The Story Behind Byte of Bliss: Exclusive Look Inside

by: Anne Munz | March 16, 2023

I never really considered myself an “entrepreneur,” nor saw myself as ever becoming an entrepreneur. After all, I was not an inventor. My penchant was never for devising clever contraptions. Rather, I was drawn to being a leader, solving problems, optimizing processes, and making logical connections between disparate things. Mentors used to say to me, “Now figure out how to monetize that.” A baffling concept in the pre-mainstream-digital-commerce days. How exactly does one monetize process definition, leadership skills, general know-how, or one’s logical thoughts? None of these items were a tangible product to be manufactured, packaged, and sold. Well, unless I were to write a book.

Who is an Entrepreneur, Really?

My interpretation of an entrepreneurship was two-fold. Entrepreneurs either birthed something amazing that grew into a big corporation or a opened a small mom-and-pop shop or service business. Those entrepreneurs who were in the big leagues were inventive, clever, geniuses who designed epic ideas into reality that turned “magically” into a mega-corporation. On the flip side, smaller scale “mom-and-pop” entrepreneurs were brave, secure, dedicated, and motivated risk takers who spent every moment of lives in service to their businesses.

Personally, the only time I ever dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur was when my day job hit a speed bump and I dreamed of “not working for the man” any longer. The grass truly is always greener on the other side of the fence. But, reality would quickly shatter my day-dreams as soon as I reminded myself that I was not an inventor and I needed the health insurance that my company provided.

Side-hustling Innovators

Interestingly, entrepreneurs today have evolved into disruptive, side-hustling innovators. The digital world has made accessible a brand-new platform for the monetization of products. And not just tangible, manufactured products, but products of knowledge derived from the minds of experts and curated for consumers in the form of virtual learning, publications, guided communities, mobile applications, and more.

A few years ago, the hot training topics circulating the office were “digital disruption” and “innovation.” Not wanting to be left behind, I figured I had better jump on board and learn how to be innovative. This endeavor started with investigations into what exactly innovation and disruption really meant. Unfortunately, for me, they appeared to be entrepreneurial in nature. What perplexed me was how one was expected to strive to be entrepreneurial in their corporate day job? This appeared to be a fascinating means to re-make entrepreneurship, taking the invigorating parts and injecting them into the stale parts of big corporations.

Non-traditional Products

It was not until I took a course in Innovative Thinking for my graduate degree that I finally started to consider myself capable of innovation. I set off to find my side-hustle, my “non-traditional product,” my blue ocean that would disrupt something somewhere. Then, the perfect storm brewed, spurring me into action. At the time I was working my day job, remotely, in a new town with minimal person-to-person human interaction. I yearned for a community of friendship and support. Additionally, my interest in social media marketing re-surfaced as a puzzle that I wanted to solve and master. Furthermore, I crossed paths with an amazing company whose business model leveraged independent distributors as a “direct sales” arm. That business was SeneGence® International.

Innovator in TRaining — A Beauty Product Distributor

SeneGence® is a rising star in the beauty industry with makeup, skincare, and hair care product lines. I fell in love with their products. I fell in love with their community of “SeneSisters.” This seemed like a perfect entrepreneurial adventure for this side-hustle-seeking non-innovator! I was thrilled at the opportunity to learn more about social media marketing by applying what I learned to an actual business where I did not have to invent anything. Byte of Bliss^TM was born!

Blooming Innovator Interrupted

But then, it all came crashing down. I was finishing my graduate degree while also working full time at my day job which, also included navigating the added tasks of a merger. All of this was coupled with the onset of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns and subsequent closure of my son’s daycare center. Not to mention that my family was a mere 3 months into residence in a new city and state—translation: no support network—and my fiancé was traveling 75% of the time. My life quickly grew immensely out of balance and I resorted to protecting the core.

I doubled down on finishing my graduate degree, keeping my son alive (and as un-bored as possible), staying COVID-19 free, and working with all my might at my day job. All else fell by the wayside. This included de-prioritizing my newly found side-hustle, my extended family relationships, my friendships, self-care, and yes, showers. There were stressful moments, breakdowns, and tears. There were fears of inadequacy, looming guilt for all that I could not focus on, and moments of sheer exhaustion and frustration.

Aha Moments!

What I doubled down on, I triumphed over with immense success. But, my life, my spirit, was broken. It took months to personally recover, and I am still on my own journey to find my best, balanced self. Amazingly, while on my journey to mend myself I found joy at my day job when coaching my team. I realized that sometimes all people need is a community and confidence to succeed. They need to know they are capable and that they are not alone. They need to be reminded that they are empowered. But more so, that they can empower themselves to conquer any challenge.

Also, I realized that, today, innovative products are not constrained by a traditional, manufactured medium. Many of today’s innovative products are platforms that provide access to knowledge, support, communities, and services. These platforms serve as a conduit for sharing one’s sliver of expertise with the world.

The Big Pivot for Byte of Bliss

This is when I re-imagined what Byte of Bliss^TM was to become. My vision for Byte of Bliss^TM is deeply rooted in the dedication of building-up the confidence, courage, and professional skills, of women in technology, as they seek a balanced self. I wanted Byte of Bliss to become a platform for a community dedicated to building-up—not tearing-down—individuals on their personal journeys to find balance and bliss. The ultimate plan is to accomplish this through our curated content & publications, community platform and resources, & digital learning. The long-term dream state is to grow enough to be able to offer coaching & consulting services. But, before we run…we must crawl.

Byte of Bliss Focus Areas

Consequently, I ended my SeneGence® independent distributorship that was originally inhabiting the name Byte of Bliss. I have shifted the topical area of beauty, fashion, & self-care to one of the Byte of Bliss^TM FOCUS AREAS called: LOVELY. While this was a difficult pivot to make, this adjacent topic, and existing community, will continue to have a home.

LOVELY will not be along for long as I plan to develop a second FOCUS AREA called: HEALTHY, which will focus on all things health and wellness, critical to maintaining and sustaining one’s best, balanced self.   

These two FOCUS AREAS are a mere starting point. As our community grows, we anticipate identifying additional, adjacent areas of value to our community. We will, of course, keep these offshoots aligned to the Balanced Self Model because of our commitment to ensuring we deliver the best value to everyone taking advantage of all that Byte of Bliss^TM has to offer.

What Comes Next…

The core of Byte of Bliss will start with this blog. First, we must crawl. Over the coming months, we will cover topics such as: Leadership, Collaboration, Networking, Connection Building, Habits, Time Management, Confidence, Presence, Conflict Management, Emotional Intelligence, Goal Setting (& achievement), Imposter Syndrome, Influence, Dealing with Difficult People, & Coaching.

I look forward to having you join Byte of Bliss^TM on our journey. I am excited by the opportunity to help others on their journeys, while connecting then with content and learning opportunities that will boost their confidence and professional poise.