Escape from the Rat Race...

Howdy there!

Long time, no write. Ya’ see, I’ve been straight up working like a dog. I once heard a straight shooter, called the Backwoods Boutique Lady, say that if you can’t work like Greg the UPS man, and show up every single day, regardless of Rain or Shine  - You’re business will never change. She spoke to my soul yall. You gotta put in the work if you want results. I can’t just be sleeping in because I don’t feel great in the mornings, or because yesterdays numbers were good, and I got other people who can help handle some of the day-to-day things for me! Soooo, that is what I have been focusing on doing this last year.  

In fact, just to give you an idea of what all has changed in the last year alone:

• We launched Dirty Bee, which is an all-natural Hair, Bath, and Body company that is currently sold it about 150 stores nationwide (and growing). The line-up grows everyday from Shampoo and Conditioner Bars, to Mud Masks, Shower Steamers and much more! This has been a huge project that has had me chasing my tail trying to set up at Wholesale Markets, answering a whole new customer base, and managing the Hubby who had to ultimately leave his day job to help out! We moved operations from my garage which was overflowing, into a warehouse in Orange, Texas. I have my own desk and a couch in my office I would love to take a nap on one day.

• Opportunities in Business are like bills. They just keep coming. Sooo… when opportunity knocks and feels right, we have jumped in. We added a second side to our Wholesale business called Boujie Bee where we sell amazing quality bags that are complete with a complimentary & exclusive silk scarf, and some bold and Boujie mink lashes. Of course, we have more plans to grow this side of the business too as more opportunities land in our lap.

• We have upgraded all of our fixtures, hangers, menus, photography, and marketing at Sweet Bee so we aren’t so amateur hour around here. This has been a labor of love because I wouldn’t say the curb appeal really increases sales much – but I’m gonna pretend it was worth the investment. Time will tell us the answer (time being sales reports).

• We also FINALLLLLLLY launched the ability to buy our Sweets online. We changed our packaging, delivery options, etc etc to make this possible so we could finally ship our fudge, cupcakes in a jar, doughlicious in a jar, brownies in a jar and so much more nationwide. It was a little rough dealing with Texas sun but we finally figured out how to insulate our goodies and get ‘em out there.

• And we have added a 24” custom mobile Boutique Trailer to our lineup! We are working hard on fixing it up so it can be ready to hit the road in two weeks from now. We had to strip it down first to the studs so we could add some real insulation to deal with this once again, super hot Texas sun. It’s got a little bit of work left to do but should be moving quickly in hopes that we can hit up our first event in October – Winnie Trade Days. I’m a nomad at heart and can’t stay put for too long so this gig is ideal for me to get my traveling fix.

• And lastly, I have been buried in a slew of the day-to-day things it takes to keep this business in motion. From hiring or training employees, buying, selling, marketing, paying all the bills, and keeping it real with my VIP group – my day never seems to end (and cough cough, neither do the credit card charges lol).

So, that is pretty much why I haven’t had time to jump on here and give ya the low down on what exactly is going down for Sweet Bee Boutique & Desserts! I aim to do better and keep some good blog topics going on here moving forward though. I have a half written blog post from April that had something to do with mental health. I think I’ll save that for you guys because as you can guess, this lifestyle has come with some huge obstacles for my mental health. I’m glad to share the good, the bad, the ugly sides of it with anyone out there who might care.

Tune in next time for more on how Lexapro kept me from going to Jail :P I escaped the Rat Race of Corporate Life to end up driving myself crazy with work anyway I guess.

Cheers,

Roxy S.