faulker076

The first few weeks of entrepreneurship have been busy but enjoyable. I have been focusing on building a website, expanding 2 companies I am working with, trying to land a marketing consulting client, developing a social media presence (@CLuxeNYC- follow me!), doing some pro-bono work, and catching up with those parts of my life that took the backseat when I was working two full-time jobs in Philly- family, friends, and spirituality. There is a lot to do.  It is definitely great having every hour of the day available now to do whatever I want to do but… self-discipline can be… eh, tricky .  There is always something seemingly urgent to do- a load of laundry for clean socks, cook an extra big breakfast, pay bills online, catch up on Hulu episodes, organize my tax paperwork, catch up on that last yummy dream, organize my-- you get the picture. So balance has been the goal so far. I definitely don’t want to get into too strict of a regiment, backslide in a month because of...

Me and ScissorCandy CEO, Joseph Berardi February 15, 2012 Right after coming back from Florida on Saturday, I traveled back down to Philly for an event I had on Sunday night. One of the companies I have been working with for about a year now is ScissorCandy ® . They are a hair event production team that designs non-competitive shows focused on hairstylists. If you know anything about the hair industry you know that a lot of hair shows tend to focus on beauty product lines, big companies, and/or competition. ScissorCandy was created by young stylists who wanted a hip and edgy way to bring the spotlight back to the passion for the artistry. Its like a independent music label trying to focus on raw, authentic, music without the fanfare and spectacle that big labels tend to add... except that this music label doesn't want to sign any artists; just showcase their talent. Background: I connected with ScissorCandy’s CEO, Joseph Berardi, last spring when we were both taking a business...

February 11, 2012 What Entrepreneurship Should Be As you may have gathered, a lot of what drives me is something like a hunch, a gut feeling, and a little voice that can no longer be ignored. Another one of these feelings led me to take a smaller, less risky, leap even before I announced my departure from my job: booking a trip to Florida. At the time, I told myself that it would be a reward for having the courage to stick to my decision, but even then I knew there was another purpose for this trip. I just wasn’t sure what it would be. Ah, Vacation: I just spent the last ten days in sunny Florida and I haven’t seen the inside of one nightclub, haven’t set foot on a beach; haven’t had a glass of whiskey, and I have worn sweatpants and an old sorority t-shirt at least seven out of the ten days. It was perfect . Overall, this trip was a great "in-between break," before diving into unknown waters. Between quitting my job, purging stuff in Philly, breaking my lease, moving, ...

February 3, 2012 I have had dozens of conversations over the last few weeks with friends, colleagues, mentors and others who are curious about my decision to quit my full-time job after getting two degrees from an Ivy League university and getting a job at the same institution with awesome benefits, free tuition, and travel opportunities. Why did you do it? When did you know it was time? I decided to quit my job in August of 2011. I had thought about it for a while after deciding to start my event planning business in the summer of 2010 (I'll explain that story later.) I knew that if I was really serious about being an entrepreneur, at some point I would have to take the plunge and go all the way. Having been educated amidst pragmatic, logical, A-type thinkers, I, of course, knew that this couldn't happen until certain things were aligned. You know: bills paid, money saved, dents in loans, capital, investors, etc. So that became the plan; I'd work a pretty good full-time jo...