Last week (which seems like a year ago, already) I was part of another beauty feature that went up on LaurenConrad.com! If you missed the first one, be sure to check it out here! I had so many balls in the air at that point (and when I say “that point” I really mean pretty much the entire year of 2014) that I barely even stop to appreciate the moment until last night, when I thought, holy shit. I’m pretty damn lucky.
And when I say blogging wins are all in the numbers, I don’t mean it how you’re thinking. It’s not about how many posts you do per week, what google analytics tells you about your daily visits, page views, or any of that. Yes, it all matters, but that isn’t what matters most.
It’s something else you may not realize, especially in a world that is so digital. It’s about surrounding yourself with a number of amazing, smart, driven, creative people. That’s what’s going to put you on the fast track to some awesome blogging wins. You can’t succeed with just you alone!
Anyone who has ever asked me for blogging advice (side note: thank you to all you nice people who send me emails! If I haven’t responded…please keep emailing me, my inbox is currently at 700 so it’s easy to slip through the cracks in that hell hole) knows that networking is my #1 tip. Not networking like, collecting as many business cards as possible and ruthlessly pitching them (nobody likes that girl). Just make friends!
And I don’t just mean bloggers, I mean bloggers plus other small business owners, photographers, PR agencies, etc–EVERYYONNEE.
Get to know the pool of amazing talent out there, simply to just make friends and be inspired. The opportunities to work together and create something great will come after that. And you’ll make friends with some ridiculously life-changing people. Remember, you yourself have something great to offer (whether you realize it or not!)
Which leads me to this very project, which would not have come together without Maritza, Cassandra, and Brenda (I was really just a very minor detail in the equation).
I first met Maritza at one of her first Beauty for Bloggers workshops a year ago. We hit it off instantly, and I knew I had to work with her on a feature I wanted to write for Wedding Party. Then, a Beauty Editor spot opened up for The Everygirl, and guess who was the perfect girl for the job? Later on, Maritza has also helped me with pitching some features (which I can’t talk about just yet!) but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her!
On that same Wedding Party feature, Maritza also worked with (guess who?) Cassandra! And after seeing her gorgeous photography, I had to reach out to meet her myself! With our crazy-busy schedules, it took months to coordinate a time to actually meet up! Aside from it being one of those automatic friendships you feel like you’ve had your whole life, it was the perfect storm in terms of our careers as well. She was looking to do some editorial projects, and I was looking for a photographer! The next week, Cassandra helped me do a shoot for The Everygirl with Kelly (also one of my kick-ass, life-changing blogging friends), and one for Piperlime. (We got featured on Piperlime’s website!)
Which all brought us…here.
I was at Kelly’s when I got a last-minute text from Cassandra saying they had a shoot planned but one of the models had cancelled last minute. Was I free to help with a hair tutorial? I leapt in the next Uber to Cassandra’s studio. I then, finally, got to meet Brenda, the final wonder woman of the bunch, who was also the makeup artist on that very first Wedding party feature. (See how these things work out?) We shot the two looks that Maritza pitched to Lauren Conrad, and the rest was history.
And guess what? There’s a lot more where that came from in 2015. I can’t wait to see where things go, but I know 2014 wouldn’t have been nearly as sweet without the amazing women I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with.
Here’s a homework assignment: Find three women you look up to, who inspire you, and reach out to them to set up a coffee date (actually, extra points if it’s a wine date). I don’t care if you’re a blogger, an artist, a teacher, whatever– when you connect with other inspiring, like-minded women, something great will always come of it. Then, leave a comment below and tell me what happens!
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