2020 Moves
December 28, 2019
This blog is to update everyone on some things I am working on, goals for 2020, and things I plan to work on in 2020. I have a few really exciting things happening at the moment but let me start with our nonprofit that my partner and I are working on! First, we are working with a dope ass branding company named Atte (pronounced: eight) and we, together, have decided to change our name from Hidden Gems to & Rise. Now, don't be judgy, please understand we are trying to build a brand that caters to our audience so give it a chance! When we are making all decisions in our organization, we always have our community in mind.
We choose & Rise because the “and” is a symbol of addition in a sentence, but also in story-telling. It means that the story is not over, and there are additional things to be
said or done. For a lot of women in difficult situations, it’s hard for them
to see where their stories shift. The “&” symbol speaks to that turning point in ones life and mindset. Our organization gives women a community and opportunity to rise above the pieces of their life before the “and.” This name speaks to the empowerment women feel through rebuilding and adding to their story of rising up from adversity, no matter their circumstance. Now do you get it? ;-)
Next, we are still in the application process for our 501c3. We are in the process of obtaining our last board member and then we can move forward with the process. Unfortunately, someone we had in mind turned down our offer so this backtracked us on our timing of becoming official before the new year. We will definitely be official within the month of January though, which is beyond exciting for us!! We also took our professional head shots today at a dope little studio and creative co-working space in Pilsen named Kesh Events.
Something else I have going on is my real estate money move! I put my first condo up for sale about two weeks ago. Not only did we go under contract within two weeks of listing the property but I got over list price which makes me feel so good! I stuck to my guns and didn't let their BS mind games phase me. I wrote about the mind games in a past blog (see Investing in Real Estate Pt. 1, Investing in Real Estate Pt. 2, and Investing in Real Estate Pt. 3) where the other party lies or make it seem like their offer is the best offer you'll ever get. So I wanted my certain # and they told my realtor that was the best they could do and that they needed an answer by tonight (same day). I didn't want to lose the offer but I also didn't want to just settle because I got an offer either. I spoke to my realtor and explained how I was feeling and I didn't like that I was being pressured to make a decision. Also, I had been receiving a lot of interest on the property and we had a lot of showings this weekend which told me that it would be highly likely that we would receive other offers so I knew I had the upper hand in the situation and I was annoyed that they were rushing me to make a decision.
I countered back and told my realtor I was willing to work with them but it had to be 50/50 that I can't be the only one compromising. I received a phone call several hours later that the buyer accepted my offer which was so exciting! I honestly think I am smart in negotiating and know when people are bluffing and I also smart enough to listen to the experts which, in this situation, is my realtor. If there is anything that I have learned from the many realtors I know is that a lot of times, clients do not listen to their realtor and people end up losing out on deals or money because they do not listen to the person they hired to help them. Which doesn't make a lot of sense. Its like going to your doctor and getting a diagnoses and then arguing with your doctor about the results. Wait, what? Trust your realtor! And make sure you got a good one. I know a guy (message me for info).
The other exciting endeavor I have going on is my Air B and B is almost ready to launch! My other business partner and I have spent a lot of time and a whole lotta money on this thing so I am definitely anxious to get it going! We just have a few finishing touches left then we can sign the lease and get this baby running! We pretty much had to start from scratch and fix the floors and walls and repaint the whole place and replaced a bunch of old shit since the place was left in bad shape from prior long term tenants.
As you can see I got some big things coming in the New Year so I cannot wait for everything to come together! One last big thing coming is my COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!! After being in school part time for the last 7 years, I will finally be graduating and I swear to you I want the biggest blowout graduation party because I have busted my ass so hard and sacrificed so much to complete my education so I want to GO HARD and maybe even get drunk at my gradation hahaha (probably not but it sounds fun).
Things coming for 2020, I plan to start another Air B and B in addition to the one in the works. I also plan to invest some of the money from the sale of my condo, instead of spending it, I am reinvesting it, growing it. I also plan to focus a lot more of my time on & Rise and I am going to make it a priority in 2020 to get as much funding as we can! I have big dreams for this organization and I want to blow it the FUCK UP! I will make sure it is a success and that women all over will know our name and together we will all Rise and then some! I want to get tons of single mothers through college and provide resources to all the women in need of a helping hand.
I also plan to blog more and to begin video blogging more and trying my best to let people into my personal life a little more. I keep a lot of things off social media but I also know if I am trying to reach more people that I have to let them into what I am doing and working on as well. It is certainly hard to keep up with social media with all the things I got going on but I will continue to work on getting better at it.
Keep a lookout for our upcoming events for & Rise. We have a 20/20 Vision Board Party Coming up next month January 25, 2020 @ 2337 N. Milwaukee Ave in Chicago from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Get your eventbrite tickets at the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-vision-board-party-tickets-86021772437?aff=ebdssbeac
We also have an event coming up in February (date to be determined) and it will be called Galintines that focuses on self love and taking care of yourself mentally and emotionally. We have a super dope ass guest speaker Neha who is a life coach and my partner Blanca and I fell in love with her when we met her and we know you will too! In addition, we have an events planned through July 2020 and some include, restoration workshop, fundraising gala, shopping event to promote women owned businesses, dream catchers (panel discussion of women who overcame fear and just did it!), vision board check point and networking event, and Free to Sparkle (event at a women's shelter). Keep an eye out and as always, thank you for your support!!
This blog is to update everyone on some things I am working on, goals for 2020, and things I plan to work on in 2020. I have a few really exciting things happening at the moment but let me start with our nonprofit that my partner and I are working on! First, we are working with a dope ass branding company named Atte (pronounced: eight) and we, together, have decided to change our name from Hidden Gems to & Rise. Now, don't be judgy, please understand we are trying to build a brand that caters to our audience so give it a chance! When we are making all decisions in our organization, we always have our community in mind.
We choose & Rise because the “and” is a symbol of addition in a sentence, but also in story-telling. It means that the story is not over, and there are additional things to be
said or done. For a lot of women in difficult situations, it’s hard for them
to see where their stories shift. The “&” symbol speaks to that turning point in ones life and mindset. Our organization gives women a community and opportunity to rise above the pieces of their life before the “and.” This name speaks to the empowerment women feel through rebuilding and adding to their story of rising up from adversity, no matter their circumstance. Now do you get it? ;-)
Next, we are still in the application process for our 501c3. We are in the process of obtaining our last board member and then we can move forward with the process. Unfortunately, someone we had in mind turned down our offer so this backtracked us on our timing of becoming official before the new year. We will definitely be official within the month of January though, which is beyond exciting for us!! We also took our professional head shots today at a dope little studio and creative co-working space in Pilsen named Kesh Events.
Something else I have going on is my real estate money move! I put my first condo up for sale about two weeks ago. Not only did we go under contract within two weeks of listing the property but I got over list price which makes me feel so good! I stuck to my guns and didn't let their BS mind games phase me. I wrote about the mind games in a past blog (see Investing in Real Estate Pt. 1, Investing in Real Estate Pt. 2, and Investing in Real Estate Pt. 3) where the other party lies or make it seem like their offer is the best offer you'll ever get. So I wanted my certain # and they told my realtor that was the best they could do and that they needed an answer by tonight (same day). I didn't want to lose the offer but I also didn't want to just settle because I got an offer either. I spoke to my realtor and explained how I was feeling and I didn't like that I was being pressured to make a decision. Also, I had been receiving a lot of interest on the property and we had a lot of showings this weekend which told me that it would be highly likely that we would receive other offers so I knew I had the upper hand in the situation and I was annoyed that they were rushing me to make a decision.
I countered back and told my realtor I was willing to work with them but it had to be 50/50 that I can't be the only one compromising. I received a phone call several hours later that the buyer accepted my offer which was so exciting! I honestly think I am smart in negotiating and know when people are bluffing and I also smart enough to listen to the experts which, in this situation, is my realtor. If there is anything that I have learned from the many realtors I know is that a lot of times, clients do not listen to their realtor and people end up losing out on deals or money because they do not listen to the person they hired to help them. Which doesn't make a lot of sense. Its like going to your doctor and getting a diagnoses and then arguing with your doctor about the results. Wait, what? Trust your realtor! And make sure you got a good one. I know a guy (message me for info).
The other exciting endeavor I have going on is my Air B and B is almost ready to launch! My other business partner and I have spent a lot of time and a whole lotta money on this thing so I am definitely anxious to get it going! We just have a few finishing touches left then we can sign the lease and get this baby running! We pretty much had to start from scratch and fix the floors and walls and repaint the whole place and replaced a bunch of old shit since the place was left in bad shape from prior long term tenants.
As you can see I got some big things coming in the New Year so I cannot wait for everything to come together! One last big thing coming is my COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!! After being in school part time for the last 7 years, I will finally be graduating and I swear to you I want the biggest blowout graduation party because I have busted my ass so hard and sacrificed so much to complete my education so I want to GO HARD and maybe even get drunk at my gradation hahaha (probably not but it sounds fun).
Things coming for 2020, I plan to start another Air B and B in addition to the one in the works. I also plan to invest some of the money from the sale of my condo, instead of spending it, I am reinvesting it, growing it. I also plan to focus a lot more of my time on & Rise and I am going to make it a priority in 2020 to get as much funding as we can! I have big dreams for this organization and I want to blow it the FUCK UP! I will make sure it is a success and that women all over will know our name and together we will all Rise and then some! I want to get tons of single mothers through college and provide resources to all the women in need of a helping hand.
I also plan to blog more and to begin video blogging more and trying my best to let people into my personal life a little more. I keep a lot of things off social media but I also know if I am trying to reach more people that I have to let them into what I am doing and working on as well. It is certainly hard to keep up with social media with all the things I got going on but I will continue to work on getting better at it.
Keep a lookout for our upcoming events for & Rise. We have a 20/20 Vision Board Party Coming up next month January 25, 2020 @ 2337 N. Milwaukee Ave in Chicago from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Get your eventbrite tickets at the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-vision-board-party-tickets-86021772437?aff=ebdssbeac
We also have an event coming up in February (date to be determined) and it will be called Galintines that focuses on self love and taking care of yourself mentally and emotionally. We have a super dope ass guest speaker Neha who is a life coach and my partner Blanca and I fell in love with her when we met her and we know you will too! In addition, we have an events planned through July 2020 and some include, restoration workshop, fundraising gala, shopping event to promote women owned businesses, dream catchers (panel discussion of women who overcame fear and just did it!), vision board check point and networking event, and Free to Sparkle (event at a women's shelter). Keep an eye out and as always, thank you for your support!!