Business Lessons I’ve Learned in 2022
One of my first paintings of 2022 in honor of bell hooks.
2022 started like a bullet train departing from a station at warp speed. I had so many plans for my business, Spoken Black Girl, and I was determined to make them all happen. My vision was to create a self-care community for Black women writers. I would achieve this by bringing in my fellow sisters who are healers and highlighting them on a podcast. Then there was the magazine. It was essential to me that SBG keep publishing Black women writers to prove the organization was really about what we claimed. But in the back of my head, I was still tired from the publishing process last year, which had left me exhausted and to be honest, broke! The cost of the process meant that I had to spend a lot of time applying for grants and hoping to win big or pushing fundraising campaigns almost all year long, not to mention the cost and labor that went into printing, packing, and shipping magazines to be delivered all over the world. Although I knew I was doing a good thing, I sometimes wondered if the cost and toll on my business’s finances as well as my personal mental health weren’t too much. Also, I wanted to expand and do more, not be limited to one thing I was known for.
Sometimes it takes only a few pillars of your life to shake or crack for the whole castle to come falling down, and that’s what I believe happened in the spring. I was in a meeting with a potential cover designer and we were discussing how difficult it is for Black women to get ahead in business at times, and how people underappreciate your work. Up until that moment, I had been holding it together. My family was going through a transition period from Georgia to New York and back to Georgia again. Everything felt shaky, but I refused to let it show through in my business. But at that moment, I felt the heaviness of everyone who thought I owed them something, everyone who was in my inbox questioning me, all of these people who had never met me face to face or had a conversation with me or had the faintest idea of what I was going through personally but seemed comfortable demanding so much. And I broke. I started crying right there on the call!
Ladies and gentleman, this is what you call a major red flag! There were probably signs before this point, but this one was so clear. I started crying uncontrollably and even called one of my entrepreneur friends to vent through the tears. The next thing I knew, I was sending an email to my team, saying that Spoken Black Girl would be closing for a while… or indefinitely. I wasn’t sure. But the one thing I was sure about was that I needed a break. And I took that break. I know that it disappointed some people. I knew that it would shake the faith of many who didn’t know me well enough to understand my resilience, but I did it anyway because I needed to put myself first. I say all of this to give context to my list of lessons learned in 2022. I hope you can learn from my journey.
1) Your vision is your vision. God didn’t give it to others.
When I tell you this is one principle that I have to remind myself of daily! If you are an entrepreneur, especially one who collaborates with other creatives or brands frequently, you have to keep your vision crystal clear. You have to know that not a single other soul on this planet is meant to see it as clearly as you do. You have to know that no one will believe as strongly. As much as business is about engaging with other people, it’s also a deep journey into self. Everything else is just a projection.
2. Your vision should fill you up, not drain you.
Your business should be a space for you to develop. This was a major key for me because there were aspects of my business where I was relying heavily on others approval or for others to lend their vision to my business when, like I said in tip 1, Spirit had already given me the blueprint. I was just lacking the confidence to fully execute. That sounds harsh, but it’s true. We all have natural abilities that we doubt. Maybe it’s not as well praised as other aspects of ourselves, or we think other people do it better. Let me be clear - it’s all in your head. I was all in my head about specifically the design aspect of my business. From a young age, I painted with my father and always excelled in art projects and classes at school. I even studied Art History in college, but for some reason, I still didn’t feel good enough in this area. This left a weak spot in my business. But something else happened for me in 2022. I started painting again! I started trusting my artistic vision more and I started feeling more confident in my artistic eye. Then I began to see how others could capitalize off of my insecurity in this area when God had already naturally gifted me with everything I needed.
3) Not Everything is in Alignment
During my break, I used my writing skills to freelance for a few different companies, something I plan to continue into the new year. Check out my Communications Specialist page. There was one org in particular where I was really excited about the mission. I was in a tight spot financially, so I was thrilled to be hired quickly and get started on the job. But then, you guessed it, the red flags started popping up. The CEO was one of those overpowered, always stressed and projecting stress, bad at communicating clearly, but usually rude and condescending when you did get a hold of them types. I tried to hold on to the job despite this because I believe that I can work with many different personality types. I’m a professional. I would take a few deep breaths before our calls and then put my game face on. But the other red flag was, the company would never pay on time! Then they would try to gaslight me into thinking “I just didn’t understand business” when my invoice would go unpaid for lengths of time far beyond what was stipulated in the contract. It took one last incident like this, where my check was delayed over 3 weeks because of a holiday weekend, apparently, and I was met with excuses, that I finally decided to walk away. It wasn’t worth the stress and mental abuse from the CEO. I loved what they were doing and so I thought that meant it was in alignment for me, but it was another lesson in standing up for myself. Also, in the words of Beyonce, “Don’t be funny with my money, honey!” Okay?! I tell you this story because we often think things are in alignment just because it’s what’s showing up for us, but I think God intends for life to feel good. That doesn’t mean every moment is going to be blissful, but if you’re experiencing major anxiety around something that you’re doing, but you’re doing it because <insert reason>, sweetie that is not alignment! There’s something better out there for you!
4) Sometimes you have to break things down, look at the parts, and start from scratch.
The breakdown will hurt, but you'll be stronger when you build yourself back up again. I had to close my business to realize that the way I was running things was inefficient and draining for me. Now coming back, I’m determined to work smarter, not harder.
5) No one can stop you but you!
This one is pretty self-explanatory! You are both the key and the lock when it comes to your dreams. Others can try to influence you, but ultimately it’s your decision whether to keep going or stop pursuing your vision.
6) What you have to offer is enough.
Period! For the right people, you’ll always be enough.
7) What you’re grateful for will multiply and there’s always more abundance.
2022 was a year that caused me to dig deep spiritually. One of the main ways I did this was by stepping up my gratitude practice. I’ve started to listen to gratitude affirmations every morning, and it has opened my eyes to moments of gratitude in my everyday life. This directly combats the “lack mindset” that can sometimes sneak in. Abundance is always with me. Abundance is always mine. I am never in lack.
8) Know when to get up from the table when it’s no longer serving you.
It’s okay to have your own expectations and standards for your life and to enforce those standards. It’s okay to leave people and situations that are not serving you. Life is about moving on. Some things will remain constant but the most certain aspect of life is change.
9) No other organization will house your vision. That’s for you to do.
This is something I learned early on in my career as a nonprofit professional. You can work for organizations with missions you really believe in, but at the end of the day, that’s not the same thing as working on your mission. Often trying to impose your vision on another organization can lead to disaster, so play your role, and if you have your own dream, pursue it! Use the organizations you work at as environments to learn.
10) There are years for writing and years for publishing.
Sometimes I wish I was one of those writers who wrote on a schedule. I wish I could give myself 6 months to finish a book, but that’s just not me. I run off of inspiration. I’ve had to accept that there will be times when I’ll have lots of publications in a year (aka lots of finished works I’m sending out into the world) and other years where I’m writing a ton and starting new projects. This year was definitely a writing year, although I did add a few publications to my list. I have a poem in the upcoming When We Exhale: An Anthology of Black Women Rooted In Ancestral Medicine from Black Freighter Press
11) Don’t take things personally, even if it’s personal to you.
Spoken Black Girl and my work as a writer, in general, has always been extremely personal to me and I can see now how that skewed my vision in different situations. I’ve spent a lot of time trying not to hurt people’s feelings or nursing my own hurt feelings when at the end of the day, business is business and it’s either a mutually agreeable situation or it’s not. Sometimes you’re not what people need. It’s okay. That doesn’t diminish you in any way. Don’t allow trivial things to mean anything about you.
12) Take time to rest when you need to. No apology necessary.
I said what I said!
Bonus: Filling your spirit is nourishing your business. Taking care of you is taking care of your business.
