Well. It’s been one year and I’m finally ready to share.
A lot of you guys have messaged me over the last few months asking me about this and saying that you must have “missed” the announcement. Truth is, there was no announcement. As of one year ago, I became I full-time content creator and Influencer Marketing consultant.
Why no announcement? Well, first of all – I wasn’t sure what the future looked like. I enjoyed my work in technology and I didn’t know if turning my passion project into a full time gig would make me not like it as much. Would I take a few months off and then try to find the *right* role in a corporate space? Would I hate putting financial pressure on my creative outlet? Does creativity only spark when I’m looking for an outlet from my regular work? Only time would tell.
Well, time did tell. This year has been one of the most trying times of my professional life. My friends can tell you that I am wildly indecisive and this year was a testament to how hard it is to truly find your craft. I love my blog. I love writing and I love knowing that there is someone out there in the corner of the internet reading my words. I love creating content and finding ways to connect with likeminded young women. I bounced back and forth between a million different ideas and finally found a space for myself.
I knew that being a creator would be an important part of my identity, but what about the part of me that loved strategizing? What about the meetings, the presentations, the client-side and brand work? Well, one opportunity turned into another and I found myself months later with a roster full of corporate clients who I work with as an Influencer Marketing consultant. I help educate brands through trainings, webinars, and in-depth strategy sessions on the best ways to run Influencer Marketing campaigns. I get to take on the clients that I want to work with and have flexibility in my career.
Having this right brain / left brain career has been so good for me. I’m still building decks, hosting conference calls, and having strategy sessions with my clients – but I also have days where I sit in my pajamas all day and work on my blog. At this moment, this is right for me. Who knows what 6 months from now or a year from now might look like. Will I ever go back to corporate? Who knows? My motto is ‘never say never’ – but it would have to be the right role for me to leave what I’ve built here.
I also want to say this. Mostly to myself, but to you guys too. The journey of entrepreneurship is long and full of curves. Today I may feel confident enough to post this, and a month from now I could be asking myself “what am I doing with my life?!” These highs and lows are part of it. If you have dreams of turning your food blog, photography hobby, or event planning company from side hustle to a full-time role – here’s my advice. Don’t do it for the money. You will work harder than have ever worked for anyone for much less. Trust me, it’s 2 AM and I’m writing this to you. My favorite quote is this: “Being an entrepreneur means you get to choose which 18 hours you work in the day.”
Going into this I knew that I would be able to match my corporate salary, but I didn’t know that I would be able to surpass it to this extent and still love what I do. In the spirit of keeping it real, I don’t love every single day. There are pieces of my job that I really dread (hello accounting) But hey, no one loves every part of what they do. I know what it feels like to go to bed on a Sunday night and dread waking up to a Monday morning and I can say with a full heart, that for the last 52 weeks – I’ve never felt that way. That is a blessing.
Having flexibility and financial freedom has been a huge goal of mine. I’ve been working two jobs for the last decade and yes, I’ve always treated my blog as a business – way before I was paying taxes. My goal is to serve my readers and my clients with information that adds value to their lives – not noise. I finally feel the satisfaction of doing something that I truly love and for that, I thank you – my readers.
Thank you for taking the time to read my posts, thank you for sharing them with your friends, thank you for sharing my posts to your stories, thank you for liking and commenting on posts, DMing me, asking me for links for things before you purchase to ensure I get a small commission, thank you for sending me emails and messages about my posts, and thank you for allowing me to wake up every day and love what I do. This truly wouldn’t be possible without all of you. New & exciting things are in story for us Simply readers! Thanks for being a long for the ride.
