Behind the Ink: Why I relaunched ISLP

Dear Pennies & Pens, 

In this post, I am going to talk about why I relaunched my business, ISLP, The InkSpot, LLC. The InkSpot is a creative production company and multicultural creative agency based in Dallas. We create high quality, original and unique products as well as providing branding, marketing, public relations, event planning, styling and photography services. 

We’re the publisher of three books, #MakeUrPenLoud: How to be a Lifestyle Blogger, The Loudest Pen Ever and The Pen Planner. Additionally, we designed Pennies & Pens, a collection of 100% Organic Cotton T-Shirts. 

As far as clients, we’ve worked with Michelle Nelson, Author of Little Ruby Does It Big, Grown & Grounded, a T-Shirt brand for women and K Jones Jewelry. Check out www.islpdtx.com to learn more about us. 

Launched The InkSpot by default 

First off, I launched ISLP by default. I originally launched The InkSpot in April of 2015 when I published my first book, #MakeUrPenLoud: How To Be A Lifestyle Blogger. But, I launched the company by accident – what I mean is my original goal was to write and publish a book, not start a business. 

I knew that I wanted to self publish but at the same time, I didn’t want to publish the book as LoudPen. I wanted the book’s publisher to be a company name. I had always loved the name “The InkSpot” – I thought it was a dope name for a business. 

So when I released the book, #MakeUrPenLoud: How To Be A Lifestyle Blogger in April of 2015, it was published by The InkSpot. At the time, I had no real business plan and no clue how I was going to grow my business. 

I had another business

When I first launched The InkSpot, I had another business. Because of the shortcomings of my former business partner, I had to hold down that business. This left me with no time to focus on The InkSpot. 

I did still work on and successfully complete ISLP projects such as producing our travel guides Cruising thru Cali and Chillin in Chi-Town as well as publishing The Loudest Pen Ever. However, I still wasn’t as focused as I should’ve been. 

Still working full time 

When I first started ISLP, I was still working full time. In fact, I was working full time up until April of 2020. This hurt me significantly because it meant having to do work for someone else for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. In essence, I had to treat ISLP like a side hustle. 

It used to really frustrate me to have to create content for my last employer when I could’ve been working on ISLP. I realize that having a job is how I paid my bills but since I never had time to focus on ISLP, I couldn’t grow the business. 

ISLP: The original 2015 Launch 

When I first launched ISLP in 2015, we had a website but no e-commerce site. This meant that we only sold our books via Amazon. 

Amazon doesn’t share customer information like name, address, etc. so we had no idea who was buying our books and why. Recognizing that this was a problem because it means we can’t remarket to customers, I decided to launch our own ecommerce shop. 

Venturing into e-commerce

I launched our current shop www.islpdtx.com in 2018 via Shopify. I felt that with an e-commerce portal, we would now be able to sell our products directly to customers. 

This has been a significant game changer for us because we now have our customers information to use for remarketing, we can also track sales and clicks not to mention managing inventory which helps us assess which products are selling and what isn’t. 

Taking a break 

Even though we launched our e-commerce website, we still weren’t seeing the sales we needed or wanted. In late 2019, we participated in the National Black Book Festival and that’s when I realized I needed to be vending at events to generate sales. 

But like so many other businesses, the pandemic changed everything. Since everything was closed, in-person events were replaced by online/virtual experiences. So I decided to take a break and stop working altogether. 

During my break, I realized that I wanted to part ways with my former business partner (we owned a different business from ISLP) and I wanted to focus on ISLP. I was terrified to go completely out on my own but I knew it was the best decision. 

Moving in a different direction

I was on a break from April – August 2020. Once I decided to come back, I knew I should relaunch ISLP. 

During my break, I realized that there were some steps I was missing with the original launch. I also wanted to go in a different direction by introducing a new product line. 

Legally establishing ISLP 

When I first launched ISLP in 2015, I didn’t legally establish the business – what I mean is I didn’t obtain my LLC. I had my EIN (Employer Identification Number) but not my LLC. This was a grave mistake because an LLC is what legally establishes your business in the state of operation. It also makes people take your business more seriously. Furthermore, you’ll need an LLC to get a company bank account and apply for any loans or funding. 

So in June of 2020, I obtained our LLC and officially established ISLP, The InkSpot, LLC in the great state of Texas. I also opened our company bank account. I have always filed taxes so blessingly that’s never been a problem. 

Launching a new product

Once I had all my legal affairs in order, I decided to launch a new product. I just haven’t found being an Author to be profitable and I wanted to do something different. Since I have always loved fashion and wanted to design my own collection, I figured that was the perfect choice. 

Plus as a designer, I could combine my love of writing with my passion for fashion. Hence why each Pennies & Pens T-shirt has an original quote written by me as the design. It’s a simple yet powerful way to create classic, wearable fashion. 

That said, in November of 2020, ISLP, The InkSpot, LLC relaunched with Pennies & Pens, an organic, vegan and sustainable lifestyle brand. We have a collection of 100% Organic Cotton T-Shirts. 

Since launching, we have sold more T-shirts than books. Although oddly enough, introducing the T-Shirts has reignited interest in my books. So we’ll see how this launch shakes out. 

Shop the ink www.islpdtx.com 

And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything. With us, keeping it real never goes wrong.