OKAY- I asked you guys to ASK ME ANYTHING on Instagram, & I did a video answering a ton of questions (coming soon), but there was one question I got asked multiple times.
HOW DID YOU TRANSITION FROM OFFICE LIFE TO BLOG LIFE?
I have shared my blogging story in the past, but that focused mainly on life before blogging & all the little things that have got me here. I touched a little on my life in the 9-5 world, but didn’t go into much detail about how I TRANSITIONED out of that life & into this one.
So, that’s what we’re doing today! I will break down my story & then share with you guys a few tips.
HOW I TRANSITIONED OUT OF THE OFFICE, & INTO BLOGGING
I grew up in a family where the ideas was: go to college, get a good job with benefits, work your way up the ladder, & stay there. This is NOT a bad thing & totally works for some people. It worked for my Dad his whole life, he worked hard, & got to retire early because of it. This was, naturally, the same path I would travel.
I went to college, did good, graduated with *some* honors (like 1), & went straight into the world of sending out resumes/going to interviews/& spending hours of LINKEDIN & MALAKYE. I eventually landed a great job working as a social media manager for a couponing company. So I was thrilled. It paid well, had benefits, & everyone who worked their was young & super cool.
At first, I fit in fine. It was all new to me, so it was exciting.
After about of year of driving 45 minutes to and from work, eating in a lunchroom, & waking up way earlier then my circadian rhythm prefers, I was losing steam.
I was just going through the motions at this point. All I wanted to do was blog at my work computer & could not understand why I would work my ass off for someone else’s bank account when I could be doing it for my own. Since getting fired was A HUGE NO for me… I just chugged along playing the role of a couponing Mom (you can read more about that here).
Luckily for me, unluckily for my coworkers who loved the 9-5 life, they laid off my entire department one day.
It was out of nowhere, people cried, & I secretly had a party in my head. I was scared, of course, I needed an income… but I am pretty good at saving so I knew I had a month or so to formulate a game plan & figure out my next move.
I remember getting in my car after packing up my desk & immediately calling Lauryn. She had just left her lucrative bartending gig to take The Skinny Confidential full time & knew she’d have some advice for me. What she said is what changed the game for me (thx L DAWG).
“GIVE IT 6 MONTHS. BLOG FOR 6 MONTHS & IF YOU DON’T MAKE ANY INCOME, GO BACK TO THE 9-5 HUSTLE .”
This was doable for me. I still needed a secondary income, but I could do 6 months. When I got home that day, I made a 6 month game plan. I wrote out my goals, what needed to be done to bring my blog to the next level, & brainstormed different sources of income.
That weekend, the stars aligned for me (as they do, the universe knows what’s up). I went to a fundraiser & met a lady who owned a local boutique. She said she needed help, my hours would be flexible, & to come in to chat the next day.
When we sat down, I made sure I was very clear with her my end goal. BEING A FULL TIME BLOGGER. I did not want to give her false expectations thinking I’d end up working their forever, & I wanted her to know where my passion lied. A boutique, at the time, was a great working environment for a budding fashion blogger. It actually enhanced my blog big time, & she was always okay with me taking photos/using my phone when I was done sweeping the floors/helping customers.
Working for someone who supported my future made everything so much easier for me.
Also, it didn’t hurt she LOVED taking photos of me & taught me how to sew/make jewelry. I actually started an Etsy shop during this time for a little extra money coming in & sold over 100 pieces of the jewelry/clothes I made.
I wrote a lot about that woman & that work experience here. She is no longer with us on this planet, but she made a huge impact on me & where I am today. I even have the name of the store, Prêt-à-Porter, tattooed on me. If you feel like their are gaps in this story, plz read my blogging story post! I am trying not to double up on stuff I already talked about, & this post is about transitioning into a work from home life.
That job kept me afloat & gave me freedom to run the blog.
I had to be very strict with myself at this time. On the days I wasn’t at the boutique, or when I was off work, I stuck to a schedule for the blog. Remember I said I wrote stuff down? Yes- I would make to-do lists and revert to them daily.
First, I started with revamping my blog & my brand. I refined my content & focused all my time on creating EPIC DIY PROJECTS. I have said before, it’s better to start small blogging, & this was my niche when I started out. I got about 20 epic DIY projects on the blog, & then began to reach out.
HERE IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID TO MAKE IT HAPPEN:
I reached out to about 50 brands (made a spreadsheet, duh) who had BLOG’S on their sites, sent them my 20 epic DIY posts, & asked if they’d be interested in bringing me on to do guest posts for them.
I didn’t approach it asking for free stuff. Or ask them to pay me to post images on my accounts cause a. I wasn’t there yet & b. I wanted to provide them with the type of value they couldn’t refuse.
So I didn’t just land ONE of these collabs, but 2!
My first two accounts were Julep nail polish & Forever 21 (!!!). I didn’t have a huge following, but that didn’t matter. They wanted that DIY content. I didn’t know what the eff to charge, so I aimed high, negotiated, & settled on something that worked for both of us.
For Julep we agreed on a monthly retainer for two posts a month & with Forever 21- I somehow negotiated with them a retainer for two posts a month on their blog + ONE REGRAM w/ a tag to me for each post on Instagram.
This, my friends, is when it all started to happen. Thank you Forever 21 for the regrams, I owe you my first born.
All of this magic came to me right around the 4 month mark of being “unemployed-ish”. I beat the 6 month mark for making a paycheck, & I never turned back again. There was A LOT of juggling involved, but I was having fun doing what I loved.
I ended up doing these DIY collabs for a while, switching from Julep & Forever 12 to Charlotte Russe & Free People. I guess you could say, I was a freelance blogger for other companies until my blog started to get some traction.
Eventually almost all of these brands phased out their blogs. But by the time that happened, I was starting to book collabs. I had saved enough money I made from “freelance blogging”, my Etsy shop, & the boutique that I was able to make blogging happen for reals. Instead of reaching out to brands for content on their blog, I swapped the focus. Instead I created content to promote on my blog.
Again, the DIY angle really worked for me.
Incorporating a brands product into a DIY project was a huge hit. The traction I got from those posts propelled me into having more freedom to blog about different things (street style, mainly) & eventually- the brands began reaching out to me.
Fast forward 10 years later, YES 10, & I am so lucky that I managed to turn what I loved into my career. Something I am grateful for every.single.day.
It was definitely hard work transitioning into a work from home life. Although I can honestly say- juggling 4 jobs at a time/staying up till 3am working on the blog (which I still do), was all worth it in the end.
what i’m wearing:
Missguided vinyl skirt | THANK YOU shirt (borrowed from the boys, from Amazon!!) | Tularosa black faux fur jacket (almost sold out- similar style here!) | Public Desire red lace up boots | Saint Laurent monogram bag
5 TIPS FOR TRANSITIONING TO A WORK FOR YOURSELF KINDA LIFE
1. start building a financial cushion
if you’re planning on leaving a job to work from home, start saving FAR in advance. You need a cushion to fall back on to pay rent, buy groceries, put gas in your car, etc. What I did was put 10% of each paycheck into a savings account THE SECOND I GOT PAID.
Also- make a budget!! I hate making budgets more then anything in life, but it is important. Write out what it costs you to live in a month. Doing this will give you insight on where you are, where you need to be, & how much you need to save.
2. make a plan, before you leave
I wasn’t given this luxury cause I was laid off super unexpectedly. But I suggest having a plan before you leave your job. Write out what needs to be done to improve your work from home business (whether a blogger/graphic designer/whatever). You want to get the backend stuff handled & organized before you start taking whatever your at home job is full time.
Also, plan out different ideas to monetize your business! If you’re a budding photographer, for example, make a spreadsheet of people you want to shoot for free & when you’re free’d from office life… start reaching out to them. You have a financial cushion for this reason, so you can do things for free to get EXPOSURE & eventually GET PAID.
3. keep a routine
This is big, especially right when you leave the 9-5 job. Don’t think the day after leaving your job you can sleep in & just mosey around all day cleaning the house & playing with your dogs. If you start off like that, you will get stuck in that routine & it’s not conducive to the work from home life.
Wake up the same time you would for your job, get dressed, have a bite to eat, & go to your DESK to work.
Later down the road, feel free to mix things up with your schedule. When you’re more accustomed to working from home. But at first, try to keep your routine intact for max productivity.
4. get a side hustle
I know you’re transitioning into the work from home life. But I still think you need a flow of income on the side at first. Even if it’s small! What did you do at your old job? Were you good at it? Can you offer that to businesses on a freelance basis? If so- put that into action. Don’t let it take up all your time. The focus still needs to be your end goal, but a side hustle is always a good idea.
5. know when to stop & seperate:
Honestly, I have to say this one cause it is SO important. I am definitely a WIP about separating work from real life. IT’S A JUGGLE & A STRUGGLE, but so good for your productivity, work flow, & sanity. I am not gonna say have a set time where you start and end working. Blogging happens 24/7…. but just try to set times to seperate from the computer.
Have dinner at the dinner table, watch a movie without the computer on your lap, & NEVER go to bed with your computer. I spent years going to bed with my computer, & it’s just unhealthy. Bed is for sleep, dinner table is for eating, & you need to give your eyes a break from that dreaded blue light sometimes.
OKAY- THAT’S IT!! I think I covered it all. So if I am missing something or if you have ANY QUESTIONS about transitioning out of the office- please ask in the comments below!
[ PHOTOS BY ARIELLE LEVY ]