Sunday, July 30, 2017

Q and Ayeee w/ lovetlhayden

Happy Sunday Classy Crew! I can't believe August is almost here! Where has the time gone?? It felt like we just got out of school yesterday. Please don't leave us summer break!! 😢

But before we say goodbye to July and hello to August, I want to throw it back to the beginning of July when I went to Chicago. During my trip, I had the opportunity to meet one of my sister's friends, Tamika Hayden.  She is a branding creative/ girl boss who owns her own business where she not only blogs but sells home & office decor, dorm room bedding, and inspiring accessories. The items on her online shop are super cute, especially the throw pillows.  *Click her name above to see her website!* Of course I had to make the most of the visit, so we ended up doing a little Q&A about blogging and being a modern-day female entrepreneur.

                                                                                  So without further ado...

Q: What are some great ways to grow your audience? 
A: "You can grow your audience with YouTube and stick with Instagram because that is the main social network now since everybody likes pictures and no one wants to talk or text anymore. 😅 And use Pinterest. Pin things straight directly from your blog and post all your pictures in little categories that way they link right back to your page. Also, create a thumbnail from your main picture on your blog and make it nice and neat for your Pinterest page and then make a board called "BLOG" or something and post all your thumbnails there."

Q: How did you turn your passion into a career as a female entrepreneur?
A: "I've always wanted my own business. I was the girl with the lemonade stand out front and the tattoo girl drawing with the little gel pens. People were paying me to draw the little tattoos and bubble letter names on their arms. I was selling my artwork and all that little stuff too, so I went to school for graphic design-I was already doing it for my church-and coming out of school it was hard getting to an agency. It took me like 6 months to find a job and it wasn't even in my field-it was TSA. I took the job because I couldn't find anything and I was tired of living with the parents. While I was there, I was still doing graphic design stuff. Now, I feel like I was already a "girl boss" before this little movement took place, so it was always in me."

Q: Why did branding interest you?
A: "Branding was what I was doing anyway, but I was doing it for other people's businesses. I love color and I like helping other people start their own business, so I looked at how there were other graphic designers or agencies charging people like me who wanted to start their own business $5,000 to do a website. It really doesn't take that much to do a website, so that's kind of why I got into it. I just felt like people were being taken advantage of and I wanted to help them."

Q: What is your definition of a "girl boss"?
A: "Any girl with hopes, dreams, and the aspiration & determination to do whatever she wants to do and why. She doesn't even have to be an entrepreneur; she doesn't have to be someone who own her own business. For example, she can go into the medical field, but she is still going for her dreams. That's a 'girl boss'."

Q: How have you been able to juggle being a stay-at-home mom and a modern-day business woman?
A: "It's not easy. It's all about managing your time and staying consistent. Don't give up if something is not working for you; keep going! You'll start seeing results and the more you stay consistent, the more things will start happening. I switched up a lot, but I think that was a good thing because I finally found what I like to do. At first, I was doing graphic design work for other people and now I have 2 kids. I didn't want to sit at a computer all day doing graphic design work for other people. So now, I've been trying to find ways where income can come in faster on its own without me sitting at a desk. I've gotten into blogging now and I've gotten into the pillows and stuff that I make, so I am trying to get those into stores and boutiques in order for them to sell without me sitting at a desk."

Q: What do you think will be the future of branding, blogging, and female entrepreneurship?
A: "Blogging is going to grow more. Us, millennials, when people throw a commercial or something in our face, it doesn't entice us anymore. It doesn't make you want to buy anything. Now, people are using bloggers to market their business. They are sending you guys products, so that y'all can review it and show your following so they can buy it. It's another type of advertisement, so it's not going to go anywhere soon. Readers rather buy from you than a large company because you are more personable with them and they feel like they know you."

Q: What advice do you have for young girls/woman who are intrigued or inspired by your career path?
A: "Enjoy school. Enjoy college. Enjoy having fun. Do it (blogging) on the side. Stay consistent with it. Just have fun doing it. Network with other people. Maintain relationships and collaborate. That's the big thing now; you can't do everything by yourself. If you find a group of girls who are creative and do the same things as you, collaborate with them. Read some books on other entrepreneurs ("Girl Boss" by Sophia Amoruso *more "girl boss" book inspirations*).  All it takes is Beyoncé and for me to read one of those books and I get a big push-like I can CONQUER the world and do anything that I want to do!"

Thank you Tamika for allowing me to pick your brain 😅 and discuss topics about blogging and being a female entrepreneur. It was very helpful and I really appreciate it! Guys, if you really like cute lifestyle decor or need some advice on how to start you own business, check out her website:
http://lovetlhayden.com/

I hope you guys felt some type of inspiration from this post and I hope I can continue collaborating and sharing my insight from other fellow bloggers and creatives in the future! Have a great week Classy Crew and don't forget to "stay classy". 😊






4 comments :

  1. This was such a cool interview to read!

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    1. Awe thank you Grace! And thank you for consistently supporting my blog posts! Really means a lot:)

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  3. Hey! Of course! I had a fun time talking to you and writing this blog post! You gave some really great advice and I couldn't NOT share it! You inspire me as well! And in terms of school, it has been pretty good so far!:)

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