#TransparentThursday
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. There. Is that transparent enough for you?
Ok, maybe I should be a tad more specific. What I don’t know about, in any shape, way, or fashion, is how to manage a business. As my ten year old 4th-grade blerd would say, I’m a total noob when it comes to business-ing. I’m totally fine with that. Well, not really. I’m actually not fine with my business noobesence at all. But, I’m at a point, at least, where I can accept that I know absolutely dick about operating a business successfully; and it’s killing me, Smalls.

Here’s what I do know about: building inexpensive websites for non-tech saavy small business owners and entrepreneurs. I’ve been unofficially making websites for myself and others since late 2014. Om Valley Mgmt., my boutique virtual administrative consultant agency (wooh, now that’s a syllable-fest), didn’t get started until January 2016, however. At the advice and mentorship of a colleague/boss & friend, I stepped out on a limb after a wicked job loss (the job I lost was much more wicked than the loss itself) and declared myself an entrepreneur.
In January 2018, it will have been two years since I decided to try my hand at working for myself. Granted, I definitely feel I am farther away from my original starting point, but not much, as far as business itself goes. There’s advertising and marketing; then, upselling, closing, opt-ins, and a whole slue of other stuff that I probably should be doing.
Here’s another thing I know about: punctuation, words, phrasing, reading, writing, and error recognition. I figured there must be a market for the sort of skill that makes you great at picking apart someone else’s hard work with a smile on your face, like a boss. The perfectionist in me gets a real kick out of pointing out and correcting the mistakes of others. She is no competition, however, for the altruist version of Haley who just genuinely wants to share her knowledge and help people get their shit together.
As far as marketing and strategy goes, I may as well be DIY-ing a rocket from scratch. The amount of insight I have on those matters wouldn’t fill a gnat’s anal cavity.

Of course, thanks to the internet and social media, I can likely find out everything I need to know with dedicated research and disciplined study. The hard part, I think, is going to be actually applying this harvested knowledge towards successful results; and that part will only be as difficult as I make it, or so I keep reminding myself.
I’ve been sitting cross-legged around Gary Vaynerchuk’s business guru campfire on YouTube (#AskGaryVee) for the better part of two days now, and I must say, my cajones are feeling quite heavy.

I’m feeling and thinking so much more confidently about my abilities to make my business pop. Now, I just need to get my own shit together, period.
Moving forward: I will give more attention to my wins, and little to no focus on my weaknesses. I will embody and exercise patience. I will manage the fuck out of my time, and stop being such a goddamn lazy ass (because I’ve realized I waste an ungodly amount of time on absolute bullshit). I will take better care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually because I love myself and I deserve that shit; and my family and clients deserve a Haley who is functioning at her best.