Essential U Blog

Selah & Caiden Lead the Way to Conquering Fear

Have you ever come upon a roadblock in life and declared victory for the other team before you even tried?  Ever had a task that needed to be done in order to reach your goal that defeated you with no opposing effort?  Sure you have, we all have, every time we say "I can't", "I don't do that", or "that isn't my job" we are surrendering before the fight has even began.  

       
 
I know I've done it and catch myself still doing it.  The trick is to catch yourself and change your answer to something like "I can", "I haven't before" or "this is new to me" as you forge forward in expectation of victory.  After all the battle is half over when you win the battle against yourself in your words and mind. 

Wordless Wednesday #20: I Stand in Awe...

Ten Steps to Help Your Business Thrive During a Bad Economy

Notes from My Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Talk Part 2 of 3

Part 1 of this blog series can be found here. 

Step One:  Don’t Panic
Even President Obama’s community blog is declaring the fact that more millionaires were made during the Great Depression than in any other time in U.S. History.  An economic downturn of any kind is a great time to start a business.  Savvy entrepreneurs can edge into fields otherwise inaccessible to them in the past.  Many poorly run companies and those that are debt laden will close and new or solvent companies thrive in the empty spaces.  The only guaranteed way for you to fail is to quit.  Those that succeed refuse to give up even when to the outside world they appear to have failed.  Just get back up and do something different.

      

Sales of natural and organic personal care products increased in 2008 by 12.9% with an expected growth of 9.5% in 2009.  We are in the right industry, at the right time with the right products. 

You are in the Right Place, at the Right Time, in the Perfect Industry

Notes From My Soap Guild Talk on Economy Part 1

Failure is okay as long as you use the experience as a springboard and not as an anchor. 

      

The big what if -- what if I fail -- what if I'm not good enough?  What ifs - become the anchor that can hold you back from the potential of your own future.  At the Handcrafted Soapmakers Conference we heard from Erin Brockovich, who is the ultimate underdog, fighting for the ultimate loser case and yet today she is an inspiring story of success.  Her story was made into a movie; she continues to fight for people who are being made sick by their drinking water and is an inspirational speaker. 

Monday Morning Motivational Moment #1 :: Perseverance

“So what do you do when you fall down? You get back up…I will try 100 times to get up and if I fail 100 times…if I fail and I give up do you think that I am ever going to get up?  No. But if I fail and I try again and again and again, well I just want you to know it is not the end.  It matters how you are going to finish.  Are you going to finish strong?  You will find that strength to get back up…like this….”  Nick Vujicic :: Life Without Limbs

Watch this video to understand how truly remarkable that quote is. 

Asking for Help is Valuable Lesson

I was fascinated with the sound, th, th, thth, th, th, thth, as the tip of my shoe toe nipped against the spokes of my mother's bicycle.  I was 4 years old and riding on the back of my mother's bicycle.  I loved the feeling the wind in my hair and the warmth of the sun on my back.  I was particularly fascinated with the vibrational sound that my shoe made as it flirted with the spinning spokes of the back wheel.   It was the early 1970's long before the safety gear of today's childhood was in place.

      

I remember it was a perfectly normal day as we rode around. Over and over again, th,th, thth, th, th, thth, I ran my toe against the spinning spokes.  Then before I knew it I was on the ground, the outside of my left ankle bleeding, my tights torn, in more pain than I had ever experienced.  The wheel had pulled my foot into the spokes which flipped my body instantly around and threw me to the ground.  My mother swooped me up into her arms and ran me to a neighbor’s house and then she promptly fainted. 

Economy of Natural Beauty

The good news is that we are all in the right industry with the right product at the right time.  The natural beauty care industry is continuing to grow despite the economy.  Slower consumer spending is not stopping the growth natural personal care product sales.  Conventional personal care products are seeing a moderate increase in sales, however, natural and organic personal care sales are booming. 

      

The greening of the market place has caused a high demand for natural and organic cosmetics.  And consumers are getting educated and no longer falling for the green advertising for products that are full of chemicals.  The natural and organic segment is dominated by small to moderate size companies that are offering truly natural and organic products. 

Top Ten Things I Love About Being an Indie Business

1. Foundation Building

We get to build something really amazing that reaches out and touches people’s lives in different ways every day. I am humbled by the responsibility and honored to have built a company along side my husband that supports thousands of businesses. I feel blessed for having the perfect partnership that allows us to succeed as a team in tandem with thousands of businesses.

         

2. Freedom

I have the freedom to be available to be a chaperone on every field trip my kids go on and can be a cabin mom when they go to camp. I have the freedom to dash out to a cinameeting with my husband if we want to. (Cinameeting definition: "business meeting" with my partner held while watching a movie at the theatre in the middle of a work day.) I have the freedom to work the hours I want to. I can work while my kids are at school and after they go to bed. I have the freedom to sneak a kiss to my "boss" at work.

Wordless Wednesday #19: Green on Green with a Backdrop of Green

Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild 2009 Annual Conference Synopsis

I planned on putting up a blog everyday at the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference last week but I was so busy having fun that I only made it through one day of blogging.  It was hard to tear myself away from the spa, speakers, parties, preparing for my topics, swimming in the pool, chatting all night in the hot tub and let me say again – the spa – to write my blog posts and put up photos. 

      

I twittered throughout the entire conference so all my twitter followers and friends on facebook got dozens of micro-blogs about the conference but my full size blog was dormant while I played.  It is hard to believe that I was in Palm Springs to work, but I was.  You know you are in the right business when the line between work and play is so blurry you can’t tell the difference.

      

Every day in Palm Springs I managed to fit in a little bit of spa time, learning from the other speakers, working on my final presentation, a lot of time in the swimming pool/hot tub chatting chatting through all hours of the night with other attendees and sometime with a microphone clipped to me for presentations.  After a fun day one of the conference the next two days kept up the momentum and excitement.