It is no coincidence that the last time I updated this blog was a year ago. As I have gone down this road of personal and financial freedom, I have witnessed the ways that email blasts, newsletters and social media have taken the place of blog posts. It is no longer the days of the early 2000s, where blogs were a new and innovative development. Yet still, I choose to keep this blog because it is a space for me to write about all Self Love Life 101 developments and to keep you updated apart from social media (which is still my primary way of connecting with you all). It is also a place and a space for me to be vulnerable about my feelings towards entrepreneurship.
When I first created Self Love Life 101, it was to fill a void in the current mainstream and non-mainstream markets. What void you ask? The void of loving oneself boldly, fully and unapologetically. Although the terms self care and self love are not new and often stated and reinforced on social media and television alike, the very nature of a capitalist society often tells us that we are not lovable unless we have particular accolades to “prove” our worth. Or there is the self-love movement that is primarily concerned with never-ending spa treatments, conceptions of “perfection,” extreme individualism and notions of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. I knew that this was not the idea in my head. Rather, my Self Love Life 101 business seeks to create a safe space to explore the complex intersections among money, happiness and love of self/others. It is a very tricky balance, because money is the root of resources yet it is also very much distributed in ways that honor privilege and white supremacy. So where do we go from there?
If you have booked a service with me (coaching, email consultations, workout/fitness plans), then you know that I always push you to be your best self while acknowledging the complexity of the systems we are navigating. Who we are and what we look like, play a role in the opportunities that we seek to gain. We live in a racialized world. A world where injustice continuously prevails. Yet still, in the crevices, in the small spaces of solidarity, there is always critical hope. Believing that you can attain a personal and financial level of freedom in your life is half the battle. The other half is putting systems in place that help you manage various obstacles that will surely come up: consumer buy-in, marketing/sales, building your clientele and creating a brand that is authentically you.
As a result of this deep reflection on my part after almost 2 years of developing and launching Self Love Life 101, I have finally accepted that I am in fact an entrepreneur and always have been. From the first independent sales of my poetry CDs in 2004 to the independent sales of my first poetry book in 2009; it is evident that creating a stream of income orchestrated and controlled by me, is a freedom that gives me joy and relentless purpose.
So no, I do not call myself an influencer any more, because although my goal is to influence others, I am choosing to do this through the services I provide to others. And that is my brainchild, my business, Self Love Life 101.
I want to send out a newsletter regularly via email. If you would like to be a part of my newsletter, comment with your email or send me a message on any of my social media platforms:
Crystal Belle, PhD: Youtube (see the latest video below)
@selflovelife101 fb/Twitter/IG
Last but certainly not least, if you know someone who would be interested in becoming a client of Self Love Life 101, please spread the good word.
