Up in My Business

The brain. Such an incredible creation and so very complex . Humans have been studying the brain for centuries to understand how people learn, love and process information. It's incredibly fascinating. We are only scratching the surface of the brain, but congruently are creating technology that resembles the brain known as artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence or AI is intelligence that is demonstrated by machines. How does AI work? First, let's look at how the brain works. Your brain has different regions the process different types of information through messengers called neurons. Neurons are the basic working unit of the brain. Neurons use electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information to different areas of the brain and from the brain to the rest of your body's nervous system. A more complex, entangles system of these neurons is called a neuronet. Your neuronet is your first line of defense when processing information from the outside world ...

The amount of time that goes into starting and running a successful business is more of a time commitment than people imagine. You will start to have little time to do the things you love, but it truly is a matter of priorities. After years of trial and error, I have finally found a system that works for me and wanted to share the three biggest obstacles that I had and ways to manage them.  Cleaning Ask for recommendations of local cleaning services that can come and help you manage your home economics so you can focus your time on nurturing your startup in its infancy. This will help you have a fresh space to come home to and help you build a though-out system that will be ready to scale because you have given it the proper attention.  Workouts Running a startup and finding time for workouts is very difficult, but so essential to balance stress and keep your body and mind in equilibrium. My first year and a half of running my company was so hard. I really struggled with findi...

Women in business are still fighting the good fight and making monumental progress for women everywhere. This is especially true for women in industries that are male dominated like construction, science, engineering and technology.  The beauty in these fields is that as they advance, so does the education discipline options. Symbolic Systems has become a new major that was development as the technology field evolved and there was a need for a connection between mind and machine. This study is a hybrid of computer science, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, psychology and statistics.  Marissa Mayer is exactly that. This Stanford Graduate of Symbolic Systems, took the technology industry by storm by being one of the first influential women in tech--starting her career as a developer at Google . After a short time, she identified that there were others that were more efficient in development than she. Mayer switched to User Experience Design and is the creator of the Google ...

It is no secret that balancing a startup and a relationship can be very hard. Mainly because your business and your partner are both competing for spot #1 with limited time and that can be very hard on both parties. Being that it is the season of love, I want to share some tips on ways to balance both.  As business owners, our free time is limited and when we have it, we want to spend it doing something we enjoy and make the most of it! A very efficient way to maximize that time spent with you partner is understanding how you both show and receive affection. Your love languages.  There are five love languages and knowing them can help you in business and your personal life. The five love languages at a glance are words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts and physical touch. I will expand more into each in a bit, but why is this important? Knowing how you and others communicate love is a very adept skill to refine. This will help you maximize your limited time ...

 How to find your genius... I was having a very interesting conversation with one of my business mentees about topics for them to blog about. Their focus is in Health and Fitness . Once we started brainstorming, ideas were thrown out and they politely turned them down by saying, " Everyone already knows all of those things. " Often times people who excel in a specific area have been immersed in that field of study, independent or institutional, that they start to think there isn't much special value to it. There is . And, it's a first sign of an area that could be your genius.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, a genius is defined as a person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect.  The truth is that although you may not think much of it.... there are people who don't know how to read a nutritional label, people who don't know how to play a single instrument, women that don't know how to care for chil...

When I receive the opportunity to speak at seminars, I often get asked the question from people at all stages of life, " I don't have the money to start a business. What can I do to start my business? " Did you know that women wearing pants use to be considered taboo? What a world we live in. Another concept that has been considered completely taboo is talking about money and the finance geek in me LOVES answering this question.  The harsh truth is that we live where money makes the world go 'round. Truly not knowing how to manage money can be very detrimental to your chances of moving ahead in life. It starts with you. It starts today. You need to learn how to manage money.  The best advice I have ever heard in my life was from my accounting professor that once told me: " Successful Old people come from Smart Young People. " And what he meant is that success and its fruits are not handed to you, it takes foresight, thoughtful calculations and above all, d...

I'd like to start this post off by saying thank you to those of you who read my first introduction post . There is so much more to my story as an entrepreneur and topics to expand on that it's hard to cover in one post, but I will aim to do so over the progression of this blog.  One of the biggest themes that I have seen in entrepreneurs is their curiosity and longing to educate themselves. Often times this is done through reading, watching videos and attending seminars / networking events. These are all beneficial and necessary learning avenues that I will cover individually.  To start, let's talk about the importance of reading. Reading non-fiction books on self-help, business and psychology are a great place to start to expand your knowledge and foster a logical perspective. But, don't rule out fiction writing as it is important to nurture your creative side and allow you brain to take a break from always processing analytical information. More on this mindset balanc...

The business world... I was listening to a podcast on one of my favorite entrepreneurs. She was talking about her start into business. At a networking meeting she was approached by two men who congratulated her on her success and said, "Welcome to the business world. Are you ready to go to war?"  Decades, centuries. This is how business has been run. More profit, more gross margin, more quantity.  Although it's very convenient, companies like Amazon have completely created a culture of people expecting to pay nothing for almost anything. It's no secret that it has been a threat to brick and mortar retailers, but I think the biggest concern is the devaluation of artistry and manual labor it has created in our society. The harsh truth is that the more you support cheaply priced items, the more you support low wages. Businesses can't compete in a marketplace driven by the cheapest price without paying low, unfair wages.  Everyone talks about these politic...

Who am I? So glad you asked.  My name is Erica. I am a story teller and I will be your thought guide.  I am an entrepreneur. I didn't always know that, of course. It wasn't until I was standing in my storefront talking to one of my employees when she commented that I was an entrepreneur. I giggled. Then she proceeded to get very serious and squared my shoulders towards hers and said, "Erica, you know that right? You have to know that. You are an entrepreneur. We are standing in your store." And that's how I realized I was an entrepreneur.  Let me explain.  My whole life.. I was slightly... odd. Not to a point that I would send people running, but I was most definitely different. While most young girls were very interested in fashion and boys, I was hanging out with my dad--building things, wiring new gadgets and learning about convectional heat with coffee cups. By 4th grade, I was creating class projects for matching vocabulary words with definitions using insul...

 Hello there! Are you ready to get  Up in My Biz?!  Perfect.   This is a creative space to share ideas, thoughts and experiences surrounding the business world, psychology, health and spirituality. Follow along to read blog updates, read the books we are reading, engage in open discussions and generally share a welcoming space in a culture rooted in personal development.  Up in My Biz is a platform to share my journey as an entrepreneur, collaborate with other entrepreneurs and give others the courage to explore their entrepreneurial paths during this short journey we call life.  Let's get started!