[Weekly Update: Part 1] Creating, Testing, and Small Wins That Keep You Going
Some weeks, you feel like a visionary. Other weeks, you’re just showing up and doing the work, hoping it adds up. This past week? It was one of those. A mix of pushing content, testing ideas, and reminding myself why I started this in the first place.
But that’s the thing about building something—it’s rarely flashy. It’s in the unsexy, repetitive work where the real progress happens. And sometimes, in between all that, you get a win that makes you pause and think, Okay, maybe this is working.
Toteaa x Berlin? A Wild Card Opportunity
I didn’t see this one coming. A Berlin-based designer reached out, and we started discussing a possible collab for Toteaa. No commitments yet, but the idea of blending our aesthetics is exciting. It’s moments like this that remind me—sometimes, the best things happen when you least expect them. You just have to stay in the game long enough.
Announcing Toteaa’s Website—And That Familiar Fear
We finally announced Toteaa’s website launch on Women’s Day. It’s weird. You work for months on something, tweaking every little detail, but the second you make it public, the doubts creep in. What if no one cares? What if I should’ve waited longer? What if, what if, what if…
But that’s the thing. You don’t wait till it’s perfect. You launch, you let people see it, and you figure things out as you go.
A Content Marathon: Testing, Shooting, Learning
This week, we went all in on content:
- Tested new reel formats for Toteaa and Kotoba—some were hits, some were misses, but that’s how you find what works.
- Planned Kotoba’s productivity carousels, because let’s be honest, consistency beats creativity when it comes to building an audience.
- Shot 10 reels—which meant dealing with multiple takes, bad lighting, and that moment when you realize you forgot to hit record (yes, it happened).
It’s easy to look at people growing online and think it’s effortless. It’s not. It’s a game of trial, error, and showing up even when no one’s watching.
Setting Up for the Long Game: Organic Traffic
Paid ads are cool, but I don’t want to rely on them forever. So this week, we set up a system to drive organic traffic to Toteaa. Lisa’s going to be blogging about tote bag trends, which means steady, compounding growth instead of short-term spikes. It’s a slow play, but it’ll pay off.
The Win That Made It All Worth It
Then, something unexpected happened.
A global brand placed a sample order for a niche tote bag. I don’t know if it’ll turn into something big yet, but just the fact that they noticed us? That’s huge.
And another lead came in—for NFC wedding invites, all the way from Malaysia. The dots are connecting. The work is stacking up.
Lessons From the Week
- Opportunities come, but only if you’re visible. If I hadn’t been consistently putting out content, would that Berlin collab even be a conversation? Probably not.
- The work is repetitive, but it’s necessary. The 10th reel might be the one that clicks. The 5th blog post might be the one that ranks. You never know.
- One small win can keep you going. That sample order? It reminded me why I’m doing all this in the first place.
On to another week. Let’s see where this grind takes us next.