At least once or twice per year, I like to pause and reflect on where I am currently and where I intend to be at the end of that year. Once those feelings come up, I usually pen a heartfelt Blog post and I’m happy to say today is that day. I’ve been Blogging for almost 12 years and when people ask me if I have any regrets, the answer is always “Yes!, I regret not scaling soon enough”
Regrets about Blogging + Not Scaling Sooner
Scaling a business is when you equip your business to handle increased demand without incurring extra expenses to earn more revenue on a larger scale
Why I Didn’t Scale Soon Enough
The Blog started out as my solo project as a way for me to merge my love of writing with my love of Fashion shortly after University. As I started to produce more articles and started getting invited to more events, I began searching for people who could help me take photos. I found an amazing team who were with me for a little over 2 years and found several people afterward, but as the Blog started to become more popular in Jamaica, the quality of the people who were a part of the team, started to diminish. Since the name Haute People is associated with “High Quality”, this was not always the case with those who came after.
People became a part of the team as it meant they would get to attend exclusive events for free, and there were others who would push their agendas and started to reach out to brands without my knowledge and would start receiving opportunities and funding for services under the guise that I was a part of it. This led to a breakdown in trust and the time I should have used to grow the brand to that next level, was spent doing damage control to change the narrative from money-hungry photographers who would charge an arm and a leg for photography services.
In business and life (in general) finding the right people has to do with a combination of factors including time, talent, integrity, and honesty. I was never able to find that magic again I found in those first set of people. There was also that little thing of a Blog still relatively unknown here in Jamaica the “Orange” or creative industry was not even created. I had no idea who I should go to to get registered or what terms like intellectual property meant! It was a haute mess and I had no idea what to do!
More Regrets
Apart from not scaling sooner, another regret is not going to other parts of the Island. I live in Kingston Jamaica, St. Andrew to be exact and once you grow up here, it’s a bubble and everywhere else is deemed as “country” and not desirable. I’ve worked with Photographers from other parts of the Island like Montego Bay, but I have no presence there. Once things picked up with the Blog, I should have ventured outside my “bubble” to other parts of the Island to see what is hot and get to know a few public figures and tastemakers to see how we can collaborate. I know it’s not too late to get started on this but with my fear/hate of long-distance driving, I will definitely need to take baby steps and give myself the grace to start smart even if it means just visiting a few places in Portmore, St Catherine.
There is almost that tiny dragon called “Imposter Syndrome” that likes to attach itself on our backs when we’ve done something amazing. I felt like I didn’t deserve where I was and questioned my skills and abilities. During this time, there weren’t many Lifestyle Bloggers in Jamaica who make that seamless crossover into the International Market and I was doubtful. I started to push less as I was fearful that people would “find me out” and realised that I didn’t go to a fancy Fashion School like Parsons and would never hold a candle to those who did. That self-doubt dragon took a while, about 2 years to completely remove from my back, but once it was removed, I was unstoppable.
Final Thoughts
As it relates to the Business of Fashion and life, if you decide to do something that is different from the norm, go in with an open mind and be willing to learn and suffer some losses along the way. Once you are in, start making plans to become successful whether that means in your own country or abroad. It is quite natural to have regrets as humans but that can all be avoided by doing things that scare us and things that are constantly on your mind.
