This Maker Designs The Sweetest Products From Hive To Home

Don’t Wait for Perfection. In the first month of launch, Kelly’s goal was to post three times a day. “I was really trying to focus on getting as much out there at first, but then also being able to get that information to see what worked with people,” she recalls. That market research allowed her to build an audience, learn what her audience craved, and focus on the wins. “It was very intense at the beginning, and then I eased back. I'm like, ‘Okay, let me breathe, because it was not sustainable at all.’”

Refine and Strategize. To avoid burnout, she slowed her pace and stepped back to focus on the bigger picture. “I didn't pressure myself once I was on solid ground. I decided to focus more on refining the content, making it for the fun of it, and focusing on the strategy part.” Step back and analyze your learnings and decide how you want to move forward and grow.

Invest in Your Growth. Kelly joined a business accelerator for underrepresented creators in the middle of her journey that proved to be a smart strategic move. “I feel like that changed the whole course of where I am now, because once I was able to get support from them and talk to people directly after the program, that's when I got my biggest brand deal.”

Be Brave. “For me, it was recognizing that the fear was always going to be there,” says Kelly. “If you want to live a creative life, you're going to have to do something that's scary, and it's probably going to require steps that you don't want to take. For me, being on camera was very scary.” Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself to take on moves that push your boundaries and help you develop new skills. Remember that being brave doesn't mean being fearless. It means acknowledging your fears but choosing to move forward despite them!

Photos: Courtesy of Kelly Marcelo

Ready to take your business to the next level? Make your moves count with TurboTax!*

*Experts only available with TurboTax Live. See details at turbotax.com/guarantees.

Ready to take your creativity to the next level? Here are tips for building a dreamy creative life!

Schedule creative time. If you have a 9 to 5, schedule time in the morning, after work or on weekends to explore your craft or run your business. Marking your calendar and making time to be creative will help you make sure you don’t let the chance slip by – the more you do, the more you discover your talents and build your expertise.

Don’t try to do it all. “When you're running your own business, you're essentially forced to wear all the hats,” says Dani. Being a small business owner can look like a one-woman show. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Instead, focus on what you love and let experts do the rest. Whether TurboTax experts prepare your tax return or you do it yourself, they guarantee their calculations are always 100% accurate, or they’ll pay any penalties.

Collaborate with others. Host a regular creative hang with friends, tap into a local creative community, find people online who you relate to who might want to collaborate on a project or promotion. This is a great way to get the word out about your unique offerings. Dani has turned her fashion business into an interior design and print business, collaborating with brands on wallpaper, shoe design, and more.

Don’t let failure stop you. Mistakes often lead to breakthroughs. Experiment with new ideas and techniques, and view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. You’ve got this! Don’t feel like you have to reach perfection before making the next move. Small business life is a journey of doing and learning. “I learned not to limit myself in what I think I can and can't do,” says Dani. “I always wanted to pursue interiors and I thought when I was younger that I had to pick a lane. But all these years later and letting go of those self-limiting thoughts, I ended up doing interiors and that took on a whole life of its own.”

Diversify your revenue streams. “A big part of being an entrepreneur is getting used to the ups and downs of running a small business, and the slow times,” says Dani. She soon learned to diversify streams of income and pursue other creative ventures, such as licensing her designs and renting out her spaces for photo shoots. “I would say really think about how you can capitalize on all the different things you're doing and get creative with that,” she adds.

Travel and explore. Have you ever traveled and not felt inspired? Not possible! See new perspectives and get out of your comfort zone and you’re sure to feel creative and inspired in the process. Travel means learning new things about yourself and what you want out of life. Tight on budget? Visit a new place in your area, have coffee with someone in your field, do something out of the norm to gain inspiration and try something new.

When you’re ready, make that big move. Dani spent six years doing apparel graphics for a corporation, until she gathered the courage to start her own clothing line. “That was probably my first really big move and I built that up on social media,” she says. She used social media to get the word out. “I used a lot of my spaces for photo shoots for my brand, so I would design really cool funky spaces and then people started to ask me if I did interiors,” she recalls.

Share your story. That brings us to having the confidence to share your work and your process. “When Instagram stories came out, I started to share my behind the scenes process,” says Dani. “And that was when people actually started to really connect with the brand. I realized that my superpower wasn't to make a fancy-looking brand and seem like it was already established. It was to embrace that I was this solopreneur at the time.”

Photos: Courtesy of Dani Dazey.

Running a business or thinking about starting one? Make your moves count with TurboTax!*

*Experts only available with TurboTax Live. See details at turbotax.com/guarantees.

Here's How Often You Should Cut Your Hair, According To Professionals

I’ll admit it — it had been eight months since my last haircut. My hair had lost its shape, my layers were nowhere to be found, and my ends were begging for mercy. Life got busy over the last few months and I was neglecting my haircare like never before.

My hairdresser could immediately see that I was beyond due for a cut and said I needed to get more taken off than I was hoping. I was definitely disappointed — I'd been working on growing out my hair for a while now, and it just felt like my hard work had completely gone to waste. He explained that getting consistent haircuts is the key to growing out healthy and strong hair, rather than letting it grow and grow until it eventually breaks. So let's dig into the top three things you can do to avoid this scenario!

1. Just Get The Dang Haircut

Also avoiding a haircut like I was? You might want to schedule one at your nearest salon. Like my stylist said, when you wait too long between trims like I did, you risk your hair becoming heavy, dull, and lifeless. When the hair is dry or even dead, it’s nearly impossible for it to hold a curl or style, essentially collapsing on you and taking on more and more heat damage all the while. I know the pain of spending time on a blowout only for it to fall minutes later — it’s the worst.

According to Jack, getting a haircut every 10-12 weeks is the best time frame or your ends will pay the price. Between blow-drying, curling, straightening, sun, and weather, our ends get dry and start to break without the proper care. Getting consistent haircuts allows hair to bounce back, shine, and perform the way we want in a healthy way.

2. Leave-In Conditioners Are Your Friend

His top piece of advice to keep your hair looking and feeling hydrated between trims? Invest in conditioning treatments. Jack swears by the Olaplex conditioning system, specifically the No 3 Hair Perfector. Made with patented OLAPLEX Bond Building Technology™, this conditioning treatment repairs and prevents damage in as little as three minutes. No 3 promises to reduce breakage and visibly strengthen hair, so it’s the perfect assistance to keep ends fresh between cuts. Another conditioning treatments I’ve used and loved for years is the Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask, which is designed to restore moisture, elasticity, and shine to dry hair.

3. Switch Up Your Shampoos

Switching shampoos frequently is a pretty hot tip that I honestly hadn't thought of. Our hair gets used to the same products and grows tired of them, resulting in lackluster locks. Jack’s advice is to switch brands after finishing every bottle of shampoo to bring life back to your hair. Have two brands that you’re loyal to? Even switching back and forth between them after every bottle should make a big difference in your hair. I’m a huge fan of the R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo, which makes my hair look thick and full, as well as the Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo, which is so hydrating and gives so much shine.

In the end, navigating your back-and-forth relationship with haircuts often feels like a rollercoaster ride between wanting that fresh look and cringing at the receipt. Luckily, by using conditioning treatments and switching up your products,, you can keep your locks healthy, shiny, and full of life between trims. But take a newly learned lesson out of my book: don't let your ends pay the price for procrastination and just book the haircut.