Now, more than any other time in history, small businesses are being founded. They are being founded by people of color and women; leaving many asking the question, "How'd she do that"?

While each entrepreneur's journey is unique to them and no two will travel the same small business path, creating your own source of income doesn't have to be as difficult as some people would make it seem...coming from someone who has done it. How did she do it? Read on to get some great actionable tips that you can use to start living in your truth and starting that idea you've been thinking about for years.

Have a plan

The first and smartest thing to do once you make a commitment to starting your own business venture is to have a plan/strategy for how you're going to approach it. Some people have business plans, and some don't. I find that the need for the business plan is directly related to what external sources you may be requesting investments from.

If you're going at it alone and plan on doing your business part time just to start and don't yet have all everything figured out that a business plan will capture, that's ok. Having a strategy will help here. You still need to have a general idea of how you'll work, how you'll sell, who you'll sell to and why you're selling this thing that you're creating your business around. Once you've nailed down those particulars (which may take a few months), go ahead and start your b-plan at that time, just to get the idea out of your head and get clear on where you're going with the idea and business.

WFH: Tips For Creatives 

Are you a creative? These tips are going to help you specifically as our needs for getting it done, are sometimes a bit different from a traditional entrepreneur. 

Continue Learning

One of my personal initiatives as a small business owner is to help other small business owners; I'm very passionate about this. To that end I currently host bi-weekly chats on Clubhouse. The chats are part of a series called, Exposed: BTS of Building A Brand. Every Monday and Wednesday at 6pm est I interview a different expert/guru in their topic of expertise and share that information for FREE with anyone that is on the chat.

To date, I've hosted rooms with people sharing actionable, valuable information from marketing to social media, to finding funding to start your venture, to customer service and everything in between.

Follow me on clubhouse to be notified when the chats start, @nichyl on Clubhouse.

*2021 update: we've since stopped these conversations for the time being. Pls reach out if this is something you'd like to see us start up again. In the meantime, check out Nic Hyl Fashion University for tips on building out the production models for your fashion brand. 

S.C.O.R.E. is an office funded by the Small Business Administration that offers free 1-on-1 help entrepreneurs on a wide range of topics from former CEO's, business owners and captains of industry. You do have to schedule an appointment with your local branch to et started, but it's so valuable and helpful, especially in the early days of starting your business.