Wild Women Part 2 : How to Make Money From What you Love

                                The next blog on women who have inspired me is specifically based around boss women who have turned their creative passion into their business. To me, they still come under the ‘Wild Women’ category because they’ve gone off the beaten track of ‘normal jobs’ and done what they love.

Annie Mac

My favourite thing about this woman is her dedication to and passion for dance music. She’s combined this with starting a hugely successful brand (Annie Mac Presents or AMP) from scratch. They host incredible nights and produce a compilation CD every year as well hosting a whole festival themselves! I’ve seen her DJ a few times and she is always the consummate professional – even when she’s being heckled directly in front of the DJ booth at a tiny club in Brighton. When you hear Annie talk about music and clubbing culture it’s obvious that’s she does what she does for the pure euphoria of that perfect night out when there’s an amazing sense of community and belonging, everyone has an incredible time and the vibe is electric.

Jo Malone

I was lucky enough to hear the perfume guru Jo speak at Stylist Live last October (FYI anyone who can go to Stylist Live totally should – a whole room full of inspiring ass kicking boss women – it’s amazing) and her passion for smells just leapt off the stage. She spoke about how she has synesthesia (the very rare condition where every smell is heightened) and it really occurred to me that the secret to her success was using her biggest strength and building her career around it. I think too often people try and force themselves into a career that someone else wants for them or that they have stumbled into, so Jo’s way round really inspired me.

So there we have it – a couple of butt kicking women who have developed what they truly love into hugely successful and much loved businesses.

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It's Ok Not to Feel Ok

        So I was planning for my next post to be Wild Women Part 2 (don't worry that's coming soon)– but then something happened that I wanted to talk about..

 

I had a bad day. Not a two or three things go wrong and you feel shit for 5 minutes bad day, a I didn’t want to speak to anyone, everything felt on top of me, sobbing all evening bad day. And I realised something… that it was ok, I survived. Everyone has days like that, no one is perfect, no one has an ideal life.

I was furious with myself that I let stuff get on top of me and I wasn’t doing everything ‘perfectly’. I perceived that because I’d made a mistake and then let my anxiety about that control me that I’d failed somehow. I’ve never been the best at putting things into perspective and this experience was no different. But a day is just that – a day. There’s always another day, another chance to learn from your mistakes (however annoying and or painful that might be).

I was meant to swim – I didn’t. I was meant to write – I didn’t. And that’s ok, as long as I don’t give up on those things forever and I try again tomorrow.

What I did however was soak up the massive love and support which is around me. Within minutes people who care about me deeply had listened and more importantly brought me yummy desert…

I’m very lucky - people rallied round me like troopers – and that’s for life, not just a day.

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Social Media & The Internet: The Benefits

 

                 So often we are told of the drawbacks to social media and the internet but lately I’ve found myself really seeing the benefits. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve gone looking for the nicest ways to use the internet but I certainly seem to have found them. I thought I’d share just a few ways that I’ve recently felt the benefits of the online community.

1) My foray into guest blogging. With my own blog only a few days old, I thought back to the blogs that had inspired me the most - one specifically came to mind. The blog in question was by a girl I’d know at college whose blog around depression I had read and loved! A quick Facebook message and we were in business! We’ve now guest written for each other and shared each other’s blogs - all with ease and comfort - no phone calls, emails, coffees or even extensive planning, just boom DONE!

2) Using a hash tag to find likeminded people or those who are talking about something relevant to you or something you’re interested in or struggling with - I’ve not only found others with blogs/thoughts similar to myself but also have effectively used hash tags to promote my own writing which makes it easier for other people to find my blog through instagram particularly.

3) The sheer number of people who you can reach. My blog is about a week and a half old and i’ve reached Vietnam, India, Australia and the US just to name a few - this just goes to show the areas of the world you can get your message to if you have a bit of google key word search behind you!

4) Kind of related to the above but the power of sharing on social media - by simply asking friends to share my blog link I’ve reached thousands of people that wouldn’t have seen my content otherwise

5) The women’s marches around the world in response to Donald Trumps inauguration - I wasn’t able to attend but followed the social media coverage extensively. I find it so powerful that social media was used to create the buzz around the event and to help organise where everyone would be meeting etc. It just shows the power of what can be achieved if people have a common shared message and hold the same issues at heart!

So my conclusion is – if you know where to look the internet can be a safe life affirming haven!

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Wild Women Part 1: Inspirational Female Bosses

                       Off the back of Trump’s inauguration and his views on women I felt it was important to outline some of the women who have shaped and inspired me both personally and creatively. I’m going to go in chronological order and start with those who inspired me when I was young.  

 

 

 

Jacqueline Wilson  

 I cannot overstate the importance of my favourite author growing up. My love of language, reading and writing is based on my mother and grandmother buying me each and every new Jacqueline Wilson book. My grandmother was a primary school teacher, and as soon as I was old enough she always instilled the importance of reading as widely as I could. I was obsessed with Jacqueline Wilson’s story telling and how relatable it was and how it really felt as though a friend was telling you a story - this has become a theme in my own personal style of writing and this blog.  I also met her at book signing and she was LOVELY.

 

My Mother 

 Continuing with the theme of people who shaped me when I was young, it’s only as I’ve gotten older that I’ve realised how much of an inspiration my mum was and still is to me. This can be summed up by my favourite item of clothing of my mum’s when I was growing up - a t shirt with a list of wild women, including Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Rosa Parks, Debbie Harry, and Joni Mitchell. The most inspiring part of this list, however, was that the last name read ‘AND YOU’. I’ve always remembered this and particularly tried to hold onto it when I feel low. My mum’s support, much like the memory of the t-shirt, is embedded deeply and is always constant. On a more practical level she’s inspired me by setting up her own successful therapy business, buying her own house, running self-development courses and always supporting me in everything I do.  

 

Check back on Rachelrelates next week for part 2 of this series on ass kicking women … :)

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The 10 Items That Hold the Most Sentimental Value for me and Why

                                    I thought I’d do something a little different on the blog today and just go through my most prized possessions and why they mean so much to me! I love these kinds of posts so I hope you’ll enjoy reading about a few of my treasured items!

1)      A Painting by my Grandfather

This is my prized possession – it’s a picture of some 20’s flapper girls that my grandfather painted in the 80’s and it’s beautiful! It used to be in grandmother’s flat and now it hangs in my bedroom. It reminds me of the importance of family which is an added bonus.

2)      My Fashion Book Collection

Some of these have been presents and some have been picked up at exhibitions and shows – they include Audrey Hepburn – Portrait of an Icon from the National Portrait Gallery Show, The Alexander McQueen book which accompanied the V&A exhibition and Coco Chanel The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon.

3)      My Clock

This was a present for my 22^nd birthday from a close friend and has a wonderful old fashioned feel to it as well as a Parisian theme which is always a bonus in my book..

4)      Audrey Hepburn Print

The print is of Funny Face and I picked this up in Camden market on one of my favourite summer days of 2014. It reminds me of going round the market with friends then seeing Annie Mac at Koko that evening.

5)      Box of Festival Wrist Bands

Some of my happiest memories are at music festivals. I just love the atmosphere and the feeling of mutual happiness – as well as getting to the front for my favourite artist! I first went to a music festival in Sweden when I was 18 and have had the bug ever since.

6)      My Stepmother’s Pearls

My Stepmother is a wonderful woman who I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with. She passed onto me her mother’s pearls a couple of years ago – I love them and they only come out for special occasions…

7)      Picture Collection

These range from a picture of my mum and I on my first birthday to uni days and my best friends 21^st and each and every memory is special!

8)      Star Wars figurine

This was an in joke present from my other half on our first date J

9)      Silver Bracelet

I was given a beautiful silver bracelet by a family friend who is no longer with us so needless to say this means a lot to me.

10)   Cambridge Satchel Company Bag

I’d been DYING for one of these beautiful bags for years and for my birthday a couple of years ago my parents granted my wish like the wonderful birthday fairies they are!

So there you have it.. a few of my most important items – I’d love to hear yours in the comments J

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