Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Patchett.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started blogging/working as an influencer in February of 2019. I naturally always shared anything that interested me on social media long before influencing and it is what created that path for me and led me to where I am today. People had always said “you’d be such a good blogger, why don’t you ever start that”, but I always figured just because 2 or 3 people think what I share is interesting doesn’t mean a large following would. Without my husband’s persistence, help, and encouragement I can easily say I would have talked myself out of ever starting (we are always hardest on ourselves, right?). One day I sat down and looked up information on how to create a blog, create a domain, and how to make my blog go “live”. One random day in February I pressed publish to my first blog article and it transitioned into the content creator I am today!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wish I could say that being a content creator and influencer has brought me nothing but opportunities, friendships, and happiness, but it has been really hard! I’ve worked a full-time job in healthcare the entire time I’ve been influencer which means I have a lot less free time to create content and posts like a full-time influencers would. However, the time commitment is the least of my struggles. My biggest was realizing not everyone is going to be supportive of what you’re doing or understand it and needing to accept that it’s okay. I lost of lot of followers in the beginning that were people I knew and it felt like a slap in the face and made me feel embarrassed like what I was posting was annoying and it bothered me way more than it should have. Honestly to this day I get nervous of thinking I’m annoying or posting too many things and that my followers will hate what I’m doing. I’d like to think I’ll grow out of that, but I’m sure that will always be an obstacle. It’s hard putting yourself out there and being so vulnerable sharing so much of your life and I’m not even as open as most influencers/ content creators are with their personal lives.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work a full-time job as a Radiologic Technologist and have been doing that for almost five years now. Healthcare was always something that interested me when I was in college, but it didn’t give me the creative outlet that I needed. Ever since I started my blog which now has developed into being a content creator and influencer, I’ve given myself the opportunity to be creative and share it with others. My biggest passions in life are traveling, decorating my home (or any place I’ve lived in), and trying new restaurants, coffee shops, and bars wherever I am. I’m most proud of how long I’ve stuck with the side business and how much I’ve grown over the years. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities with big-name companies and it wouldn’t have been possible without how much heart I’ve put into this. I think what’s sets me the most apart is though I’ll follow trends I still stick and share what is true to ME and not what I know is just going to “sell” an item. I only will post things I genuinely use or love and I’m not going to just create my identity to be soley off what’s popular.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
If it’s truly something you want to do, stick to it. Even when you lose 50 followers in a matter of weeks, even if your posts aren’t doing great or being seen, even if that one friend makes fun of you for doing it just keep going. Many days I feel like what I’m doing is pointless or not valued and it’s easy to feel that way. However, I’ll get a random message asking what’s my top recommendations for a trip to Charleston for anniversary trip or bachelorette and it hits me like wow someone values and likes what I share this much to base their trip off my recommendations. Or asking where did I find my coffee table and entertainment center, because it’d be perfect for their house. It’s one of the coolest feelings in the world for someone who has no obligation to ask you those things other than they just really liked what you shared. So, at the end of the day when all those bad feelings of not being enough, doing enough, or being liked enough flood in I look back at that and it reminds me of why I keep sharing.
Contact Info:
- Email: Hloberger3@gmail
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/heatherlo_
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPduM1Kd4/
