TEN4: Rearrange That List.

"Reached every goal I actually set,

I had to sit back down and rearrange that list."

— Nipsey Hussle

 

There was a time when my goals were only about survival.
About proving something.
About simply getting SOSS® off the ground.

In 2019, the list was short:

• Make an undeniably great product.

• Be recognized by my community as a successful entrepreneur.

• Make $100K in a year.

That was it. That’s all I wanted.

Because at the time, we were making $200 a month—if I was lucky. I wasn’t thinking about distribution deals or hiring a team. I wasn’t thinking about taxes, legal fees, compatibility testing, or what happens when a team member leaves mid-scale.

I just wanted to make $100K and prove this thing was real.

And honestly?
We did that.
And that’s when things got dangerous...

The Shift

Our Soufflé? Undeniable.
Essence, GQ, Forbes, Men’s Health features—check.
Grant wins? Racked up over $80K.
Revenue? We cracked 6-figures multiple times.

We did what we said we would do.
But we forgot to write the next list.

And without new goals, we got destructively comfortable.

We started withdrawing instead of reinvesting.
Paid costly marketing agencies with no plan to guide them.
Onboarded manufacturers and partners without deep vetting.

We thought we were up.
And honestly, we were—for a minute.
I wasn’t in my parents’ basement whipping Soufflé anymore.
I wasn’t packing orders until 2am after a long day at work.
We had earned time back.

But the moment we stopped leading with vision and started coasting on comfort, things started slipping.

The Cost

Well, here's a few things we had to do to get back on track:

• Search for our 4th product manufacturer

• Abruptly switch fulfillment centers

• Cut contracts we should’ve never signed

• Rebuild our growth strategy from scratch

• Take on business loans to maintain cash flow

2024? Yeah… it tested us.
But thank God—it woke us up.

Goals (Vol. 2)

The old list was built on grind.

Vol. 1

• Make an undeniably great product

• Be recognized by my community as a successful entrepreneur

• Make $100K in a year

This new list is built on vision, legacy, and intention.

Vol. 2

• Consistently create and release undeniably great products that transform men’s grooming

• Build a team with systems that provide an impeccable brand experience from coast to coast

• Manage our money so well that we can pour $100K+ into our community, every year

Vol. 1 got us here.
Vol. 2 will take us to where we’re actually called to be.

Confidence Through Routine

And to make Vol. 2 real, I had to change my habits again:

1. I start and end every day reading customer support emails and DMs—staying tapped in with everything y’all are saying and actually experiencing.
2. Every team call begins with: “What are we going to accomplish today?” and we don’t hop off until we’ve accomplished it.
3. We review and analyze our finances weekly, down to the last transaction.

Funny thing is… this is the exact same routine I had back in 2022—when we first hit 6 figures.

So I’m not reinventing.
I’m returning to proven practices that I mistakenly veered away from.
And then we'll elevate from there.

Call to Self.

Last month, I wrote about the importance of "looking back".
This month?
It’s about staying in motion.

If the list doesn’t evolve, neither do we.
If our habits don’t match the vision, the vision dies on paper.

This isn't just about SOSS®.
This is me personally leveling up in all aspects—for real this time.

We did $100K+ in a year.
Now, I want to seed $100K into our community in a year.

Let’s try.
Let’s build.
Let’s rearrange that list—over, and over, and over again.

Life is too big to play small.

— Vernon G.