For the New Entrepreneur

My name is Kimberly C. Gaines, I am owner and chief artreprenuer at sondai expressions creative. We produce visual collateral, content, and programs taking our client’s frenetic ball of energy to well-packaged projects, increasing the value of their brand. We design, create, and problem solve for you.

Today, we are focused on personal and professional development. You know, those things a busy entrepreneur thinks they don’t have time for. But, it is important to make time to study your craft and the industry you are in and your growth.

Don’t let your day run you, you run the day with your thoughts and your actions. Now if you are that entrepreneur that reads a book a day or attends seminars monthly you are good, but there may be some other helpful resources here for you. You can never have enough book recommendations. In fact, I encourage you to send me yours.

So lets fit personal and professional development into your day. But first please know this is not a sponsored post. I am just sharing some of the things I use and have heard about that may help you in the entrepreneurial journey.

There are loads of free apps and plenty of free trials before you make an investment in something you are not sure you will use.

That is what I did. I downloaded Audible for a 30 day trial. Audible allows you to be hands-free and listen to the full books from amazing authors in any given field. After checking out Diddy’s latest Revolt special with Ray Dalio my next read is Principles.

Or you could try The Blinkist.

The Blinkist is like the cliff notes. You can get the principle concept and points the author was making in a 15 minute summary which you can either read or listen to.

Think about it most elementary schools tell the kids to read for 30 minutes a day. You should at least be on their level. I love that meme that has Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffet. Jeff made billions from selling books, Oprah made millions reading and talking about books and Warren made millions by reading financial books. The point is books are important to the equation.

Here are some other book recommendations:

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk

The Purple Cow by Seth Godin

Think and Grow Rich a Black Choice by Dennis Kimbro

Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Mindset by Carol Dweck

And last but not least... probably a very important one for the budding entrepreneur, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. This book helps you shape your business especially if you are moving from a 9-5 with a skillset that you feel is being wasted behind a desk or somewhere working for other people.

Next up

There are several master classes, workshops, and online courses. There is Khan Academy, Skillshare, Lynda.com, Adobe Exchange and more. Take a class to hone up on your skills or learn something new to add to the portfolio.

Lifelong learning is important to the journey of all humans.

What about...

Connecting with your celebrity crush. Yes you read that correctly. In a day and age where creative content is right at our fingertips many of our “celebrity crushes” have motivational pages, Instagram accounts, or other ways to connect with their audience. One prime example, and he’s not necessarily my crush, but Will Smith’s content on YouTube, Instagram and now TikTok is aspirational.

And last but certainly not least don’t forget Mother Nature, sometimes just being out and about can bring a crisp and fresh perspective to your business and your peace of mind. Being mindful and taking the time out to not be so swept up in the whirlwind of the day helps you get clarity.

And no I am not crazy I know that it is winter time and in many places, especially on the East Coast it’s freezing cold, but what better way to snap yourself out of a lurch then with old man winter and cool freezing crisp air... work with me people.

I hope these tips add a refresh to your day.

For more entrepreneurial tips check out www.sondaiexpressions.com