hey all! welcome back to another installment of “Just A Girl..”! I’m very excited because this week we have the pleasure of chatting with the founder of Harriet’s Alter Ego, which was a Brooklyn staple, Ngozi Odita!
if you’ve spent anytime in Brooklyn walking and /or shopping, you would have past Harriet’s Alter Ego on Flatbush Ave. an integral part of the neighborhood for over 6 years, Harriet’s was and is known for forward fashion, positively embracing culture and independent designers and artists.
a couple of years ago, I noticed that it wasn’t there anymore 
. heartbroken, I came to find out that…yay!!! they were still around! and guess what?! now we can all support them and their most amazing clothing, accessories and vibes because after closing the physical address of the store, they’re now virtually located at www.societyHAE.com.
Ngozi, as you can imagine is extremely busy, but she took time to bless us with her insights into the world of doing business solely online:
me: I know Harriet’s Alter Ego (HAE) actually had a physical storefront in Brooklyn. What was the driving force behind the decision to move to an exclusively online storefront?
Ngozi Odita: I’m a firm believer that the universe always provides and has a funny way of creating scenarios that place you on the path you’re suppose to be on. In 2008 with the economy being in flux it was becoming increasingly harder to generate the same revenue that we had in previous years, our overhead was going up but customers were spending less. So we found ourselves in a position were it no longer made economical sense to operate a brick and mortar store because our profit margin had decreased significantly. But Harriet’s Alter Ego (HAE) was more than a store, we were a neighborhood fixture for over 6 years, we contributed to the landscape of Brooklyn offering a unique voice for borough residents and the greater NYC community. Our boutique and art gallery was a destination for music, fashion and art enthusiasts, we were able to create a base from which our network grew beyond Brooklyn to include people from across the nation and overseas. So upon closing we decided to create a website, Society HAE (www.societyhae.com), so everyone who came to the store could stay connected. Once we put up the site we quickly realized that it was so much more than just a way for Harriet’s customers to connect. Society HAE resonated with people who had never been to our store but appreciated its artistic and cultural aesthetic. Our intent when we opened Harriet’s Alter Ego Boutique and Art Gallery and when we launched Society HAE was and continues to be to incorporate emerging art of all mediums into the daily lives of the community and encourage people to interact with one another in new and creative ways.
me: As a woman entrepreneur and owner of a business that exists primarily online, how do you manage your time online?
Ngozi Odita: I’m very task orientated. I create a do list the night before and then go through my list and check tasks off as I complete them. I spend the majority of my day on the computer. I start my day at around 3am, this allows me to get the bulk of my writing done uninterrupted before the business days starts. So by 10am when folks are calling me and sending emails that need immediate replies I don’t have to worry about being distracted. I get over 200 emails a day so it pretty easy to get off track and consumed with all those messages. I try and schedule meetings between 11am and 4pm. My day is a wrap by 5pm. I’m generally still online after 5pm but my activity is reading postings on my networks or on websites that I follow. When you work for yourself you really need to be focused because there are so many distractions I find “to do lists” are the best way to keep me focused and on task.
me: Do you have any particular merchant sites or small business sites/tools that you’ve found that have not only made doing business easier, but have actually increased your productivity?
Ngozi Odita: I’m a huge fan of skype. Our featured bloggers/writers live all over the world so we have been able to coordinate conference calls and editorial meetings via skype. My iPhone is indispensable I have all kinds of applications that allow me to be more productive and efficient. I use google calendar and ical to keep track of appointments, project deadlines and my daily tasks list. I use SKYPE for international calls on the go, Analytics Lite to keep up with my website’s traffic stats, MyBudget for managing budgets for different projects and itrans NYC so I never find myself wasting precious minutes on the train platform waiting on a train. I’m also a big fan of Behance who designs products and services to help creative professionals be more organized. I use their Action Method paper products and iphone app.
me: How do you see technology and social networking enhancing the vision you have for Society HAE in the next 5 years?
Ngozi Odita: Technology and social media will play an integral role in the growth of Society HAE. Our vision is to truly be a global brand with the intent of eliminating geographic boundaries and bringing folks together across the globe that share similar interests as it relates to emerging art and culture. Tools like twitter and facebook are allowing us to do this. Social Media allows us amplify our message through our various online networks. I can type 140 characters and instantaneously a 1,000 people can see my message and forward it on to hundreds of their friends. That’s powerful; imagine all the outreach and organizing one can do… Haiti is a perfect example.
There are people all over the world doing amazing things that enhance the cultural landscape of their communities. Society HAE wants to be a point of convergence for these individuals whether you live in Lagos, Nigeria; Austin, TX; Paris, France or Tokyo, Japan you can feel at home on Society HAE and connect with other likeminds. With everything we do our goal is to encourage people to go out and create and let their creative output impact the lives of those around them. Whether what you create is art or film or baked goods we all have the ability to give the gift of creativity and share what we do with others… and so we hope through our website and our events to inspire and empower people to practice our mantra, which is “Change The World, Create Something”
werd. I’m going to have to investigate some of these sites and suggestions myself because the goal is to always find a way to work smarter and not harder, always with the focus on time management, right? right. so shouts out to Ngozi Odita, Harriet’s Alter Ego and SocietyHAE for supporting art, artists and being an example for all independent entrepreneurs!
I hope to see you all next week again and if you’re in NY, make sure and stop by “She’s So Fresh” Showcase IV, The “Freshest on Film” Edition! it’s going down on May 8, 2010 at Centerstage in NYC, 48 West 21st from 2p-6p. we are doing something new and different by turning our focus to the sistas that document our lives, film makers and photographers.
PLEASE NOTE: this is a film event, and as such guests will be required to sit, and so for capacity reasons, only the first 85 people will be allowed in to screening space to see the films. there won’t be performances, but we will have wine, beer and snacks, as well as a Q&A with our film makers and photography display with images available for purchase. so please come through and support these woman artists because they real FRESH!
so, til next week good peoples!! stay up stay strong stay positive and let’s go make differences! have a blessed week,
peaces,
rox.
© 2010 J.A.G. Music and Media
