Sometimes I still can’t believe that I’m my own boss. Actually, scratch that. I am so lucky to be my own boss at 26, and I honestly always knew I would be. In high school, I wrote down a rough 10-year plan. I wanted to move to New York, work for an editorial magazine, go on my own by 25, and make a name for myself in the industry by 26. I no longer have the written list, but for some reason, those goals have been ingrained in my mind for the past ten years. I moved to New York, and I worked for several editorial publications, I ended up leaving my magazine job at 23, and now as I enter my 26th year, I’m really freaking happy where I’m at in the industry right now.
I strongly believe in the power of intention, writing down and vocalizing my dreams and goals, and that hard work, a good attitude, and flexibility lead to incredible opportunities. This coming year I’m entering a new chapter in my career and my life, and I want to take you along on this journey. I usually don’t show too much behind-the-scenes of my work life or the ins and outs of being my own boss, managing a team, and two businesses, but I finally feel like I’m ready to share this part of my life with you guys. I’ve been asking my Instagram fam (if you don’t follow me already, give me a follow!) what they want to see this year, and a majority of you want to hear more about my career, what it’s like working for myself, my day-to-day and styling tutorials. Well, I hear you loud and clear, and I’m so excited to start creating this type of content for you all.
Now, some of you might be thinking, what do I exactly mean when I say that “I finally feel ready to share” my life with you. For the most part, I share about 80% of what goes on in my life on social media or the blog. I talk about my jobs, what I’m working on, etc. but I never really touch on the back end of the business because to be completely frank, it can be challenging. If you’re a manager or a small business owner, I’m sure you agree with me that being your own boss is not all rainbows and sunshine.
I just hit two years of being completely on my own, and these past years have been the most challenging, yet rewarding years of my life. At times I wanted to call it quits and go back to a desk job, part of me wanted to leave New York, another part of me wanted to stop blogging, and then there was the complete chaos of trying to maintain a personal life. Dating? Nope, didn’t really happen. Free time? That’s cute, but no. Self-care and regular gym workouts? As if. I honestly didn’t want to share much of the BTS of my life because I didn’t feel like I had it together. I was trying to be ten different departments at once, and I was working around the clock. For most of 2018, I focused on everything I wasn’t doing versus all of the great things that did happen. It was a lesson I needed to learn, and when I finally sat down in December to recap my year, I was mad at myself for not appreciating all the little steps and missteps that brought me to today.
These two years, I have learned that there is no such thing as balance when you work for yourself. Last year I wrote a piece about how I work an 80-hour workweek (read here). I know, I know, you think I’m crazy. And most days, I agree, but I would take that over a desk job any day. I love waking up and working on a new project or with a new client each week. For the most part, I’m in charge of my schedule, my projects/clients, and what I’m doing. It’s a new challenge and experience almost every week, and it never gets boring. I’m excited to put in the time and work long days because it’s for myself. I want to share this piece of my life with you because while on social media it can look glamorous, I want you to know that there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into each project, that if you’re also an entrepreneur, that you’re not alone in these feelings or challenges. The whole idea of instant success and a picture-perfect life is complete crap.
While my schedule, and my paychecks, are always a little unpredictable, I’ve learned to go with it. There are highs, lows, hustle, breakdowns, and freakouts, but I also appreciate all of the good that comes with the chaos of working for myself. Over the past two years, I have refined my work ethic, learned to delegate and work with an incredible team of people, and I learned to say no, prioritize my schedule and also accept that my to-do list will never not have something on it.
So what can you expect for me in 2019? I’ll be taking you more behind-the-scenes of my day-to-day life. What I’m working on, who my team is, the crazy schedules and struggles I’m working through, business/company updates, and an opportunity for us to talk business, fashion, or anything you want. I love the community we have built, and I’m delighted to take you on this adventure. xo
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PHOTOGRAPHY: ASHLEY GALLERANI