“So what exactly is it that you do?”

It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot. By friends, by family, by new acquaintances, and mostly by you! So many of you have messaged me on Instagram asking what I do for a living, and I’ve been wanting to break this down for a long time. My dad asks me nearly every few months or so what I do for a living. (LOL) Last time he was like, “I know it has something to do with the internet, and I know you’re good at it. (Double LOL. But also, how sweet?!)

Last week, one of my friends also brought something to my attention that made me realize I needed to get this post up sooner rather than later:  She said you all see me out and about during the weekdays, or taking random day trips here and there rather than being chained to a desk (more on that later), but you also see me talking about working a lot. But even though what I share related to my blog and Instagram seems like all fun and games, what I don’t really show are the countless hours I’m putting in behind the scenes and with clients of mine.

Usually when I’m asked about what I do, I dread giving an answer. The reason is because it’s so hard to sum it up in a sentence. The short answer? I have my hands in a lot of different things. The long answer? Let’s start at the beginning:

A long, long time ago (okay, I hasn’t been that long), I went to school for Marketing & Communications. I really wanted to be a copywriter, and so around my third year there, I decided to start a food blog to just flesh out my writing skills. Once I graduated, I got a job writing blog posts, putting together email content, and doing social media for a small e-commerce interior decor company. The work itself was great–I got to write about something I loved (while fielding some customer service phone calls–#smallbusinesslife).

I stayed at this job for three years, growing into doing content and social media with them full time, and hiring/developing another team member to help me. During this time I was also developing my food blog, and slowly, but steadily gaining an audience of readers. But there were two problems with this job:

1. The environment was toxic. The owner was someone who created a hostile environment for her handful of employees on a daily basis. She also verbally abused myself and other women and people of color who worked for her.
2. Yes, I had grown the company’s social following, drove tremendous sales and traffic for them through the pieces I wrote, and also significantly improved the professionalism of the website. But I kept thinking, “Why wasn’t I putting this same effort into my own blog/business?” Because then I could own the success I was creating, rather than just toiling away doing it for someone who had zero respect for me or what I do.

These two problems made realize that I wanted to go freelance so that I could choose the clients I took on (namely nice people who respected me) and also have more time to devote to my own blog and its social media presence.

So about three and a half years ago, I left the job, and did it! I went freelance as a copywriter and digital content & social media specialist. The first few months were touch and go. I had one small client in the food social media space and definitely had to dip into what little savings I had a bit to make ends meet. Some of the clients I took on at this time were so random, but it was fun to have such a wide range of things to create visual and written content around. One of my old school favorites was doing social media and website content for a broadway cabaret day camp for adults. Turn, kick-kick, turn!

Any additional workday time I had outside of clients, I dedicated to learning more about cooking, photography, styling (both food and fashion), and developing my blog and Instagram page. Eventually I expanded my blog to encompass all aspects of life, as a woman who wants to make other women feel their very best. This got me in front of the camera (rather than just being behind it), and taught me some basic modeling skills. Making this switch to lifestyle, women’s empowerment and body positivity content was where I found my voice, and I feel truly lucky to have such a wonderful community of women (I’m talking about you!) who follow and support not only me, but each other.

Learning and sharing all of these new skills on my blog has created a platform for brands to find me when they need a photographer to take photos or create a visual story for a campaign.  It’s also recently connected me with brands who want to sponsor or partner with me.

***This is something I wanted to touch on in this post, as well. I’ve made it a huge point to only partner with brands that I truly love (if I haven’t tried a brand who wants to work together, I ask them if they’ll send me some items to try to make sure I actually really love them before even thinking about going into a partnership). It’s super important to me that you all know that anything I’m sharing is something I truly stand behind in both quality, and the brand’s message/mission. It’s also important to me that you know I’m not making tons of money doing sponsorships, since I know you’ve seen a few more popping up on my Instagram lately.

If I could spend 20 hours a week blogging and creating things that (I hope) inspire you and not have to worry about having to make a living, I SO would. But if taking on some partnerships helps me be more present for you and create more for you, then I’m happy to take them. Just know that I’ll always disclose when things are sponsored, and they’re things I think you all will really like.***

But, I digress. . .

After several months of having lots of small clients I was freelancing for, I was connected with an e-commerce health food company. They initially brought me on to help them update copy on their product packaging and website content as well as tell their beautiful brand story of how a mother of five started this company while in her fifties, all with the hopes of making her community healthier. Not only is this client and the team truly kind & amazing to work with, their message and goal of making people feel good really resonates with me. I’ve had them (among other rotating clients) as a client for three years now, and they are by far my favorite. I’ve seen (and like to think I’ve helped) them grow into a nationally recognized company that ships tons of orders across the country every day, and is in major grocery stores and retailers all over the U.S.

Throughout my time having this company as a client, my projects and duties have grown and changed. I’ve done everything from open a holiday pop up store in the heart of Manhattan to oversee a social media team to launch major digital campaigns and services for them. I’ve even cultivated a team of bloggers who write for the site weekly. I can truly say I never get bored, but between what I do for this company and my other clients, it’s hard to sum up what I do without elaborating.

So what exactly is it that I do?

• I’m a lifestyle blogger
• I’m a content creator for brands or magazines through my blog, whether it be creating photos for them to use for their own marketing purposes, or partnerships I’ve formed
• I’m a brand story developer, writer, social media manager, influencer relationships manager, and digital content creator for my freelance clients
• I’m a photographer
• I’m a (rando) commercial model–by no means am I paid hefty $ for this, or even that often, but it occasionally adds some padding to my checking account
• I’m an event coordinator (when I need to be)
• I’m a hustler, and I’m happy

I’m writing all of this not only to share about what I do with you, but to also encourage you to pursue what you love, even if that means not fitting into the traditional mold of a job or career. If it fuels your happiness, go for it.