Website Name Change: When is It Time to Switch Things Up?

Website Name Change: When is It Time to Switch Things Up?

by | Sep 12, 2016 | Business, Entrepreneur, Technology | 0 comments

Last August, I blogged regularly, in order to fulfill my dream of becoming a beauty editor at a magazine. While doing the behind the scenes work required to get a blog up and running smoothly, I came up with the idea to turn my blog into an online magazine. At the time, I didn’t realize, how much money, time, and energy such a lofty goal would require.

During my attempt to turn the blog into a magazine, I took a few online courses, learned some coding language, and continued to research and study new skills to enhance my website. Eventually, I decided to put my dream of having an online magazine on hold for now, and rebrand my website and my online presence. I changed my website and social media handles from kimberlyjoymua.com (@kimberlyjoymua) to the www.thepursuitofjoy.com (@thpursuitofjoy).

The decision to change my website name was difficult because sometimes followers might not recognize a brand’s new name. I decided to take a leap of faith and brainstorm new names for my brand. After a few months of going over various names, and then booking a session with Adeea Rogers, I came up with a long lists of names like joybeyondbeauty, beautybeyondjoy, beyondtheprettythings,thepursuitofjoy, and a few more. I kept circling back to the name thepursuitofjoy.com because if I hadn’t pursued what interested me I wouldn’t be where I am today. Today I  have a collection of over 80 blog posts, various followers on my social media platforms, and I am a Brand Ambassador for SheaMoisture.

Several months ago, I did a Pericope broadcast on the importance of pursuing your interests versus your
passions.

Sometimes the interests you hold for a particular topic such as technology might lead you to take courses in computer coding and research more information on the topic. Following your interests might lead to your passion. People often say follow your passion, and it will lead you to the perfect career or something you love. In my experience it has been the reverse! My curosity to learn more about computer coding, digital graphics, and website building has helped me to create a website and brand I am passionate about and share with the world online.

The strides I’ve made did not take place over night; instead it has been and continues to be a long road filled with a lot of sweat, tears, and long nights building my website and my social media platforms, in addition to taking online courses.

*Have you ever changed your brand name? If so, what was your rebranding experience like?

 

Striving for Greatness- Strive Wall

by | Aug 4, 2016 | Business, Entrepreneur | 0 comments

                                                       “Write it down make it happen.”

One of the challenges I face as an entrepreneur is focusing to much on how far I need to go; instead of how far I’ve come. By writing down some of my current goals down on #strive wall, it enables me to visualize what I would like to accomplish for that month.

 

What are some strides you would like to make in your business this month?

#strivewall        #thpursuitofjoy

Thrive Wall: The Importance of Celebrating Your Wins

by | Aug 2, 2016 | Business, Entrepreneur | 0 comments

Being an entrepreneur means juggling many hats, and sometimes it can be easy to forget how far we’ve come. I created the concept Thrive Wall & Strive Wall to celebrate and share our successes and goals in businesses. Throughout the month of August, we will be throwing paint against the wall(virtually) and writing down our strive goals, and celebrating the thrive goals we have accomplished.

*Watch my Periscope Broadcast where I share how I came up with the concept for strive and thrive wall 

https://www.periscope.tv/thpursuitofjoy/1djxXXMdvrVxZ

4 Tips for Giving an Improptu Speech this Holiday Season

by | Dec 15, 2015 | Beauty, Business, Entrepreneur, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Two weeks ago,  my sister and brother through my mom and dad a party to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. Moments before my siblings and I stood next to each other for a toast that my brother and sister planned to give, my sister asked me if I would give a speech. Before the event I didn’t even know that this was going to take place. Imagine what it might feel like to have a group of people stare at you as though you’re an alien, as they have to listen to your unprepared speech. Thankfully my college public speaking classes came in handy. 

During this holiday season you too might have to give an impromptu speech. Below are four ways to get you through those awkward stares from your audience during your unscripted speech.

1. Inform your audience that you were just asked to give a speech on the spot, so it hasn’t been prepared.

2. Quickly think of 1-2 things you would like to highlight during your speech. 

3.  Make eye contact with the room, but in my case the audience was quite serious, so I looked more at the landscape of the room to gather my thoughts.

4. Use  some talking points that you would have discussed with guests, and incorporate it into your speech.

The reality is because this speech is spontaneous you will not have time to think of an introduction, body, and conclusion for your speech. My advice is to highlight a word, phrase, or topic that another speaker has said and draw from it to enhance your speech, and make your point, and close the speech as quickly as possible. Your audience will understand that you have been put on the spot without enough time to really develop a rehearsed speech.

Have you ever given an impromptu speech?

Entrepreneur Life: The Two Questions You Should Always be Asking

by | Oct 14, 2015 | Business, Entrepreneur, Technology | 0 comments

So you have purchased your domain and hosting site, and all your content is up and ready to go! One thing I have learned along this journey is that there are two questions that I constantly ask myself and other entrepreneurs. Those two questions are “Why and How.”

How in the world?

How can I get all this work done? That’s a question I often ask myself, but then I lift that 50 pound weight off my shoulders, and prioritize and categorize the things I would like to accomplish in a given day.  Sometimes my to-do lists crosses over two pages, and although it may seem overwhelming (which by the way I have found this word to be used frequently  by entrepreneurs) I have decided to focus on what can be accomplished in a day; instead of what cannot. Meditating or journaling at the end of the day to highlight your accomplishments will help you to visually see what you have completed that day. It’s important to celebrate your wins because it will help you to achieve your goals!

How can I raise my number of followers?

According to researchers, there are many ways to increase your social media following. Taking photos with additional lighting might lead to potential followers liking your pictures. Also, if you are taking a picture of a product, you should position the product at different angles, and consider using a white sheet of paper as the backdrop for your product. The white backdrop gives the lighting something to bounce off of, which will enhance the overall look of your picture. Another way to increase your followers is by using hashtags that relate to brand or you personally. Hashtags make it easier for followers to find topics that interest them. Iconosquare is a website that pulls statistics for your Instagram account. It provides information about your posts such as: which picture was shared; which one was the most  popular, and which hashtags you received the most followers and likes.

Why Oh Why?

Why do I want to do this? When you are able to answer the question, Why do I  want to do this, then the how becomes so much easier! Everything will fall into place when you have a clear understanding as to why you embarked on this journey in the first place!
What are two questions you ask yourself as an entrepreneur?

5 Things I Wish I knew Before Starting My Website

by | Oct 12, 2015 | Business, Technology | 0 comments

Since starting this blog back in late August, there were so many things I wish I knew before-hand, but I am still learning. I decided to share some of the key points I’ve learned along the way with you.

                                                         What’s a domain?

A domain is what you name your website. Purchasing your website’s domain allows your site to be recognized as a dot.com, net, edu, and org. If you are looking into purchasing your website’s name some websites that offer this service are www.godaddy.com and www.namecheap.com.

                                                         What’s a hosting site?

Once you have selected your website’s name, all you have to do is select your hosting site. There are many hosting websites out there such as: www.bluehost.com, www.hostgator.com, www.godaddy.com, and www.siteground.com. Before purchasing your hosting site, I highly recommend doing a google search for coupon codes for that hosting site, or try www.retailmenot.com to save some coins on your site especially, if you are using www.godaddy.com.

                                                     Why is your template important?

Selecting the right template for your website is crucial because readers decide within  minutes whether they are buying what you are selling or not. Depending on which hosting site you chose, they will offer a wide variety of free WordPress templates, but if you are not satisfied with your selection, their are some websites that sell templates.

                                                        Creating Categories

After writing your article, you hit publish, and you think you’re done! NO! I have learned the hard way how important categories are, and how they help readers’ locate past articles that are relevant to them.

                                                       Do Your Research

Doing your research is crucial regardless of the field you’re in because it will ultimately save you money and time in the long run. Some things you may have to delegate to a virtual assistant, or a computer savvy individual, or use a website such as www.fiverr.com to delegate a particular task such having a banner or a graphic designed.

Overall, the one thing that I have learned from blogging is that you have to be in a constant state of openness, and willingness to receive information and advice from experts. Under no circumstances do you have to take those individuals feedback, but what I have learned is to only value the information that will actually help my business grow from people who have been in that position, or people who have the credentials to support the knowledge they are sharing with me. Listen to the feedback and advice and take away from those conversations what you need!

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