In Between The Posts

Blogging is interesting. A Complicated and time-consuming process, but interesting.

I've gone a long time without blogging so the only proper place to start is in between the posts. What have I been up to since I last posted, where are the updates, What, if anything is happening with the blog series (What The Fuss and So You Want To Go Natural).

All valid questions, all which I intend to answer. Let's get started shall we ?

What Have I Been Up To?

When I last left, I had great expectations for a new home after fully revamping and re-branding my company. I decided that sticking with blogger was the final decision and that this would be the most amazing blogger-turned-website that I had ever designed. So I announced the site, I set a launch date and alluded to continuing updates. I even began a test blog, designing headers, hero images, and all sorts of cool things. I bought up domains and starting figuring out how to build my mailing list. It was fun deciding on how to best advertise and market this new launch.

Check out that snazzy email sign up floaty !

Spring Revamping

Native Love Logo Design and New Web Banner Design. 

Hello curlies !

I know I've been gone for a couple of months, but it's all for the greater good. If you aren't filled in with all the updates going on right now, check out this post.

This blog is the last of the social media bunch to receive it's make-over. I've been through site after site trying to find the best, but without forking over some major coins or losing your mind over code; I've resigned to just stick with blogger for now. There are some amazing things you can do with blogger, it just takes a little bit more time. I might be sharing a few process photos and screenshots this week.

So be ready for a BRAND NEW Blog, with a new domain, new features, links and everything! The So You Want To Go Natural Series and the What The Fuss series will be restarted as well. I also have some new posts and some oldies yet goodies that are good to review heading into the warmer months.

Thanks so much for sticking with me. I really do appreciate it. Right now the new blog is going live June 28, 2013 unless I hit a few snags. Also, if you are subscribed using Google Reader, it is going bye-bye as of July, so it might be a good time to subscribe via email !

This way you won't miss a beat !

What do you think of the new web banner ? 

Are you excited to see the new website ?  

Are there things you would like to see here that you don't see now ? 

Moment of Transparency

Daily dose of motivation

SimplyCare.

I began this journey skeptically. Excited and enthusiastic, but extremely skeptical. I felt as if I was entirely too late to bring myself into the natural hair community. So I sat on the idea, for about two years. Every now and again I would think about starting, but never did. Then a year ago I began this blog as a means of saying " Ok self, I am going to do this.

It's time" I threw myself into blogging and to introducing myself to the natural hair community. It was great. I had things that I wanted to achieve and ideas for this company.

The thing is my foundation was shaky, so as I would climb and progress things began to get a little wobbly. A foundation built on skepticism and "I think I can do this" is like eating soup with a fork. You're not really going to get anywhere. I felt that this market was so oversaturated I didn't know if there would be room for one more.

I began to drift away from blogging and I would touch base on twitter every now again. There were a lot of things going on in the natural hair community that I just was not a fan of. I began to think, do I really want to be apart of this. I am such a creative person and hair was beginning to take over my life. So much so that I began to do less of other things because I was so wrapped up. So I stopped.

I thought when I stopped that maybe I would start picking up other things, which I did. Honestly, not like I should have though. That was a big issue with me feeling like in order to succeed at one thing, I could only concentrate on just that. I saw my artistic side falling behind and I did not approve. What I didn't understand was why, because I had great ways to merge art and hair with SimplyCare, but it never left my notebook or my sketchbooks.

I became too much of a thinker, too much planning and not enough action. My boyfriend told me that I have too many great ideas and that I just need to do them. Sometimes I spend so much time
thinking about the whys, hows, and whats that I never really get anywhere.

Work. Beast Mode. Grind Time. Just Do It.

I was beginning to just go in circles.. new idea, plan, didn't execute, new idea, plan, didn't execute...

I began to think about SimplyCare and it's future. I didn't really see it going anywhere. I felt like as a brand it was stuck in the mud. It didn't stand out like it should, it didn't really show my creative capacity.

I wasn't happy with two of the things in my life that are supposed to make me the happiest.

So even though I blogged a couple of times here, I decided to concentrate of picking up the pieces on the art side of things. I went over to my personal art portfolio website and I was just completely disgusted. I said "Self, why did I think that this ever looked good ?" I completely trashed the old design and started from scratch.

I came up with an awesome new way to brand myself, bought the domain name and stayed up all night redesigning my website. I kept on working on it throughout that week as well.

The finished product ? www.thisartistworks.com

This artist works ? Check!

I am completely in love. I was so proud of myself. I had an idea and I executed it from start to finish. No breaks, no "I'll come to this later's".. Just plain beast mode work. This really helped to re-center my equilibrium. I now had a new home for my artwork. Plus a brand new space for something else that I am cooking up! Let's just say it is the perfect marriage of hair and art.

I feel myself less stressed now. Once I did this, I definitely knew that rebranding SimplyCare was the
right thing to do. I decided that I needed to do a complete overhaul. From the rooter to the tooter. I began to look at my brand and what needed to be done to revitalize it. I began doing research, reading, and brainstorming ways to bring my brand back to life.

How it all began.

I can't really explain how except the feeling you get when you do something so important to you that it validates the reasoning for other changes. Does that make
sense? I hope it does. While  reading Tory Johnson's book Spark and Hustle, this one sentence put it all into perspective for me. "Like yours, my businesses aren't exempt from competition. There's no shortage of books on small business, but you're reading this one." So simpl and so powerful. This statement  really gave me the extra boost that I needed.

On my book list and also my mantra.

There's definitely no shortage of personal and hair care companies, natural hair based or not. Yet, you're reading this blog, you're interested in what I have to say. So the same goes for my products. There are too many heads in this world(7 billion I believe) and probably 3x that amount of cosmetics companies. Maybe I'm exaggerating but new companies are sprouting up every day!


Rebranding SimplyCare and reworking my personal art site was really weighing on me and I had no idea.  I feel such a huge relief.

Rebuilding my foundation starting with a rebranding. I feel stronger already.


So on April 20, 2013 I will introduce you to Native Love. A place where I intend to pamper your hair and body while enriching your mind. Artistic and educational. It's more than just hair.

Thanks for sticking me with this long.