I can’t believe I’ve been fashion blogging professionally for one year now!

To say it flew by would be a complete understatement.  If you’re new to AiW, let me take you back to this time last year.  I had been laid off from my long time job in the Oil and Gas industry and took it as an opportunity to take on AiW professionally.  For me, the timing was perfect as I had always treated blogging as a full-time job, so I knew what it took.  The transition wasn’t difficult at all — the only difference is that I felt more pressure than before to make my content perfect, and be able to actually support myself through blogging.

The biggest change for me is that I now have to tell people that I blog professionally, which tends to get lots of questions and the occasional odd look.  I know that many of you reading this are also bloggers.  So I thought since this is sort of a one-year anniversary, it would be the perfect time to share the top 10 things I learned from fashion blogging professionally over these past 12 months…

There is never enough time /// I thought I would have way more of it but in fact the direct opposite happened.  Since it’s now my source of income, I have to take on more jobs than I did before.   In addition to all the bookkeeping, emailing, and everything else that goes into running a business.  It’s easily become an 80+ hour a week job.

Exhaustion /// Being able to make my own hours made me think I could work late and sleep in, since I’m naturally a night owl.  Haha, not quite.  I’m typically up until around 1:30 or 2am and my first alarm goes off at 7am.

Being your own boss might make you b*tchy /// Yep… I just wrote that.  It’s what happens when exhaustion and stress collide.  I realized it one day when my poor mom and husband were helping me with a project that wasn’t going well and I snapped.  All of a sudden I had so much respect for all the bosses out there who keep a smile on their face even when they are beyond stressed.

It’s awesome ///  I’m not going to lie — being able to do what I love is freaking amazing.  The perks of the job are unreal and I feel ridiculously lucky to be able to do this.  I love that I have my own hours and know that if I take off the afternoon I’m probably going to be up all night… and that’s fine with me!

It’s not glamorous /// I thought doing this full-time would mean I would wake up and do my makeup/hair and work at an adorable coffee shop every day.  (Ok, I knew that wouldn’t happen every day but I thought maybe once in a while it would.)  Honestly I’ve only done it twice!  Most days I don’t know the last time I washed my hair and yoga pants are my uniform.

Have a back up plan /// It’s important to take risks but to also have a safety net.  Not to be negative but I’m not kidding myself about this industry.  I know tomorrow it could all be gone!  I still do some writing projects here and there and have a social media gig.  While I’m a dreamer on the blog, I’m not when it comes to paying my bills.

Network /// While I LOVE a party and going out, when it comes to work I can kind of throw myself into it and come off as a loner.  I get lost in my workaholic ways and forget to come up for air!  In this business, networking is key so get out there and meet other bloggers and learn from each other.

Ask for help when needed /// I’m very much an, I-can-do-everything-by-myself kind of girl but this year I learned I absolutely cannot.  I now have a virtual assistant who helps me, along with my mom, grandma, and husband.  And even now I’m thinking of adding to the AiW team.  (If you’re interested let me know!)

Focus on your blog — part 1 /// I love the quote, “comparison is the thief of joy” because it’s just so true.  You can look to others for inspiration but focus your time and energy on yourself and creating your blog.

Focus on your blog — part 2 /// I’ve really been working on growing my Instagram this year and then you know what happened… their new algorithm showed up to ruin my day.  (Basically Instagram now controls what it *thinks* you want to see.)   So while I’m still working on growing my Instagram, what I learned is that the main focus must ALWAYS be on my blog.

I know there are many of you that have been following me since the beginning and have witnessed how things (photography, writing, clothing, EVERYTHING) have changed.  Without you I couldn’t do this and because of you I owe everything!  

Dress (in blue) /// Tassel shoes ///  Earrings /// Bag

I rarely do giveaways because I want to keep this as authentic as possible.  That being said, I’m doing a giveaway over on Instagram with a group of bloggers, many of whom I call friends.  While I know some of you find loop giveaways “annoying” I did this one because I genuinely love this group and I know you will too!!  Click here to enter, and good luck!