Vaani Chugh’s Post

Hey! Today, I’m thrilled to share an incredible story of resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. It’s about Hannah Perry, a remarkable woman who transformed her life and built a beloved brand from a dream and a lot of hard work. 🔴 From Adversity to Opportunity Hannah Perry faced a tough crossroads when she lost her job and her marriage fell apart. But instead of letting these challenges define her, she turned to an old dream—starting a cotton candy business. Her journey from those dark days to creating a viral sensation is nothing short of inspiring. 🟡 How Floof Cotton Candy Began Hannah’s story is a testament to the power of following your passions. With the goal of creating a better future for herself and her children, she started Floof Cotton Candy. “I knew I needed to make a change and find a way to support my family,” Hannah shares. “I decided to turn a long-time dream into a reality.” Initially, Hannah worked tirelessly in her kitchen, experimenting with flavors and perfecting her cotton candy. She built her first cart from a jogging stroller and began selling at local events. Despite the challenges of going through a separation and juggling her time, Hannah’s determination never wavered. 🟢 The Big Break The turning point came when Hannah’s instructional video on TikTok went viral. What started as a simple guide for her customers exploded into a viral sensation, leading to an overwhelming amount of orders. This moment marked a significant shift for her business, proving that sometimes, a bit of luck and timing can catapult your venture to new heights. 🔵 Celebrity Encounter and Growth Hannah’s unique cotton candy cakes caught the eye of Charlize Theron’s house manager, leading to a special order for the actress’s son. “It was a proud moment,” Hannah reflects. “It showed me that I had built something truly special.” With Floof Cotton Candy gaining popularity, Hannah made the switch to #Shopify from #Wix to better manage her growing business. The move helped streamline her operations and gave her business a more professional edge. 🟣 Her Advice Hannah’s advice for fellow entrepreneurs is simple yet powerful: “If you have a passion and an idea, go for it. It’s going to be challenging, but the freedom and satisfaction of building something from the ground up are worth it.” 🟠 What Can We Learn? Hannah’s journey teaches us that resilience and passion can turn even the toughest situations into opportunities. If you’re dreaming of starting your own store or taking your business to the next level, take a page from Hannah’s book—dream big, work hard, and embrace every opportunity. Keep pushing forward, and remember, success often starts with a single step and a lot of determination. Here is Hannah’s website - floofcc.com Happy Selling! Araf from #ShopifyJournal 📧👉If you like the letter and want this type of letter in your inbox (weekly) then subscribe to our #newsletter - https://lnkd.in/g5BrH5vy #usa #ecommerce

95% of people aren’t cut out for entrepreneurship. It’s the craziest thing you could ever experience. Some people will consistently pay invoices on time. Others will ghost you for weeks. Some clients will stay with you through thick and thin. Others will leave with zero explanation. Some months you’ll go way beyond targets. The next, you won’t hit a single one. You get the point. This lifestyle is far from what the Instagram gurus will have you believe. Sometimes it feels like it’s going nowhere but up. Sometimes it feels like it’s all going to sh*t. But here’s one solid bit of advice: (From the last 5 years of running a business) Don’t let the highs make you complacent Don’t let the lows keep you down I struggled with this for a long time. If you let these circumstances dictate your mood, you’ll be an awful person to be around. Ultimately, they will control EVERYTHING... – Your relationships outside of work. – What you do inside of work. – Your overall well-being. So what can you do instead? Stay completely emotionally neutral. Yes, still celebrate the wins. And figure out where things went wrong. But do it quickly and then get straight back to work. Don’t dwell. If you do? You’ll miss out on so many more opportunities. PS. The last couple of weeks have been hectic. We’re working on so many things at Kurogo right now, and my girlfriend draws the short straw when I need to get things off my chest. So she gave me some simple (but highly effective) advice ahead of last week: ‘You just have to get it done’ Instantly got my sh*t together and stopped complaining. The partners of the founders are the true heroes. Especially with everything they have to put up with. But they hardly get the credit they deserve.

I was in the same trap most entrepreneurs still are. (That made me giveup for a moment) 1. Growing to 10k followers 2. Matching the likes of other creators 3. Try to get insane engagement and virality 4. Using every hack, tips, and tricks to grow fast. This path leads to BRUTAL burnout. Tons of self-doubt about my capability Mind full of negativity and giveup thoughts Our feed tricks us into thinking: ↳ If he's getting 100s of likes, I should too. ↳ Otherwise, I'm not good enough or growing. But we often forget that: ↳ For every successful story you read, ↳ There are 10x failure stories underneath So stop comparing and doubting yourself. And: 1. Instead of chasing followers → chase community 2. Instead of chasing likes → chase conversations 3. Instead of chasing numbers → chase impact This will get you real business And build your real brand. Keep you consistent. Your potential isn't in follower counts. It's in your resilience, growth, and impact. P.S. When did you have the giveup thought last time?

I’ll leave this here to say… there’s hope for you too! This is a picture of Bob Barlau and me from almost 20 years ago, rolling together in one of our first businesses. I don’t know what I was thinking with that suit or that hair (or what Amy was thinking, for that matter, since that’s about the time I met her). We were young, working in a network marketing company, and we first began to think about our entrepreneurial dreams as we discovered the idea of residual income, leverage, and being our own boss. Even though we never quite reached our goals in that business, we’ve had the chance to start, lead, and grow some incredible companies. I found that picture of Bob and me while looking for an old photo I had in the archives with Eric Styles, founder of YourSix. He and another long-time business owner friend were discussing their collaboration on LinkedIn, and I wanted to send them an old photo I knew I had. And here’s what else I found: From that same time, I found photos of guys like Ryan Goodman and Brady Nash (founders of BNG and about a dozen other amazing companies), Barry Gruchow (owner of Halberstadt’s and Your Day), Luke Swenson (chief investment officer at Sterling and serial entrepreneur), and John Adamic (founder of YETE Technologies). The seemingly statistical impossibility of how far all of us in that small group have made it struck me. It reminded me of that quote: “You overestimate what you can do in a year but highly underestimate what you can accomplish in 10 years.” I guess it's all the more true in 18 years. When you apply energy and consistent effort over time toward your dreams, you can achieve amazing things. If you can find a good coach and mentor along the way, you can avoid detours and mistakes and get to your destination even faster. So there’s hope for you, too, even if you made terrible hair and clothing choices in the past. Ps. I’m sparing everybody else from the old photos unless there’s enough demand to see a few of these! 🤣

Emma, a struggling entrepreneur, was in a café with her younger sister, Lily, who is a college student, when she sighted an old friend of hers. Jace, Emma, called out in excitement. Oh my goodness, Emma, it's been a while, Jace said, approaching the table where Emma was seated. Not just a while, it's been ages, you completely forgot about me, what was I expecting, you run a very successful online brand. Don't say that Emma, ok I am sorry, Jace said as he settled down. Apologies, accepted, Emma said with a smile. Jace, I have been working on my online store for a few months now, but it’s not taking off like I expected. I thought I’d be making thousands by now. What am I doing wrong? Emma asked. Emma, that’s a common misconception. Many people think online businesses are a quick path to success, but it takes time, effort, and patience. Jace answered with a smile. Sorry to barge in, but I have read so many stories about people getting rich overnight. Isn’t that true? Lily asked with a frown. Those stories are often exaggerated. They usually omit the months or even years of hard work behind the scenes. Success in online business doesn’t happen overnight. It’s about building trust with your audience, consistently providing value, and learning from your mistakes, Jace replied. Hmm, so what should I focus on? Emma asked. First, make sure you are offering something unique or doing something better than your competitors. Second, engage with your customers genuinely. Social media, email newsletters, and even personal thank you notes can make a big difference. Finally, don’t be afraid to adjust your strategies based on feedback and market trends, Jace explained. That sounds like a lot of work. How do you stay motivated? Lily asked. It is a lot of work, but seeing small wins and progress can be incredibly motivating. Celebrate those little victories and remember why you started. It’s not just about the money, it is about creating something valuable and meaningful, Jace replied. Thanks, Jake. That was an eye-opener. I will keep pushing forward and stay patient, Emma said with a smile. Exactly. Just stay consistent, and remember that real success is built over time, Jace said. **** Give yourself time to grow, growth is a process. © Darasimi Williams. #entrepreneur #businesstips #onlinebusiness #success #growth

Oooh! don't talk about it. I have gone through hard times of self-denial, rejection, feeling not worth to be in certain groups of advanced people due to my age. My speech, relation to people, resonance, suggest a well-advanced age, which is not the case. I hate talking about my age due to the fact that it tends to change the people's perspective about myself. people who relied on me for help, change and start avoiding me. It's a very lonely path. But I have decided to keep moving, despite the fact that I might lose people, I must keep going. I must keep focused; I have to attain my visions. Thanks, allot for sharing this, it's such an encouragement, and a way to get over the stigma. The secret is to keep focused until you become irresistible in your field of influence.

✅ 4 Things I No Longer Do As A Business Owner In My 40’s. I don’t what happened internally when I hit my fourth decade but without a doubt things started to change about how I feel being in the world and here are four ways it impacted my business. ✨1 - I no longer care what other people think of me. I’ve learned that as long I stay in alignment with my values, treat people well and carry on my with my mission of helping entrepreneurs see and feel the best in themselves then I don’t care if other people don’t like it. My dreams matter more than any short term discomfort I may get from a trollers comment or even someone I know who thinks it’s cringe. 🤷🏻♀️ ✨2 - I don’t compare myself to others or their results. This was is HUGE for me. I was totally stuck in comparison for years. Envious of other entrepreneurs lifestyles and relationships. But over the years I’ve learned that not everything is as it seems and to be envious of someone’s social media is naive and short thinking. We have NO IDEA what’s going on behind the scenes in their lives nor do we know if we are willing to do whatever they did to get to where they are. So, it is a futile effort. ✨3 - I no longer buy anything because of FOMO There are some AMAZING marketers out there that can make you feel like if you don’t get their course or product you’ll never get to where you want to go. FOMO is real especially when it comes to wanting to build your business. BUT If whatever they are selling is not the next logical step for me, I’m not interested. I’ve wasted a lot of money and time over the years buying things because I thought I needed them. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t. Either way, now I only invest in what I actually need in the moment to help me make the next level of progress. ✨4 - I no longer jump on marketing trends because they are shiny objects that I just ‘must have’. It’s more important to go deep on a few things than to spread yourself thin. When something new comes I look at it objectively and ask myself: is this going to get me closer to what I want or pull me farther away from it? That makes for easy decision making. ➡️What has changed for you as you’ve gotten older with your business?

I had put up a poll earlier last week asking what my LinkedIn followers wanted me to talk about. Result:  16 votes for #b2bcontent creation 4 votes for #entrepreneurship 6 votes for #worklifebalance for #women 5 votes for #womenentrepreneurship Let me start with the topic that has received the least number of votes.  Entrepreneurship - 4. Earlier last month, I spoke about #bracinginsults as a part of my #careerlesson. Here’s a continuation of it. #careerlessons2 This incident happened in 2018-19 when Penthusiasts was about 18 months old. We got connected with a renowned eyewear chain in Chennai through a referral. I vaguely remember the form of content they wanted us to do. Their website lacked the basic functionalities, and some SEO tags were missing. I recommended they fix this before focusing on Content. I also told them if they needed someone for this, I could refer them too. I didn’t get a concrete response from the founder, but he was keen on getting started with the content and kept pushing me for a proposal. I prepared the proposal and quote and tried following up with him. He answered my call after 2 weeks of follow-ups (I called him once a week). I started talking to him about the proposal and budget. My idea was to email them to him after speaking. His tone started changing after a few conversations. He sounded a bit rude. He asked me how much it cost, and I mentioned the price. After hearing the cost, I heard: “You guys are behind me for my money. Don’t waste my time” Let me tell you why I took this seriously. I started Penthusiasts all by myself, putting my blood and sweat throughout and till date. I neither had a history of entrepreneurship nor was I born/raised in an entrepreneurial family. I’m a first-generation entrepreneur. I took no financial help from any of my family members, friends or even working partners for that matter. When it comes to handling finances, I always believe in keeping my hands clean and not messing up with anybody’s money - be it clients, partners or anybody in my ecosystem. For someone who has been through this and practicing certain morals, that statement from a so-called renowned entrepreneur was shocking. What did I learn from this? ✅ Do proper background research before starting a conversation with a prospective client.  ✅ If you don’t get the vibe in the initial conversation, don’t take up the engagement further.  ✅ Work only with people who are ready to pay the price on par for what you offer. What are your stories and learnings as an entrepreneur? I’ll be happy to hear and take the essence from your stories as well. If you missed the first part of #bracinginsults and #careerlessons, check the link in the comments section. #bracinginsults #careerlessons #enterpreneurslife #careerchallenges 

'You're crushing it! You're everywhere!' Meanwhile, I was stress-eating a Snickers in between calls and hadn't washed my hair in... we won't talk about it 😅 Let's get real for a hot second: If you're looking for someone to teach you "10 Steps to 6-Figures" while ignoring the fact that you ugly-cried in your shower this morning... I am NOT your girl. Surface-level convos make me break out in hives. Seriously. My brand of entrepreneurship comes with a warning label: "Will probably talk about feelings. And strategy. And that time I thought I was failing but was actually leveling up." Because here's what those perfectly curated business posts won't tell you: • Sometimes your "biggest launch ever" happens the same week you're questioning everything • Your "best speaking engagement" might be after a panic attack in the bathroom • That "crushing it" moment? Probably followed by 3am doubts and cold pizza This is exactly why I do things differently. We dive deep. Like, deep-deep. Swimming with the feelings deep. We handle: • The strategy (because duh, we need money) • The tears (because they're coming anyway) • The messy middle (my specialty) • The real conversations about what success actually feels like (spoiler: probably not like your feed) 💭 DM me "REAL SUPPORT" if you're: • Done with the highlight reel • Ready for honest conversations • Cool with occasional gif therapy • Looking for success that doesn't require pretending you've got it all figured out Because the best support comes from someone who's been there - someone who's taken awkward selfies in both the spotlight AND the shadows. And has the embarrassing stories to prove it. . . . Hey 👋 I'm Gabs - think of me as your entrepreneurial big sister who's here to validate both your business strategy AND your 2am anxiety spirals.

Black women make up less than 10% of the U.S. population, but they've emerged as the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, new research from GoDaddy has found. The number of Black women-owned businesses in the U.S. was trending upward even before the Covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated entrepreneurship overall. Key Takeaways from the Venture Forward U.S. report: *The research found Black entrepreneurs own 15% of U.S. microbusinesses, and of those, Black women own 68%. *Generation X makes up the largest group of entrepreneurs at 41% of the total. *One in six microbusiness owners earn more than $100,000 annually, and nearly three out of ten women with a microbusiness are the breadwinners in their home. *Nearly half of respondents (46%) citing their microbusiness as their main source of income converted it from a supplemental source of income. *Sixty-three percent of entrepreneurs agree: Life is better as an entrepreneur. #supportblackownedbusinesses #entrepreneurship