A year ago I was heavily pregnant and exhaustively planning the launch of my name sake shoe line--Jeneba Barrie.
The process was tedious and painstakingly onerous. It was an around the clock grind. It was an exercise in determination, grit and persistence: three qualities that I believe are essential for entrepreneurship. As many will attest, entrepreneurship is a lonely minefield and it has a funny way of exposing your weaknesses, insecurities and magnifying any doubts you may already have about your endeavor.
My way of coping with the insecurities and doubt was to patiently build a road map--a 27 page execution plan that I crafted way before I even thought of officially launching. Included in this plan was a list of all of my potential customers and their email addresses, as well as relevant media outlets and their contact information. Of course my family was at the very top, followed by my friends, co-workers, acquaintances and my small social media circles. I also had a step by step outline for my official Kickstarter launch.
Taking time to build a road-map and a step by step outline alleviated some of the stress and self-doubt that often plagued me during the process.
I will admit that at times the process seemed unbearable. At other times the process seemed totally doable. But 100% of the time I questioned whether people will support my idea and if it will eventually catch on. They did. And it caught on.
We finally launched Jeneba Barrie Nude Footwear on February 19, 2019, and after a month of crowdfunding we surpassed our goal of $15,000.00 five days before our campaign ended and raised over $23,000.00.
Like undergrad, law school and motherhood, entrepreneurship has been a heck of a challenge. I navigated all the above with determination, grit and persistence. But let's be honest, a clear vision and a plan also helped me get over the finish line.
Nothing worth having comes easy. 2020 is your year of breakthrough. Happy navigating and always remember to grind it out!
xox, Jeneba
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