How I Followed My Passion and Turned It Into A Full-Time Job: Fashion Blogger Edition

I’ve written a few posts over the years emphasizing the hustle and the details of the fashion blogging business, but I figured I would dedicate a post with the details I get asked on an every day basis. And a few frustrations that have been weighing on me. Please keep in mind, my experience is unique to me, and 5 years ago, blogging was a very different world in so many different aspects.

How I Became a Fashion Blogger:

I guess I should start with a little back story, as to why exactly I started a fashion blog. The real question might be, why was this basically the only way for me, and why do I keep going. These also honestly might be rhetorical, but you understand my points. I get asked often how I made something I loved into a full-time job, and how will they be able to do it. There are a few different avenues and a million different answers from many different people. One thing will be at the root of it all though, and the most consistent answer is… hustle. It takes hustle. It’s not for the faint of heart or thin-skinned person, that is for sure. The life of entrepreneurship is a series of peaks and valleys. And sometimes all in one day. I can honestly feel out of my mind with the whirlwind of emotions that run through me regarding my business on any given day. When your success is based on a few different factors, you tend to work through them all at a given time. I have felt pure elation, accomplishment, hope, drive, despair, discouragement, mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion. And while that roller coaster usually happens as business happens, or milestones come, or goals met… I have literally felt that in one day.

The Very Beginning:

I didn’t start my fashion blog as a full-time job and I certainly didn’t start it knowing this could be a career. I had worked my way up in the retail world from managing stores with Abercrombie and Fitch and Pacsun. I literally have been working since I was about 12, and honestly never thought I was the type to run my own business, until I did it. I was the type that worked hard but I didn’t always adhere to someone else’s vision (or time clock). I had jobs I loved, jobs I hated, but one common denominator was that I was always breaking the rules. I have an incredibly strong work ethic but I could never fully invest in someone else’s vision, therefor I always fell short. Running my own business has taught me a lot about structure and hard work, and I probably work harder than I’ve ever worked in my life. I’ve worked through rejection and years of being stagnant and I just kept going because I love what I do.

I remember thinking of my blog name for weeks. I was living in New York at the time, and working for Anthropologie. I remember telling people, ‘I want to start a fashion blog’ and their responses were, ‘that’s weird’ or ‘aspiring people don’t just sit on the internet all day’. Um, I found a way lol… I’m serious someone close to me at the time said that and I will never forget it, which is why my drive to do something I love and be successful at it, is so big.

I bought the domain anyway because I needed to for myself. I chose the name City Peach, because I was a Georgia peach gal from Atlanta, living in NYC. NYC is one of my true loves for so many reasons, I had to pay homage somehow. The two other names I almost went with were Fancy Pants and/or Sweet Tea City. I don’t know if I’ve ever told anyone that, but here it is!

I started blogging as a hobby and back when Instagram didn’t even exist (well, it had just started, but not for what it is now). I was living in New York at the time, and working for Anthropologie. My intent was to get creative with outfitting and help people virtually in a way that I styled people while working for Anthropologie. I had so many creative ideas when it came to styling and outfitting, that I needed an outlet to pour them into. I put the blog on hold (I had only written 2 posts) as a breakup happened and I chose to move from NYC back down south. That life story is for another post, but I moved back to Atlanta eventually, met Robert, got pregnant, got married, had Jackson haha! When I really picked the blog up seriously, Jackson was 4 months old and I felt a little lost with my place in this new world as a mother. I knew I was still the same inside as far as loving and needing fashion, but was still trying to figure out how to fit it into my new life so to speak.

I read about 2 fashion blogs daily, and basically lived a fashion blog with a corporate office as my runway, full of technology sales dudes (aka no one cared). I styled my outfits every day and as someone who has never dressed for guys in my entire life (most girls will know what this means), I’m sure I looked ridiculous. I sat across from Robert and basically made him read my favorite blogger every day. (Blair, duh) I told him repeatedly, I need to do this. He listened and studied them with me, but didn’t take me seriously until I was dead serious and made him start taking my pictures. Then it started. I did some promo posts to my Facebook audience and built it up. I remember Robert being nervous about me funding this hobby. We were just married and with a newborn, what was I thinking and how was I going to pay for it. Ha, that wasn’t my first time needing to get creative for these reasons, and this is where I would just create outfits within my closet. And in 2014, I started my site. I have told stories about how I’ve blogged in the corners of my corporate office and did anything and everything not to get caught. I would go take pictures on my lunch break. Robert would meet me at lunch, or I would meet a friend and exchange taking photos, OR have people at work snap outside. On weekends, Robert and I would drop Jackson off at his parents and we would go shoot around town. I owe him so many weekends that were dedicated to the blog. But this is how our love of coffee and driving around Atlanta happened, so a cool tradition came out of this beginning hustle! We started with an iphone, then would borrow his mom’s camera (standard lens), then purchased our DSLR about a year in. We started with the standard t3i, and a 50mm lens. It wasn’t a professional grade but lasted us just fine for so many years. About 2.5 years in, I started hiring a photographer when I wanted to elevate my photos (and save me time). Elston was just born and the logistics of shooting with two kids, usually in the car while I would jump out on the street somewhere, just wasn’t working anymore. Or everyone would end up annoyed. I was slowly getting small paid campaigns and I could pack a ton of content in a shoot b/c I’m fast and I usually have a vision and know what I want.

I literally did whatever I needed to. I worked on the blog and writing posts literally whenever I would have time. I know my family thought I was kidnapped and replaced by a robot. I would take my computer to the pump room when I was nursing Jackson, and work on my blog for hours… I’m honestly surprised I was never fired. When Jackson was really little, I would nurse him in the middle of the night, and never go back to sleep.

When I quit the corporate world to focus on the blog, this was not when I took it full-time. I was still out there working various jobs. I ran social media for 2 sushi restaurants and did wardrobe styling on the side. This is when I was home with both kids, Jackson was 2 and Elston was a newborn. Jackson would go to Mother’s morning out and I would work in the YMCA lobby (thank you YMCA wifi for helping this journey), and Elston would sleep in my arms as I typed. I had 2 hours. When he got out, I put them into the childcare area for one more hour (all in the same building). All the other moms were going upstairs to work out, and I grabbed my laptop and went back out to the lobby. I would work on City Peach from when they went to bed at 10pm and fall asleep at my computer around 2am. I never stopped, and I think my tunnel vision kept me going but I almost had a breakdown. It was in the middle of my living room floor, both kids were crying and I had a pounding headache. I remember checking my email and had missed 2 deadlines, and knew I couldn’t even respond until later that night. I broke down and called Robert crying. I think he was concerned for my mental health but also my true sanity because he sent his mom over and she found me crying holding the kids and my phone. This was the moment I knew I was successful, and a failure all at once! Oh the peaks and valleys!

The decision to go full-time eventually was here because I could no longer concentrate at home. This for me, meant I needed childcare. This was Robert’s main stipulation. The blog was going to pay for childcare. I broke even for monthsss and basically just worked to buy my time to grow. There were times I would be writing emails to brands, holding strong on my rates, and I would be completely honest. I would tell them the reason why was to build this dream, this business, and everything I make at the moment is going to child care. So many loved the raw honesty and were so wonderful in working with me on it.

Why I Became a Fashion Blogger:

There is definitely something I always tell people when they ask how they can ‘get started’. My biggest advice there is, that part is within you. You need to find something you love so much and can’t live without that you literally cannot do anything else. That’s the first part. The second part is, you give up your free time. And I mean, mental free time, as well as any kind of relaxation. Forget binge watching shows, forget going to bed early, (I’m literally writing this at 1am) and forget mental clarity. I became fine with all of this because as I began to form this business, it fed me exactly what I needed. I live and breathe fashion, so finding a way to work that into a career is my greatest accomplishment besides my children. And making my marriage work lol. So yes, I’m doing this for myself, but also for my family. I’m doing this for my kids. I always wanted a job that would be flexible enough that I don’t have to sacrifice anything. I can show up when I need to. This is why I hustle. So I can give them activities and experiences, or anything I never had. I do this so they see that their mom worked extremely hard for them, but also showed them work ethic. I do this for the enriched experiences, and connecting with other like minded creatives. I do this for the readers that I connect with, who say I inspire their wardrobe and self esteem. Maybe I’m not changing lives through the medical industry but I’m making people happier.. or at least trying. I’m doing this for the women whose messages I’ve received telling me they take more chances now, or look at their wardrobe in a different way, or are just more motivated in general as a new mom. I have helped women find their voice and confidence again, and that makes me so happy because I’m all about building others up. And lastly, I’m doing it so Robert can’t get on to me about my love for designer things, and pay for them myself… ya girl’s gotta live her truth, ya know?!

I’ve been asked what are key things to know when starting a blog. This does depend on if you truly want to run a website, or ride the instagram wave. They are very different, and doing both is even more work. To me, instagram is a marketing tool. It’s to curate my image but essentially drive traffic to my site. And I never lose site of that. When brands want to sponsor an IG post only, I make sure that content lives somewhere on my site. I own it, and I do not own instagram. Don’t get me wrong, it has provided so many opportunities, and I have met so many amazing people, brands, communities through it. Blogging and the influencer life isn’t all glitz and glamour either. The work that goes into making it all run on the back end is about 80% of the job, and the fluff that the reader sees is the remainder 20%.

So far my highest highs are Fashion Week and getting dressed by and sitting front row at Nicole Miller. My lowest low is that breakdown in the living room. Both I will never forget, and both keep me going. I would love to hear yours, if you have any!

I started to compile a few facts here and there about this business, based on questions I get asked frequently, or info that I think might benefit the person thinking about jumping on the train themselves.

Below I have a few tips coming from my side as a blogger, and then a few facts about my business personally.

Information and Tips to remember:

• find someone you admire and study them. make notes on what you like about them, their image, and how they are running their business. Analyze their post style and how they speak to their audience. i say this with great emphasis on not copying them. there is no point, why would you want to do exactly what someone else is already doing. i see this all the time. people literally will copy an exact styled outfit (and sometimes even give credit.. but seriously, why are you a blogger if you aren’t creating your own content) or copy an exact set up of an idea, or product placement. And I don’t mean having people snap photos of items or things they were inspired by, but you should make it your own! Before I jumped all the way in, I took a few people I respected and studied them. Blair was my main source of inspiration. I loved the way her outfits told a story and how her site format was simple. It was a simple scroll and had no writing content. It just listed outfit details. I knew this was my base, I wanted the outfits I created to tell the story before anything else you might notice. Then I threw in my own life. I had a 4 month old and wanted to incorporate a little bit of life.

• find your own voice and purpose.

• photos are everything. i had a friend want to start a blog a few years ago, and remember she wanted it to show ‘real’ life… which i think meant not great photos, but to just snap. I get that, and am on board too, but as humans, we are visual people, and a quality photo is going to grab and keep attention. when i shoot blog photos, most of the time, i tell whoever is shooting to just shoot. when i’m with the kids, we are just going to move, and do every day life, because it’s important for me to capture that. to capture real movements, emotions, … life. pinterest is what it is because of photos. people are going to listen to what you have to say when you can show them what you want to tell them, visually.

• presets are what’s ‘in’ right now. get a preset that speaks to you and your ‘brand’ and be consistent. Etsy has some for $12 and can be easy to use in Lightroom Mobile.

• be consistent in who you are, and who you are showing people you are. i’ve seen people all over the place in their personality, like flip flopping, or trying to spell out for people ‘who they are’… just be you

• stay in your own lane and don’t compare
• as Robert was my unofficial business partner, or instagram husband if you will, I had him start to follow accounts that I loved, respected, or liked their business model. This was a way for him to be immersed in this world, but also know the standard I needed to meet, the players in the game I wanted to play. Still to this day, when scrolling through his feed he will point things out, and we will talk about it. He is very much in tune with this world, and it definitely helped him see my vision, especially if I was getting ridiculous or frustrated if a shoot wasn’t what I was wanted and everyone was getting frustrated. He understood the need for quality

• learn about SEO

• watch lightroom/editing youtube videos

• buy an affordable ($20) template on etsy to start out, you don’t need a whole web design at first, and they can be pricey.

• post consistently and learn when a good time of day is for you personally… this just takes time to observe and eventually you just know

• engage with others. I always notice a direct correlation of how many comments I give, are the amount I get in return

• go to local influencer events/pr events/publishing events

• time is money. If you want info or to ‘pick someone’s brain’, please offer something in return, even if it’s to take them to lunch. It’s one thing to brainstorm with a peer, but you don’t want to disrespect someone who has already spent years navigating this space themselves with blood, sweat, and tears. I used to think this was harsh, but I understand how precious time is when running everything yourself.
• ask your audience what they would like to see from you, BUT don’t ask what they want to see in general. I see bloggers doing this all the time, and I question why aren’t they just creating what they want, to inspire other people. Not conform to things people suggest that might not even be them! I don’t ask my audience what kind of outfits they want me to post, because I’m going to create what I love, and post whatever I want… any retailer I love.
• remember that everyone started somewhere. Don’t compare your beginning with someone else’s middle. And if you scroll back enough to anyone’s instagram feed, we are all awful lol.
• if you really want to create a space, do it for yourself first. And keep it up.
• Don’t get focused on numbers, but invest your focus on your content. There were years I know that only a handful of my facebook friends read my blog posts.

Answers to questions personal to my brand:

• I use wordpress platform and have Bluehost as my outside host. When you are self-hosted by a company such as Bluehost, Godaddy, etc., it means you own the site and the information is hosted elsewhere besides wordpress. You are able to use plugins, advertisement, and create it from the ground up with custom designs. You pay for it as opposed to a free one usually with wordpress.com in the title
• For photo editing: I use a present and Lightroom Mobile. I pay for Lightroom monthly ($9.99) which gives you the program on your laptop, but also free access on mobile, you just download the app. By keeping a preset ready to go, you can edit quick iphone snaps on the go and it makes such a difference in visual photo quality
• Site logo: I’ve had the same logo graphic since i started and am not ready to part with it, if ever. Some people do rebrand or update, and maybe I will go with something different one day. I’m attached to mine because I made it. I sketched mine out on a sheet of paper during my first year because it was just a vision I had for the name. I am not technological and had no clue what I could do with it. I found a woman on Etsy that had blogging tools and graphics a la cart. I asked if she could basically make my logo digital if I scanned it into her, and she did. But people can also create them for you, you just describe your business and they do it.
• I have a custom designed template for my blog, but just got it about a year ago. 4 years up until then, I had one that I bought on Etsy.
• When i first started, I sought out community. I emailed a blogger (Luisa, I will never forget how sweet and helpful, and just open you were) that I saw was very involved and asked if she had a pr info list so I could be added to be invited to events. Anything really, I didn’t even know what, I just knew there were lists and I wanted to be on them. I started getting invited to random PR press events, and I went to everything I could!
• There was a consistent group of bloggers who all started at the same time in Atlanta and I would regularly meet up with them at food events or pr events. usually they had nothing to do with blogging or fashion, but it was a place to connect this world with so many others.
• I have literally had to coach brands on how to work with bloggers, we are all learning this business as we go. Everything I know has been trial and error, or sharing with my peers. There have definitely been times I will work with a brand and I am their first influencer experience. Or sometimes if I find value with a certain brand, or love them, have had to pitch this industry as a whole, and why influencer marketing works haha. Yes, this industry has become saturated, so find your voice to stand out and set yourself apart. But it’s also just getting started, as far as a business!
• my sponsored posts will always be brands and products I believe in. They help pay for the business to run as a whole, but also help balance the non-sponsored ones, which are just me posting outfits I love or writing.
• it was just me doing it all until recently. I hired an assistant to help me with various projects like getting my newsletter up and running, or random tasks. It’s still hard for me to let go of any kind of part of this business. Except for pinterest. I gladly delegated that out (a few months ago and helps with traffic to my site) and have someone that manages my Pinterest page it overwhelms me and makes me anxious
• The camera we have now and just invested in this past christmas is the Canon M50 mirrorless, with a Canon professional grade 35mm lens. The lens is an investment, but is also everything in getting a good and crisp photo. Robert and I have taught ourselves a lot through YouTube videos and we do a lot of research when looking for specific blogging tools.

About RewardStyle:

This is a company and tool that bloggers are able to use to monitize their content, and most specifically, links to items. Amber Venz Box started it as a personal shopper to be able to benefit from referring clients to retailers. I so identify with this, because even before I was an actual stylist, people would ask me all the time to unofficially personal shop for them. Or to send them recommendations. It’s a lot of work and takes time, so this is such a wonderful tool. It’s also a love/hate tool for me and this is why: It promotes consumerism to the extreme. There are bloggers who give away one season old items, or will not wear something at all, if out of stock and they can’t give a link to their readers. To each their own, but since my main objective is to inspire and work with all kinds of clothing and ideas, getting caught up in that game sometimes makes me lose track of my creativity. I always loved vintage, or even encouraging grabbing things from your own closet and putting them together differently, as to get use out of what you have. So this is where I walk the line, but RewardStyle to me, is a company I look up to. I am constantly aiming to make a name for myself within them, because they do often favor those that all dress the same way, or possibly feature outfits that lack creativity. And this is where it’s strictly business. They have contracts with retailers and brands, and they are going to work with those that generate high sales, talent aside. I am a player in the game for sure, but have never been a top converter because I like all different and sometimes funky, items. The commission we get can range from 5-20%, and that majority of pricepoints that sell are between $30-$50. So as you can see, it’s not high, which is why it makes a world of difference when someone takes the time to shop a blogger’s links. This has gotten me down in the past, but I’m here for other reasons and I just have to remember that.

Well, this is probably my longest post ever, but wanted to share my story. This is for those of you who need a push and encouragement, or a little insight into this business. This is also for the haters, lol jkjk, this is for myself. Thank you so much for reading, and for you, my loyal reader. I appreciate you so much, and am always willing to support!

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Photos by Viva Lux Photography

Let’s talk about this outfit really quickly, because I had envisioned it for months. I wanted to try this style, where the shirt intentionally peeps out beneath the skirt. I looked for shirts long enough forever, so I found this one, and it’s good. I also LOVE a good pattern tight, I always recommend trying tights of all kinds. My bag is a classic staple, and never too late to grab because everyone needs something animal print in their wardrobe!

Shop my outfit or similar items here: