As a born and raised Orlandoean (is that what we s As a born and raised Orlandoean (is that what we should call ourselves?!) I haven't ever really experienced a winter season. I've enjoyed winter many times while in many different cities including, Edinburgh, London, NYC, and Boston. But I've never lived in winter day in and day out. After a week it was always time to fly home to my palm trees and theme parks. This winter is the first time that I am experiencing cold temperatures daily and often experiencing grey skies. It's only been about two weeks and I have to admit that it is a huge adjustment. But I am doing my best to embrace the season and stay as cozy as possible. I am used to being outside as often as possible in winter while hibernating with the A/C running all summer. So I guess now I will be reversing those habits and bundling up until spring gets here.
For my birthday I wanted one thing and one thing o For my birthday I wanted one thing and one thing only, @hipcityveg. Although I still miss all my favorite Orlando foodie places, I am so excited to finally be so close to a Hip City Veg location. It's my all-time favorite plant-based restaurant and I have been craving this vegan milkshake for months! If you haven't been yet and you are in DC or Philadelphia, go right now!
I'm currently reflecting on a very wild year. This I'm currently reflecting on a very wild year. This last trip around the sun was during a very difficult time in our world but I can't personally complain much about the last 365 days. I thought I would be taking over as the lead on a contract at a Disney hotel as their main wedding photographer. I had been photographing weddings there for years but covid had other plans. Instead, I watched as the entire world shut down around me, only for the hotel to reopen as a part of the NBA bubble. So I decided to jump headfirst into running a product-based business. It's something I wanted to do for years and yet I could never quite seem to muster up the nerve to fully go after that dream. I launched my first collection of candles, sold out in days, and things have been steadily growing since then for @kismetandcharisma. After finally going after my dream of switching from service-based to product-based, I co-founded a nonprofit. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and the stars finally aligned to bring it to light. Along with my best friend, Anna, I co-founded @LoveDoesntHurtInc. It has already healed me in ways I never thought possible and I can't wait to see what our nonprofit does for other people. I also consistently recorded @heartandhustlepodcast all year alongside my ride or die, @studio404design. Outside of work, I adopted the sweetest little pup ever as a present for my husband's quarantine birthday (best present ever). I didn't finish writing my own book but I managed to read quite a few other books. I battled anxiety as usual but I managed to learn when to turn the news off and FaceTime a friend instead of continuing to doomscroll. I also convinced my husband to leave OCPS to work for a school district that would like to keep him alive during the pandemic, which resulted in us relocating to the DC area. Here's hoping that this trip around the sun is filled with the same amount of professional success but WAY more hugs.
Lately, I have been getting acquainted with some o Lately, I have been getting acquainted with some of the local coffee shops in DC and NOVA. You would never know that I don't like coffee by how often I am spending money in coffee shops. I do, however, love just about every tea I come across. Earthy, fruity, sweet, bitter, it doesn't matter. I love them all. Any other tea lovers out there? Do you like coffee and tea or just one or the other?
This year is off to a wild start. I literally star This year is off to a wild start. I literally started the New Year on the road, driving somewhere just south of Raleigh. We slept in Raleigh for a few hours and then finished the drive to our new home in the DMV. We have been here just over a week now which feels pretty hard to believe. In some ways, it feels shorter and in others, it feels much longer. I don't feel at home yet but yesterday was a beautiful day and definitely the best one that I have had since we moved here. It definitely has me feeling hopeful. I know that this year won't magically be better than last year but I am going to be doing everything I can to make it a better year for myself and everyone I know.
Instagram post 18186913066037488 Instagram post 18186913066037488
Saying goodbye to Christmas and Orlando at the sam Saying goodbye to Christmas and Orlando at the same time is going to be incredibly difficult! šŸ’”
Merry Christmas from our favorite little polar bea Merry Christmas from our favorite little polar bear. šŸ¤šŸŽ„
Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with jo Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with joy and laughter. šŸŽ„ā˜ƒļøšŸ•Æ
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Uncategorized · April 20, 2016

Women In Business | Missy from The Classy Hippie

Too often in our society, people picture men in their heads when they hear words like, ā€œbossā€, ā€œentrepreneurā€, or ā€œCEOā€. Being a small business owner has put me in touch with so many successful female business owners and entrepreneurs that when I hear these words, I often picture a woman or I just don’t assume anything at all. Women are obviously just as capable as men when it comes to the business world and it is high time that women business owners and entrepreneurs are more visible in the media in our society. This is where the idea for Women in Business was born. Women in Business is a bi-monthly feature that highlights female entrepreneurs and business owners. Not only is it a fantastic opportunity to learn more about small businesses in various fields, but it is a great shopping guide for supporting small businesses.

An Interview with Missy

The Classy Hippie is such a fun and inspiring corner of the internet! What inspired you to start your blog and how did you decide on the name?

Thank you! I started the Classy Hippie as an outlet for my voice and my struggles with weight loss, self-confidence and life. I wanted it to be somewhere I could write all the things down that I was feeling or experiencing regardless if they were triumphant or failing. I didn’t know if anyone would read my words or my story but I hoped that they reached at least one person and made a difference.

My name actually was given to me by my friend Natasha. I had always had a very free spirited soul, but it was mixed with my love of the classics. I love walking barefoot in the forest and being one with nature with no makeup, but at the same time I love to dress up in beautiful dresses and feeling glamorous. She had said in one picture that my outfit had reminded her of Audrey Hepburn who I adored and thus she dubbed me ā€œThe Classy Hippie.ā€ The name was perfect and a way to all encompass my personality and thus, the blog was born.

WIB The Classy Hippie

Where do you normally look for inspiration?

Life is a constant source of inspiration. I find that I have discovered inspiration all around me from a walk through nature, a piece of artwork, reading a book or blog, traveling or simply listening to those around you. When I turn around it seems that I’m always constantly surrounded by inspiration in my life, and it has made me strive to be a better person and strive to obtain my goals and things that I want in life. I think sometimes you find inspiration in the darkest part of yourself that have yet to be uncovered and that’s where when chipping away the stone you find rare diamonds.

You are currently at the beginning of a 6 month no shopping challenge. What inspired you to do this and what have you learned from the experience so far?

Let’s just start by saying this might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life thus far. Earlier last year I did a no makeup challenge for a month and it changed my perspective of the varying degrees in which I place my self-worth upon how others perceive me. Knowing what I learned from this lesson, I took a deeper look into what was holding me back and realized that I place entirely too much outer self-worth on material objects. While I was in a store buying something it would give me a warm powerful and exciting feeling of getting something new that was going to make me feel beautiful and better my self-worth, but once I got home the feeling faded and I was left with something that didn’t do anything to better my self-esteem. I soon realized that with my rising credit card bills came even more hatred for the image that stared back at me in the mirror and led me to buying even more to fill the gap. Ultimately I took a huge step back and decided I could no longer spend the rest of my life in this cycle. I no longer wanted to place my self-worth upon what I wore or had in my procession.

In the couple weeks I’ve been doing this challenge it’s given me more time to self-reflect and see all the items I was buying because I wanted them, not because I needed them. The time I would of spend shopping, which was often, was given back to me to focus on art, reading and becoming friends with myself again. I think all women should take the time to challenge and learn to fall in love with themselves.

women in business missy

What is your favorite social media platform and why?

I’m sort of a social media junkie, but currently my favorite social media platform is snapchat. It’s fairly new and there are tons of people every day becoming a part of it. With the videos and pictures it’s almost as if you’re a part of someone’s everyday life. A diary of sorts. It’s fun to share you coming and goings of your day, and to escape into someone else’s for a short time.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I would love to say I wake up most mornings, jump out of bed with renewed energy and workout, but it’s a falsehood that I’m striving to eventually make a reality. I’m so inspired by those who are able to wake up every day before the crack of dawn and get in a workout and meditation. I envy them.

For now, most mornings I wake up and look up at the ceiling, looking at the light flickering through the small cracks of the blinds on the windows and think about the things I need to do that day. I’m a very visual person who loves lists. I usually will stay in bed for a good 30 minutes and take the time to write down the 3 things I’m grateful for before starting the day. I try to never make it the same 3 things within a month which fully makes you appreciate all the little things you’ve often take for granted. Then I put my feet off the bed, stand up I set out on my day. It’s certainly not inspirational or exciting by any means, but I hope that I’ve got about maybe 50 more years on this earth to figure that out and become the morning person I’ve always wanted to be.

women in business rise and shine

You have gone from being a wedding photographer to a lifestyle blogger. What is one thing you miss from being a wedding photographer, one reason you are glad you moved on from wedding photography, and one thing you love about being a lifestyle blogger?

Wedding Photography was an amazing 5 years of my life. It was a journey that I wouldn’t take back for anything, but it was also exhausting. I got to meet so many amazing couples, and use my creative side of my soul to give them memories for a lifetime, but in the process I was missing the memories I could be making in my life. I was trying to build a business and a brand while working a full 40 hours job, and doing wedding photography on the weekends. This didn’t include running the photography business, editing the photos and everything associate with it. Ultimately I was missing out on life, my family and special events. I was exhausted emotionally and physically and it showed in my health. When I had a health scare I knew it was time to slow down. It wasn’t an easy decision to close down my business and say goodbye to all the couples and families who loyally chose me year after year, but it was a decision that I needed to make. I have no regrets about it or my decision and am thankful for the friends and lessons I learned along the way.

Being a lifestyle blogger has given me the voice that I have a hard time being heard. I have always been a person who will have a hard time expressing emotions in front of others, but behind a pen or a keyboard it just flows out of me. Blogging about my life, struggles, triumphs and more have been so cathartic for me and has helped me in so many ways become the person I aspire to be a bit more each day.

women in business missy photography

 

You have definitely had some tough times in your life, which are chronicled in your blog, yet you are a warm, happy, loving, inspiring person. Do you have a personal mantra or way of thinking that has helped you become so strong and optimistic?

ā€œThis too shall pass.ā€ It’s a quote that is directly tattooed on my body to remind myself that no matter what happens today that tomorrow is another day. No matter what hard times we face in life there will come a day when the hurt, anger, sadness or general feelings of that moment and time in your life will pass and you will come out the other side of the rabbit whole into the sunlight a renewed person. I’ve gone through so much in the short span of my life, but regardless I would never say I had a bad life and I would never for one second change a thing about it. I am here now, happy, stronger and breathing. It makes it all worth it in the end and I can now pass on the lessons I’ve learned, and show my scars with pride. There was a time when I all but gave up in my teenage years and thought hard about ending it all, but I want others to know that regardless of what you’re going through at this moment, things will get better and you will eventually look back on the hard times in your life with light instead of darkness.

ā€œNever be defined by your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.ā€

women in business sunset

How do you define success?

I think success is something that we individually have to define for ourselves on our own terms. To me I define success in terms of happiness. If at the end of the day what I am doing makes me happy, then I have succeeded. If my writing, my struggles help someone else to find their happiness, then I have succeeded. I may never have a brand that is known by tons of people, a blog that is read by millions and I may not be liked by all, but that doesn’t define my success nor my happiness. That one friend that reads my blog and take the time to comment that gives me more warmth, happiness than a million readers and that to me is success.

women in business missy desiree

In: Uncategorized · Tagged: blogger, the classy hippie, women in business

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Hi! I'm Charisma, a creative entrepreneur who loves to help others reach their full potential. I'm a photographer, a writer, and the owner of Kismet + Charisma, an online boutique that pairs minimalist, cozy, boho style with activism. In my little corner of the internet you'll find my latest travels, what I'm currently reading, how I practing Black joy as resistence, and how I'm finding hygge in my daily life. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea, and stay awhile.

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As a born and raised Orlandoean (is that what we s As a born and raised Orlandoean (is that what we should call ourselves?!) I haven't ever really experienced a winter season. I've enjoyed winter many times while in many different cities including, Edinburgh, London, NYC, and Boston. But I've never lived in winter day in and day out. After a week it was always time to fly home to my palm trees and theme parks. This winter is the first time that I am experiencing cold temperatures daily and often experiencing grey skies. It's only been about two weeks and I have to admit that it is a huge adjustment. But I am doing my best to embrace the season and stay as cozy as possible. I am used to being outside as often as possible in winter while hibernating with the A/C running all summer. So I guess now I will be reversing those habits and bundling up until spring gets here.
For my birthday I wanted one thing and one thing o For my birthday I wanted one thing and one thing only, @hipcityveg. Although I still miss all my favorite Orlando foodie places, I am so excited to finally be so close to a Hip City Veg location. It's my all-time favorite plant-based restaurant and I have been craving this vegan milkshake for months! If you haven't been yet and you are in DC or Philadelphia, go right now!
I'm currently reflecting on a very wild year. This I'm currently reflecting on a very wild year. This last trip around the sun was during a very difficult time in our world but I can't personally complain much about the last 365 days. I thought I would be taking over as the lead on a contract at a Disney hotel as their main wedding photographer. I had been photographing weddings there for years but covid had other plans. Instead, I watched as the entire world shut down around me, only for the hotel to reopen as a part of the NBA bubble. So I decided to jump headfirst into running a product-based business. It's something I wanted to do for years and yet I could never quite seem to muster up the nerve to fully go after that dream. I launched my first collection of candles, sold out in days, and things have been steadily growing since then for @kismetandcharisma. After finally going after my dream of switching from service-based to product-based, I co-founded a nonprofit. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and the stars finally aligned to bring it to light. Along with my best friend, Anna, I co-founded @LoveDoesntHurtInc. It has already healed me in ways I never thought possible and I can't wait to see what our nonprofit does for other people. I also consistently recorded @heartandhustlepodcast all year alongside my ride or die, @studio404design. Outside of work, I adopted the sweetest little pup ever as a present for my husband's quarantine birthday (best present ever). I didn't finish writing my own book but I managed to read quite a few other books. I battled anxiety as usual but I managed to learn when to turn the news off and FaceTime a friend instead of continuing to doomscroll. I also convinced my husband to leave OCPS to work for a school district that would like to keep him alive during the pandemic, which resulted in us relocating to the DC area. Here's hoping that this trip around the sun is filled with the same amount of professional success but WAY more hugs.
Lately, I have been getting acquainted with some o Lately, I have been getting acquainted with some of the local coffee shops in DC and NOVA. You would never know that I don't like coffee by how often I am spending money in coffee shops. I do, however, love just about every tea I come across. Earthy, fruity, sweet, bitter, it doesn't matter. I love them all. Any other tea lovers out there? Do you like coffee and tea or just one or the other?
This year is off to a wild start. I literally star This year is off to a wild start. I literally started the New Year on the road, driving somewhere just south of Raleigh. We slept in Raleigh for a few hours and then finished the drive to our new home in the DMV. We have been here just over a week now which feels pretty hard to believe. In some ways, it feels shorter and in others, it feels much longer. I don't feel at home yet but yesterday was a beautiful day and definitely the best one that I have had since we moved here. It definitely has me feeling hopeful. I know that this year won't magically be better than last year but I am going to be doing everything I can to make it a better year for myself and everyone I know.
Instagram post 18186913066037488 Instagram post 18186913066037488
Saying goodbye to Christmas and Orlando at the sam Saying goodbye to Christmas and Orlando at the same time is going to be incredibly difficult! šŸ’”
Merry Christmas from our favorite little polar bea Merry Christmas from our favorite little polar bear. šŸ¤šŸŽ„
Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with jo Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with joy and laughter. šŸŽ„ā˜ƒļøšŸ•Æ
One of my favorite things to do during the holiday One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is visit NYC. I usually love to go around Thanksgiving or the first week of December. I'm really missing it this year but it's exciting to know that next year around this time I will be a short drive away from NYC.

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