Final Draft: Cover Page Design

 Good Morning Blog, 

According to my production calendar, today I will be  finalizing my cover page design! Here is my final cover page design: 

Cover Page Layout

Good Morning Blog, 

Today I made a sketch for what I want my Cover page and Table of Contents to look like. 

 sketch 

Photoshoot

Good Morning Blog, 

    I took a photoshoot with my models and here are the pictures that didn't make the cover page: 

 

Feature Story Writing Draft 1

Good Morning Blog, 

    Last class I conducted an interview with my good friend, and fellow business owner, Dejia Bess where I asked her 15 questions about the origin, progress, and future of her and her business. She provided well articulated answers to my questions, and with my newly founded knowledge, I will begin writing my feature story. Here is my first draft of my feature story, which will be on my double-page spread:

2020 was a year that swept us all off of our feet, financially, mentally, and physically. Everyone had to relearn how to navigate a completely new world… pandemic-style. While others chose to sulk in despair while quarantined, 16 year-old Dejia Bess used this as an opportunity to launch a viable business in hopes of becoming financially free in the near future. In fact, Bess says “The pandemic affected my business positively. I was able to start my business because of the pandemic, and it made it easier to sell because everyone was online shopping anyway.” 

Dejia's ambitious nature came as a result of her Mother’s teachings. Bess’ spends most of her time with her mom, trying new restaurants, cooking, learning to drive, and going on mother-daughter dates is a norm to them. This is who Dejia gets the unique magic that sparked her business idea from. It was April 30th, 2020 when Bess came up with her business idea, and on May 18th, 2020, Beauti Embellishments was born. Bess states “I was inspired to start a business of my own because the stuff I wanted, people sold for too much money so I decided to get it myself & sell for cheaper. I also enjoy having my own money & it gives me some experience for the future.” 

Bess launched Beauti Embellishments with the purpose to “make our ‘Baby Beauties’ feel more embellished, sophisticated, and stylish in our items.” Dejia spent weeks establishing her business plan, inventory, business cards, website, and eventually company name. The name ‘Beauti Embellishments’ comes with a deeper meaning to Bess. ‘Beauti’ was her late grandmothers’ nickname for her. Her grandmother was Bess’ #1 supporter, and mentor. She pushed her in everything and always instilled in Dejia that “If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Don’t let anyone or anything put doubt in your heart.” Embellishments are additional decorations to make something look more attractive. Such ‘Embellishments’ including multiple accessories such as handbags, sunglasses, jewelry, and more. Thus, together Beauti Embellishments grew into Dejia Bess’ baby. 

Now, it has been almost a year since Beauti Embellishments has been in business and Bess could not be any happier with its success, and the lessons she has learned. The Covid-19 pandemic had one of the worst impacts on the small business industry. Running a small business through such trying times comes with some ugly truths, as well as blessings. According to Bess, “ Some ugly truths about becoming a CEO are feeling that there’s someone with better prices, advertisement, and audience engagement at all times. You constantly feel like you could be doing more. You contemplate a lot & the lack of motivation is REAL. Staying focused & being patient is very important!!” Going into business can be a risk and a blessing. In particular, small business owners tend to face greater risks such as disputed purchases and bad customer experiences. For Beauti Embellishments, “I’ve had a customer unhappy about her chain however it wasn’t bad because I just offered her a new one. Other than that I haven’t had any issues, I try to communicate if there are any delays so I’ve never had any bad comments on anything.” Bess advises this approach to all small black-owned business owners. 

 Despite these ugly truths, starting Beauti Embellishments has certainly proved more advantageous to Dejia Bess. “Being a CEO has taught me how to negotiate, multitask, and draw people in based on information I have on them. I’ve learned to be more patient, stable, & determined when no one else sees my vision.” Which is why, Bess advises any other young girl who is reluctant to start a business, to  “Go for it! Have no regrets about yesterday! The earlier you start the sooner you’re financially free!” Bess has nothing but positive praises to express when it comes to operating a small business. Her 2nd favorite thing about being a CEO, is creating the product names. This is where her creativity gets to shine. Some of Beauti Embellishments product names vary from “Butterfly Effect” and “Royalty” to “Hollow Figaro” and “High Standards Tote ''. Above all, Dejia's favorite thing to do is package orders. Bess expresses that “it’s just awesome, the feeling is great. I pack them with lots of love & send them off with a smile!” 

With spring and summer approaching, Bess launched a new sunglasses collection, and recruited some brand ambassadors to increase her business’ promotion. Things are looking great for Beauti Embellishments and its future. In the next 5 years, Dejia sees herself “starting and investing into another business while Beauti Embellishments works for itself bringing in income.” Her family is her biggest support system. They constantly ask her how the business is going and offer their help. It appears that Bess sees a possible collaboration in the near future. She says “I’d collaborate with Boujee Collectables because she is very helpful & creative with her photos & products. I love the look of her brand.” We look forward to the future of Beauti Embellishment and Dejia Bess’ continued success. 

Resources:

 https://www.canva.com/design/DAEYnt6aqxg/WkLAoWthWk-q6LQrqtn7Dw/edit?layoutQuery=feautre+story+

Feature Interview Questions & Answers

 Good Morning Blog, 

The day has finally come. ITS INTERVIEW TIME ! Today I have 16 year old, Ms. Dejia Bess with me here ready to answer 16 questions about the origin, progress, and future of her business. Young Black Leaders in business are often overlooked, and the purpose of my interview and feature story is to highlight a leader of the future! Her responses are as follows: 

1. Can you tell me a bit more about yourself? My name is Dejia, I’m 16 years old and I love trying new restaurants with my mom. I spend a lot of my time with her.  Im a praise dancer at my church & I love singing

2.   What’s your background? Where are you from?  I’m from Miami, FL. I’ve lived in the same home since I was born. I took a DNA Test in 2019 and I was shocked found out that I’m Nigerian, Sierra Leonen, and other countries from Africa. I’m also from some European countries & not American at all!

3. When did you start your business? I came up with my idea for my business on April 30th, 2020 & launched May 18th, 2020.

4. Who/What inspired you to get into starting a business of your own? I was inspired to start a business of my own because the stuff I wanted people sold for too much money so I had I’d get my hands on it & sell for cheaper, I also enjoy having my own money & it gives me some experience for the future.

5. Where did the name originate from? What is the mission/purpose of your company? Our Purpose is to make our ‘Baby Beauties’ feel more embellished, sophisticated, and stylish in our items✨. Embellishments are just additional decorations to make something look more attractive

6. What items do you sell? I sell multiple accessories such as handbags, sunglasses, jewelry, and more

7. How has the pandemic affected your business? (either positively or negative) The pandemic affected my business positively. I was able to start my business because of the pandemic and it made it easier to sell because everyone was buying things online anyway

8. What would you say to another little black girl that wants to start a business, but is reluctant to do so?  To any other young girl who would like to start a business I’d say “Go for it! Have no regrets about yesterday! The earlier you start the sooner you’re financially free!”

9. Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 5 years? In the next 5 years I see me starting another one while this one works for itself & investing in other businesses 

10. What is the next product/products you plan to launch? I recently launched a new sunglasses collection. I'm not sure what future products I plan to launch. 

11. Any ugly truths of becoming a CEO you would like to share? Some ugly truths about becoming a CEO are feeling that there’s someone with better prices, advertisement, and audience engagement at all times. You constantly feel like you could be doing more. You contemplate a lot & the lack of motivation is REAL. Staying focus & being patient is very important!!

12. What skills have you learned from being a small business owner that will help you in your future career/endeavors? Being a CEO has taught me how to negotiate, multitask, and draw people in based on information I have on them. I’ve already learned to be more patient, stable, & determined when no one else sees my vision.

13. Who is your biggest support team, and where are they know? My entire family, that’s all they talk about & constantly ask me how it’s doing

14. If you could collab with any other business, small or big, who would it be and why? I’d collaborate with Boujee Collectables because she is very helpful & creative with her photos & products. I love the look of her brand

15. Going into business can be a risk and a blessing. Have you had any bad customer experiences thus far? I’ve had a customer unhappy about her chain however it wasn’t bad because I just offered her a new one. Other than that I haven’t had any issues, I try to communicate if there are any delays so I’ve never had any bad comments on anything.

16. What is your favorite about running Beautis Embellishments? My 2nd favorite thing about running Beauti Embellishments is creating the product names. They’re unique & adds my personal touch to all of it. My FAVORITE thing is PACKING ORDERS🥰it’s just awesome, the feeling is great. I pack them with lots of love & send them off with a smile!

Feature Interview Questions

Good Morning Blog, 

Today I will be formulating 15 solid interview questions to as my lead, Dejia Bess, when i conduct my Interview next class. The feature story interview practice we did a few classes ago helped significantly with coming up with the best 15 questions to ask. They are as follows: 

1. Can you tell me a bit more about yourself? 

2.   What’s your background? Where are you from?

3. When did you start your business?

4. Who/What inspired you to get into starting a business of your own?

4.  Where did the name originate from? What is the mission/purpose of your company?

5. What items do you sell?

6. How has the pandemic affected your business? (either positively or negative)

7. What would you say to another little black girl that wants to start a business, but is reluctant to do so?

8. Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 5 years? 

9. What is the next product/products you plan to launch? 

10. Any ugly truths of becoming a CEO you would like to share? 

11. What skills have you learned from being a small business owner that will help you in your future career/endeavors? 

12. Who is your biggest support team, and where are they know?

13. If you could collab with any other business, small or big, who would it be and why?

14. Going into business can be a risk and a blessing. Have you had any bad customer experiences thus far?

15. What is your favorite about running Beautis Embellishments?

Resources:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEYni42ibE/UiACGQY-xRzLKiqHp0GpYg/edit?layoutQuery=interview+

Table of Contents Revisions

Good Morning Blog, 

Last class I revisited my survey results to begin a final content brainstorm. After careful consideration, I was able to narrow my suggestions down to content about influential African American celebrities, Black Success in Business,  Appealing Graphics, Interviews, and an Interactive section such as a crossword puzzle. If you may recall, I created a Table of Contents draft months ago as part of my Preliminary tasks. Here is the before: 

Some changes I plan on making are particularly to pages 7, and 8. One thing that I can change on page 7 that reads "Boujee Collectables feature story"; this is the name of my own business, and after realizing that I cannot do a feature story about my business, I have decided to do it about a small black owned business called "Beautisembellishments". Instead of Page 7, Page 3 will be where I do my Double-page spread and write my feature story on Business Owner Dejia Bess. Lastly, for page 9, travel is sort of on a tangent from the main focus of my magazine, so instead, I can dedicate this page to a section on an Influential African American Celebrity in Business.  Therefore, here is the after: 

Content Brainstorm

Good Morning Blog, 

For the purpose of my Table of Contents page, I need to brainstorm and decide on what content I essentially plan on researching and dedicating to a specific page in my Table of Contents page. In fact, I conducted a survey a few months prior where I asked for some lifestyle content suggestions to include in my magazine. Revisiting my analysis of the results, I found that my audience suggested to add content about influential African American celebrities, Appealing Graphics, Interviews, Historical content of African Americans, and an Interactive section such as a crossword puzzle, to keep my audiences attention. I actually really like these suggestions however it's time that I narrow down these suggestions and pick my top 3-5. 

After careful consideration, I decided on sticking with focusing my lifestyle content on influential African American celebrities, successful Black women in business, Interviews, and an interactive section such as a crossword puzzle towards the end. Now that I've brainstormed my content, I look forward to doing my research and begin designing. But now, lets add this to my final Table of Contents. 

Resources: 

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEYns3VCmY/QOe5u7KyIoBpz7MI8BJzQQ/edit?layoutQuery=brainstorming

Production Calendar

Good Morning Blog, 

As the days until the final exam are approaching, I have decided to formulate a Production Calendar for the Months of February and March to rigorously follow in order to organize my time properly. I look forward to abiding by my calendar to formulate the best magazine I can before the deadline.