Dear Pennies & Pens,
Let’s talk about how I created The InkSpot aka ISLP. I started kind of backwards because I created two products before I ever wrote a business plan. My first product, de la Pen…All Pen Everything dropped its first page of ink in 2010. At the time, it was just going to be a fashion blog but then in 2013, I moved from NYC to Texas and turned it into a lifestyle magazine.
Recognizing that the Texan lifestyle offered the ability to travel, attend art + fashion shows, eat delicious Vegan food, and more — I knew that it didn’t make sense to just write about fashion. Plus with a diverse set of interests, only having one main topic was starting to get boring. And so, de la Pen became a multicultural lifestyle magazine featuring fashion, beauty, art, music, film, travel and events as well as lifestyle + business + creative tips and advice. So basically All Pen Everything is All Pen Everything, get it? Lmao, little baby, little baby.
So back to the ink at hand, my next step was to continue growing de la Pen but I realized that I also needed to make money. And brand partnerships and paid sponsorships were few and far in between. Same with landing clients for 8515. That’s when I decided to create and sell my own products. I knew I wanted to create a variety of different products so that’s when I sat down and wrote my business plan. I wrote several drafts before I came up with a concept and plan of action that I was happy with.
I decided that The InkSpot now known as ISLP should be a creative production company and lifestyle boutique. When writing the business plan, I researched production companies and agencies. Since I already have an agency that I co-own with my business partner Cacha Lopez that concept didn’t make sense. Plus I was in love with the idea of producing and creating something from scratch. Normally, the term producer is used to define someone who creates music or film.
But being a creative production company and lifestyle boutique is a new thing. I get asked what that means all the time. But another one of my goals when I started the business was to innovate. So if I’m going to innovate that means I can’t do what everyone else is doing. I have big dreams and I’m going to make the all come true. I am going to write + publish books and magazines, produce travel guides + music + films, as well as designing clothes. Oh and did I mention beauty and home decor are on the list too?
That’s why it’s a creative production company. Because we create and develop a variety of different lifestyle products. Our mission is to use our ink to create high quality, original lifestyle products that are affordable to inspire and empower multicultural millennials + creatives to ink the life they’ve always wanted. Basically, I want to create products that enhance people’s lives and adds value. The market is so oversturated as it is.
So after I got the business plan done, I wrote #MakeUrPenLoud: How To Be A Lifestyle Blogger and created the website. Then we launched. That was in 2015. Four years later, we’ve got a new book, The Loudest Pen Ever and two digital travel guides Cruising thru Cali and
I’ve got just one question: will you Ink With Us?
And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything. With us, keeping it real never goes wrong.
