Reinvent YoUniversity

Let's get ready for the new year!  Hopefully, the new year will bring new opportunities, achievements, and connections.  You'll want to be ready when they show up. This is the time of year in which we celebrate and enjoy the season with our friends and family. While this can be a fun time, don't forget to take some time to get things in order for your new season.  It's the idea of "out with the old, in with the new". I personally plan to take a couple of days during the holiday season to organize my home office and my business.   I like to start out fresh. For ideas on how to prepare your business for the new year, check out this article: Prepare Your Business for the New Year . Here are some tips from Valencia Griffin-Wallace , Founder of Life by Design and Co-Author of the book, Transition: Create the Life You Desire : De -clutter- Combine notes and files into proper categories. Decide what is outdated and needs to be trashed or shredded.  C

As we wind down and prepare to celebrate the holiday season, it's important to take some time to get things in order for the new year.  I always take time to reflect on my activities over the past year and assess my activities for the new year. Sometimes, we start businesses and get so caught up in doing business, that we forget about handling business.  Or, it could be that we don't know how to handle business.  If you didn't know... there's work to be done "behind the scenes". Running a business is hard work. Not only should you be out in the marketplace selling your products or services, but you should have certain things in place to ensure that your business is effective and profitable. I, along with many other business owners have learned some important business lessons that we'd like to share with you. I share some lessons in a previous article: 5 Lessons I Learned when I Started my First Business.  Precious Brown , Founder of Power-N-You

Start Up Stories is a series focused on the entrepreneurial journey.  We will hear from real people who have taken the leap.  We'll hear about their challenges, but most importantly, we'll hear about how they overcame them.  The hope is that you'll be encouraged to do something you've never done before. Starting a business takes hard work, dedication, time, talent, and resources...just to name a few things. It takes a special kind of person to commit to this life. Here's what Theresa shared about her journey:      What type of business do you own and how long have you been in business?            I’m an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay and I’ve been in business for 18 months.           What inspired you to start the business?        My husband and I wanted to purchase a home and we needed additional income for a down payment.      What are the most essential items or experience needed to start your type of business?

Start Up Stories is a series focused on the entrepreneurial journey.  We will hear from real people who have taken the leap.  We'll hear about their challenges, but most importantly, we'll hear about how they overcame them.  The hope is that you'll be encouraged to do something you've never done before. Starting a business takes hard work, dedication, time, talent, and resources...just to name a few things. It takes a special kind of person to commit to this life. We asked Andrea B. Hunter some questions about her Start Up Journey.  Here's what she had to say: How did you start in business? Honestly speaking, my husband and I were tired of being broke! Living paycheck to paycheck can become draining. We knew that there were other ways that we Could and Should be creating extra income for our family.        Have you ever had to reinvent yourself or your business? Many times before and I believe reinvention is something that never dies. As long as yo

I was recently asked by someone, “How do I start a business when I have no money?”  I didn’t answer right away.   Instead, I asked some probing questions to determining the person’s readiness to start a business.   After hearing her answers,    I promised   that I would get back to her with some resources. After thinking about this question, I’ve come up with the answer. The answer is: You Can’t!!!  It’s Impossible!!! You’re gonna have to pay for something. Here’s the deal.  No matter what type of business you decide to start, there will have some costs associated with it. There’s always gonna be costs for: Marketing Equipment and Supplies Business licensing Establishing your business name Systems Professional Development Insurance Legal Counsel and Paperwork Those are just a few line items.  I think the question “How do I start a business when I have no money?” really opens the door to more appropriate questions. Such as: “What are the

This past weekend, I watched the movie Life ,featuring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. It's one of my favorites.  I have seen this movie at least twenty times.  It's a story about two men (Ray Gibson, played by Murphy and Claude Banks, played by Lawrence) who are wrongfully convicted for a murder and they're sent to prison for life.  Throughout the movie, they try to figure out ways to escape prison while coming to terms with the situation they've found themselves in. Although I've seen this movie many times, one scene really ministered to me.  There's a scene in the move in which Ray Gibson begins to share with his fellow prison mates his dream of owning his own nightclub.  He begins to speak about the club, "Ray's Boom Boom Room" as if it already exists.  The other's in the prison soon find out that the club only exists in Rays mind. Fast forward to another scene in the movie.  Ray, Claude, and all the other prisoners are about

Hey Everyone I hope you're doing well. The last time we talked, I mentioned that I had to reinvent myself due to a lay off.  You can read about that here:   How a Lay Off Forced Me to Reinvent Myself.  My first business was a home daycare business.  I operated that business for 3 years before returning to the workforce.  During that time, I learned some very important life and business lessons.   Here are 5 lessons that I'll share with you.  1.  When you move toward your purpose, the atmosphere has to obey!  - I confided in a co-worker that I wanted to start a daycare business.  She told me that she had previously ran a daycare business and that she had all of her equipment.  She was happy to pass it along to me to help get me started. It's my belief that what you need for your purpose is either in you or  right around you. 2. It's ok to be afraid. Embrace it instead of running from it.  .- I was scared, but I went anyway. I really didn't have a

Hey Everyone! Welcome to the blog!  Allow me to introduce myself. I'm LaDonna Bracy, CEO of Lake Park Consulting and President of Reinvent YoUniversity on Facebook. I help mature adults (I like to call them "grown folks") make impact on what they have been dreaming about.  That's my formal introduction.  Let me give you the informal one. I'm LaDonna.  A 40-something (fabulous) wife and mom of teenagers, minister, author, and entrepreneur.  I love, love, love helping people do something meaningful.  My purpose is to connect the people I serve to the people, places, things, and information that will help them live out their dreams. I've always wondered what it would be like to start my own business.  I've known that I had more to offer this world and that my life had to be more than punching a clock everyday. I started dreaming about starting a business, but I was too scared to leave my steady paycheck. I was working for a non-profit agency i