The Decision
If you read this post, then you know for six months I lived in Salerno, Italy. I was studying Italian and working part-time in a language school’s marketing department as a brand marketing assistant. Rewind time to October, I had been living in Italy for about four-five months. The honeymoon phase ended! My long summer and adventure-filled days were over. No more millennials or people my own age to hang out with at the language school as most returned to their home countries to attend school. I was starting to feel somber. THEN! By the grace of god a new opportunity arose.
One afternoon I was skimming through my Instagram feed and saw that a boutique travel agency for African American women was hosting an Amalfi Coast travel experience in Sorrento. Being that I was only a ferry ride away, I reached out to the owner and asked to join the group for dinner. Unfortunately, the trip ended the morning I was available but fortunately, the owner was still in town and we agreed to lunch. The owner was absolutely lovely. She is well traveled, very knowledgeable about the travel industry, and is an all-around good person. We instantly connected and through our discussion, I expressed my passions for traveling and storytelling through content creation. Little did I know she was actually looking to hire someone to help her with her company’s marketing, public relations, photography, and videography objectives. After emailing my credentials and a proposal…I was HIRED! Simultaneously through all this, I was already completing the process of registering a business that would manage my blog and other future business ventures. I just didn’t know my second venture, GRM Creative Services, would happen so soon.
During the first few months of developing brand marketing and communication strategies for my new client. I found it challenging to effectively communicate with her due to the seven-hour time difference. I knew my contract would be up soon and instead of renewing it or start looking for another Italian based job I decided to move back to the United States and grow and nurture my new business from home.
The decision was simple and easy. True to my nature I decided to fearlessly start this new adventure. I believed in myself and my competences. I told myself “I can totally do this!” I’m tech savvy and creative minded! I always have new and fresh ideas spilling out of my brain. Why Not?” — So, I did it and haven’t regretted a single day since!
What’s Next…?
Right Now, I am focusing on effectively executing my new client’s marketing objectives while running the business side of Glam R Me and GRM Creative Services. I excitingly also have a few prospective clients whose marketing proposals I am currently working on.
Working remotely and having my own business allows me to dedicate more time to developing GRM and creating content for it. I am ecstatic about this because in the past it has been a struggle to find time while in school, juggling my sorority and other campus organization obligations, working multiple jobs, and being active in the community. I was getting so tired and fed up with only being able to post sporadically. At one point I actually considered stopping this beloved ambition of mine due to my lack of free time. I obviously didn’t and the reason for that is YOU, my readers.
Throughout those months of not sharing a single post, I was still getting a surprising amount of page views. Friends were constantly querying about my blog and asking me questions and wanting advice on all things fashion, beauty, travel, and lifestyle. I even had a few readers I never met reach out to me. It was in those moments I knew that I had a voice and an opinion that people cared about and listened too…and I couldn’t let “time” be the reason for not continuing this online passion of mine. Luckily, that was at the time I was graduating from college. Once I graduated I spent the summer working on developing content and marketing strategies, I rebranded..then relaunched Glam R Me last August.
This new business opportunity also allows me to travel more not just for Glam R Me but for my clients. I have always wanted to attend a blogger/professional development conference and now I actually have the freedom and time to attend events like these. I’m so excited to be attending my first one next month. Later this year I will also be traveling to a few international destinations for work. These are places I have never been but have consistently remained at the top of my travel bucket list.
This new contingency is a balancing act and as each and every day brings a new challenge I am excited to tackle them head on!