While listening to the new R&B album by Brent Faiyaz, I was reminded of the unpredictability of life and how you can’t anticipate every single moment of the day (we thank Mr. Faiyaz and God for dropping an unexpected masterpiece before the end of 2023).
The album title being Larger Than Life, I thought of how one small thought can turn into something larger than itself and impact people beyond your imagination.
When drafting up the idea of a business, mere excitement and energy can carry you through the ideation process, imagining all the positive things you could achieve with a successful brand.
You think about how you are going to market your brand and share it with the masses, and why people should care about what you have to offer in the first place. The initial idea usually looks better on paper — reality soon sets in about how feasible the business idea is and whether or not you can scale it to be profitable and impactful enough to grab people’s attention.
When my friend and I launched our small business, Satori Apparel, the idea was generated, in a way I’m sure other creatives can relate to, from a conversation we had in my basement (basement convos can change your life, you heard it here first — you’re welcome in advance). A single thought opened a world of opportunities and, looking back now three years in, changed my life in ways I never thought could happen.
“Satori” can be defined as a moment of awakening, revealing something to you that you had never seen before. We see and have these moments daily and with our platform, we wanted to highlight the importance of these awakenings because of how it can inspire others to have a similar experience.
From the people I’ve met and had conversations with, collaborators we’ve had throughout the years, and feedback from the people, time does tell how important small businesses are for the community.
Not only did it change my friends and my life for the better, but it also introduced me to the outside world from a creative angle and gave me insight as to why we need small businesses to be around. They offer interpersonal connections and produce a “family feeling” from the start.
Our motto at Satori is “inspiration for your revelation.” We wanted to have a slogan we can say to anyone, of any age, at any time. With the work we do, if we can inspire one person to believe in themselves and reveal something within them they hadn’t seen before, we did our job. The ideal, win-win situation for the community is seeing all parties involved take the W (standard abbreviation for Win), and with Satori, this is always the goal.
I never thought I would meet the people I have, change the way I have as an individual, and see things I deemed out of reach at one point in time. I never thought I’d see messages from people I didn’t expect a response from, engaging with the material we spent days preparing and offering encouragement and support.
It’s crazy to think how one idea could take on a life of its own and people will gravitate towards it naturally.
Ultimately, every business wants to relate to their target audience. If people can see your passion for what you do shown in the work, that sense of authenticity and purpose multiplies quickly.
Motivation for the most part only lasts so long before discipline and confidence carry you the rest of the way through. The confidence from what you have been able to achieve is why having a platform to “stand on business” is important, because you realize what you can do for yourself, you can also do for others.
Small businesses show how hustle and work can give creativity a space to belong and thrive. Naturally, you want everyone and anyone to look at your work, but how you define art is looked at differently across the board.
Having businesses that care about the art being displayed allows the right people to connect with it and interact with the content shown. Inspiration is drawn from there and the cycle repeats.
It is easy to get hung up on the word “small” in small business. A business can offer everything you need, but just be small scale and this isn’t a terrible thing. Sometimes taking something for what it is at the time is fine if it serves your purpose and fulfills your wants.
Look at a business’s identity, its values, the content being displayed, and what resonates with you. Small businesses offer you a unique personal experience from day one, not to mention the satisfaction of saying you have been a “real one since day one” as the business grows.
Why wait until something becomes large to care about and support it? If it checks all the boxes for you now, do yourself, and a small business, a favor by supporting with your whole chest, and be proud of what the community has demonstrated.
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