shacket / jeans / cami / sunnies / bag (similar)
I thought I would write a post about what it’s truly like to have a career in which it’s your actual job to put all parts of yourself online. It’s such an odd concept, even writing it out makes me squint my eyes and think, is this actually real?
Being a social media influencer/blogger/business owner, whatever you want to call it, has been something I have been working in for 12 years. It has taken so many twists and turns and ups and downs, and has changed SO much from my early days when writing a daily blog post on whatever came to mind and linking it to twitter was about all it was. It now includes the mega platform of instagram, which also brings the daily duties of sharing on stories, keeping up with the new trends and tricks like reels, and captivating posts and captions to keep my audience engaged. I enjoy it, I truly do. I’m a natural sharer of things, and have always been overly enthusiastic about things, places and people I like. The fact that I get to do this as a job is a pinch me, how did this happen blessing. It has evolved and morphed into several off shoot businesses that provide for our family and I (we) are SO DARN GRATEFUL.
I feel like sometimes it comes across as, wow, she gets paid to come and say hi and talk to us, share links and rep brands, how easy that must be! Which yes, that’s the front facing “work” you see, and the fact that it might look easy means it’s working in the relatability department, but there’s so much more that goes on behind the scenes to get that work done. SO, I thought I’d lift the curtain and show you a little of the behind the scenes.
I have Brian who negotiates and closes all of our sponsorship deals. With every #partner or #ad you see comes a couple weeks worth of back and forth negotiations on rates and deliverables. This is perfect for Brian because it is what he did at his prior job in New York. He sold sponsorship for iHeartRadio and was dang good! I am SO HAPPY that he gets to do what he is good at for our brand. All of our sponsors come to us, and we only take what feels right and authentic to what we actually use in real life. Brian also takes most of the pictures you see of me! He’s mastered the iphone photography, but we still get embarrassed when we’re caught in the wild taking pics 🤣 I can only imagine what people must think, lol. I go on to do all of the photo editing, copywriting, and posting.
I have Kate, an assistant that has been with me since August of 2017, who helps Brian and me with our affiliate marketing business. This is separate from brand sponsorship. Affiliate marketing means that any item I share usually has a trackable link that comes back to me. Many retailers will pay a small commission on a purchase you make through my links. I love this side of the business because Kate and I get to track new arrivals and sales, try things on and then share them with you. I hope that this service helps you in getting dressed and feeling confident, and saves you time from sorting through fashion online. I also like being able to curate and edit down my selections from the sea of consumption that’s available for you. It’s almost like having your own little boutique in a sea of shopping malls.
Brian and I just started a brand new leg of our business with Modere! We fell in love with the products and the company this past summer and started sharing in September. This has been SO fun because it’s brand new, we get to work with new friends, train a team of social marketers, and we REALLY love the concept of social selling vs. MLM + the products are to die for. We have an assistant, Allyson, who is helping us with this endeavor!
Future Projects
The Joy Community. I am working on building out a community for my following that is off of instagram. A place for everyone to connect through an app, share ideas, connect and have fun. I am working with my coach, Jackie Loughlin on this project and we are hoping for an October launch 🎉
Clothing + Accessories Line (I have the name but we’re in the middle of trademarking so will wait to share)
This is probably what I am most excited about!! Think feminine, beach, soft textures, day into evening, lifestyle. I am doing this myself, with the help of my friend who is in the accessories industry. I CAN’T WAIT to share more.
Oh, and motherhood ♡ My favorite job.
So now I’m going to get a little vulnerable here and tell you some areas that I struggle with this as a career.
- The insecurity of not knowing the effects of having my family as a small part of my online presence. This is brand new territory for everyone, and more and more, especially with the big kids I am becoming more private. We had a very scary incident happen earlier this year that gave me serious pause. I don’t feel comfortable sharing the details of that here now, but maybe someday.
- Moving into a new community, and meeting new people. I have an insecurity about what judgements or preconceived notions people have of me before meeting me in person. I know there is gossip, I know some of it is positive, and I know some of it is bad, and I can tell sometimes. It is what it is, and it’s not a majority of people, but I’m aware, so there’s that.
- Having your career, your home, your decisions, your risks, your fails, your achievements for all the world to see opens up a forum for feedback. Sometimes you just don’t want the feedback.
- The people who hide behind a screen and type hurtful messages. My skin is pretty thick after all these years, but it can still sting, especially if you have a tie to that person in real life. It’s happened, it’s ugly.
- Am I enough? Is what I am doing valuable? What I am offering? The comparison, the questioning. Most days I don’t think of it, some days I can’t get out of my own head.
Overall, this job is an incredible opportunity, one that I foresee only growing. I sit here at my computer feeling like the world is my oyster. I hope to take our brand to heights that we will eventually be able to pass down to our children, to employ more people, to give more to charity.
Thank you for being here as I walk this life alongside you. I wouldn’t trade it for anything <3 Liz
