What’s Up with Glam?

Where do I begin?

I am just SO SO excited/nervous/terrified/overwhelmed/happy. It is a pretty incredible feeling when people like your idea, and are willing to work with you to make it happen.

Like I mentioned before, we are doing business plan writing pop ups this summer, and we officially have 12 on the calendar!!!!! Yes, 12!!!! My original goal was 5. So far, we are definitely working with SA Youth & Girls, Inc. I am also talking to various schools, and non-profits, such as, Big Brother Big Sisters, Girl Scouts and Boys & Girls Club to see what we can do together.

It is an exciting time, but I am not going to lie, I am pretty terrified. Now, that I have events on the calendar, I have to deliver. The reality is I don’t really know what I am doing. Yes, I think we have an awesome event put together, but who knows how that will translate with actual kids? We will just have to wait and see.

I recently read this article on Inc. titled, “What to Do When Bad Days Become the Norm“. I definitely don’t think my work has ever made me seriously depressed, but I do find being an entrepreneur to be very isolating. Yes, it is lonely when you are having a bad day, and have to figure everything out on your own. However, I think it is almost worst when you have something to celebrate. No one really understands because they aren’t exactly living the journey with you.

The author’s last point about remembering why you started the business in the first place really resonated with me. I definitely agree with that.

As Glamtrepreneur takes off, I wanted to write down my “whys”, so I will always remember:

1) Women are still not equal.

I am not talking about here in the US, where for all intents and purposes, women are almost equal. Yes, we definitely still have some work to do, but we are lucky.

It is 2014, and there are still women and girls around the world that don’t even have the most basic rights. For example, the girls in Nigeria that were kidnapped by Boko Haram. What were they doing “wrong”? Going to school. As you read this blog post, you are probably in the Western world, you probably have some kind of college degree and you’re probably at least somewhat employed…put yourself in these girls’ shoes for a minute. Imagine you are sitting in school (a place that is supposed to be safe), and you are abducted by one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups. Your parents can’t do anything; the government doesn’t seem to be doing much about it either. Words cannot even express how terrified these children must feel.

These girls are most likely being raped, tortured, and sold as brides. This is real life, and the rest of the world (myself included) sits by helplessly. I don’t know what action to take, other than bringing attention to the situation, by talking about it.

The reason I want to start Glamtrepreneur is with hopes to one day bring the curriculum to countries, like Nigeria, and hopefully give girls the skills they need to start businesses. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I think that when women become financially independent, it will be harder for these terrible things to happen (maybe I am just being naive, but it can’t hurt to hope).

2) Give girls the power to dream.

One of the things that I am very grateful for in my life is that I have always been allowed to dream big. No one has ever told me that something I wanted to achieve wasn’t possible.

Through teaching girls about entrepreneurship, I hope that as they notice voids and injustices in the world, they feel empowered to make changes through real action (not just changing their Facebook profile pic for a cause). If they have an idea for a great business, I want them to know that they can make it happen. You can’t just leave it for someone else to take care of. The goal of Glamtrepreneur’s programming is to get rid of mental roadblocks by teaching real world skills. Also, another important element is having girls interact with female entrepreneurs in their own communities.  Hopefully, seeing other women that have made it, will open their minds to all possibilities.

3) I like the hustle.

This is my own motivation for keeping things moving.

Sometimes in the daily grind of running my business, I forget how much I love the entrepreneurial hustle. I truly enjoy going out there, getting new business, creating partnerships, and figuring out problems. I am always up for a new challenge! When you work for yourself, the sky is the limit. No one is holding you back, and that is what I love the most.