BEHIND THE BRAND: LUKE STOREY
Next up in my Behind The Brand series is Luke Storey. Luke is a former Hollywood Celebrity Fashion Stylist, Founder of School of Style and host of The Life Stylist, his Health and Wellness Podcast. If that wasn’t enough titles to carry, I would also add that he’s a kind-hearted, badass who dresses well and inspires you to be a better human.
I met Luke many years ago when I was living in LA, and was drawn to his powerful, yet calm energy. I admire his journey and how real and transparent he is. He tells it like it is, but remains compassionate and grounded at the same time. You can’t help but feel at ease in his presence, but don’t take my word for it, take a listen and see for yourself.
Next up in my Behind The Brand series is Luke Storey. Luke is a former Hollywood Celebrity Fashion Stylist, Founder of School of Style and host of The Life Stylist, his Health and Wellness Podcast. If that wasn’t enough titles to carry, I would also add that he’s a kind-hearted, badass who dresses well and inspires you to be a better human.
I met Luke many years ago when I was living in LA, and was drawn to his powerful, yet calm energy. I admire his journey and how real and transparent he is. He tells it like it is, but remains compassionate and grounded at the same time. You can’t help but feel at ease in his presence, but don’t take my word for it, take a listen and see for yourself.
WHAT DOES BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR MEAN TO YOU?
Having the ability to birth a vision and mission, then turning that into a marketable product or service.
SHARE WITH US YOUR "LIGHTBULB MOMENT", THAT MADE YOU FINALLY QUIT YOUR 9-5?
I had been studying and practicing natural health and spiritual modalities for 20 years, when I was presented with an opportunity to give a public presentation on all that I had learned, along with many hugely successful experts in that space. My talk was such a success that not only did I receive a standing ovation, but was invited back the same weekend to give a second talk. After that experience, I could no longer ignore the inner calling to share my experience and knowledge.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL OR TACTIC IN MARKETING YOUR BRAND?
Creating a unique podcast, and committing myself to a rigorous standard of excellence in production, and regularity of content release.
IF YOU COULD GIVE YOUR 'YOUNGER SELF' ADVICE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
There is no reason to fear success. You deserve it, and you can handle it with grace and ease.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS?
Make sure your passion and inherent talent are in alignment, and in close to equal measure. Once those two qualities are present, it's a matter of bite-sized execution to bring your idea to market.
WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A BUSINESS OWNER?
Having to be accountable to yourself. Creating your own self-imposed deadlines, and objectives.
WHAT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER?
Translating esoteric or scientific information to people in a way that is relatable and applicable.
HOW DO YOU PRACTICE SELF-CARE?
Meditation, knowing when to say no, quality sleep, tons of supplements, ice baths, forest bathing, saunas, massages, self-love affirmations, having healthy boundaries in personal relationships
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
The root of all fears is ultimately death of the body, so I do my best to face the fact that I'm leaving the body eventually. This short-circuits many day-to-day fears. That said, one persistent fear is that I will fail to meet my financial goals.
The Life Stylist show brings you the most thought-provoking interviews with the biggest experts in the fields of health, spirituality, and personal development.
BEHIND THE BRAND: A WHIMSY WONDERLAND
I’m so excited to introduce my new interview series, Behind The Brand, featuring small business owners & creative entrepreneurs! My goal is to inspire and empower you by sharing stories of some ah-mazing bossbabes and bossdudes, as they navigate their business journey. First up is the adorable, rainbow-dipped duo, Jenna & Cortney. These beauties are the smiling faces behind, A Whimsy Wonderland, lifestyle blog and social media brand. Their fun, sense of style and silly approach to life is inspiring and downright infectious!
I’m so excited to introduce my new interview series, Behind The Brand, featuring small business owners & creative entrepreneurs! My goal is to inspire and empower you by sharing stories of some ah-mazing bossbabes and bossdudes, as they navigate their business journey. First up is the adorable, rainbow-dipped duo, Jenna & Cortney.
These beauties are the smiling faces behind, A Whimsy Wonderland, lifestyle blog and social media brand. Their fun, sense of style and silly approach to life is inspiring and downright infectious!
WHAT DOES BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR MEAN TO YOU?
Entrepreneurs wear SO many hats. So, this answer is a hard one. We are so lucky to be able to make a living doing what we love, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Being an entrepreneur means being ready to hustle. Ready to work until 3 am. Ready to cancel social plans to meet deadlines. But with that, it also means seeing something you sketched out ideas for on the back of a Taco Bell napkin become a business, a platform, something that people relate to, and something that cuts you a paycheck. It’s an extremely emotional ride, basically all the time. Haha!
SHARE WITH US YOUR "LIGHTBULB MOMENT", THAT MADE YOU FINALLY QUIT YOUR 9-5?
Wow. Well, we do have to give credit to our previous 9-5 job. It’s where we met, and where we dreamt up the idea for A Whimsy Wonderland. Once we started Whimsy, we knew we wanted to pursue it full time. Once our income became consistent with this business, quitting became a much more real possibility. And still, by NO means are we rich. It’s still a hustle, and it still can be scary. But we think everyone signs up for that when you go into business for yourself. But when we had to keep turning down jobs and opportunities for our own business due to our schedules at our 9-5’s, we knew we had to just kind of jump and go for it!
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOL OR TACTIC IN MARKETING YOUR BRAND?
Most effective tool? We’d say Instagram, by far. Or social media in general. We live in such an amazing era to be able to connect with people around the world to show off places, brands, and experiences we’ve loved. And we do work hard in marketing our brand. We are an Instagram duo (who are basically polar opposites of each other, anyone who knows us can vouch. Ha!); the way we dress has definitely become part of our brand as well, and changed the way we market ourselves and the brands that we work with! Marketing your brand starts with finding your niche in whatever field you’re in and keeping it consistent!
IF YOU COULD GIVE YOUR 'YOUNGER SELF' ADVICE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
We’ve answered this question before and it always gets the same answer out of the both of us. Be less scared of what everyone thinks! Three years ago, you couldn’t have paid us to wear these rainbow outfits you see us wearing on instagram now (even though we’ve always LOVED color), or to stand on the street in front of a hundred people doing high kicks in order to “get the shot.” But what we were SO scared of being judged for has actually been a big part of what has made us successful. And it’s fun. ;)
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS?
Do your research before diving in. Practice. Take classes. Hustle, hustle, hustle. Reach out for advice when you need it. People in this creative industry are some of the kindest people we’ve met. Also, hire an accountant.
WHAT’S THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A BUSINESS OWNER?
Being your own boss is insanely rewarding, but also difficult. You’re responsible for your momentum. No one is telling you when to come into work, how much to work, etc. And keeping a timely schedule is crucial, especially when you’re first starting, and if you’re juggling another job on top of your business! Scheduling hours was hard for us at first! Second, taxes. Business taxes are NO joke, y’all. Staying on top of finances is everything. *see above where we said “hire an accountant.” ;)
WHAT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER?
Related to business? Hm. We can (and have) put together an entire shoot, shot it, edited, and had content ready for a client in less than 12 hours. But we don’t recommend this. Hahah! Although I think we both felt like we had insanely speedy superpowers that day.
HOW DO YOU PRACTICE SELF-CARE?
Cort: lots of yoga, face masks, hiking, or basically being anywhere that the sun is.
Jenna: sleeping (really!), reading, listening/going to musicals, dancing
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Also related to business? I think everyone, entrepreneur or not, has the same fear of not being “enough” in one way or another. But that shouldn’t stop you from wholeheartedly chasing after what you want!
>> Follow A WHIMSY WONDERLAND on Instagram! <<
20 AUTOMATION TOOLS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
Being a blogger, entrepreneur or small business owner means wearing every hat you can shove on your head and having the multi-tasking skills like a badass, mother f*cker. I’ve rounded up 20 of my favorite automation tools for your small business to grow, expand your customer base and help implement your digital marketing strategies while saving you time to you do what you really love, CREATE. Many of these small business, automation marketing tools are free or only cost a small, monthly fee.
Being a blogger, entrepreneur or small business owner means wearing every hat you can shove on your head and having the multi-tasking skills like a badass, mother f*cker. I’ve rounded up 20 of my favorite automation tools for your small business to grow, expand your customer base and help implement your digital marketing strategies while saving you time to you do what you really love, CREATE. Many of these small business, automation marketing tools are free or only cost a small, monthly fee.
ACUITY ONLINE APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING
Acuity Scheduling is an online appointment scheduling software. Clients schedule appointments, pay, and complete intake forms online 24/7. Free signup! Never ask “what time works for you?” again. Clients can quickly view your real-time availability and self-book their own appointments—and even pay online, reschedule with a click, and eliminate 100% of the drudgery.
AWEBER
Looking for affordable and easy to use email marketing and autoresponder tools? Launch and sell your next big thing with email marketing.Find your audience, build a relationship and sell your products. Reach your business goals with AWeber’s email marketing and automation platform.
Bench pairs you with a team of professional bookkeepers to do your bookkeeping, leaving you to run your business. Real humans. Perfect books. Your bookkeeping team imports bank statements, categorizes transactions, and prepares financial statements every month. Learn more with your free trial today.
BLUCHIC
Bluchic is the premier feminine WordPress Themes for women in business and bloggers. Check out the Canva Social Media Templates too!
BLUEHOST
Bluehost is one of the largest and most trusted web hosting services powering millions of websites. Join Bluehost now and get a FREE domain name!
With Constant Contact, you can create effective email marketing and other online marketing campaigns to meet your business goals. Send great-looking emails that drive big results.
Get the automations and email marketing tools you need to grow your blog and business. Join 19000+ creators and try ConvertKit today. Create more. Worry about email marketing less.Uncomplicated email marketing,backed by a team that cares about your success.
Get your entire marketing strategy under one roof with CoSchedule, the #1 marketing calendar for everything you need organized. Create a unified workflow for every project with CoSchedule's drag + drop calendar. Sync your teams inside a collaborative, cross-functional calendar for social, content, email, events, and more.
Creative Market is a marketplace for ready-to-use design assets from independent creators around the world. Bring your creative projects to life. (check out Dear Miss Modern, one of my faves!)
EVERNOTE
Organize your work and declutter your life. With Evernote on your desktop and mobile devices, your notes are always with you and always in sync.
G SUITE BY GOOGLE CLOUD
Get Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Calendar for business with G Suite. All you need to do your best work, together in one package that works seamlessly from your computer, phone or tablet.
HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.
INTUIT QUICKBOOKS
Small businesses choose QuickBooks to manage their accounting, get invoices paid on time, accept payments & much more. Their products are geared mainly toward small and medium-sized businesses and offer on-premises accounting applications as well as cloud-based versions that accept business payments, manage and pay bills, and payroll functions.
MailChimp is a marketing platform for small businesses. Send beautiful emails, connect your e-commerce store, advertise, and build your brand. Give your customers a clear call to action. With MailChimp, you can create beautiful landing pages that make it easy for people to buy your products or join your list.
PLANOLY
Planoly is the first visual planner and scheduler for Instagram. We're the end to end Instagram management platform. Manage your Instagram’s marketing campaigns and content visually before pushing it live. View your data and engagement rates for each post. Track and reply back to comments directly on the app.
SC STOCKSHOP
The SC Stockshop is the original and premier source for stunning feminine styled stock photos for creative businesses and brands! Professional and exclusive styled stock photography source.
Sendible is a social media management tool that helps agencies and companies boost their productivity on social media. Try it for free.
SLACK
Slack is where work flows. It's where the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use come together to get things done.When your team needs to kick off a project, hire a new employee, deploy some code, review a sales contract, finalize next year's budget, measure an A/B test, plan your next office opening, and more, Slack has you covered.
Shopify is the best e-commerce platform that has everything you need to sell online, on social media, or in person.
Tailwind is a pinterest and instagram scheduler, analytics and marketing tool. Save time and post at the best times for engagement, grow together with Tribes, get more actionable analytics. Start free!
5 TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS WHEN WORKING FROM HOME
As an entrepreneur, there are three things that can eat up your day. Emails, dead-end client prospects and the deep, black hole of social media. When you're fully aware of how your time is spent, it can be mind-blowing. Think about how many minutes you spend making to-do lists, scrolling instagram, researching something or crafting the perfect email. These boring, but necessary, tasks can easily take up 6-8 hours a week. That's an entire work day if you add it all up! As a creative entrepreneur or small business owner, you have to be spending your time as wisely as possible. Here are 5 time management tips I've learned over the years, when working from home.
As an entrepreneur, there are three things that can eat up your day. Emails, dead-end client prospects and the deep, black hole of social media. When you're fully aware of how your time is spent, it can be mind-blowing. Think about how many minutes you spend making to-do lists, scrolling instagram, researching something or crafting the perfect email. These boring, but necessary, tasks can easily take up 6-8 hours a week. That's an entire work day if you add it all up! As a creative entrepreneur or small business owner, you have to be spending your time as wisely as possible. Here are 5 time management tips I've learned over the years, when working from home.
1. IDENTIFY WHAT'S WASTING YOUR TIME, THEN STREAMLINE & AUTOMATE.
Email.
It's a love/hate relationship. Who doesn't love to open emails with sold order notifications, new client inquires or partnership opportunities? Typically those emails are buried in a pile of newsletter subscriptions, advertisements or opportunities that aren't beneficial to our brand. Take a few minutes each day and unsubscribe! Before you know it, your inbox will be clean and organized. Only keep things that are of value and can somehow be profitable or informational.
PR Pitches/ Brand Emails. (this one is for my fellow bloggers)
If you are a blogger or work in the media, then your inbox is usually filled with brand partnership inquiries and product pitches. I don't have the time to respond to every one, unless I see it's a good fit or I'm interested in learning more. I highly recommend creating different email templates for these. I have a few that I pull from and it saves me SO much time.
Social Media.
Consolidate your social media channels by using automation tools. Limit your social media time to certain times of the day and focus on engaging and connecting with your core, demographic audience. Use social media platforms for promotion and marketing as much as possible.
Dead-Beat Client Leads.
If your client leads aren't qualified then it's time to move on. Some clients need a bit more attention or a custom proposal, but don't let them waste your time when their goal is to get your product or service at a discounted rate.
2. LEARN HOW TO DELEGATE AND OUTSOURCE.
There comes a point in business journey where you either finally give in and delegate certain tasks or simply, lose your sanity. If you attend one of my workshops or take one of my courses, you will always hear me talking about "hitting a plateau". This happens numerous times through the success of your business, but you have to pay close attention and set your ego aside. There's two types of these "plateau" moments. The first one comes when you know that you've exhausted all your energy and free resources and now it's time to step up your game or you might not even be able to remain a player. Depending on your circumstances and streams of income, I always suggest that you start with an intern. Maybe do a 3-6 month trial period, with either a small stipend or exchange for college credit, that can then grow into a future employee. The second "plateau" moment happens usually when you go viral or sell out of a product and your brand is simply on fire with followers, fans and most importantly, customers! When you get to this phase it's time to bring on someone or multiple people that excel in different areas to take your business to the next level. Congrats! Welcome to yet another job to add to your plate, human resources. If you haven’t had your pivotal, mental breakdown... (whoops!) I mean, plateau moment, don’t fret. Try outsourcing in the meantime and, an awesome guide to online, automatic tools that will help to elevate your brand. Keep your eye on the prize, set the intention of what your business goals are and just keep hustling.
3. USE SPREADSHEETS LIKE A PRO.
I can't stress to you enough how much I rely on my google drive. In fact, I probably wouldn't even have a business without it! I'm super anal organized when it comes to keeping my contacts, to-do lists, tasks, editorial calendar and content ideas in order. I use one master spreadsheet, labeled with rainbow colored tabs and color-coded columns. In fact, I might want to read this post a few times myself, because I spend too much time just organizing the shit. But don't follow my lead on this one, you're better than that. Just get yourself organized and don't get too caught up in how pretty it looks.
4. SET AN ALARM CLOCK.
I live by alarms. I use them on my phone and my desktop. When I'm sitting at my desk, I try to stay off my phone (and social media) as much as possible so I like to use a free desktop alarm clock. It's simple and straightforward, no fancy bells and whistles. he he... see what I did there? Anyways... set alarms and follow them. I use several throughout the day to remind me it's time to grab a snack (this is a major problems for workaholics who suffer from a slow metabolism, I don't think I need to tell you who I'm referring to here), take a 15 min. break, call a client, move on to the next project, etc. I schedule out my day by giving myself a certain block of time for each project. Every day is different and at the start of each day, I look at my agenda and prioritize. Take 10-15 min. to organize yourself and set your alarms for the rest of the day, to stay on task.
5. STICK TO A SCHEDULE.
No, we don't have to punch a time clock, but we do need implement structure. The good news is, you are your own boss, the bad news is that you have to be responsible enough to be disciplined. I'm certain a few of you will still be cooking dinner with a toddler on your hip while also taking a conference call, kudos! Good on you, if you can manage that, but it's not ideal. It's important to separate your business life from your home life as much as possible. Don't forget to find your balance. It's a perk to be able to finish the laundry between work projects, but it's also important to carve out your business schedule and stick to it. Be sure to keep your workspace clean and full of inspiration. When you find yourself in the flow, let it happen, but don't let it take over your life. When you love what you do, it never feels like work. Unfortunately, I speak from experience when I say that it's so important to remember self-love and not to push yourself too much. I've pushed myself so much that it's led to negative effects on my health, don't get to that point. Stick to a schedule and be sure to pencil pen in those mani appointments, bestie coffee dates and an occasional spa day. You deserve it, because you can't pour from an empty cup!
POPSUGAR USED MY CONTENT AND TRIED TO MONETIZE IT
This past weekend, after spending all day writing content for upcoming blog posts, I needed a break and went to chat with a few blogger buddies... when I slapped in the face with the most disgusting news.
An influencer had noticed that a picture of her son had been posted on the PopSugar website. When she clicked the link, she discovered that PopSugar had pulled her Instagram feed of the images that were connected to her RewardStyle/LIKEtoKNOW.it affiliate account. While digging a bit deeper she discovered that there were thousands of other influencer and blogger profile pages that were the same. PopSugar had posted RewardStyle members content without consent and were trying to monetize it. Not just a few pieces, but millions of content. The kicker was they even had a page for Amber Venz, the co-founder and president of RewardStyle ...
This past weekend, after spending all day writing content for upcoming blog posts, I needed a break and went to chat with a few blogger buddies... when I slapped in the face with the most disgusting news.
An influencer had noticed that a picture of her son had been posted on the PopSugar website. When she clicked the link, she discovered that PopSugar had pulled her Instagram feed of the images that were connected to her RewardStyle/LIKEtoKNOW affiliate account. While digging a bit deeper she discovered that there were thousands of other influencer and blogger profile pages that were the same. PopSugar had posted RewardStyle members content without consent and were trying to monetize it. Not just a few pieces, but millions of content. The kicker was they even had a page for Amber Venz, the co-founder and president of RewardStyle ...
Within minutes of learning about this, we began posting on social demanding that PopSugar take down our content immediately. After several hours (and perhaps another entity that persuaded them), they pulled the pages down.
Why did they move so fast? Because they are guilty as shit.
But this isn't the end of the story.
They've received hits on their website and money off our content. Unauthorized, without consent.
I felt violated when I saw my face and content on their website. I had 47 shoppable posts on their site, some bloggers had over 1,500. Many bloggers, myself included, make a living on creating content. As a reader, you see a great photograph or blog post, but you might not always realize the time and energy that went into it. The fact that this large corporation thought is was ok to steal from us blows my mind.
This is a screenshot from their website of my profile page:
Once you clicked on one of my instagram images that were being pulled, it then took you to this page below, where you could click and then purchase the items. These were all originally linked to my own LIKEtoKNOW.it account, as you can find in my instagram feed.
BUT...they had deleted my affiliate links and inserted their own ShopStyle links instead.
...a pretty sleazy move to make a buck.
The extent and effort that the PopSugar team put into this "new" way for them to try and make a buck, blows my mind and is completely disgusting.
They won't let get away with this though, I promise you that.
*update, we all received a payout from the class action
Hi, I'm Bree!
Color-Obsessed Creative Director, Designer and Stylist. Lover of dogs, pretty shiny objects and all things pink.
My goal is to inspire you to seek your inner rainbow and live a more fun, bold and brighter life through colorful fashion and dopamine design ideas that will instantly boost your mood and put a smile on your face!