Celebrating 10 years on my own!
This post is in partnership with Bsolo.
This year is a huge year for my business. I just hit my 10-year blogging anniversary and September will mark 10 years as an entrepreneur with my own media company. Thanks to the guidance of my father (also an entrepreneur), support of my family, husband, friends and agent and close-knit industry relationships, I did it. I was able to make it on my own for ten years and am still going strong. Of course, there were some years where I felt like I was on top of the world and others that I struggled through. I receive a ton of questions about the business side of having my own company and as a creative (my business plan is a vision board), here are three essential things I do to ensure success.
Network, a lot
Networking is essential for success and growth. The beauty, wellness and media industries are where most of my relationships lie and they’ve been built up since the start of my career at Cosmopolitan about 12 years ago. Whether it’s attending new product launch events or fitness studio openings, planning lunches or speaking on panels, networking is crucial. Since it’s been so long, I have not only strong business relationships, but also true friendships that I’m really proud of. In business, it’s more about who you know than what you know.
Get Help Where Needed
As a creative entrepreneur, dealing with finances is my greatest weakness. Besides figuring out the value of projects and what to charge, I have to save money for taxes, keep track of expenses and budget for the year based off of a gig lifestyle, which seems impossible at times. Even though it’s been ten years, I recently discovered bSolo, a resource and online community for solopreneurs. Through its online resources, I’ve learned how to budget according to fixed and variable expenses and work towards a steady income. If you’re starting out, I recommend signing up for their newsletter and checking out their Freelance Starter Kit. It’s free and includes how to create a business plan, how to create a budget and client services agreement. I found it really impressive.
Know When to Pivot
When I launched my blog 10 years ago, it was called BeautySweetSpot.com and had a strong focus on celebrity beauty. Look at how the industry has changed in 10 years! Some of my favorite magazines have folded, blogging is a crowded space, Instagram is the most important social media tool and influencers rise over celebrities. If I didn’t continue to pivot all of these years, I would have failed. As a journalist and influencer, I found that pivoting just to keep up with the media industry wasn’t enough. I have to stay authentic to myself and my audience and pivot according to my passions as well.
I hope you find this post helpful. I have much more business advice to give, so please feel free to email me or DM me on Instagram with your questions!
*This post is sponsored by bSolo, but all of my thoughts and actions are true.
