Décor & Details: couch: Pottery Barn // similar coffee table: Serena & Lily // similar green chair: Burke Décor // similar lamp: Society Social or Houzz + more similar items linked at the end of this post!

Desk Details: goal planner: Cultivate What Matters c/o // stickers: Rifle Paper Co c/o // pen: Rifle Paper Co c/o // tassel notebook: Homegoods {I don’t have a link to it, I’m sorry!} 

A Month Into My New Job…

I’m currently almost a month in of working for myself, and I feel very thankful to say that I am loving it. I feel as content as I can be, given the uncertain circumstances of right now and all of the moving pieces I have ahead. 

As soon as I shared my job change a few weeks ago, I immediately asked if you had any questions about it. I received some really good ones, which I thought I would answer in this post! Hopefully they help share more about what I’m doing now, and give some fun insight into what’s next. As always, thank you for following along with it all! xx

It seems like the timing of all this worked out! How did you decide it was the right time?

I know it probably seems like this was an effortless transition, but it literally took a year in the making to get me to the point where I would feel comfortable making the change. I worked with Alexandra, my life coach, a lot throughout the year, with this dream in mind, and she really helped to prepare me. 

Even so, in looking back I feel really lucky with how everything panned out, and I was fortunate to “ease” into this new role of blogging full time because I was part time at my job a few months before. One of my favorite accounts on Instagram, @bossbabe.inc (worth the follow!), posted the above quote by the Everything is Figureoutable author, Marie Forleo back in February. It said “the key to success is to start before you are ready” and that really hit me. You will never truly feel like you’re 1000% ready, so trusting God’s timing is ultimately what it comes down to! 

When did you realize your blog could be a full time job?

When a brand first asked me to send them my media kit back in the spring of 2013. 😊They were inquiring about my rates for a sponsored post, which I didn’t even know was a thing?! In that moment I realized that I could monetize my favorite hobby of blogging… and I’m sure I had some inkling in the back of my mind that this could become a full time career. 

As for when I realized that I could personally blog full time, it was when I first started tracking my income and expenses from the blog in 2018. That’s when I started writing down my goals for the blog each year, and that changed my mindset completely and I started running the blog like a business.

I decided to bring on an accountant, hire a digital agency, file an LLC for Amy Believes in Pink, re-design my website, and turn it from a hobby to a business. It also never hurt that I happen to date an accountant as well, who has never once turned down any of my late night Excel questions 😊.

What did you feel like you had to ‘secure’ before you made the jump?

In many ways I felt like I had to get my whole life together in order to make the jump (which is very dramatic and totally didn’t happen 😊), because more often than not I was really overwhelmed working both jobs. But, looking back, the most important things I needed to focus in on and make sure I was prioritizing was saving money, developing a business plan, and making sure that the foundation of everything I was doing was built on good values and God. 

Of course that’s all much easier to write than to do 😊, but those would be my top three steps or recommendations to you if you’re planning on leaving a corporate job and starting your own business. 

Are you just going to be focusing on ABIP?

Yes and no! I left my job to focus on blogging full time, but then realized that I might really miss influencer marketing from the brand side. So I put out some feelers for influencer marketing consulting, and it turns out that so many brands really want to be educated and guided on how to work with influencers.

So I’ve now taken on a number of consulting clients, but will only work with a select few each month (at least for now!) so I can really prioritize them and ABIP. The goal in leaving my job wasn’t to go and work two jobs again, ha! 

Are you moving to a new city?

Yes! My lease for my apartment is up at the end of May, and then I will be spending June and July at our house on Long Beach Island, NJ, as I wait for Johnny’s lease to be up 😊. Then, I will be moving to a new city in August or September! So… any tips on moving in with your significant other?! So much more to come on the move this summer!

What city will you end up in?

I won’t share where quite yet (we’re still finalizing the details and there’s a whole apartment search to be had 😊), but I can confess that we initially told all of our friends and family that we were going to be living in a different city from the one that we ultimately decided on. Then we had a major change of heart and decided on a city that we honestly never thought that we would end up living in together!

How do you think your content will change now that you’re full time blogging?

Honestly it probably won’t change a whole lot. I would probably get sick of myself if I posted to Instagram any more than I already do 😊, but I still love writing and taking photos more than ever before. Therefore, I will be sharing more blog posts than ever, so be sure to always check here first for the latest. I founded my blog on this site before I added on Instagram as an extension of it, so my blog will always be my first priority and where the bulk of my content lives. 

As for the type of posts I’ll be sharing, I’m excited about the introduction of the Beauty category on the site, and will be sharing more beauty, décor, and lifestyle updates as I move and decorate a completely new apartment! 

Where do you hope to be five years from now? Ten? Fifteen?

It’s funny, when I first read and answered this question in my head the first few things that come to mind have nothing to do with my blog or business (crazy how that happens!). In 5-15 years from now, I hope to be healthy and happily married, a mama to a few babies, and joyfully celebrating the life milestones that come with your 20s and 30s, with all of my family and friends. In the short term, I’m really excited for my best friends to get married in the next five(ish) years. I just have this feeling that I’m going to THRIVE during their Bachelorettes…?! 

As for ABIP, I hope to continue to help inspire you to live a colorful and confident life! In doing that, I’d love to surround myself with new “coworkers,” partner with a whole list of dream brands, expand my consulting business, and ultimately build this blog in huge ways that I honestly probably can’t even think of right now. I am always dreaming and scheming up future plans, and really suck at doing one thing at a time. 😊I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what’s in store, and I’m just so excited and humbled to take you along for it all! xx