Blogging Over Everything One Week Income Report

Hey loves!👋🏽👋🏽 Thank you for stopping by, and if you are new here welcome to Designs By Vee. So I did a thing, I launched a blogging brand called Blogging Over Everything. I created it as a way for other bloggers to promote their brand without the use of the world wide web. Learn all about how I came up with the brand and the why behind it, in my last blog post on Blogging Over Everything. I launched my business on December 14th, 2020. I set two goals for myself when I launched and the first one was to make sure my audience understood the why behind the brand, and two was to make at least $100 my first week of launching. So let’s jump right into Blogging Over Everything One Week Income Report.

The Ugly Truth

I’m not sure if you’ve ever went into business for yourself or know the process, but my journey to launch this brand was not easy. Honestly I thought about giving up a few times before I actually got to the fun part. Everyone writes about the success stories, but no one tells you about the struggles to get to the top because it’s not the pretty part. Well I want you to know that when you create a brand and/or a business you will have to overcome lot’s of obstacles that could really stop your dream before it even comes to life.

You will have a lot of amazing people in your corner rooting for your success but that does not mean that, that positivity will equate to your overall bottom-line. This includes your family and your friends. To be honest with you it’s the people you don’t know who will support you the most when launching your business. If you’re lucky you will get the people you actually know and love to share your post on social media.

As far as them buying something, well it’s a pretty slim chance. I by no means am saying that it won’t happen but what I am saying is that it’s OK if you make you first few sales from strangers versus your top supporters. It’s not personal, it’s business.

With that being said, I ran into a lot of problems, some that lead me on a dead end road. Others that provided me an alternate route, but I do have one of the most supportive circles a woman can ask for, so when I ran into problems, they had my back and kept me motivated.

The Logo

My first issue with starting the brand was my logo. The whole idea of my blogging brand was to have a place that all bloggers could go and buy blogger apparel and/or customize it. I realized that there was a gap in the market for passionate bloggers like myself to buy blogger apparel to basically showcase that I blog.

If you’re anything like me, you like to rep the things you are passionate about so the whole world can know. I’ve been blogging a little over two years and in all the years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve NEVER owned anything that would help me promote my brand. Not a shirt, pen, or notepad. But you know what I did have? A lot of PINK apparel, Express apparel and the list goes on and on. I realized that not only did I need to promote my blog more, but I also needed to provide an outlet to other bloggers who also wanted to rep their brand wherever they go. So with that being said, I wanted to make sure my brand logo was universal for humans as a whole. Plus I wanted it to be easy to Trademark.

My original idea for my logo was called i blog. Which would have been pronounced as ( I Blog Period). I wanted something simple that basically told you in one sentence or less what the brand was about. But after hiring a lawyer I realized a million reasons why that logo would not work for me.

When you are creating a brand and/or business you definitely want to either consult with a lawyer or do some major research. You don’t want to fall in love with a name that has already been trademarked, copywrited, and/or in use already. I found this out the hard way and I don’t want anyone else to go through the struggles I did in the beginning. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

From the quick search my lawyer did she advised me that the “I” in the beginning of my logo was going to be my major problem. My first big problem was Apple with the “I”, since they already had the “ipad, and the iphone” etc. that if my business did blow up, Apple could seek legal action off of my business name. So it was back to the drawing board.

The Winner

I came up with my new brand name about a week later. In true Vee fashion I enlisted about six of my closest friends to help me with deciding on a name. I had four names I was stuck on.

• First, I Blog (because I was still stuck on i blog.) 😩😂
• Blog Label
• Blog Drip
• Blogging Over Everything

Although I loved them all and appreciated everyone’s valuable input, it ultimately came down to my decision. My best friends gave be great advice that lead me to Blogging Over Everything. Once I got my name solidified it was time to go back to my lawyer to make sure it was actually something I could fall in love with this time.😳😂 After I got the okay, it was on and popping. (Do people even say “popping” anymore 🤦🏽‍♀️😆…Anyways).

Setting Up My Website

So although I have my blogging website with WordPress I wanted to launch my business brand for my blog on a super simple platform, so I launched blogging over everything with Shopify. I did my research between Woo Commerce and Shopify and Shopify won by a long shot.

Woo Commerce

The Benefits:

• Free
• Same platform as my blog
• Website Theme Designs (A million different looks that are fully customizable)

The Disadvantages:

• Ecommerce platform was complicated
• Everything is basically al-la-cart
• Transaction fees
• Did not have easy access to help desk for questions
• Not a lot of transactional security
• Everything that I needed my shop to do was going to be a added plugin that would be a hefty fee. ($50+ for each plugin)
• Reviews for Woo Commerce did not leave a good taste in my mouth

Shopify

The Benefits:

• Perfect for Beginners
• Easy All-in-One platform
• Trustworthy card transaction system
• Reliable
• 24/7 access to helpdesk
• Easy Access to all Social Media Platform
• Easy Step by Step Setup
• Tons of apps (some free)
• Transactional security
• More Flexible site
• Analytics built into the platform

The Disadvantages:

• Highly Monthly Cost Per Month
• Transaction Fees
• Different Theme Designs cost ($100+ each and not very customizable)

Needless to say choosing my website platform to launch my business brand was a lot easier than expected. All in all Shopify was going to give me less stress and when you’re starting a new business you need as much easy as possible.

Launch Day

Like I said before I launched on December 14th, 2020. I actually wanted to launch the week before black Friday but that is a whole other story. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I took all my own pictures, made my own product descriptions, and legal pages were easy since Shopify gives you a templet. I created my own website banners too. 💁🏽‍♀️ I’m not going to say that launching my website didn’t kick my butt, if you know anything about me you know I’m not tech savvy at all. Setting up the very website you’re on right now legit gave me a run for my money but I did it all with the help of my blogging mentor.

Leading up to my launch day I started my Instagram page and Facebook page. My goal was to have 100 followers on Instagram and at least 50 followers on Facebook. Before I launched I promoted to all my friends and family. I ran a couple of ads to build up the awareness of my launch and then boom, out of no where the day was here.

To say I was beyond nervous would be making light of the situation. All I could think about is what if they hated the site, it wasn’t what people expected or better yet it looked horrible. (Not that anything I could do would be horrible. 😂😋 My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking and I was on with Shopify’s help desk leading up to the launch just to make sure everything ran smoothly. And then, I did it! I hit the button and officially launched my site, it was officially LIVE.

My First Sale

Now like I said before, I had been posting and building up my brand awareness for about two weeks leading up to my launch. Although I worked hard promoting this wasn’t my first rodeo. I owned my own clothing boutique back in the day so I know exactly how launch day typically goes. But what I wasn’t expecting was to make a sale my first day!

Typically everyone bombards your website just to be nosey and see what you have to sell and how well you executed it. But then you have that small percentage of people that actually goes to your website to actually buy. And then, it happened, I made my first sale, on my VERY first day. I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t want to cry because I legit got tears in my eyes. I looked at my phone and read the name and my heart filled with joy. (Side note, with Shopify they do have an app which connects to your website platform to notify you of any sales and/or issues.

It was my bestie, my best friend from college, my photographer of all my CEO pictures. She was actually the first person to buy anything off of my website. You should check out her website and Instagram page. She is the best at what she does. Capturing all those special moments in a flash, literally. She is based in North Carolina so if you’re in or around the area definitely reach out to her and let her know that Vee sent you. 🥰

My Second Sale

So my second sale actually came from an old co-worker. My promotions on Facebook caught her eye and she actually had questions on starting her own business. So I gave her all the knowledge I had and while holding the conversation she actually ended up buying a sweatshirt and a long sleeve t-shirt for her and her daughter. That sale was unexpected as well, but she told be that she loves supporting small businesses and loved what I was doing so she wanted to support me. I promise I’m not a cry baby but this sell touched my soul.

I hadn’t worked with this women in years, we barely talked when we did, but it goes to show that when you are being honest, authentic, and genuine you are able to capture the sales from people you would never think would purchase your product. By her purchasing those two items and then the sale from my best friend I was able to meet my goal of making over $100 my first week of launching. Literally almost missed my own deadline but I had faith and kept hope alive.

In total I made $114.14 from my two orders and I couldn’t be more impresses with my business. I honestly didn’t think I would sell anything my first month, better yet my first week and I was so extremely excited and shocked. When I tell you that every dollar counts with a small business, EVERY dollar counts. Ladies if you are reading this, Thank you once again! 🥰

Shopping with a Small Business

I did a post on my Instagram page about a week ago and it said “No one will cherish your hard earned money more than a Small Business Owner Periodt.” I meant every word too. Macy’s, Kohl’s, even Target won’t appreciate your hard earned money like a small business owner will. One sale be it small or large lights up our entire world each and every time. And of course there is nothing like a repeat customer.

I actually started shopping small more then ever during the pandemic. I shopped with friends who had small businesses and also some YouTubers that I’ve been consumed with watching lately. And to be honest it felt so much better spending my hard earned money with other entrepreneurs. So I’m speaking to you from my own experiences.

Here are some Small Business that I’ve shopped with recently

• FlyByrdie Photography
• 2wenty€evenCouture
• Rev12six
• FonsSweets
• Corenta Candles
• C.Ross Made
• Elaine Soleil
• ShopAsWell

I have made it my business to shop with more small businesses in the coming new year so if you know of a small business I should be shopping with please leave their link in the comments below.

Before You Go!

Before I let you go I want to remind you of a few things. Branding is very important when launching a small business. Make sure you are real with your future customers and consistent. Consult a lawyer if you can, to make sure you’re doing everything on the up and up. Get trademarked if possible like I did. Also NEVER GIVE UP! I know their may be millions of reason to quit but don’t let anyone or anything discourage you. Keep going, keep pushing and keep moving forward.

If building an empire was easy everyone would do it. You had an idea and you made it a business, that’s more then what some people could even dream of. Now keep promoting, promote so much that people get so sick and tired of seeing your advertisement that they go onto your site and buy something! 🤣 I’m wishing each and everyone of you nothing but success this new year. You made it through this year and that was tough enough! You can do anything if you put your mind to it, and I’m here for you if you need me.

Thank you for all of my avid readers whose stuck with me before my blog even had a purpose. I couldn’t do it without you consistently logging onto my website and showing me love. Every comment, every view has been seen by me personally, and I’m thankful for each and everyone of you. May you have an amazing New Year filled with love, light, and happiness. See you in 2021! 🎉🎊🎉🎊

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