Tag: Sisters Like Us Win

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Business Minded: Starting a Business

Starting a business.

Everyone wants to start a business. But is everyone mentally ready to journey down the road of business ownership?

Is it Easier to Work for Someone?

Yes! It is easy to work for someone else. You submit your resume online, and fortune enough, the hiring person: usually someone in human resources will reach out after gone through hundreds if not thousands of people hoping to land the same job. You are contacted to see if you are still interested in the position. If so, you schedule an interview by phone or in-person to see if you are the right fit for their company and you, as well, get to ask questions to see if the company is a good fit for your career goals.

Nevertheless, you show up, give your best first impression, and, if you are lucky, you are either offered the job or scheduled to return for a second interview with someone higher up within the company or who you will be reporting to each workday.

If you accept the offer you, agreeing to their terms and policies, you get a beginning date, work, and roll in some dough. But, as I said above, hundreds if not thousands have applied for that exact position so, the odds of you getting it can be like winning the lottery. And if not so lucky, you are back at the drawing board, computer searching the internet for another position you may qualify to perform.

Mentally Hard Business

Searching for employment is hard work, especially since the pandemic hit. But searching is a full-time job; in itself. And starting a business is even much harder.
As stated above, working for someone else’s process; but when working for self be mentally ready to wear many hats and the long work hours.
People tend to think owning a business is easy. I am here to tell you that it is not!

Business ownership requires a certain level of mentality and discipline, not to mention a lot of time and money. Because it can get stressful and lonely if you do not have a team, people around you to support and encourage your idea.

When starting a business, if you are going at it alone, you must be your therapist, cheerleader, and staff unless or until you have revenue flowing in to outsource or hire staff.
Not everyone can visualize your business idea, and honestly, not everyone wants to see you owning one and succeed.

It is not necessarily because they are haters but because they either have not or do not dare to start one themselves or can’t understand why someone would go through the trouble when someone has already done the hard work for you.

Equipment and Skills Needed to Start a Business

Besides being your own biggest cheerleader, you need to be strong-minded and have thick skin.
Being a published author (Cracks in the Pavement series), I have always admired J.K. Rowling’s tenacity in never giving up hope of getting Harry Potter out into the world.

Starting and owning a business requires a certain kind of mindset everyone’s equipped with.
Self-motivation and self-awareness: knowing your best skills and weaknesses are a good way to gauge if someone has what it takes or is cut out for business ownership.

The List

Below are a list of equipment and skills needed to set up and grow a business because the owner will wear many hats early on.

1. Mentality: Your brain is the computer operating what goes in and what goes out. Should virus-like stress or doubt infiltrate the owner’s mind, the operation can be temporarily put on hold if not shut down.

Having a business plan to refer to staying focused and positive thinking is a way to protect viruses from getting in. It is a requirement to not only run a successful business but our daily lives.

2. Discipline: This requires a strong mind and desire to stay on track with getting the tedious day-to-day task done.

There will be things about growing a business you will love doing and completing the task you dread having to do. But compiling an email list or cold calling can pay off. Think of JK Rowling. Discipline and persistence will eventually pay off.

3. Consistency: When smartphones are reimaged for upgrade and or, updating; data and functional capabilities are consistently being considered and added for better output or use for the consumer. The same is for a business. What you put into it is what you get out of it. So little efforts put in, small results come out.
Keep working at it. The payoff will come.

4. Drive: like a computer drive, one must hold onto and keep (store) in mind the why they started the business in the first place. Holding on to the why you started, the purpose, and intentions will drive out passion and motivation to keep going even when those tough moments arise.

Conclusion:
Being mindful and mentally aware of doubt or stress getting in, staying disciplined, being consistent, and keeping the why at the forefront will drive you, business awareness, and consumer connections.

Like any life goal or success, a business simply blooms with deciding to start one, an idea, and hard work.

Daily Affirmation: I have the mindset to start a business and see it through.

Whichever flower you choose to be BLOOM!
Dawn

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Rattan Furniture: Beyond Coastal Living

Beyond Coastal Living.


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Rattan, cane, and wicker furniture are not just for beachfront or resort living anymore.

These beautiful and natural materials started making a comeback hitting cities and the burbs dwellings in 2019, lending a light and airy feel to many homes.

Popular more so today due to many having to work from the dining room table and homeschooling. These products not only offer functionality but brings nature indoors.

This material goes back centuries, fading in and out in interior fashion though it has been widely used in coastal and resort décor.

Light in weight, cane furniture is made from the rattan tree, where approximately 70% is grown in Indonesia. Other countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh grow and supply rattan trees as well.

How Sweet the Cane: Rattan, Cane, and Wicker Furniture.

How sweet cane is? Like most accent pieces, versatility is a plus. Rattan accents and wall art offers the same versatilities with the benefit of being raw and natural-looking. Larger pieces like beds, chairs, and tables are adhered to other woods or metals to give them durability.

Not to be mistaken for sugar cane. The rattan tree is a stainable plant much like the bamboo tree. The woven wicker appearance and cane furniture’s are created using the same rattan tree simply, using a different method in the weaving process separates their look and feel.

Thinking Back

When I think of rattan furniture, I think back to the hilarious 80’s hit TV show Golden Girls, where four women (including Betty White) retires in the sunshine state of Florida.

Cohabitating, the Golden Girls rattan, bold and floral cushions set the stage of their living room filmed at Walt Disney from season 2 until the last episode aired in 1992. The first season was filmed in Los Angeles, where these aging women brought viewers to tears with their gut-boosting and witty punch lines.

Today, updated florals and print pallets in pastels, greens, and blues mimic the same 80’s aesthetics paired with new and old abstract blonde and expresso-stained cane and rattan pieces from headboards, dining tables, and chairs, plant holders, and wall décor to name a few.

Like plants, rattan furniture brings a natural element and warmth to any room especially, when many of us are operating from home for health safety.

If you are not sure if this interior trend suits you, try adding a planter or small table to see if this natural element could bring nature into your home décor.

Whichever flower you choose to be sister BLOOM!

Dawn

See more of us on Instagram @sisterslikeuswin and latest videos on YouTube sisters like us win

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Mirror Effects

Does your mirror(s) have you feeling some type of away?

It is called the Mirror Effects.

We, as in women, feel good about the outfit choices we had to dig out from the back of our crammed closets.

Our clothes feel pleasantly comfy against our bodies until, something as simple as catching our reflection in a mirror; takes away what we had imagined looked like Kelly Rowland in a Fabletics commercial or Halle Berry on a strolling the beach. It was merely an illusion.

What do we do?

We begin to beat ourselves up, well, down.

Negative thoughts trickle in, we start to body shame ourselves; there is an energy shift, and we become an emotional wreck stressing over finding something to wear that covers all our outer flaws.

The Fix


Years after much therapy, I came up with this brilliant trick.

Have you seen the movie Snow White and the Huntsman? Do you recall the part when Queen Raveena asks the gold-shiny thing the question, who is the fairest of them all?

Well, the Evil Queen does not see her reflection staring back at her as she frantically paces back and forth to see if there is news of someone somewhere across the land better than her.

She patiently waits for the round glistening tin to form into a man where her quest has sent him on a Google search across the wide web.

He collects the information as to whom is the most beautiful on Instagram and Facebook while gathering himself at her feet. For her to discover it is not she, the fairest of them all.

Angrily she deliberates how could it not be her after all her efforts to stay relevant?

That is how I feel, as the Queen did when my mirror tells me the truth about how I look in leggings: any clothing.

Getting dressed sometimes feels as if Tony Robbins put a spell on me like in the film Shallow Hal. I step out of my closet believing and feeling one way to facing the hard truth in the mirror, feeling another way.

So, I developed a foolproof technique. A trick better than any magic trick Harry could ever think to conjure up.

See, the trick to looking and feeling good all the time is to see yourself through a mirrorless mirror (picture frame).

Even if my reality is my stomach bulging over the top of my pants, tits dragging the ground like this new fashion craze; I am always beautiful because I can visually see myself; my realness inside.

Not the reflecting cinnamon rolls rising around my waistline or where gravity has stretched and pulled my triceps and sagging boobs so low my granddaughters could jump double dutch with them.

And we must not forget the loose neck skin that makes grandma look as though she has magically turned into a turkey.

You see, The Mirrorless Mirror is a magic wand that forces you to see you, the inner self, those parts of you that get you into heaven: the most important part.

Let me be clear!

Now let me be clear. I am not saying, in any shape or form. I will strut out into the streets wearing a jumpsuit that fits like my infant grandchild onesie; busting at the steams like someone accidentally punctured a can of biscuits because I feel so darn beautiful inside after catching a glimpse of my inner self.

No. But what I am saying. It that in those moments, when I begin to beat myself up because I ate too many fries, overly indulged in the Costco’s variety pack of Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes; eat an entire bag of Hersey Kisses in one setting, or womanly monthly things. Hanging an empty picture frame on the wall does the trick every time.

So, if you are tired of walking around with bruises and black eyes you give yourself. Try my brilliant trick and get your confidence back.

Warning: Do not try this alone. You will see the real you. Some parts may be scary for some.

Head over to @sisterslikeuswin on Instagram to see how the mirror effect affected me.

Remember, whichever flower you choose to be BLOOM!

-Dawn

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My Elders: What they forgot to share

I am thankful, to be aware of my family’s health history.

Comprised, 80% of women, who have shared information about breast, and ovarian cancer; diabetes, heart disease and many other illnesses.

Yet, I was disheartened to learn, that my elders; grandmother, mother, also my aunts. Neglected to share the changes that come with women aging. I’m referring to perimenopause.

The Struggle
I’ve suffered from reproductive issues; like fibroids and cysts, to name a few. So, my menstrual varied each month. I was delighted when they began to come less often. What I was not excited about are the mood swings, low energy, poor concentration and the sweat baths.

Struggling, getting a good night’s sleep, due to pain. And, taking sleeping aids, switching to 100 % cotton sheets from Egyptian (contains polyester materials). My nights became a total nightmare. Nightly visits from Freddy Krueger (Elm Street), tearing off blankets; putting them back on, one leg in-one leg out, horribly tossing and turning. It was like I was being trained by Mr. Miyagi (original Karate Kid) while I slept. Loosing very little weight, and gaining nothing, but stress.

The Surprise
Over time, the hot flashes decreased, with fewer periods. My gynecologist suggests using black cohosh (more info here). I had used black cohosh tea, for past issues. Eventually, with diet change, and fewer visits, my sleep increased and I begin to feel better.

For nine months, things were great. With no menstrual cycle, I had worn, more white pants, and shorts then I have my entire lifetime. Until I received a surprise gift-spotting. Yes, it came back! The first month was scary. Remembering a conversation with my mother, stating spotting after gone through menopause. A sign of a possible problem, like ovarian cancer, she was sadly diagnosed having.

Worries End and Sharing
I stopped worrying if the spotting (turned period) could be cancerous when Freddy showed up in the middle of a sweet dream. Angry, having to deal with the most unpleasant and frequently hot flashes popping up at any moment. I was furious.

But, I’ve gotten over being disappointed with my relatives not sharing their personal experiences with perimenopause. I’ve found courageous women on the internet, sharing their menopausal journey. A trip, we as women, will travel at some point in our lives. Take heed sisters! This is your warning.

My Conclusion
Sisters, my opinion on premenopausal is this. It has its pluses and minuses. Trading in painful cramps, for hot flashes, periods showing up, interfering with life; for white jeans; and less bloating to looking great. Adjusting to summers are difficult, so learn to appreciate cotton clothing. It’s a natural material, that breathes.

Aspire to Inspire!
Dawn

All rights reserved by D. M. Dean Productions and Dawn Dean

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Be Aware: Domestic Violence and Mental Health Illness

Millions of women, children and even men are subjected to physical abuse every day. I was once a victim to domestic violence. It was easy for those on the outside looking in to say leave him. But when you are not only physically abused, but, mentally abused as well. You begin to believe what your abuser/accuser is saying about you. You lose yourself in their hurtful words and learn to forgive them out of fear when they say sorry or I won’t hurt you again.

Continue reading Be Aware: Domestic Violence and Mental Health Illness

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THIS IS IT!!!

inspiring-dreamsToday, September 20, 2016, marks the official launch day for Sisters like Us (SLU), a blog community of sisterhood.

I’ve been anticipating this day for many years (10+) now. Yes, you read right. For over ten years, I annually paid my renewal fees, to keep and own the domain name: www.Sisterslikeus.com.

Originally, I had one ideal for the use of the name, to later changing and modifying this baby into something entirely different.

My goal for SLU is to read more like an online magazine that inspires women to be the best woman they can possibly be, at any age. Here at SLU, you will find everything from home design, health and fitness, beauty and fashion, and so much more.

Sharing my own life experiences, and career expertise’s in home design, health and fitness struggles, as well as, the life stories of great women, I have met along the way and awesome women I hope to meet on this journey.

To be honest, blogging about my personal life is somewhat scary, seeing how private and reserve I am (most of the time). But I’ve put on my amour and is standing on the edge of life, hoping to help someone (women) who may be going through a situation that I’ve survived. Through sharing and giving advice to those in need of help to get through, what can seem impossible while in the storm.

Welcome Sisters!

Dawn M. Dean

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Don’t call it a comeback…

Wallpaper that is, it’s an alternative way of decorating the walls. Wallpaper has been around for decades, fading in and out with trends. But here recently it has been replacing the same old paint colors. It has so many options to choose from and in multiple style variations and finishes.

At one time, apartment dwellers (unless you owned yours) shied away for putting wallpaper on their apartment walls without permission of the landlord; where in most cases had to be removed upon ending the lease agreement. But, today, companies are offering new and exciting products like decals and removable wall coverings. A renter can now jazz up their naked, white walls with easy removal wallpaper.

These products can be used by homeowners the same. If you, are hesitated to plaster your walls with the more permanent types of paper, in fears you may not like it once applied. Try removable wallpaper first and live with it for awhile before making a commitment. You may just end up liking it.

Written By Dawn M. Dean

 

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The Entrepreneur Giving Back

The Entrepreneur Giving Back
The Entrepreneur Giving Back

You may not have heard of Miora Evasoa, the entrepreneur giving back to her community of Madagascar (yes there is such a place), but you will. Miora, have had dreams of owning her own business as a little girl and coming to America has allowed her to dream big. With her beautifully handmade crafted handbags, hats and clothing. Miora is able to help those back in her home town of Madagascar where the raffia palm tree grows and is harvested by hand for the locals to craft goods to export.

Miora Evasoa

https://www.facebook.com/BagEra.US/

Entrepreneur and Humanitarian

http://WWW.BAGERA.US

Miora has two passions, entrepreneurship and helping others.  Born and raised in Madagascar, she started her first business at age of 13.  She sold snacks at a table in town to help support her family.  She later earned a double major in marketing and tourism from the University of Antananativo.

Miora moved to the United States in 2014 with the goal of starting her own business.  After earning a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from Northern Virginia Community college, she launched Best of Madagascar, LLC.  Best of Madagascar gives America (and the rest of the World) the opportunity to buy high-quality, fair trade handcrafts, clothing, and other goods from Madagascar.  According to Miora, “My dream has always been to own my own business, but my passion has always been to help others.  Best of Madagascar lets me accomplish both.”