The Journey Begins . . . Join Me!

Originally posted here on July 27, 2019.

H̶i̶!̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶K̶a̶r̶o̶l̶y̶n̶e̶.̶ ̶W̶e̶l̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶j̶o̶u̶r̶n̶e̶y̶!̶

No, no, wait, that doesn't sound right. Doesn't quite "grab" well enough. Hmm. Let me try that again.

H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶,̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶c̶o̶m̶e̶.̶

Nah, too formal.

Y̶o̶!̶ ̶'̶S̶u̶p̶!̶

Psh. That's not even how I talk. Usually. Unless I'm joking around. Ummm . . . .

Alright, that's it. Keeping it simple and real:

Hey, everyone! I'm Karolyne, and in case you can't tell, I'm still figuring things out. What am I figuring out? Well, for one thing, I'm 32 years old and still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up! Actually, with two bachelor's, part of a master's, two past direct sales businesses, a current job in manufacturing that is unrelated to any of my degrees (but I still love it), and a still-currently-exists-but-I-don't-focus-on-building-it-much Etsy shop all under my proverbial belt* I am just now finally figuring out what I want to do with my life.

*I never wear belts. Ergo, proverbial.

So what is it I want to do? I want to start my own business. I have a bajillion* ideas of how I want it to work, but my first step toward it is that master's I mentioned. See, my degrees are in graphic design and writing, with a minor in advertising. In other words, I absolutely love marketing. I also (as indicated by the Etsy shop) love crafting and general creativity. No spoilers yet (we'll get there) but the business I intend to create is sort of a fusion of multiple artistic endeavors. Not just my own, mind you! See, two (more) things I love are building communities and supporting others. So I've got all that stuff pretty well down!

*A bajillion might be a slight exaggeration, but I'm not sure, I've never counted them.

What I don't have down as well is the business side of things. That's really why I started pursuing my MBA. I first took a free small-business informational one-time course nearby, and it didn't really give me all I needed to know. So I decided to seek the information I need via further education (and, uh, expenses . . . *gulp*) so that I could really understand what I need to know to make a business, not just begin, but thrive!

But as I said, I'm very community-oriented. I can't really do this on my own. That's where you all come in. I want people! I want input! I̶ ̶W̶A̶N̶T̶ ̶W̶O̶R̶L̶D̶ ̶D̶O̶M̶I̶N̶A̶T̶I̶O̶N̶!̶

No, wait, not that last one. I couldn't handle that kind of pressure. Let's just stick with getting to know each other. I want to share with you what I'm learning and deciding along the way, and I would love your input on how you think the business itself should shape up. Oh, and I'll probably be changing up my communications in various ways - shorter and longer posts, videos, pictures, whatever best communicates what I want to tell you, or how I want to tell you at that time.

More on the business ideas themselves later! For now, drop a comment and let me know who you are too, and anything else you feel like telling me. I'd love to know who my traveling companions are along this journey!