I've Set Up Shop for my Blog + Web Design Business

After a whole year, I have finally launched my blog and web design business that I like to call Little Eternities. The reason behind the name is that "Eternity" means something that is infinite and does not end in time and when you are creating a little space on the web (a blog or website), you are leaving behind a little eternity.

It might sound a little quirky, but I love the name and I am sticking to it. Plus, I am sure my target clientele will resonate with the meaning behind it too.



It's both exciting and overwhelming how far I have come with projects like this one.

But, if I'm being honest, I'm also a whole lot nervous and slightly intimidated by it.

I'm nervous because I don't how it is going to turn out. Will I be successful in sending this message through every aspect of my business? Will my clients enjoy what I create for them? Or will no one even realize my business exists?

Business is a whole lot of risk and it's not just because you're investing time and money. What most people don't realize is that you're also investing an enormous amount of wishful thinking which definitely takes a toll on your mental health.

What I mean by wishful thinking is the mindset that business owners have where they believe that EVERYTHING they do will have a wonderful turnout right away when in reality, the big wonderful turnout happens years and tons of thousands of hours of hard work after the initial launch.

This definitely takes a toll on your mental health because the results are out of your control and it becomes a constant battle between idealistic and realistic goals for the business that consumes you at every turn.

I'm intimated because I see all these great blog and web designers who design beautiful designs and I'm wondering how my designs compare.

And then I think, why do I keep comparing myself to other designers who have spent years developing their business when I've just started?

Regardless, I'm super excited for this adventure! Why don't you join the party? For a limited time get 25% OFF any pre-made blog template now until the end of September using code "LAUNCHPARTYSALE" in the shop!

Thanks for all your support everyone! You guys are awesome! I'd love to support you all as well! What are some projects or goals you're working on?

Reflections on Small Businesses and Corporate Franchises

I have taken quite a few entrepreneurship classes over the past year. In high school, I took a class that spoke towards all aspects of entrepreneurship and I loved it. I was set on becoming an entrepreneur. My first semester of college I took two different entrepreneurship courses. One class focused on the type of a person an entrepreneur must be and how to spark imagination and creativity and act upon it. It was awesome! It expanding my knowledge on what entrepreneurship really is. The other course took ideas and turned them into proven business concepts. These courses excited me and motivated me to become the entrepreneur I want to be.

The other day, I was grabbing a latte at a Dunkin' Donuts near the train station after work. I've stopped by this location several times and every day I see the same employees with a smile on their face while serving customers with respect and I see customers returning the positive gratitude as well.      

I frequent many coffee shops, but this one felt special. I realized how more often than not, those that work in retail, fast food chains, and corporate franchises, either put up a front to seem positive and courteous or stay within their company's means without going the extra mile for customers. I understand it though, each location no matter what the company sells probably gets thousands of customers a day and going the extra mile for every single one, every single time must be hard.

But, when I realized how well this coffee franchise was doing in this location, I reflected on corporate franchises. What inspires these employees to exude a love and respect for their job that leaves each customer genuinely happy? They seem to be working even harder than other franchises to make a brand that is not even theirs more memorable without a reward.

In the entrepreneurship course that explored topics between the type of person an entrepreneur must be, our class had a discussion on what it means to be autotelic. From it's dictionary definition, having an autotelic mindset means to find a purpose within itself.

It's a hard concept to grasp and implement in one's life. Like anything, it takes practice to master.

Putting yourself in the mindset to feel as if you are fulfilling a purpose in everything you do keeps you mentally positive and determined to generate outstanding results.

When you own a small business and need to play all roles within the business; customer service, salesman, marketer, promotor, and the face of the company, it is very challenging to find purpose in everything you have to do to keep your business up and running and your clientele genuinely satisfied.

You have to work hard and it won't pay off until the very end.

My point is sometimes we don't focus on the wonderful energy people put into starting a small business or running a corporate franchise. It's not easy to feel purposeful in such competitive industry.

The next time you are served with a genuine smile and great customer service, remember to thank them for doing a great job! 

When the Downfalls of Business...

It seems that today almost every article is about a new "start-up", a business that remarkably turned their failing business model around, a steady business that hiked up their profits after a new marketing campaign, or about someone who once was unemployed and now reeving in the rewards of their success.

What is an aspiring entrepreneur to think?

I can see myself get there. I know I will get there.

If only I could turn off all the buzz to get back into working a little a lot harder, I could make my way up there too.

Lately this is the way I have been feeling whether its because of all the business buzz or because lately I've been hearing "Why are you so busy all the time? What do you even do?" or "What business?" (referring to the fact that sales have been miserable for me lately and my web design storefront is still a work in progress).

I admit it. I get insecure too.

Maybe I am too ambitious or too wrapped up in these dreams? Maybe that's why I take it too seriously?

My reply to any of those comments are always "I'm busy running two blogs, owning two small businesses, writing for clients, trying to publish my novel, working a part-time job, and being a college student (as if that isn't enough) and I keep tacking on another dozen projects I start...but have not finished.

I literally have lists of things I need to/thought of doing to improve every one of my projects and kickstart sales, acquire a new list of clients, and run toward these goals in full-speed, but lately anything will discourage me and slow me down.

I have not been doing so well in business lately so I am writing to share one simple concept in business that will make YOU or break YOU in this industry.

When the downfalls in business...

Bring you down, will you find a way to keep going?

Any other small-business owners, freelancers, innovators, or entrepreneurs feel this way every now and then? How do manage to keep going? 

10 Things I Learned at the Smart Girls Conference + Review

A few weeks ago, I attended the Smart Girls Conference hosted by the Smart Girls Group. I became a member of this online group some time in 2012. The group empowers young women to network with each other, help one another, and ultimately live a well-rounded "smart" life. There is no membership fee for joining the group, all they ask is you to contribute your passions and interests to benefit the group as a whole. My contribution is writing for technology column on their blog called the Smart Girl's Loop. I enjoy writing for their blog and reading articles written by other girls just like me. 

This group was only a virtual network I was a part of until I decided to attend their very first self-hosted conference. The conference overall was an awesome experience! It was the first conference I ever attended and it exceeded my expectations completely. 

There were several interesting guest speakers ranging from media, blogging, fashion, and career, keynote presentations, lots of food and snacks, and incredible gift bags. Speakers such as Stephanie Ruhle from Bloomberg news, Makenzie Horan from Design Darling, Carly Heitlinger from The College Prepster, Kayla Webley from Marie Clare, Renata Mutis Black from Empowered by You, Lauren Lally from RewardStyle, Brenda Berkman the first woman firefighter of NY, Arthur Woods from Imperative, Shiza Shahid the CEO of the Malala fund, Soraya Darabi from Zady and many more! 

All these speakers and presenters had great things to offer over the course of the 2-day conference. I learned a whole lot (10 things in particular that I would like to share) from the presenters and attending the event itself. 

1. Saying I can't do this because (I have a family, I go to school, I have a job)... is not an excuse. You can make time for anything that is important to you.

2. Work hard on yourself, don't be hard on yourself. I took personally to this lesson because I am one to always be hard on myself, but it shouldn't be that way. We are all here to progress, not to finish the race.

3. Don't compare yourself, your brand, your blog, and your company to others.

4. Be sweet and kind to everyone, all the time, in every way.

5. Finding your purpose is a continuing process.

6. Take a vacation away from work, travel, and relax. Don't worry about work changes and deadlines while you're gone. When you come back, everything will be where you left off.

7. Traveling into NYC is not as hard as I thought it would be. I traveled to and from NYC both days of the conference and the second day I even found myself knowing where the nearest Starbucks was in order to pick up some coffee before the conference. 

8. Becoming a grown-up means tailoring your professional decisions according to who you want to be as a person. 

9. Media gives you the perception that success happens over-night, but you don't see the seven years of hard work that happened before the success.

10. Networking is hard to do. It's not easy approaching someone you don't know and making a good enough impression to hand out a business card that leaves them remembering who you are.

It was a great experience, I was able to meet so many of the people I e-mail and network with online, in-person. I even met the founder of the Smart Girls Group, Emily Raleigh. She's a wonderful inspiration and a very strong leader. Plus, she's only a couple years older than I am and she managed to create this community of hundred of girls striving to be successful! 

I am certain I am attending next year's conference and you should too! If you do, send me a tweet and we'll exchange business cards!

P.S. This gift back was awesome and I love the Day Designer Planner by Whitney English!

Business: Working with Clients (The Beginning)

In the website design business working with clients can be fun, but also very well...challenging. I have been designing websites since I was twelve and since then I've gotten better in terms of creativity, learning HTML, and CSS coding and took it a step further by creating the Zobia Alvi Creative. After being very indecisive, I decided to take that a step further as well. The Zobia Alvi Creative will no longer exist. Instead I am renaming the business and building it completely from scratch. 

However, before I get to officially launch the business, I needed to gather clients. I have worked with a few since that decision was made and the experiences with each client were VERY different. 

One of the experiences left me doubting my ability to design creatively, another said my design was just terrible and then went on to design a (what I think was terrible because this person knows nothing about website design whatsoever) website themselves, and another loved the end result and will possibly hire me for another project. 

The first client asked for a website without any specifications for their company. So I decided to research some websites in that field and came up with a design all by myself. I was pretty excited with the way the design came to be and eagerly presented it to my client. The client didn't even look through it, they batted an eye and just said "Maybe, if you made it pink?.." Oh, the shades of color my face turned in that moment. 

The next client was a few years back. They asked for a website that represented their project, but again did not know exactly what they wanted. I designed a beautiful cohesive website representing just their project and nothing else. They said that it wasn't "flashy" enough. What in the world does that mean?! They ended up taking my work and putting red sirens and "Do Not Cross" banners all over the site. Literally. 

The last client was quite delightful. They had a basic understanding of what the website could look like and we were able to work together to create a great site. No complaints here. A client like this is hard to get by, so I am glad I might be doing another project for this one. 

I've also been reading Clients From Hell lately and I can totally relate to even the most ridiculous client stories. These are just a few of mine. 

Business: Learning When to Walk Away

Photo of the plans I had for The Eternity Awards

When you start your own business, blog, or project venture- there's a certain passion that drives you from using the ideas in your head and creating something out of it. In the beginning, everything is fun, everything is new and it might be challenging, but because you're so enthusiastic about your idea becoming a reality, you can get through them.

In February, I decided to launch a new project idea called The Eternity Awards. The project was meant to be a blogger award event to honor bloggers as well as have bloggers network and discover new blogs. The concept was great (or at least I thought it was), but it was proven to be an idea that would not work out at this time.

Sure it was a great idea so I jumped on the chance to creating it, but it just wasn't time.

I received three (3) responses and this event was meant to include at least twenty-five (25) participants and five (5) judges. Of course, the response was no where near what I received. So for that reason I am walking away from the idea...at least for now.

The few participants that reached out to me will receive a participation award certificate to print out as well as a badge to include on their blog/website. I thank all three of you for your interest and apologize for any inconvenience. 

The Eternity Awards is still a concept regardless on the amount of improvement it needs so by taking this time to walk away from it, I think I will wait until the time is right and launch The Eternity Awards again at a later time.

In Business, learning to walk away is a hard challenge to face. There is no passion for throwing away an idea. Only a passion for pursuing one. 

New Products in My Fragrance Shop!

I'm really excited to post about some new additions in my fragrance shop.

I updated my inventory at Fragrance Essence and was able to get some great new fragrance selections to add!

These items include Coach Poppy Flower, Chloè, J'adore by Christian Dior, Yellow Diamond by Versace, Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana and more! 

Check it out at the store now! 

New Fragrances at Fragrance Essence!

Did I mention FREE shipping on select new items?!
xoxo,

Why I Love & Hate the Daunting World of Business

I'm going to start by saying daunting is a strong word and I used it to show you that business really isn't as much fun as one may hope for. However, as a person who one day hopes to become an entrepreneur, I find joy in the "dauntingness" of business. Having a business is great, you get to make your own choices, play by your own rules, and create a name for yourself or your brand. With that said, for those who have started a business or are trying to I assume you see the fine lines between everything you could get get, everything you want, and the reality.

Let's face it you can have a great idea, a great product or service and expect instant customers, but receive about 5 views per day and 1 customer every other month. Kind of a detour to your dream isn't it?

That's where the daunting stuff comes in. All the things you have to worry about and keep track of such as your overhead expenses, your sales or profits, analytics, inventory, marketing and advertising your brand, and social media impact. Lot of work isn't it? It consists of taking a lot of time, making sacrifices, and getting down to finishing all the boring work. So what's fun about it?

The fact that you're always doing something. The joy of being an entrepreneur does not come from the rewards, but simply the process. That is why business men & women strive for the entrepreneaurship goal because being an entrepreneur means that you keep going and keep creating and advancing in business.

It takes dedication and a lot of work down the line, but if you're like me and need constant change and stuff to look forward to or even to dwell on, you'll enjoy the ride.

What's my Business? 

I run a website called Fragrance Essence. It's a shop where I sell authentic men & women's fragrances for prices less than retail. I sell fragrances by Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Estee Lauder, French Connection, and I even created my own line of products called Blossom Baskets.

Photo by FragrancEssence.com

Have you ever had a business? Are you interested in starting one in the future? Leave a comment below!
xoxo,

My New Project: Fragrance Essence

Majority of the people that follow this blog know that I’m always up to something and that new projects are always around the corner. Well, here’s another one! Between keeping up with all my projects, keeping up with all my blogs and websites, and not to mention keeping up with life, I try my best to be able to let everyone know what I’m up too.
My most recent project, just launched on April 11, 2012 is Fragrance Essence! An online fragrance shop for men & women. With it’s unique products, great sales, and exclusive offers through Twitter and Facebook, Fragrance Essence will soon be your online destination for fragrances!
I’m currently looking for Sponsors that would like to either review or link to Fragrance Essence and in turn be featured on Fragrance Essence with a blog post introducing them and their own free account on Fragrance Essence. Having your own account means you’re the first one to receive great deals and more! If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, please e-mail thelifeofazobot@yahoo.com for further information and details!
In the meantime, here’s a little introduction video of Fragrance Essence! (www.fragrancessence.com)

Brought to you by: www.fragrancessence.com

Thanks for reading & showing support!

*Update: May 27, 2013: Video has been deleted.

xoxo,

My First Set of Business Cards!

I just received a set of 50 Free Facebook Business Cards from Moo.com! The website is celebrating and sharing its new idea of using your Facebook profile information to create customized business and/or personal contact cards. Moo is giving 200,000 free packs of cards! Get them while they last!

My personalized set of cards! (Information was whiten out for privacy)

The front side of one of my cards. The front side includes your profile picture, your name, your Facebook Timeline cover photo, your education, and work.

Back side of the card, here you can write a quote or anything you would like at the top and provide your Facebook profile link, contact number, and e-mail on the bottom.

The cute little box the cards came in!

The back of your Moo business card box.
I thought these little cards were wonderful! They look really cool and I was glad I was lucky enough to receive my first box for free. As soon as these cards run out, I’m definitely planning on buying my own box. Moo has really won me over with their great idea to turn your Facebook profile into a card you can hand out. Instead of having people spend hours searching you on Facebook, just hand out your Facebook card and they can instantly access your profile!
Easily get yours while they still last. Sign into Facebook > Go to your profile (Timeline) > Click About > Click Contact Info> Click on Print Cards and customize your cards then order! First box is free if you get it in time! Plus, you can order your own pack! They are definately worth it! Start making your own cards now!

xoxo,