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I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you, my readers, my subscribers and followers. I wouldn’t be here without your support and encouragement or without the boss women who are out there supporting other women when we need it most. I also wouldn’t be here without a heck of a lot of work!

Just give me coffee and watch me MAKE IT HAPPEN…

1. Success does not just land in your lap (well, in most cases any ways and in mine). It takes a lot of dedication and work and for the most part, loss of sleep!
2. Success takes time, you can’t rush it – you can try but you won’t be happy with the results. Work hard, take risks, be a shark and you can look back and say you earned it.
3. I say be a shark, I didn’t get here by being passive…if you know me, you know I have a big mouth and I speak my mind. I also go after what I want, I like to say I make it happen.

Confidence in one hand & coffee in the other…

4. I am supportive of those around me, so often I meet women that are only out for their own successes and can’t put on a smile when another person catches a break…be genuinely happy…try even if it’s hard and you are in a rut because you haven’t had any work for months, good karma is an asset you’ll want in the long run. A shitty attitude isn’t. Surround yourself with like minded people, who’s morals suit yours and make sure the brands you work with are the same. I am proud that I was raised to treat the janitor of a company the same way I would treat the Vice President, I believe that the way I treat others and my inclusiveness is a big part of my success. Funny enough you can learn a lot about a person on the way they treat the staff at a restaurant too! The women I surround myself with are trustworthy and supportive, we encourage each other, we recommend each other, we understand one another and we aren’t afraid to “talk shop”. We discuss brands, rates and PR companies…we have each others backs. The women that know me, they know I am a “you can sit with us” kind of gal and that I also speak my mind and that I am ALWAYS recommending my peers for work with brands wether I get the job or not, there is more than enough internet for all of us ladies! As a woman raising a daughter, this one is even more important to me – raise good humans, young girls that will grow up knowing to treat other girls with respect and kindness.

It’s easy to spot a successful and confident woman, she’s the one building another woman up…

5. Do not be afraid to reach out or “cold call”, not every job I’ve had in the last 9 years has shown up in my email all on it’s own. My first editorial job when I was over 18 was with McDonald’s & Coca Cola…I got that job in New Zealand because I made the decision to go get an agent to represent me, to help me source the jobs I wanted. I ended up being on nearly every bus stop in the country sipping a frozen Coca Cola making a brain freeze face…my very first “pinch me” moment and I will never forget it. Unfortunately as far as I am concerned that will be my very last time I feature a pop, there is no pop in our house and Craig literally has to sneak one in if he wants it, not because I control what he drinks I just don’t want junk in our home, out of sight out of mind and I don’t drink it, neither do our kids. I’ve declined jobs from sugar, junk pop companies for the last 3 years…and we enter authenticity.

6. Be Authentic. Be yourself!!!!!! And for heavens sake do not feature a get skinny tea or hair vitamin just for the Benjamins baby!!! Represent yourself authentically, do not put your voice, your face or your name on a product you are not genuinely into. I have a clause when companies send me product to feature, I have a minimum of 2 weeks to try the product and make sure it is something I can stand by. I also research the brand, it’s ingredients and more. I do not feature a brand just for the money, my brand is more than that to me, this is my career and yes I want it to pay the bills but genuinely. I do not recommend anything I wouldn’t want you or your family members to purchase or use.

I’m in a longterm committed relationship, with my success….

7. Let’s go back to getting the work, I am lucky now that for the most part I have creative control of all of my work now – when you buy my time and voice, you buy my ideas and direction too because my work has to make sense with my branding. I don’t have an agent and at this point I don’t need one but sometimes want one. I had an agent for year 1-3 when in another country, and since then I have been on my own. You cannot be afraid to source your work, not every PR agency knows you exist (even if you think they do), not every brand knows about you either. Do not be afraid to hunt down their head office contacts and “cold email” brands to let them know you are keen to work with them, or that you have an idea for a possible feature on their brand!

My hunger for success is fuelled by my passion…

8. Agents. To sign or not to sign? I do not know enough about working with an agent to completely disregard the idea or encourage it. I for one at this point prefer to be solo in the representation department, all onus is on MOI and I have no worries that the person booking my work is possible a dick or having a bad day when chit chatting with brands. I’ve heard a ton of stories from friends about having a crap experience with agents but at the same time there are days when I feel like I am going to have an emotional breakdown because I have taken on so much work and I have zero time to photograph, edit and write about it before my deadlines. Juggling life as a stay at home mom and a full time career is exhausting, it’s also exciting but if you think I am making it look easy – it is all smoke and mirrors. I am usually working off of minimal sleep because I do most work while the kids are sleeping (and that includes house work too) and my creative mind never shuts down when its time to catch some Zzzz’s. So, there may be a time when I get an agent, but it will only be when I find THE ONE lol.

9. Organize, oh my, oh my if I can stress anything that I have learnt thus far…be organized!! I am NOT organized, I would hire a personal organizer or assistant before I get a manager. Getting the work, talking money and doing the work isn’t difficult for me. But keeping my home and work organized is such a struggle, we are on minimal space now in our current house and with minimal space comes minimal storage and the blogging world includes a whole shit ton of product and and paperwork and just stuff in general!!!! Since I mainly do all of my photography, organization is key to know when to shoot things according to my deadlines.

You’re not tired, you’re uninspired…

10. Know your worth, value isn’t just on the number of followers you have or email subscribers or hits to your website or comments on your posts and comparing yourself to other influencers is the LAST thing you want to be doing. Your time and energy is far too valuable to waste on comparison. It’s also on the quality of work you put forth and if brands are buying your image/personality too. And it’s also what kind of sales you bring in and your overall value. You have worth! If a price doesn’t feel ride, if you feel like you are being taken advantage of – talk to your peers, ask for more – if they won’t budge neither should you (we can talk more about this in the next of the series). Do not be scared to talk money, if you want this as a career then you need to make it happen and show you’ve seriously come to the table. One thing every brand has told me is that they appreciate working with influencers that are confident in their worth and can talk about it on their own without representation, to them it shows them the influencer isn’t f’n around! If you know you are driving traffic to websites or shops and they are making sales from your advertising – you should be making money for it. We can talk more about this in my next part of the series if you guys want to know more!

Happiness is an inside job…

Quotes from the lovely #Bossnation instagram! xo