reading one of the books that my LS dropped off for me and I feel like I am back in school again. The crazier part is that I love it. Lol, I am a total nerd, I love learning, I love school, I love all of it.

Anywhoo, I started off with Small Business Management because I feel that it would be the most relevant to my situation right now. Also, so I would have a grasp of things when I attend the Small Business Seminar in a couple weeks . (happy feet)

On the hair side of things- I participated in the naturalhair chat that took place yesterday evening. I used to do it all the time when they had it on Sundays, but I fell off with it and then I think they stopped having the chat. This chat though was fun plus I was able to connect with more people, follow and gain more followers ! You can follow SimplyCare on Twitter as well to stay updated within 140 characters !!!

Also, a facebook fanpage is also in the works ! I cannot wait though, until I have an actual website alongside my blog and facebook fanpage where everything can be linked and just a mouse click away....

I have entered in to TWO separate contests and I can't wait to find out if I am a lucky winner ! woot woot !

I also potentially have gained a customer for styling and for products ! I necessarrily wasn't looking to style hair, but even before mixtressing I braided and styled hair on the side. Always good to have a side hustle. Lol.  She's also into stock, so that's something else we can delve in to.

I feel like this post is all over the place but so many things happened today....sheesh laweesh !
I also happened across some really good marketing tips and strageties that I can't wait to put into place. PLUS I also created (in my mind) some merchandise that I wouldn't mind selling.

I am so excited about this journey I am on ! So many goals to achieve !

Until next time !!

YIPES !!

OH NO ! I almost missed a day !

YES !!!

So today, three people seriously made my day... four if you want to get technical. lol

First my sister forwarded an email from father to me. What was in the email you ask ? Well let me tell you, it was a Small Business Seminar !! Wait, that's not the best part , the best part is that it's FREE !!! heck yeah man !


Secondly, my LS Ciera had her special person bring textbooks which she used during her grad program over to me :

1. Small Business Management : Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures (yitadee!!),
2. Business and Society : Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy
3. Marketing Management

Thank you so so so so so so much ! She also has a blog (shameless plug) so why not check it out ? You won't be sorry !!

These two occurrences will definitely help my progression !!!  I feel so great about this decision !! So many positive opportunities and information are presenting themselves !!! #LookatGod ! lol

Incredible Overlooked Find of the Day

OHMYGOODNESSGRACIOUS !!!

Today I found the Holy Grail of note-taking and it has been out forever ! I have no idea why I waited so long to start using it ! I guess because I didn't want another app that would eventually end up sitting in my app graveyard.. but this bad boy is uh-friggin-mazing !!!

Good People of Bloggrdom I give you EVERNOTE !

Check out the screenshot - At first I was using the web, then I downloaded something, thinking I was downloading a different program and BOOM ! An actual EVERNOTE application has been installed on my computer.

I am so tardy to this party it is quite embarrassing. Now that I am here, I WILL NEVER LEAVE ! I can just imagine how much this is going to help me ! Plus I can sync the app on my iphone withe the app on my computer, the web browser ANNNDDD my twitter accounts. sheesh !!

Check it out and see how you like it !

UH DUH !

It totally just hit me that I can purchase some much needed products at the Natural Hair Show this Saturday !!! I also entered to win two free tickets from CurlyNuGrowth. Cross your fingers !! Hopefully I will win : )

Hair books

I came back to Northern VA for the weekend and when I go back I will be taking back a few hair books to read ! I'm so excited, plus my LS also has some business material for me as well ! I'm can't wait to see it.

Also, I hope order some butters, and oils soon because I would like to have some products read for people to sample around Christmas time.

hmmm, me thinks that is it for now !!


ta-ta !