I left my full-time job to be a content creator

thoughts one year later

In October 2023, I quit my corporate marketing job to pursue social media full-time. When I made this decision, most of the people in my life didn’t know about it. It was a change I made privately and quietly. I didn’t share it with a lot of my friends or dare to announce it on my platforms.

In some ways, I was afraid of judgment. Being an influencer isn’t exactly a highly-respected career. “Not a real job” some will say. And as much as I was aware of my hard work and proud of my accomplishments, for some reason I was equally embarrassed by it. I knew that certain people would never understand or respect my decision and there was nothing I could do about it. In other ways, I was afraid of failure. What if I couldn’t support myself? What if this was the worst decision I ever made? The combination of these two fears still weighs heavy on my mind to this day.

I have never known what I wanted to do with my life. When I went to college, I felt directionless. I changed my major multiple times from elementary education, to hospitality studies, to marketing, and to fashion merchandising. I never felt a strong calling to any field, even as I entered the workforce. I loved business and marketing, but I was bored by the idea of spreadsheets and presentations. I was creative, but I felt like I wasn’t creative or skilled enough to make a career out of it. I also felt there was a level of gate-keeping in the corporate creative field that I could never figure out how to overcome.

The one thing I did always know was that I wanted to work for myself. I hated having a boss and being told what to do. I felt like the corporate world was made out of job titles and manufactured urgency. The idea of 2 weeks of PTO and 5 personal days a year for the rest of my life scared me. There was a game you had to play to be successful and truthfully, I didn’t want to play it.

I often found myself working at small companies because it was the closest I could get to being an entrepreneur without actually taking on the risk. When I worked in the fashion industry I was responsible for an entire part of the company that only I touched. But this increased autonomy came many trade-offs including HR (or lack-there-of) problems, no work/life balance, and unfair wages.

I never planned for social media to turn into a full-time job. I’ve always loved sharing my life online and connecting with like-minded people around the world. Growing up in a small town, I had a hard time finding friends who shared similar interests, so I turned to emo band message boards and Livejournal for friendship. And it worked. I still have internet friends I’m in contact with to this day.

In early 2022 I started posting on TikTok. At first I talked about burnout from my job in the fashion industry and hustle culture, but later more people became interested in seeing how I decorated my home. I learned about the algorithm and hashtags and viral sounds. Simultaneously, I was running the social media team at marketing job and learning about the industry from the other side. When I onboarded major influencers I always asked how they got started and they all told me the same thing - “I just started posting.”

By October 2023, I realized I had enough contracted work lined up to support myself through the end of January. My whole adult life I was always waiting for the “right time” to take the leap and do something for myself, and at the age of 33 I realized the time was finally here.

Now it’s 365 days later and somehow I’m still holding it all together. There’s been highs and there’s been lows. If we’re being honest, I still don’t know what exactly I’m doing. I’ve had many meetings with different management agencies who tell me all of the things I “should be” doing, all the followers I should have and all of the courses I can sell to make more money. But right now I’m happy where I am at.

My goal was never to make tons of money or become a celebrity, I just want to live a life that is enjoyable and create things I am proud of. To connect with people who were similar to me and bring joy to their lives… and if that is my benchmark for success then I guess you can say I am succeeding. This job has connected me to many amazing people and for that, I am so grateful.

Like anyone else, I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t know how long I will do this or if I will succeed or if everything will blow up in my face. But for the first time in my life, I truly do feel like I’m on the right path and I am so appreciative to all of you who are on this journey with me. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.

Here’s to the next 365 days.

Love u sm!

Chelsea