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Umbrella Logo for All Trades

Rebranding has been, and will most likely continue to be, a long process. Perhaps its better to view this process as an evolution. Each stage of my entrepreneurial pursuits have been distinctly focused on certain elements of life.

I began as Jazzy Media in 2004, targeting sensuality and media. My work was about showcasing and promoting full-figured women. In 2014, I morphed into Spirit Harvest as it felt imperative to represent my shift from the flesh to the spirit. In late 2018, Harvest Life emerged to signify a period of harvesting everything that has been seeded in me.

Throughout the years, I’ve expanded my skills from writing and publishing to photography and real estate. Since life encompasses the totality of existence, I’ve really wanted Harvest Life to encompass everything I do to support myself. To this end, my biggest challenge has been figuring out how to join publishing, photography and real estate under one business umbrella.

Societal programing teaches that we focus on one thing and do it well for life. I’ve never towed any line well. I enjoy using different parts of my mind and applying my knowledge to different things. Learning new things and sharing new understandings is the joy of life.

Social media makes branding and rebranding seem simple. It can be, perhaps, when what you do fits into common formats. However, when you try to pull together disparate, somewhat unrelated industries as your primary services, branding and rebranding can become quite complex. Seeking help from *experts* hasn’t been helpful as they tend to guide you in the way of the common – the roads most traveled. It has been a waste of time and money trying to get *experts* to understand my uncommon goals. Without understanding, how could they possibly help me forge something from nothing? Or guide me towards manifesting my vision of making a living from the work of my hands?

As I’ve worked to create an umbrella logo and marketing plan for my writing/publishing, photography and real estate ventures, the questions I’ve been asking myself are:

  • How to create a structure that supports everything I want to build?
  • How to design a logo that encapsulates all I do?
  • How to promote myself and my services in a cohesive way?

I finally developed a very simple logo series to represent services I provide. Take a look below.

“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” 

#branding #rebranding #logo  #logodesign #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #solopreneuer #photographer #builder #author #publisher #harvestlife #harvestlifer

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The getting-overness of it all.

20191029_0812260-rotated[2].jpgLandscaper as Every Man

People getting over on others has been a sore spot recently. Last fall I signed an agreement for landscape work in my back yard. Two days later I felt a need to review the details and calculate my own measurements. The landscaper’s quote was based on hardscaping 1700 square feet with pavers, stones, and artificial mounds for height variance.

The second night, I went to bed thinking: my house is 1800 square feet, there’s no way I’m landscaping a house worth of space. The next afternoon I went out to measure what I wanted pavers and travertine for: two seating areas, the patio and a side walk along the side of the house. My rough measurement came to under 600 square feet. Which meant the landscaper was charging me for nearly 3x’s the square footage he was landscaping.

I sent him an email with my measurements and calculations for approximate square footage he was working with. I also scaled back the job. To be fair, I didn’t measure the areas I was scaling back from which could have been another 200 square feet or so. Due to the extremely exaggerated the square footage, the price was also grossly inflated.

Straight talk vs. crooked practice

Amazingly, I wasn’t angry. Perhaps frustrated, disappointed and a bit concerned that I may have already overpaid him by paying half of the inflated quote, but anger hadn’t seated in me at that point.

The day after I sent the email requesting an adjustment and recalculation (followed by a text with the same subject) he laid foundational work for the design he wanted to do which didn’t represent my changes.

At that point, I became peeved. It seemed like a classic maneuver to force me to pay for work I didn’t want by getting in and doing it quickly.

Negotiating Greed & Deception

Three days after I sent the email/text, the landscaper and I had a face-to-face. He tried to explain that the 1700 square feet included linear feet for the borders.I knocked that foul ball out the air. Charging full square foot coverage then adding on linear footage is double-dipping.

Having to have that conversation drained me of my energy and my spirit is tired. He’s not the first person to drastically over-charge me. He’s not even the first person within a three month span. Actually, I can’t recall a time a human being has dealt fairly with me or when a person’s word proved itself by lining up with their actions.

The ordinariness of the deception (fraud) is what is stunning. I’ve reached a point of sensitivity to the callousness of greed and deception. The every-day ordinariness of it makes it that much harsher. People present their greed as their business (capitalism), their hustle (getting theirs), their side gig (getting a leg up), but what they are really doing is looking for ways to get over. They’re looking for suckers, marks, patsies to pay for the lifestyle they aspire to.

What I’ve come to realize about people who over over-charge for their services – over-charge in the sense that the volume or quality of work does not add up to the price – is that they are not interested in truly providing a quality service, building a relationship or acquiring repeat or residual business. Their focus is the grab-n-go. Get as much cash as they can and hurry off to the next gig.

And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

Luke 12:15

All this said, the landscaper did beautiful work. Frankly, my backyard doesn’t look like anyone else’s in the neighborhood. It’s not finished but it’s still quite lovely which shows a great deal of promise for my future efforts. For that, I can’t resent what I paid. I chalk it up to the growing pains of homeownership and home improvement. He, along with several others, provided intensely painful financial lessons to me last year.

Stewardship

“A fool and his money are soon parted” is a proverb that has constantly run through my mind these last six months. I spent a lot of money on everything because I had the money to spend and no energy or interest in quibbling over fees. This behavior was extremely foolish and the impatience behind it quite damaging.

This episode of my life proved me to be a poor steward. In counting the additional cost associated with my laissez-faire management style, I can see how to better manage the resources entrusted to me.

Stewardship is quite different from capitalism and entrepreneurship. Stewardship is operating with a full understanding that what you have isn’t yours, it’s simply entrusted to your management. As a manager of resources, how do you improve your bottom line? For starters, you don’t give away the bag simply because you’re tired or want to avoid confrontation. The role of good stewards is to multiply the resources they’ve been given. Not through greed and deceit, but by industry and effort with a focus on service.

The over-arching lesson learned from folks getting over on me in recent years is that, in the situations I didn’t put an end to, I gave permission by following through with the interaction. Additionally, I ‘ve learned a great many ways I don’t want to be as a business owner and service provider. Knowing what not to do is as valuable as knowing what to do.

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

1 Peter 4:10

 

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Small Business: Howard, B&B Owner

Howard: Bed & Breakfast Owner

During the summer, I stayed in my first Air BnB. Howard, owns and operates hi bed and breakfast out of his home in the center of Milwaukee, WI. He’s a very congenial hosts with colorful and eclectic decor. His personality and home provided the perfect opportunity to practice capturing personality and energy through my lens. Below I share some of my favorite images of the BnB property and Howard, the Innkeeper.

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Small Business: Howard, B&B Owner

Howard: Bed & Breakfast Owner

During the summer, I stayed in my first Air BnB. Howard, owns and operates hi bed and breakfast out of his home in the center of Milwaukee, WI. He’s a very congenial hosts with colorful and eclectic decor. His personality and home provided the perfect opportunity to practice capturing personality and energy through my lens. Below I share some of my favorite images of the BnB property and Howard, the Innkeeper.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Test Shoot: Get It Right & Tight Fitness

This summer, I upgraded my photography gear with the intent of going professional. In order to get some quality practice with the new camera and gear, as well as test my concept for my new project, I AM WOMAN, I reached out to a couple of former colleagues and asked for a bit of their time in front of my camera. Lyndia was happy for a cross-promotional opportunity and was ready to shoot within a couple of days.

Lyndia Alvarez, known across social media as Coach Lyndia, is a certified personal trainer in Manhattan. She’s based in Harlem, but can accommodate personal clients around New York City.

Coach Lyndia provides in-person and online personal training to women determined to get and stay in shape. She’s committed to helping women achieve their fitness goals through one-on-one consultations and creating personal exercise programs. With a passion for training women on to how lose weight, tone up, and eat according to their goals, Coach Lyndia partners with her clients on the road to becoming the best version of themselves.

Get more information on Coach Lyndia at https://getitrightandtightfitness.com/on Facebook

Image gallery from our photo shoot

Posted on Leave a comment

Test Shoot: Get It Right & Tight Fitness

This summer, I upgraded my photography gear with the intent of going professional. In order to get some quality practice with the new camera and gear, as well as test my concept for my new project, I AM WOMAN, I reached out to a couple of former colleagues and asked for a bit of their time in front of my camera. Lyndia was happy for a cross-promotional opportunity and was ready to shoot within a couple of days.

Lyndia Alvarez, known across social media as Coach Lyndia, is a certified personal trainer in Manhattan. She’s based in Harlem, but can accommodate personal clients around New York City.

Coach Lyndia provides in-person and online personal training to women determined to get and stay in shape. She’s committed to helping women achieve their fitness goals through one-on-one consultations and creating personal exercise programs. With a passion for training women on to how lose weight, tone up, and eat according to their goals, Coach Lyndia partners with her clients on the road to becoming the best version of themselves.

Get more information on Coach Lyndia at https://getitrightandtightfitness.com/on Facebook

Image gallery from our photo shoot