What book(s) are you currently reading or plan to read soon?
I read a LOT. I generally rotate multiple books at a time depending on what I’m going through in life LOL. I’m currently reading Year of the Yes by Shonda Rhimes. She’s a little talkative, if that makes sense – often going on and on in detail but overall the message of the book is motivational. Start saying yes more to things that you wouldn’t normally do. I recently reread The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership which I recommend for every-single-person if you’re planning on establishing a name for yourself at any point in your life. Up next is Girl Code because I just love seeing what other Boss Babes have to say.
What are some tips you could give on starting a lifestyle blog? It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for years now.
My first tip is to really brainstorm what you want out of your blog and who you want it to be for. For me, I really wanted a community for women like myself who know what they want and are figuring out how to get it. Though we may take different roads, our paths are similar so I knew the conversations that I was having would be relevant and helpful to many of you. I wanted to talk about relationships and careers and new experiences as well as the importance of looking good in the midst of these things. My (and so many others) life in a nutshell. My second tip is to just DO IT. I thought about this blog for so-long before I ever got started. I had a domain for over a year and planned to design the webpage myself. Because I didn’t know how to, it never got done. Finally I paid someone to put it together. I had wrote in Word for months before I literally woke up one morning and said “today I’m going to post”. After that it came pretty naturally. It was mine and I was excited to grow it.
I’m a communications major and at only 20, I’m just getting a taste of the real world and it makes me nervous that I won’t have everything together. I wanted to know do you have any advice you can offer on finding a great career once I graduate and what are some tips I could use in setting a good foundation for my future?
Well, you won’t have it all together. We never really do! LOL But, you can certainly have things in order. If your schedule permits, I suggest interning before your graduate in different kind of communications so you can get a first hand feel of what you’ll enjoy. Look for internships where they generally turn into full-time positions (ask this in your interviews). If they do, then great! It takes less worry off of graduating in general. If they don’t, no worries. You’ll have valid experience on your resume to help land you a job soon after you graduate. Find an adult mentor you can go to with any questions you have or advice you need. Also, don’t ever set your priorities aside for a boy that you like. In the long run, how you handled your business is going to be much more valuable than who you were talking to at 20.
To be honest, I don’t go out much here in Houston but I’ve grown up here and I can honestly say I have met many quality men so I know that they’re definitely alive and well.. and available. Houston is such a large city, you can literally take your chances of meeting a man anywhere. However, be very mindful of where you’re going to look for them. What kind of man do you think is going to be in a section at a club sweating bullets with 20 of his homeboys as opposed to the kind of man you’ll run into at a lounge or a Sunday Funday brunch spot? Keep in mind the energy you give off as well. How you carry yourself will help weed out a lot of nonsense. If all else fails, it goes down in the DM right? LOL
I landed my job 4 weeks after graduation and THANK GOD, because I was soooo anxious y’all! I had friends that had graduated a year before me still not working in their field so you can imagine how stressed I was. It’s not always who you know, because I didn’t know anyone. I went about it the old fashioned way, good ol’ LinkedIn and Indeed.com. I was landing interviews consistently at some really cute boutique PR firms but their budgets didn’t allot what I was anticipating making. After 2 interviews I got offered the job with my current company and the rest has been happily ever after.
Post graduation did you live with family or did you just leap out and start on your own?
After I graduated I stayed where I lived all throughout college, with my mom. We had a very unrestricted dynamic so I felt no need or rush to be on my own. If I was going to get a roommate there wouldn’t have been a better one than her anyway. If you’re not in a rush to live alone, stay where you’re at a while and save your money. Especially if you’re living bill free because P.S. it will never happen again in life.
What was your motivating factor to start The B Werd?
I grew up watching Sex and The City and wanted to be Carrie Bradshaw so bad. I watched the show so much I felt like I didn’t even need friends. Friends for what?! I had Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. The idea of Carrie’s column being so open yet relevant then turning into a book, sitting with my MacBook creatively expressing my thoughts, then running out for a coffee in $600 shoes was heavenly to me. In many ways I’ve created that for myself, except I drive everywhere and don’t have a book (yet). For as long as I can remember, people have come to me to talk, whether it be advice or to pick my brain and I appreciated that. Beyond that, I felt that I had some really valid things to share. I really do believe I was blessed with the gift of gab and my thoughts have a domino effect, causing others to think as well. And now here we are…
*I appreciate all of y’all touching base with me! As always, leave comments and questions down below OR submit them via email. Have a great weekend!
Thank you for answering my questions! This coffee talk post was my favorite so far 🙂
Anytime Brianna, thank you for submitting them! Keep ’em coming! 🙂
YOURE AMAZING.
STOP! Don’t make me blush!! Thank you for reading! Xo <3