The Art of Entrepreneurship

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There is an art to being your own boss. As young entrepreneurs, we have learned many valuable lessons to make running your own business ten times easier. Of course, there is nothing "easy" about being an entrepreneur, but there is an art to it. Meaning, if you use the right paint and paint brushes, you can really sell your art (your business). Here are some of our tips on how to master entrepreneurship:

1. Hang around and learn from the people who are already doing what you aspire to do.

• There is something to be said about the people who have come before you and are excelling in the business you aspire to be apart of. Don't be shy and reach out to those people for tips and advice. Essentially, this is called "doing your homework". If you dive in nose deep into a business having not considered every avenue and consulted with the experts, it will make your beginning much harder than it needs to be.

2. Set goals.

• How can you track the progress of your business without having tangible goals? Short-term and long-term goals are key in tracking your success rate. Hold yourself accountable to these goals and set timeframes throughout the start of your business where you will check in on your progress toward meeting those goals.

3. Keep your business separate from outside factors.

• The greatest way to get side tracked from your business is to get SIDETRACKED. Outside factors can really slow down the advancement you should be having with your business. Venturing into the world of being a successful entrepreneur means not having one foot in and one foot out. Either you're all in it or you're just not that into it. Stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize.

4. Determine what the "prize" is and if you're willing to work for it.

• For most people, the "prize" in being an entrepreneur is something tangible, like money. If it's money you're after or a stable lifestyle make sure that the business you're embarking in is worth it. If your happiness outweighs the prize you've got to reassess if being an entrepreneur is worth it. 

5. Embrace sleepless nights.

• You've probably heard this word many times, but the best entrepreneurs are always "grinding". Meaning, NO DAYS OFF. While everyone is sleeping, you should be working and building your business. If you're not working IN your business, you should be working ON your business. You will sleep one day, but just embrace that full hours of sleep will happen few and far between.

6. Understand that failure is not a road block, but a stepping stone to reach bigger and better heights for your business growth.

• You WILL fail throughout your journey as an entrepreneur, but it's those moments of failure that make you an even wiser and stronger business person. Lock those failures in your mind and rise above them. It will make both you and your business better in the end.

Are you an entrepreneur or aspiring to be one? What tips or questions do you have? Share with us below!

Clip-In Hair Extension Secrets

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Not all of us were blessed with long, luscious locks like Co Founder, Sakura {haha} so thank goodness for hair extensions! We are huge fans of clip-in hair extensions because they give the luxury of adding temporary length to your hair. Clip-in hair extensions were a huge hit in our college days and we found ourselves sharing with our sisters how to rock them best. It doesn't matter what type of hair you have (coarse, thin, short, layered) you can rock clip-in hair extensions like the best of us. Here are some clip-in hair secrets:

1. Consider the length of your hair curled.

• The sound of 16" or 18" hair may sound like you're getting Rapunzel hair, but don't let that fool you. If you're like us and you appreciate curling your hair often, curling your hair takes away a few inches. Therefore, 18" hair is technically not 18" in length when it is curled.

2.  Use cheap clip-ins as your LAST RESORT.

• Investing in good clip-ins is a great benefit to you as you can keep reusing the hair. When it comes to hair, you honestly get what you paid for. Cheap clip-ins from places like Sally's Beauty Supply aren't too bad if you keep in mind that they need to be maintained more and replaced more often.

3.  Stay away from synthetic hair.

• Synthetic hair is cheaper quality and DOES NOT curl (watch this video to see how this girl learned that the hard way!). If you absolutely can only afford synthetic hair, then when washing your synthetic extensions, consider using Woolite and fabric softener to keep the texture of the hair looking fresh.

4. Seal the wefts with a weft sealer to minimize shedding.

• All hair extensions have wefts where the hair comes out of. Hair extension are infamous for shedding, and while you cannot totally stop shedding, you can minimize it by sealing your wefts with a weft sealer before place the hair extensions into your hair. You can buy weft sealers at any beauty supply store or on most online beauty shops.

5. Consider layering by buying varying lengths of hair.

• Most clip-in hair extensions come in bags with varying lengths, however, if you're opting to make your own clip-in hair extensions, consider buying hair in various lengths. Various lengths will make your hair appear more cohesive.

Tip from Dirty Looks Hair: Have your clip-ins layered and shaped starting from the shortest pieces of your own hair. This will hide disconnection and create a natural shape around the face. Fitting the front clip-ins on an angle will create a more "feathered" shape around the face.

6. If you can't find your perfect color match, get your clip-in hair dyed.

• As much as the hair companies try to accommodate all colors of hair, sometimes you're just not going to find the perfect match. No need to fret; simply dye your fake locks! Dying them yourself at home is cost effective, however, we know many hairstylists who are willing to dye your clip-in hair for you. Consider this option as they might turn out more professional this route. It's even smart to have them dyed while you're getting your real hair shampooed and/or cut--killing two hairs with one stone!

So the burning question: Where do we buy our clip-in hair extensions?! Below are a list of our favorites!

Sally Beauty Supply

Dirty Looks

Bella Dream Hair (*not clip-ins, but you can make clip ins with their hair)

Bellami
Luxy Hair

Have a secret tip to share about clip-in hair extensions? Share with us below!

When To Use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat

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With so many social media outlets out there, it's pretty hard to keep up with all of them. We come from the Myspace and Facebook generation that it is amazing to see how far social media has come. We each have our favorite social media outlets and often use one more than the other. So, when is it right to use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat? Here's our rundown on when it's appropriate to use each:

Twitter: Have a random thought? Take it to Twitter. Twitter is for quick thoughts which correspond with short sentences. Essentially, you are giving your followers a glimpse into your mind and day-to-day in a few short characters.

Instagram: Have a cool picture moment in your day-to-day that you would like to highlight? Then, take it to Instagram. If you want to highlight 1-4 picture moments in your day then Instagram is the perfect social media outlet. Instagram is about photo sharing so applying hashtags and cool yet natural filters are the greatest way to get your photos gaining more visibility.

Facebook: Too long for Twitter? Not "cool" enough for Instagram? Facebook is your friend in this situation. Facebook is your journal; pictures, words, quotes, videos-they all belong on Facebook. Unlike Instagram where you can only post so much throughout the day before you're exhausting your audience, Facebook welcomes posts at any frequency.

Snapchat: Want to show your day-to-day in pictures and video form but you don't want it to stick around for too long? Then, Snapchat has you covered. Snapchat is a great way to show your friends and family what you're up to in that given moment. The footage does not stick around for longer than 24 hours so you feel like you're starting a whole new social media platform every day that you post to it. Very addicting!

If you're like us, many of our friends favor certain social media outlets more than others so you might find yourself on one or two more than the other. What's important is that if you're going to have multiple social media outlets, be sure to find a balance on maintaining them. Since you don't know which ones your friends are on more, keep each outlet exciting!

Fashion Friday: Independent Designers Runway Fashion Show

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There is nothing like local fashion and Fashion Week is always a great time to explore the fashion that is in your city. Co Founder, Karen, had the pleasure of kicking off Bellevue Fashion Week by attending the Independent Designers Runway Fashion Show. IDRS has been going on for three years now and the point in the runway show is to showoff local designers and to award one lucky local fashion designer money to grow their business. The event was nothing short of amazing and each local designer stayed true to their style which was great to see on the runway. Karen saw mixes of spring and fall fashion pieces that she can't wait to add to her closet and show off this year and next. Karen absolutely loved LU. by Jenny Fort. LU. is very true to the Seattle earthy, grunge scene, but done in a trendy, absolutely wearable way. Karen's favorite piece from the LU. collection was this jumpsuit: super comfortable and high fashion at the same time. LU. ended up receiving second place in the runway show so kudos to Jenny Fort! Karen's second favorite local designer was Klad Apparel by Melanie Trygg. Karen loves fashion that makes sense, and every piece from Klad Apparel makes fashion sense. You can wear just about anything at any given part of the day and that's what makes Klad Apparel so appealing.

Check out more of Karen's favorite looks from the night above! For a full list of all the local Seattle/Bellevue designers click here.

Do you have any favorite local designers that we should know about? If so, then leave a comment below.

Special thanks to the Bellevue Collection; we can't wait to attend next year!

Best DIY Halloween Costumes

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Halloween costumes can be super expensive so we're really loving the idea of making them this year. Back in our college days, Halloween was reserved for an entire week. So for one week you recycled Halloween outfits with sisters in hopes that you weren't caught in the same costume from the party the night before (#CollegeProblems). DIY Halloween costumes usually get more attention than store bought costumes! One year Co Founder Karen painted herself into a tiger and she was turning heads. Sakura kept it simple and cute with her BFF rocking the Audrey Hepburn classic look. This year, get into the Halloween spirit by making your costume. Below are some super easy, cute, and affordable costumes you can make yourself.

Cat Woman

What you will need: A Black body suit, black eyeliner to draw on cat eyes, whiskers, nose, and lips. Add in cat ears and you're all set!

Little Mermaid

What you will need: An old bra to glue purple sequins, jewels and seashells on. Green pants, leggings, or skirt. A red wig to look like Ariel!

A Nerd

What you will need: A plain white tee, suspenders, jeans or jean shorts, Thick glasses and your hair in pigtails.

Jungle Woman

What you will need: Fake leaves from the Dollar Store and old clothing to hot glue the leaves to. Add some branches in your hair for a more jungley feel.

What are some quick & easy DIY costumes that you've created? Share with us below!

WCW: Emma Watson and Feminism

fem·i·nism

ˈfeməˌnizəm/

noun

1. the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

   synonyms:

   the women's movement, the feminist movement, women's liberation,female emancipation, women's rights;  informalwomen's lib "a longtime advocate of feminism"

Feminism. When you hear this word what do you think? A lot of negative press has been surrounding this word and really, there is nothing negative about feminism. It brought so much joy to us when we watched Emma Watson give a speech at the UN that focused on gender equality and the He for She Campaign. Emma is the newly appointed UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador. "It's not the word that's important, it's the ambition behind it. It's time we stop defining each other for what we are not, and start defining ourselves for who we are", said Emma during her speech. 

We couldn't agree more.



As business women, we are so fortunate for the opportunity to be entrepreneurs and value women in the workplace. But, it goes beyond the workplace too-it is a mindset change that needs to occur for both genders. Women should have equal rights to men and this is a message that should not only be spread by women, but by men too. Emma notes that in her speech when she states: "I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too – reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned, and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.”

Watch her speech above and make a conscience decision to be apart of the movement. To learn more about He For She, visit the site here.

3 Spring/Summer Weddings We Wish We Were Invited To

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We have reached a point in our youth where our friends are getting married left and right! Being a guest at their weddings have been the greatest pleasure. We absolutely love seeing how all the decor and extra details come together with each wedding. Spring and Summer are total wedding seasons so it wasn't only our friends taking advantage-- our favorite celebrities did too. Oh how amazing it would have been to be invited to some of these 3 Star Celebrities' weddings. Below is a list of all the fun Spring & Summer Weddings we wish we had received a special invite to!

Kimye (Kanye + Kim)

Much to our surprise, there aren't many photos of Kim and Kanye's nuptials. Contrary to true Kardashian fashion of sharing it all, there is minimal evidence of all the details of the West wedding. All we know is what we've heard and well, a wedding in Italy really doesn't sound too bad. Judging from Kim's last wedding to Kris Humphries we can only imagine how glamorous it turned out. Kim seems to love the black and white classic wedding look and the decor made the ceremony look pure, youthful and VIP. Congrats to them!

Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross

We are total suckers for Bohemian-style weddings and we would have expected nothing less from Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross. Despite the rain that decided to come during their wedding day in Connecticut, it really didn't seem to hinder the love in the air. With A-list celebrity guests and performers the day and night seemed to be an amazing affair!

Lauren Conrad & William Tell

If there is any wedding where we have been sitting with anticipation to even see a photo of the color flowers she used it's Lauren Conrad and William Tell's recent wedding. LC is our idol and we have been so inspired by her entrepreneurship and sense of fashion. She is literally living a dream come true and we would have loved to witness her magical day. We can only imagine what her dress looked like...stunning, of course! Lucky for us, US Weekly just unveiled pictures and details from her nuptials in their September 2014 issue. (*happy dance*)

What Spring or Summer wedding do you wish you were invited to? Share with us below! Hey, a girl can dream, right?!