Hey folks!!

It’s been a while but so much exciting stuff has happened the last two weeks. First my investment group got featured in the Better Investing Magazine and second the CEO of the National Association of Investment Clubs wrote me a letter saying she enjoyed reading about my group and looks forward to hearing more about us in the future!!

LISTEN YA’LL,

GOD IS INCREDIBLE AND I’M SO THANKFUL FOR ALL HE HAS DONE!!

But with these great things going on in my world, I just know so many other people have amazing ideas and some have no idea how their idea could be the start of something big. It’s easy to get discouraged especially when so many opportunities seem to happen overnight for some people and their business ventures, but you don’t see your hard work paying off early on. In fact, I really thought my investment group was going to be a bust the first year, but God had other plans for the group! With each failure I faced with this group, I learn a little bit more to make sure my efforts were concentrated on the right things and ways to grow and improve. Here are some things I learned:

1. Operate using my personal strengths – I couldn’t do things in my group the way they were done before because my group operates remotely. I had to be more creative. Use my technology skills and planning skills to my advantage rather than trying to use a cookie cutter method to run the group
2. Mitigate risks my weaknesses may present – I went back to school to get my MBA back in 2013 not knowing that by researching and educating myself, I was in an even better position to learn how to stand up and operate an organization
3. Build relationships with others with like minds – Some of my closest friends were the first to be apart of my investment group. They listened to me, they supported me and sometimes got on my nerves, but they pushed me to continue to push and evolve to be a better leader. Not just for my sake but for theirs too.
4. Build your budget early – My group spent the first 6 months pooling our money together so that we could build up enough to buy exactly what we wanted for our first purchase. We built the budget to pay our expenses first and then to make stock market moves
5. Save enough to cover at least 80% of your first year operations – My group maintains a float fund that will cover 100% of our expenses each year. When we can cover our expenses, all extra money that comes in we can invest in anyway we see fit.

That being said, I understand not everyone has that entreprenuerial spirit, but some of you could be great support for someone who is. Buying from those small businesses or even investing in helping to build the brand are key ways you can possibly help build income for both you and the primary business owner. And by investing, I’m not just talking about money. I’m also talking about your time and your talents. Some of your talents are just what the small business needs to make that next leap of growth. Or offering your time to listen to a business owner and their ideas is key because everyone needs a sound board every now and then.

There are so many small businesses that could use support these days and that’s why I want to start Small Business Sundays. I want to interview small business owners about how they got started, what they do and talk about some of the financial successes and trials they have had in the past. So if you know any small business owner, let me know. I’d love to talk to then and build some relationships.

Until next post…