My Online Business Journey

Excerpt: While I was finishing my degree, I allowed myself to dream and listen to my desires. During my free time between classes, I would sit in a hallway and spend my time imagining and drawing ideas in my college notebooks. I felt alive! The spark of creativity was lighting up again! 🙌 Then, in one of those ideas, it occurred to me to open a YouTube channel sharing tutorials of my crafts. That's where it all started when I listened to my desire.

2011: IT ALL STARTED WITH A CLICK OF A BUTTON and listening to desire

Did you know that when I started my online business journey, I didn't know I was starting? 😲

Let’s go back to 2011 when I was in college. Behind those long hours of studying and classes, I was losing focus on the things that made me vibrantly happy. I felt like the creative side of me had been boxed up and was gathering dust. 😕

Has this happened to you? Maybe you loved dancing, drawing, playing the guitar, or sewing and you left it behind with the intention that one day you would do it again. Then, days, months, and even years pass by and you wonder why you stopped doing it. Well, that's what was happening to me. I confess that I felt like a dimmed light. I needed to express myself in a creative way to connect with myself and feel that spark again.

What did I do? While I was finishing my degree, I allowed myself to dream and listen to my desires. During my free time between classes, I would sit in a hallway and spend my time imagining and drawing ideas on the back pages of my college notebooks. I felt alive! The spark of creativity was lighting up again just by allowing myself to dream! 🙌 Then, in one of those ideas, it occurred to me to open a YouTube channel sharing tutorials of my crafts.

From having the idea to actually taking action, it took me 8 months to publish my first video. I had to face a lot of fears, like:

What will my family or friends think of me if they watch my videos?
What if I put all of this time and energy and no one watched it?
What if I receive negative comments?

In August 2011, I stopped listening to those fears and clicked that publish button. That’s where it all began, by clicking that button I didn’t know I was opening the door to my online business journey. Why? At that time, I did not know anything about entrepreneurship, I did not know that I could generate money on the Internet. I’ve always followed the traditional path and I’ve never been exposed to that possibility, but at that moment I opened a digital world I didn’t know existed and I was amazed.

2012: MY FIRST $100 CHECK

As I continued to make videos on my Youtube channel and my community started growing, I remember when I received my first $100 check generated from the number of views my tutorials had. Wow! I can't believe that you can make money online by doing the things you like to do in your free time and sharing them with others.

It opened my mind 🤯 and the light bulb of entrepreneurship turned on. 💡 I was fascinated with this digital world 🌎 and all its possibilities. This path of making videos lasted until 2017 and I was able to reach thousands of people, with the help of God. Although I had a lot of fun, I was already feeling like I wanted to do something new and I allowed myself to experiment again.

2018: LAUNCHED AN ETSY SHOP FOR PLANNERS

I remember a comment I received in one of my tutorials on how to make a printable planner, that said: “Ale, you should open an online store on Etsy with these planners, I would buy them.”

What? This is great, I did not know that one could sell digital products in an online store. So I started looking for information on how to launch my store and in 2018 I opened it with digital products. Do you know what I like the most about selling digital products? Not having to process orders and constantly travel to the post office. As soon as I get a cha-ching on my cell phone, the customer receives their product instantly. Again, I was amazed at all the possibilities there are for one to monetize our talents online. 😱

2020: CREATED ONLINE COURSES FOR ENTREPRENEURS

I had learned so much on this journey, that I started to create online courses to help other entrepreneurs on their journey too. Another door of entrepreneurship opened and I was still amazed at how one can create things, share them with the world, help other people and generate income at the same time. It is fascinating! 😍

2022: STARTED A PODCAST

Today with fears 🙈, I recorded my first episode for my new podcast and I decided to listen to my desire of doing it in my native language, Spanish. If you had asked me a few years ago if I wanted to start one, I would have said no, because I thought I didn't express myself well, but now I see it as an opportunity for growth. I visualize myself on episode 10 feeling more confident in myself and grateful I listened to my desire. Who knows where this will lead me to?

THE THREE TAKEAWAYS

Now that I looked back on my entrepreneurial journey, I would advise you. 🤓

🤓 Give yourself permission to be a beginner: When starting something new there will always be resistance. At first, you will not have all the skills and abilities, but with time and practice, you will improve.
🤔 Experiment mentality: Sometimes we are advised to find a niche and only talk about one topic, but that was not working for me. On my journey, you can see that I was always trying new things because I am multi-passionate. If you are like me, experiment with all the things you like, share all of you, and people will be connected with you.
😍 Imagine and dream of possibilities: Just as I did in the hallways of my college, where I allowed myself to dream. I opened the doors to the world of entrepreneurship and you can too. Take out your notebook and start writing down ideas for your online business, and make it big. You will be amazed at all the doors of possibilities that open for you.

Thanks for reading and I hope we can continue to learn and grow together!

See you next time, adios!

- María Alejandra 💜