With so much to do, sometimes it's hard to know where to start. At least for me sometimes. I don't know about you, but I am still trying to find a new normal. Currently I am working to balance building a startup, maintaining my personal relationships while building and nurturing professional ones and on and on. 

I realized that because my schedule shifts week to week and occasionally day to day that it's urgent now more than ever that I create routines and get clearer on the goals I am working toward as I close out this year and move into the next. There is never not a moment that I am not thinking about how I can continue to push myself, while maintaining a full cup of mental clarity as not to exhaust myself to the point of madness.

Every week I am working to keep abreast of what's moving within the cannabis and Marketing industries as well as promote the webseries I am in (195 Lewis) that's being shown around the world. And honestly, entrepreneurship is tiring, but I love it. I honestly cannot get enough of the work I do and the opportunities that continue to be offered up to me. 

But I know I can accomplish more with more discipline. The word discipline is key for me right now. I love to take on projects, however its time to moving at a higher level which means being even more strategic. On that wave I have been reading a lot about leadership, brand building and consumer engagement. I was reading through this month's Fast Company and had the overwhelming feeling that I wanted EstroHaze to be listed as one their most 'innovative companies' and wtf does innovation mean, for me personally for us a brand? I realized I've been yearning to be a better communicator, increasing my capacity for knowledge and just level up in general. 

With that I am introducing 'FREELANCE FRIDAY'. Each Friday, I will basically be working from home, tightening up my professional digital footprint. The first half of the morning will consist of EDUCATION. Up to 90 minutes of learning (video, audio, book) related to my business niches: social media marketing and content strategy. This is followed by a short break, and then I jump into 75 minutes of implementation and updating. I'll choose a platform each week where I'll do some spring cleaning. This week I am working on LinkedIn. I got a [FREEBIE FRIDAY] from Lou Bortone, a video marketing expert this morning and since I been wanting to evolve my LinkedIn presence, this email was perfect timing.

The "FREEBIE" was about LinkedIn's adoption of native video and how professionals can use this distribution channel to grow their brands/businesses. It was a great, informative video. I personally believe LinkedIn to be a sleeping giant for a number of industries including cannabis and fashion that I just don't see using as effectively as I think it could be done. Along with the fact that I have been seeing a number of speakers and coaches I know doing more video content on the platform - so I knew something was up. 

I took a ton of notes from the webinar replay that Lou shared with his email list, and even took some screen captures. I'll be using the platform to share more of my video content to expand my professional network, and to see if I can book more consulting and content creation projects. The audience looking for experts in these fields are sitting on LinkedIn, along with VC's and angel investors looking for new products and services to throw money into --- so why not step up my presence and the platform and see what happens. EstroHaze has a new travel series coming out, so I'll be interested in sharing those video clips natively to the platform in hopes that it translates to website traffic and more opportunities for us there as well. 

The way I'll be rounding out FREELANCE FRIDAY will be by blogging here about what I did for that day to optimize my digital footprint. Ala, this post you're currently reading!!! 

More specifically I shared natively a clip from a interview I conducted earlier this year at the Women Grow Leadership Summit in Denver, CO. I was able to interview a ton of Women of Color who were working within the cannabis industry. I spoke with Kiana Hughes of Two Dope Chicks about her cannabis career journey - she too was brought up under the D.A.R.E. campaign but through a boyfriend who later became her husband she learned the awesome power of cannabis. She's doing great work in Chicago too! Check out the full interview below: 

I'm more than excited and ready to implement all of the things I've been listening to via podcast like Masters of Scale and Foundr. For me that means more collaborating and creating. More sharing of the knowledge that I do have in various areas. That means taking better care of my health by exercising, eating much cleaner, and continuing to keep my damn head down and be about my father's business! 

So, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the first of many more 'Freelance Friday's' to come.