Mirror Check| Are You Envious or Jealous By Choice?

This was a recent encounter of mines. I really needed some input on why some women tend to judge quickly on a woman they feel is either a threat or happens to be more attractive. Not physically, but as in character. You can feel a person's energy. I believe there is a compilation that stems outside human nature. Below are some opinions I collected from my social like and personal pages. What are your thoughts on this?

I would first like to thank those who gave their opinions. I value them greatly. I also love the interaction I received. I will be doing more posts like this in the future. 

Resourceful| Do I Look Like The Hook Up To You?

As if being a black anything isn't already a problem many of us have against us. Let me ask this. Are you a black entrepreneur or business owner? I'm sure, that like myself, you may have encountered people that wanted "the hook up". I have quite a few times. Being a black nail technician among many other things, people often feel the need to think that they have an advantage of knowing you or believe that just because you're black and they're black that you will be very willing to give away your services for little to no cost for them. WHAT?! No way! It's ridiculous. Those of your own race inquiring about FREE this or FREE that, GIMME this or CAN YOU that. They have the expectation of your bending the rules and dipping out, for them, your business plan. Not many consumers respect the hard work you do to be able to provide services and what not, all many of them care for is getting what they can. Clearly, the "HOOK-UP" is one of the biggest burdens of black entrepreneurial growth and profitability. Why do black people always expect other black people with businesses to offer free anything to them?

Let's break this down. You invest "x" amount of dollars into growing or starting a business that you feel is needed or lacks elsewhere. You take "x" amount of time to carefully plan your business, what service (s) you want to offer, who to cater to, where to build, how to go about building onto your business, and selling yourself to those who could possibly be potential clientele. As a black business, your black consumer more than likely will not have "the hard work" in mind. If they know you, they're thinking, "Oh, I can get the hook up." If they know someone that knows you, "Oh, you think they'll cut the price for me?" If you're black and a service is too much for them, "Um, can I pay this and the rest later?" It's a shame when your own people don't respect your hustle enough to pay for a service they want from you! I've encountered this many times and those people are always the ones that are not loyal. If you happen to give in and give them a free service, they will expect you to do it again. There's nothing wrong with your rates or prices for services you offer, there is something wrong with them and their wallet. If I see a service I want, I'm going to pay for it. It saddens me that my many of my own people would rather pay less for messy work or bad service than pay for GREAT work. That's all across the board. We should be here to help each other as a people. Sadly, it's just not that way.

I put a list of the "HOOK-UP" statements and questions. I've personally heard all of these before when someone inquired about a service:

1. How much is it again?
2. We're cousins girl! Can you charge me a little lower than that?
3. Can you do my hair? I only have $25 but I want micros.
4. How much you charge for kinky twists? $85? *No response to me afterwards* 
5. Did you say $18 for a full manicure? Um. 
6. I need my makeup did. I don't have a deposit but I'll pay you when I get my check Friday.
7. I'll pay you next week. *NEVER got paid for service* 
8. I don't get a "friend discount"?

Sigh... it's a shame isn't it? It's been a learning process and I have surely been using the word, "NO" to it's highest power. People will take advantage, especially friends and family. Now, I've learned to keep on my business plan and the only time a free service or special is offered is when I decide to share a special. That's not daily, more so by the month. Something new or switched out. NO, they I can't type your research biographical by tomorrow, make you a wedding gown, bake your birthday cake, cut your hair, and all that other stuff for FREE! I can see if a consumer refers many new, paying customers. Then yeah, you may get free goods or services every now and then. You may even be at the top of the list for discounted services in the future. When it comes to business, especially entrepreneurial business, we make our living with networking, communicating, and selling. At the end of the day, they should realize that they're not worrying about workplace bills, inventory, advertising fees, marketing materials, etc. Being your own boss and being too kind will only jeopardize your business in the long run. 

Come on, black people in particular. The point of having a business is to make money! How can entrepreneurs, particularly black business owners, make money, if they’re always expected to give away their goods and services for free?! Realize that those goods and services cost them money to create, develop, market, deliver, and keep in circulation. Would it make sense for your consumer to want a free service but tell you about a business they own and you have to pay full price for their products or services? No. Money literally makes the world go around. If I don't pay my stylist to do my hair for an event, she won't be able to get her nail service the next week. Does this make sense? Money has no choice but to circulate for the sake of economics and especially for black entrepreneurs to have that same chance to grow, compete, and expand. You don’t support the hustle of a black business by just wanting the hook-up. You support that black business/ entrepreneur by paying what's due. It's okay for the black community to shop at MAC or Ralph Lauren, complain or not complain about the prices and STILL pay up but when wanting to shop black,  many complain, and either wait for a freebie or leave with something negative to say. The shame... we must do better.

Black businesses/ entrepreneurs? What have your experiences been like? 

Video| They Screaming Tupac's Back!!

It is amazing at how technology of our time can literally generate life-like holograms of those who have since passed on. At this years' 2012 Coachella Festival on yesterday, fans were both stunned and some a bit at a lost for words after seeing late legendary rapper, Tupac Shakur perform with Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre live!! I watched the performance and I must say, I was also amazed. It looked so real and was just pure amazement. It makes you think, what else is this amazing technology capable of? What's next, me being able to appear in someone's living room having a virtual conversation? lol. Read on for more about the festival...

Article: Courtesy of Yahoo Music

The superstars came out on the third and final day of Southern California's Coachella festival--and really, only at Coachella would a surprise dance tent performance by a superstar like Rihanna (more on that later) not be THE most talked-about event of the day. Instead, everyone was talking about another, much more surprising superstar cameo, by Tupac. Yes, the late Tupac Shakur. In hologram form.

Tupac died in 1996, three years before the first Coachella festival took place, but that didn't stop him--or at least his bizarrely lifelike 3D image--from joining Dr. Dre onstage during Dre's much-hyped festival finale this year. Call it better gigging through technology: About halfway through Dre's 70-minute set, what appeared to be an actual shirtless Tupac appeared onstage, greeted the crowd with "What up, Coachella?"--and then traded rhymes with Dre's co-billed Coachella partner, the flesh-and-blood Snoop Dogg, on "Come With Me," "Hail Mary," and "Gangsta Party." Concertgoers at first seemed confused--the audience momentarily grew abnormally silent--and that confusion only increased when Tupac suddenly vaporized and vanished from the stage as quickly as he had materialized. All eyez were on him, so to speak, and then, POOF--'Pac was gone.

Click HERE to read more...

Resourceful| Financial Challenge 2012

I've been doing much a lot of evaluation lately with myself and everything around me. I am responsible for whatever debt I've accumulated or brought upon myself. This includes my biggest debt, student loans. Although, I think it is good to invest in secondary education, the economy and government makes its so hard for us to get through without so much half-stepping. My goal for 2012 has been to get my financial situation is some serious order. Frivolous spending habits and living above our means is a sure fire way to keep us broke or in debt. So, I took it upon myself to do some research. Below is an article on how you can begin looking for ways to save and budget your life.

10 Unconventional Money-Saving Tips

For me, the hardest part about learning to save was changing my relationship with money. I understood intellectually that I needed to spend less than I earned, and I could see the debt accumulating as I spent, but money management isn’t just about knowing the math. It’s mostly about knowing yourself. It’s about building self-discipline, and about learning to see money in new ways.

While browsing at Passion Saving the other day, I discovered an article featuring ten unconventional money-saving tips. Each of these offers a new way to see money. Here are author Rob Bennett’s ten tips along with my comments. (Note that I’ve re-ordered these from the original article.)

1. Pursue short-term saving goals. While saving for retirement may be the ultimate goal, it’s not always a motivational one. Break long-term goals into chunks. Find saving goals that can be completed in just a few years.
2. Don’t save in pursuit of vague and general goals — save in pursuit of a particular change to enhance your life. Make savings matter by setting money aside for lots of specific little things throughout the course of your lifetime. You’re not just saving to be able to do what you want at the end of your life, but to also to be able to do the things you wanttoday.
3. Pursue intensely personal goals. “The trick to becoming an effective saver is identifying [with something, a] saving goal that provides you with the motivation needed to get the job done,” Bennett writes. “To save well, you need to direct your money management energies to the pursuit of a goal that hits your emotional hot buttons.”
4. Stop thinking of saving as something that only misers do well. “There’s nothing small or cheap or sick about effective saving,” writes Bennett. “Not if you’re doing it right. Save for the right sorts of reasons — life-enhancing reasons — and you will no longer think of saving as miserly.”
5. Don’t pay yourself first. Instead, pay yourself last. This recommendation sets a sacred personal-finance mantra on its ear. Bennett says that thinking of savings as something that must be endured makes it seem like eating your least-favorite vegetable. “Pay yourself first” might be a good way to start saving, but to really make it effective, you must learn to see saving as fun. You need to pay yourself last — and often. Reduce your spending so there’s as much as possible left to save.

Click HERE to read more...

Article Credit

By: J.D. Roth

October 16, 2008