my first blog!!!
Hello Darlings,
Sometimes a delayed start is right on time!
Renae, It’s time to start your blog...
I had the idea of starting a blog about 4-5 years ago but kept putting it off for different reasons.
Reasons such as I have a family to take care of, I am in the process of moving to a different city, I just started a business, (Take Me Away Essentials). Bottom line is, I did not nor was I in the frame of mind to commit and the truth is sometimes when we try to fit too many things in our lives, there is always something that oftentimes gets left behind, I am occasionally guilty of this and intentionally work to make sure it does not happen.
When Financial Reality HitS - January 2020
But… 2020 Hit and pretty much the world turned upside down. Truth is 2019 was a more challenging year for me. My mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing was challenged to the point where I said LORD!!! Take it!!!
My family was physically separated for 6 months, in addition to the last two years, my family had occasionally been living under separate roofs due to my husband’s job. This took a deep toll on the family structure emotionally. It rocked the marriage, affected the children and scarred me emotionally (I will elaborate on this in future blogs). Hidden Gift #2
So here comes 2020, which started with not so good news from my accountant (Hmmm!) January 3, 2020, to be exact. That conversation with my accountant silenced me for weeks…
I was in no mood to speak to anyone about anything. I told my husband that the conversation with my accountant did not go well and I asked to give me some time before I could talk to him about it (yes, it was this bad).
Reset/Reposition Your Thinking
Over the next few weeks, I brainstormed if I would rectify the bad financial decisions I made in 2020 and how to move forward (I will also do a blog on the bad financial decisions of 2019).
After brainstorming my how I was going to get up from falling FACE DOWN, I hit the ground running. I completed a program called the Juicy Brand On-Demand Program with Monique Bryan which helped me to reposition my mind on how I saw my brand and how it was showing up in the online world. I have tagged her Instagram page and website, feel free to reach out to her if you are thinking about sprucing up your personal brand.
I also invested in the Socialee Savvy Accelerator run and operated by Nia Lee. Nia is amazing at putting together video content for your social media platforms, for a blog, your youtube channel and the opportunities are endless. What can I say we are living in a world commanded by video content creating and engaging. I have linked Nia’s website and her Instagram page, feel free to talk with her if you are interested in sprucing up your video content or maybe you want to get into video content creating, Nia is the go-to person (tell her Renae sent you :-)).
After deciding on how I would move forward and structure my finances, I dove deep into work. At this point, I remained isolated. I was not talking to my husband about the financial situation at hand, I stayed clear of conversations with friends and family. Very little did I know that I was digging myself into a dark hole. Hidden Gift #3
COVID!
Then!!! COVID hit the entire WORLD!!!
Let me tell you, trying to figure out finances, business, a new living environment and now homeschooling is no joke. I felt lost, anxious, miserable, confused, happy, sad, just a combination of mixed feelings daily.
Also during this time, I started to miss dating with my husband, girlfriends, and children. It seemed as if my emotions needed one trigger to just spin-off into a downward spiral.
Help Yourself Or Nobody Else Will
Fortunately for me, I don’t like to feel the pressures of negativity and will always go in search of how to make myself better.
So I spoke to my husband about how I was feeling and what was happening with me, I started opening up to friends and family members and the idea of blogging resurfaced.
After Googling “how to start a blog” Nakisha Wynn popped up on youtube via my google search. I literally binged her videos and got familiar with her website. In my head, this was God sent, she was saying all the right things I needed to hear (I had checked out other “how to start blog videos and articles but Nakisha Wyn’s platform, content and personality seemed to resonate well with me).
Fast forward to July 18, 2020, Nakisha had a live Q&A session on her youtube channel, and someone asked, when is a good time to start a blog. The person also mentioned that she was not in a position to pay a photographer (to which I answered in my head “girl DIY”), she didn’t have a camera and the list of things she didn’t have continued. At the end of her question, Nakisha said: “the time to start is now”!
Use the resources you have to make what you want works for you. I said to myself, Renae, these are not new words to you, but honestly her words kicked me in the butt.
Just Start
After that live Q&A with Nakasha Wynn, I bought my domain name and started looking at website templates through Squarespace.
I found my desire and started, Umm, needless to say, it did not go as smoothly as it sounds haha I knew NOTHING about building a website and in the past, I stayed clear of such projects.
But ma’am a girl was low in funds and could not afford to expense this out (Full story in a future blog).
After teaching myself how to build a website one page at a time, on day eleven (11) July 29, 2020, I was about 95% completed with the website and felt comfortable marketing the blog (FYI the first blog was written after August 1, 2020.) I felt proud to have passed the building of the website and moving on to different projects. Hidden Gift #4
I Am Here For You To Help You
I want to use my blogging platform to help women in the areas of family, marriage, parenting, haircare, skincare and makeup (women of African descent). My space commands an authentic crowd and women who are looking to achieve and maintain a healthy balance in their lives.
I have realised that the online space is filled with fake people and the last I checked, being fake ain’t never helped anybody!!!
I want to be authentic with you and whomever I bring on as a guest blogger, will be persons who also seek to help from a genuine place. I truly believe that is how people are helped and feel a part of a community.
Follow Me On Instagram
Let us learn, grow, and implement together, Follow me on Instagram @Lady.RenaeThomasJames for fun and interactive moments and for future blog updates.
Surprise 🤗🤗🤗
Have #1 cup of your favourite Starbucks drink on me 😉😊 and tag @Lady.RenaeThomasJames in your Instagram story. There are five (5) hidden in the blog and this is the last one.
Be honest and use only ONE (1)...
Get yours before it’s all gone 👌🏿
Have A Beautiful Day!
RTJ
