...going naked...yup, its come to this... i mean i am in Southern California

i mean naked in the sense of transparency of course :)...well, i went there...classic marketing grabber...yet, to do this i have to be real, i haven't a filter anymore...that doesn't mean being rude.. just have to write it like it is...if i have to leave a legacy...in business and life...be real...don't leave any elephants in the room... it's crazy how we don't mind being out there with brashness, but really getting down and being real friends is awkward...we don't want to be the one to tell the emperor he is naked...leaves you vulnerable..hence  a double backstory today.... hey you are here ...it will all get to the point in a bit...and it is sort of an explanation why I have had a minor diversion...main reason argghh... darn wifi..has me behind..and broken three chargers...my only angst with apple products..

>>>the backstory to the backstory.....lol..ok, bear with me..<<

i started this career as a hippiebeachartist chick wearing jeans and long hair...gees....I guess I have come full circle...

side trip to the Grand Canyon...my first time..

I started in business and college early..16.. had my first major corporate design gig at 20...  had a compulsion for work, family and life... all the while looking like I was 12... it worked in my favor, the little hippie chick with the baby face....no one suspected the inner crazy :) compelled designer and business savvy person...trained in both architecture and graphics...it has been an amazing adventure...

yet motherhood, yes, has been my greatest job...4 kiddos that are as individual as you can think, but all solid people...the journey is over for "active" parenting...now, it is more like being the example of how to live life and just having their back...so cool-the transition egads...has had its bumps...

I had a sudden schism in my life, my partner in the midst...well-had to say goodbye before the journey was complete...damn the beast of cancer...the good part, well he saw the kids become adults and knew his youngest was accepted to the school of her dreams...she not only made to france once, but twice..and even to hong kong..

so dropping my youngest off in southern california as she embarks on her professional career in film after graduating from SCAD  this past June...we went literally cross country working on the kick off to [ i am small ] and her being my producer... 

yes, got her to hollywood...sign is in the background but too darn sunny...

and that has seen detours and bumps..geez... i need my wifi!

and...yes, the backstory sometimes becomes the main event...

i admit, I am my own version of ADD, but gotta live life...realize the moment...

so diversion is part of my daily experience

you don't run across people by accident...and without reason...

>>>the backstory to the story<<<

my husband and I were in the construction industry, it has a special place in my heart...in 2009 the industry was devastated...it was also the year my life was devastated...i was told after my husband  and business partner died, well get an office job...you are attractive, you will get married again....people trivialized my tragedy... i admired those who not only dug in, but reconfigured themselves to meet the changing market....in our early days  in construction... a stone company based in Virginia had the back of this very quirky designer who always looked for products that no one had...had crazy ideas of what could be done with stone in the landscape....Luck Stone.....especially Michael Weiss, who at the time ran the shop/store in charlotte....he believed in us...and never said no or can't ...but how can we help...

every home show we went on to win, every magazine, every time I could...they were my first and usually my only call, because they came through...and believed in us when we started from scratch...in a used van...and no equipment...just a passion and skill....so not surprisingly...they pushed through the most recent challenges in the building industry that crushed many companies....funny thing is that culture...surrounding yourself with like minded individuals who say never die...well they succeed..sometimes they have to reenvision  themselves...but like me they are still standing...

when starting out on [ i am small ] i was connecting with all my social media friends getting referrals and trying to plan out the journey... in the midst I ran across a friend of a friend from Luck Stone... a builder from Maryland..who despite great challenges not only held it together when the down turn came, but thrived...and is back at the top of his game...and a leader in his profession.....Patrick Hagan....of Hagan and Hamilton Builders...well Patrick has a long story...it cannot be told without shining light on his compulsion to give back...the dots start to be connected...for a reason...

...stay tuned for part 2... 

an echo or a voice

i said when i started this on the fly...this will be the voice of small business, of real people...sometimes, i will elaborate on things that I, personally, would be better sharing...because well, it is always good to have a wingman to shout your praises..or explain things that might be taken wrong...

in the midst, sometimes things come up i have to take an aside to flesh out the idea...

and that there is a difference between having a voice, and being an echo...an echo is a secondhand idea...it is a knock off...like purses you buy on the streets of Time Square...

well, they might walk and talk like an original..but they are missing the substance...and won't last as long...and you will never be sure the origins are legal..

if you have a small business, your strength is in your uniqueness...figure out what that is...and let it shine...then no matter what the market is doing, this will position your business for success. 

one of the differences in an echo or a voice...well, here are me and two of my kiddos...one in the midst of photobombing and this weird reflection in his eye?? any way going no filter for you...though they are my offspring, they have the same makeup as i, they are oh so different...and they each have their own opinions...ahem...

that is why i want to share the voice of small business...for people to realize they are not an echo of big business, they are unique...each one different despite having similar composition.

;) alyse

on the streets of trendy nyc...an 1000 tee zz over the top dis-order...

Small business...well...somedays you get that big sale...some days...what the ???

NYC..who is more NYC city than an artist selling their ware on the streets of this city..i was chatting with Hart Thomas of TommyTees...you know the best street tees that "shhhhhh" are who the ones with style shop...and whoever wants a real souvenir of the city comes......found him at his streetside set up in Williamsburg...yes, the birthplace of hipster...Williamsburg....or as Hart calls it #billsyburg but he also hangs out in SOHO

He was funny...when I asked him to do the interview...he said ok..

then he told me " I know you will be fair"... nice but how..."well, I said something on facebook that you challenged me on"....Oh, what was it... "I don't remember now, just remember you were nice and fair and funny" ..... well played Hart :)..

Hart is one of the hardest working guys I know....rebooting after a career as an AD for a big agency, then owned an agency with a partner...and now...doing his thing... illustrations, art, custom designed and hand screened t-shirts.with a twist.....glow in the dark reversible ....and then there was another great twist...welll, almost ...i always ask if people have a good story..he says...many celebs walk past him daily... like Izzy Azalea...and yes he has the coolest pinterest page..

From hart's pinterest  page 

he snaps them as they hang out...and sometimes they actually stop...like

Billy Gibbons of ZZ top...yes that guy..and super nice..

"the guy loved my shirts...checked them out good, wanted some for his tour...when they play..for his people.."

Billy Gibbons and Hart talking business on the streets of SOHO

I mean they are reversible and they glow in the dark... what rocker wouldn love harts cool graphics..

so he hands hart the card....oh..of course I made the scribbles...

redacted business card...i used high tech scribble..

the 'friend of eric clapton" tagline is brilliant..

"call me..i will get you connect to my team..."

I do, he does...negotiations begin..they want 1000 shirts...billy wants a 1000

yet..when it came down to it...the decision was made by the business team..

"we can get shirts for 6 dollars....why pay $40-60.."

so all that time spent preparing the quote..researching..going back and forth...on an item

that the  "billy gibbons" in person ...picked it....and that guy should know what he wants.. 

Billy Gibbons.....at Tommy Tees

you have to wonder if his people even told him...

I mean I would pay that for a custom zz top shirt, that glowed in the dark, was reversible and had killer graphics....it is an original work of all...like signed prints..but better..
crazy.....more on hart to come..

wearing tommy tees on the streets of soho 

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