If you are anything like me then you follow the Instgrams, podcasts, and YouTube channeling of young women who are in college or hustling in the media industry. Some of the names that you may know are Margot Lee, Danielle Carolan, and countless others. Since summer of 2018 I started my own blog (Julia GenerationZ on IG) trying to emulate the girls that I constantly take advice from in their IG stories, podcast, or blog posts. While I have improved throughout the year, I want to elevate it even more to make it look perfect, as I apply for internships and such where professionals may look at it. So here is my master plan to make this the summer I truly become a girl boss:
- Take in all the media and advice you can get from women that are already doing it.
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I know this from past experience that there is nothing that motivates me more than seeing people who are doing what I already want to do. Some examples of women and media that motivate me are listening to the podcast, Girls on the Go, where Danielle Carolan and Brooke Miccio talk about their trials and tribulations of being in college as well as influencers, watching Margot Lee going through college classes and keeping up a blog and YouTube channels on her vlog, or going through Refinery29 or Her Campus Instagram posts. Being an independent girl boss is such a trend now that finding content to inspire you is everywhere.
- Know what you want your vibe/aesthetic to look like.
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A vision board might sound cheesy but it doesn’t have to be. My vision board is my Instagram saved section. Everything on it are posts where I like what the photo is or the message of the image. I can constantly look through it and see posts where I want to make similar posts or just match the color scheme of everything I have saved. My Instagram saved is basically my baby at this point, with how much I keep up with the way it looks and what goes into it. I scroll through it all the time when I am in a creative rut or just not inspired, and the assortment of images helps me know what to do.
- Get educated on the tools you need.
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If you are looking to make a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or any kind of company you are going to need some tools. For me this summer I am going to really try and work on understanding Squarespace for my own blog. I haven’t been happy with how WordPress looks and runs, so I want to change it up. Knowing what you are doing and then getting started is half the journey. It will not be a quick one, two, done kind of process. I am a year in on my blog and still changing how it looks. I also think photography and working on social media is something that takes time to work as well. Working on getting a flow of what you are doing whether that is posting on a specific platform is super hard. But, once you do it, hopefully it won’t be as stressful as the learning process will be.
- Set time to work on what you want to.
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Finding the time to work on stuff is super hard especially if you are still in school. What I have been doing this year is kind of fitting into my schedule as if it’s a homework assignment that is due. Once I get my work done from Monday through Saturday I know to add to my to-do list my blog post for the week. But also on the other hand not beating yourself up if it does not go up when you want to or any reason it might go wrong. If you are still a college student this is your side hustle, and it’s supposed be fun not stressful so just keep reminding yourself of that.
- Constantly take advice from friends and family who are viewing what you are doing.
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My blog is still pretty small, and most of the people that really engage are friends and family. If you have friends and family like me they will be honest and tell you how it is. They may not know how much work you put in but if they give you critsimism take it because it’s going to be honest. There might be a time when a bunch of random people on the internet will be catching your mistakes and they might not be as nice. Also, knowing what your friends like to see if they part of your demographic for what you are creating can be a really helpful tool for getting feedback too.
- Make sure you are personally ready to take on something like this.
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Taking on a side gig is a big responsibility if you actually want to keep up with it. Something I really had to consider before starting my blog was if I was ready to take on more work that may cause for more stress. I really had to work on myself and my mental health before writing all the time or just being focused on social media more. This is a hobby, but for something like my blog,I am doing this to possibly help me to get internships or jobs hopefully. I want to treat it more seriously. So just knowing what I want to get out of this, and make sure I am not just doing for getting clout is really important.
- Do not be afraid to reach out to who you idolize to get advice.
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Something I have learned in class and with the creation of my blog is to never be scared to reach out to someone for advice or sharing just a small compliment. I have direct messaged plenty people or slid up on stories saying “I appreciate this post” or that I get something out of it, and I’ve actually heard great responses. Networking, even if it is just showing support, is really important between other hard working ladies, it’s empowering! But starting that conversation can turn into advice or maybe something more, you never know.
- Set goals for yourself.
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When I say goals, I mean realistic ones that usually do not regard numbers of any kind. I think making what you are doing about numbers or popularity will make it a more negative or stressful experience. Two goals I have for myself going into this summer. First, apply and hopefully get a Wing Membership. The Wing is a company that has all these working space for women only across all major cities. There instagram is so cute. It’s a place where you can see each of their building and just overall inspiration. They constantly have networking opportunities and events suhc as speeches that make me want to be in The Wing. There is currently a headquarters in New York and other major cities, and the one in Boston will be going up soon. My second goal is to start a podcast for my blog this summer. I think with my generation reaching people who may not share a love for reading or writing, such as me, will not be as interested with what I am doing. But, my idea is that with a podcast, another type of medium, I can easily create on my own and an even larger audience.