Weekly Log 6
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: Be Better
Date: October 10, 2023
The previous week was Texas Fashion Week. The event founded and organized by the Texas Fashion Industry Initiative had a weeks full of events and fashion shows. I was able to attend a couple events and in doing so continue to answer the preserving question in my head, “What is fashion?”
Concurrently, as I was going through this past week, I realized I could BE BETTER. I can be better in my health, my mind, my personal life, my business. I am locked in, but if I am being honest I know I can lock into another level. In my opinion, I believe life is a journey of continual growth and this growth can be applied to my own commitment and dedication. I want to turn it up a notch and move into a higher gear, but I have been idling and waiting. I’ve been frozen, just sitting on this decision. When you decide to lock in even more, it takes further energy, effort, sacrifice, uncomfortability, and time, which is something I didn’t know if I was ready for. So I was waiting and waiting on an epiphany to give me a sign that I should switch gears. Overtime, I realized that it was never going to come. I had to understand that taking action is the epiphany.
Entering into this next week, I look to switch gears. I have been consistent with action, but taking BETTER action is more integral. I want to not just “work,” but make moves that move the needle. I will BE BETTER
Signature: Julian Taliaferro
Weekly Log 5
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: Conversations/Recovery
Date: October 2, 2023
This week was filled with activity. Each day was a different excursion and variable from my usual week. Meeting with mentors and friends, this week was full of conversation. Where I was able to be enriched with value. In thinking about conversation, I want to become proficient in communication, as dialogue is the basis of the transfer of information.
From my conversations this week, they led me to a couple of focuses. The first focus was on bringing more visibility to what I’m building. I ended up posting my startup, VIZIER, on LinkedIn. This way I can start building more in the open and bringing more awareness to my startup. I need to continue to pitch whenever I get the chance and network to spread the word.
Also, I am excited because I will be getting business cards for my startup! This is one of those small steps in the journey that mean a lot to me. My startup isn’t going to transform from getting business cards, but it’s the fact that I would see people with business cards and I always wanted that to be me. So now, I will have my own within the upcoming week!
Additionally, the conversations I had led me to the lesson of the week, which is, you don’t have to do everything yourself. It is important to lean on your strengths, but in other areas where you may need support, bring people in to help. Try not to get caught up in yourself, and look to bring people in when you need to, either temporary or permanent. I am actively looking now on places or roles I can slide people in to assist.
I’m not going to lie though, after this week, I was burnt. Typically, on Friday I crash because my tiredness from the week catches up to me. In that moment, I had to ask myself how do I get my energy back? How do I recover? I ended up looking on Google ways to relax, and after seeing the results I knew there was more I could do to take better care of myself. For example, I can start stretching or even taking time to be in silence and meditate. I can start eating more healthier, balanced meals at the right times. I can be active consistently or make sure my sleep schedule is optimized.
Theoretically, I would want to do all of the above, so I need to work towards that. I want to be better at implementing these habits, which will help in sustaining my energy through the week and recovering.
Signature: Julian Taliaferro
Weekly Log 4
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: Belief
Date: September 24, 2023
What do you believe in? This is one of the most important questions you may ask yourself, because what you believe becomes your truth. Your belief becomes your reality. It is key to only believe in the best, so only the best will come into fruition. But what if you don’t believe?The alternative is non-belief, which leads to nothing but the life of a non-believer. Think about a time when you didn’t believe, what was the result. Reminisce on when you have met people who didn’t believe and reflect on how you felt. Non-belief is full of hopelessness. Therefore, there is no other option but BELIEVE.
Belief is not always easy, and it can seem unrealistic to believe. However, if the work is put in, time is spent, blood sweat and tears shed, and you prepare yourself, then it becomes natural to believe.
I had couple of thoughts this week. As I have been performing market research, I’ve examined the founding teams of competitors. Majority of the founders were previously in the fashion/luxury industry in some facet, which gave them invaluable insight as they built their businesses. Contemplating this fact, I have been pondering how I can get first hand experience into the field. This isn’t a new thought and have always wanted to enter into the industry, as there is no substitute for experience. But after gaining this information, it has solidified my position and I want to accelerate as fast as possible into gaining the necessary acumen.
Differentiation has also been on my mind. Thoughts on how distinct or unique should I craft my business. It is vital to have select differences, but the end goal is to have a market for my product/service. If I were to create something too dissimilar from the status quo, then maybe no one will want it or it will be tough to showcase the value gained. Looking at gas stations, there is one on every corner and they all fulfill the same essential need, with minute variations. An additional thought has been barriers of entry. Simply, what would it entail or require to break past these barriers.
The quote of this week is, “I put more value in persistence than consistency.” As I enter into this next week I strive to be persistent!
Signature: Julian Taliaferro
Weekly Log 3
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: It’s Personal
Date: September 17, 2023
IT’S PERSONAL. This has been the theme of the last two weeks for the Colorado Buffs Football team led by Coach Prime. Your level of play is increased when things become personal, and your focus becomes heightened. If it is personal, there is a requirement for you to dominate, because you will not want to leave anything to chance. Ask yourself, what is personal? For whatever endeavor you are pursuing, you need to question if it close to home. If it’s not, then you need to find what is.
When I ask myself this question, my answer is Yes. Being a successful entrepreneur is personal to me. By reframing the journey in that aspect, I can look at each day and ask myself how do I dominate. I’m not playing for the Colorado Buffs and don’t play every Saturday, but how can I finish the week and say I commanded, I mastered, I governed, I controlled the week for my purpose. How can I make the week mine.
Continued work on the startup this week, and one of the focuses is market research. Understanding how competitors position themselves in the marketplace is invaluable information that I need to understand. Spent some time looking through companies’ 10k filings, which hold pertinent details. The luxury and fashion industry is dynamic constantly morphing and developing with a significant numbers of players, so it is crucial to persistently perform market research.
Moving forward, I look to take one step after another towards my goal, making sure I am taking IT PERSONAL!
Signature: Julian Taliaferro
Weekly Log 2
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: Uncertainty
Date: September 11, 2023
Was able to travel to the Northeast and attend NY Fashion Week. However, my travel there was marked with UNCERTAINTY. My flight was cancelled, then had to rebook through another city and almost missed that flight due to traffic. Then on that flight was close to deplaning due to more inclement weather, and after we were in the air we added close to another 2 hours trying to find a slot with air traffic control in order to land.
This uncertainty isn’t only prevalent in flights however, but also in our daily lives and entrepreneurship. We do not know what may happen next, so we must stay grounded, then find solutions. During the flight issues, part of me just wanted to go home. But, I had to remember why I was going up to Fashion Week in the first place. In the face of uncertainty, remember why you are undergoing the endeavor and that will give you the fuel you need to continue.
In this case, lord willing, I was able to make it up to NY, and experience the weekend. As it was my first fashion show, I was excited to see these young brands articulate their identity, and deliver a unique appeal. The fashion show I went to had a significant number of brands and this portrayed to me the sheer number of designers who are fighting for a spot within the industry. How these creatives and designers are making a name for themselves, and wanting to disrupt the status quo with their original designs. I left feeling inspired and having a greater appreciation for the art of fashion. I will be attending more fashion weeks in the future.
On another note, in a previous 9NINEDREAM episode, I had spoke to the fact that I was struggling with setting goals and creating a structure for myself. This week I was able to sit down with Cristy Limegrover, who is an entrepreneur and the Program Manger for Geekdom, to talk through setting milestones. It was a helpful and productive session, were I was able to go through what I believe are my three main objectives.
Building platform
Building team/advisors
Gathering data/information
I needed to set solid goal posts for me to achieve these in the future, and orienting my mind towards these objectives helped align my next steps. She also gave me a key tip, where she said to stack 3 ‘wins’ a day and these ‘wins’ need to be steps that move forward the business forward. If I stay consistent on stacking 3 wins a day, then something will come into fruition!
Signature: Julian Taliaferro
Weekly Log 1
To: 9NINEDREAM Family
Subject: Questions
Date: September 3, 2023
To recap this week it would be best understood by the term, QUESTIONS. I had a conversation with someone the other day, who put a significant emphasis on always asking questions and to make them the right questions.
But what are the right questions? Is it what you need right now, or something you haven’t thought of, or an idea believe is accurate? It is all of the above, so you have to continually ask them. What he told me is that you should have your best assumption, but then test the assumption through asking questions to prove right or wrong.
Additionally, he had me perform a helpful mental activity, where he asked me: If your start up was five words and a photo, what would the words be and what is the image? This forced me to consolidate my business into those five words, and develop a valid visual representation of what I wanted to encompass. By doing this process, I inherently was asking myself the QUESTION. What does my business represent?
This week I was listening to a BiggerPockets Podcast and they brought Greg Harden onto the episode. It was a great pod, where they focused on the how to become better and have that hard-working edge. One of the points they touched on the episode, was about one of Greg Harden’s sayings, “Give one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time.” This means go hard at whatever you are doing at the moment. Go hard at the job, at the gym, in entrepreneurship, with God, reading, eating, and getting rest. Whatever you do, put your one hundred percent effort into it, and make that the normal. I aspire to that point, and am taking daily steps to get closer to one hundred percent all of the time. If you get to this state, your worst day will be somebody’s best!
Previewing this upcoming week, I will be heading to NY Fashion Week. I’ll be able to get a close up into fashion and luxury, and get a feel for the energy inside the industry. To conclude, this week was one of alignment for me. Alignment of what questions I will ask, to then receive answers for.
Signature: Julian Taliaferro