Hot Cup of Inspiration; Candice Van Wye

It's the second installment of these entrepreneurial interviews. Each week we'll get to see another side of bloggers and creatives who have established their own businesses and gain inspiration and advice from them. 

If you missed the first installment with jewelry designer Alisha Nicole, you can check it out *here* Today I'm going to be chatting with Candice Van Wye. 

Candice is a multi-talented and multi-passionate blogger who has branched out in many different areas. Currently she runs 2 blogs and has her own businesses. -          Social Creative Studios: Blog Management, Copy+ Content Creation business -       Social Creative Styling: Personal Styling Business        

-       Brown Girl Bloggers: Collective site which showcases minority bloggers

-         Candice Van Wye; Her Personal Blog

Have you always been a 'writer?'

Yes, I've always been a writer. Even as a little girl I would write stories and read them to my little brother and my toys. I loved making up intricate backstories when I played games and I remember my brother being so angry that I took the time to write them down instead of just playing. 

When and why did you decide to start your personal blog?

I started my blog last May because I wanted to document my journey of moving after college but I didn't really start writing posts and taking it seriously until last October when I decided I would use it to launch my career as an entrepreneur. 

What was the ‘turning point’ for your blogs and your business.. when did they really start to flourish?

The turning point was when I realized I couldn't work for other people last year. That's when I got really aggressive in my approach and started taking everything seriously which then lead to more money and the ability to quit my job to write and pursue my businesses full time. 

What is the most empowering moment you've experienced through blogging?

The first time I got an email from someone saying my writing and my blogging had really touched their life. One girl was so afraid to go after her dreams and she was miserable but after reading my blog and seeing someone who looked like her go after a dream and succeed she decided to go for it. She's now very happy and she owns her own business. 

What motivates you to keep doing what you do?

The thought of using what I do to create the life I've always wanted. I know that if I put in the work now I'll be able to travel and have a totally location independent lifestyle with my husband in a few years. That dream is what keeps me motivated. I know I need to establish myself now and make enough money so that we can save and be in a good place when we're ready to live that way. 

How do you stay inspired?

By reading other blogs and talking with other women who are successful. Successful women have always motivated me. 

How do you manage 3 blogs & corresponding social media, any tips on time management?

You've got to set aside time to do everything. I map out everything - monthly, weekly and daily because little things change plans as you go along. It's all about scheduling. 

What's your advice to aspiring young writers and creatives out there?

Just do it! Don't wait for the perfect time because it will never come. Start when you think of it because if you do you'll be so much more prepared when you perfect time comes. Instead of just starting at that time you'll be in a position to take yourself to places you never imagined all because you already started, made mistakes and learned from them.

You can find Candice on twitter *here* and on Instagram * here*

How to Expand Your Blog with Twitter

Want to expand your blog's reach with social media, but just don't know how? Here are some of the things that you can do to increase your blog readership and engagement with twitter.

Twitter Chats: 

For those of you who don't know what twitter chats are they're basically a twitter based forum that is held usually once weekly under a specific hashtag. A company or person will tweet questions to the audience and then they would engage in conversation while replying all under the same hashtag. Some examples are ; #blisschat #altchat #blogtrends and #bloghour. They can be valuable in a number of ways.

• Joining in on Twitter Chats
• Helps you gain valuable information from people in the same fields as you - i.e. bloggers, small business owners.
• Gives you the opportunity to network with others with similar interests to you and build friendships over time
• When you actively participate a lot of bloggers in the chat end up checking out your twitter page and corresponding links, therefore increasing the traffic to your blog.
• Hosting Your Own Twitter Chats
• Allows you to distribute your own valuable advice to a large group of people at once.
• Helps you to build a reputation as an expert in the field that you are in.
• Is a great opportunity for interaction with your followers.
• Opens you up to sponsorship opportunities who want to take advantage of the impressions and engagement that you generate in an hour!

• Having a single business/personal twitter account :Not only is it exhausting running multiple twitter accounts along with the other forms of social media that you are on, but it can be detrimental to your blog/business to have separate accounts. For web based businesses and blogs; you are your brand. It's important that people are able to get to know who you are, especially if you want them to choose YOUR service over one that they can get elsewhere.

• Tweeting links to your posts can drive traffic to your blog, and you reach a wider audience which includes those that may not be subscribed to your email list or following you on bloglovin'. I personally read about 50% of the posts that I do because of twitter.

• Interacting with your Readership: After you've tweeted post links and people have read them, they often respond via twitter. It's important to acknowledge your readers and engage them.

• Tweeting quotes from your posts: can be a way to encourage more people to read. I for one usually don't click boring looking auto-updated links, and most of your readership won't either,

• Tweeting helpful tips, pictures, infographics and other bloggers content can also help give you a boost. People love it when you share their content! Wouldn't you?

• Your personal life matters too! We like to read what you write already, that's why we're following you, so getting an insight into your personal day to day life is cool too. I don't just want to follow for scheduled updates!

• Reaching out to one person a day: If you're not getting the results that you want from twitter, try asking for them. I've noticed since I've been reaching out to people the positive responses have just been flooding in! Whether it's co-ordinating a guest post or sponsorship or simply asking for help you should never be afraid to ask someone else for a helping hand - even if you're intimidated.

Ideally you should be spending at least an hour a day on twitter just interacting, how long do you spend on twitter for your blog/business?

How Journaling Can Make You a Better Writer

There are a ton of different kinds of journals. For a more extensive list you could read this post about Journaling options

My journal is a kind of mixture of a lot of different types of journals; it's a scripture, observe the world, personal daily log, post writing kind of thing. If compartmentalization works for you then go ahead and have a separate journal for most of those things, including writing, but I personally like to have all of the things that I've 'thought' in one place.

Types of journals that help specifically with writing:
- inspiration journals; where you keep pictures, receipts, letters, quotes etc that inspire you
- daily log; writing the basics (or more) of what you go through each day.
- writing journal; where you commit yourself to doing writing prompts etc

Whatever works for you is the key here with journaling, and also persistence. It doesn't matter how often you write ( every day every few days,once a week, etc) , as long as you keep writing.

I find that when it comes to writing, journaling can really help in 3 major ways:

• Getting in touch with your emotions, while writing and reflecting on those emotions when/if you  re-read.
• Reference for scenes in stories, where I can capture a 'stream of consciousness' type of emotion that I want to use for when another character is going through the same thing.
• Helping you get used to your voice as a writer. Sometimes when we know that content'll get posted on the web we end up writing in a voice that isn't entirely our own, intentionally or not - but in a journal that you know that no-one is going to read your voice and writing style really shines through.

I want to stress to you all that the more you write, the more you will be ABLE to write.

The key is to stop worrying about whether you're writing well, or whether you're good enough and just write. It doesn't matter if no-one reads it, or if you get horrible feed-back on it. Each minute that you spend writing is a minute you've dedicated to getting better to your craft. Persistence makes perfect.

Even the best writers cannot capture every audience; some people hate Harry Potter and some people love it, so it doesn't matter whether people like it. As long as you're writing it matters. The main reason that people don't persist in their journaling or in their writing in general is because comparatively, they feel shit. Stop comparing, and just keep going.

“Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.”

—Virginia Woolf *click to tweet*

Weekly Wishes 11/08

• Be more active on the blog Facebook page; meh. I wasn't really active on the page or social media much at all. Will improve on it this week though.
• Try cooking a new food;    while I didn't cook a new food, I did actually spend a bit more time in the kitchen than normal, especially last night which was nice. I want to get in the habit of cooking more regularly!
• Reach out to one person each day:   Aced this, and it was better than I expected. You'd be surprised the amazing things that happen when you try.

• Write down everything: I really want to commit to journaling again this week. I'm gonna create a method that works for me that's some sort of planner/journal hybrid. I really can't keep up with both, so why not simplify? 
• Dream Big; My most creative stuff comes from when I've just let my mind wander and I want to do more of that. And get it down on paper. There are some dream goals that are closer to becoming a reality and it can only get better.
• Pray; I prayed with Richard today and it was an invigorating experience. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but never approached him about and it just happened today. I definitely want to make it a part of our day every day from here on out.

Hot Cup of Inspiration; Alisha Nicole

Welcome to the first week of my new mini-series on the blog.

Cup of Inspiration will be a series of short interviews with a variety of different and professionals ; bloggers,designers & entrepreneurs! Stick around and see what inspiration and tips you can find.

Today we're sitting down with Alisha, of The Alisha Nicole. She's a the owner of a small online jewelry business and blog & branding consultant.

[ the woman behind the blog ]

Have you always been a 'creative'?

I have! As a child I was always obsessed with different crafts, sketching and writing. I was that kid who wanted a new notebook and markers instead of a Barbie. At one point I actually thought I would become a writer when I got older.

When & why did you decide to start your blog and at what point did you decide to turn into a business?

I started my blog a little over a year ago. I was in a really strange place in life and I needed somewhere to vent and share my journey as a small business owner. It wasn't until I learned about all of the different opportunities out there for bloggers that I decided to monetize it.

What was the most ‘successful’ moment you’ve experienced through blogging?  How did you get there?

 Its hard to think of just one, but I have been truly blessed to be interviewed on a few amazing websites! They all came from simply networking and building relationships with others in my field. You never know where a simple email or tweet can lead you!

Where do you find your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from everywhere! I would say that I'm mostly inspired by music and reading about how the entrepreneurs I admire made it.

What motivates you to keep doing what you do?

My mom has always been my number one supporter, so a lot of my motivation comes from wanting to one day support her like she has always supported me. Also the fear of having to work for someone else again definitely keeps me motivated!

How do you stay on top of your design & branding/consultation businesses as well as blogging and social media?

I don't sleep! No but I make sure I have everything written down. My memory is terrible so I HAVE to always keep a to-do list and calendar close to make sure I stay on top of everything. I also try my best to schedule my social media ahead of time so I'm not rushing to do it during the day.

What's you main goal for the next 5 years and how do you plan to achieve it?

My main goal is to expand! I love growth and change so I definitely plan on expanding my shop into more than just jewelry (I'm thinking small home decor and lounge wear for women). I also see myself expanding my consulting services into offering e-courses and workshops! To get there, I plan on networking a lot and getting a better understanding of what my target audience is looking for. Also by slowly introducing new products slowly into the shop.

[ some of the jewelry available right now in her etsy store ]

What advice would you give to an aspiring young woman who wishes to become successful in running an online business?

I would say to stay consistent and not to give up! Running any kind of business is hard, but if you are truly passionate about it you can't just let it go! Push through the hard times and celebrate every single success!

Creating Community on Your Blog

• Why It's Important
• It's important to create community on your blog if you really want valuable growth. What's the point in having a ton of followers that don't interact with your content? There isn't one.

• Commenting
• Actively responding to all comments on your own blog is the simplest way to develop a community. Readers will continue to comment if you continue to respond. Answering all questions and responding to feedback is important!
• While maintaining comments on your own site is important, it's equally important to comment on other's blogs. It's simple to comment on the awesome content that you already read, just make sure what you're saying is VALUABLE.

• Active Social Media Presence
• Actively Sharing Others Posts; You want people to share your content, right? Well why wouldn't you share someone else's great content?! As bloggers we appreciate all the love that we get, and often return the favor.
• Tweeting things other than blog links, allows followers to see your personality. Even if your blog is strictly professional, your readers still want to get a sense of the person that they follow. Being able to see what you're thinking and doing helps your readership to relate to you.

• Participating in Forums or Blog Chats
• SITS girls or #blogchat etc can help you gain followers, but also since you're part of a discussion you get valuable ideas, and make friendships with people in the same situations as you.

How to Improve Your Writing with Mind Maps

When I first learned about mind-mapping in school I must admit I thought it was utter rubbish. It wasn't really a great help to me and I always believed in a good list, rather than a mind map. Exams rolled around and I was blue in the face of staring at my textbooks and outline notes and I ran back in to the welcoming arms of a mind map. After exams I realized I performed my best in those subjects that I did mind-maps in due to how they let me view, analyze and retain the information, so I'm officially converted !

When you're writing they can help you in a number of ways too.

Before You Write:

• Collecting quotes, ideas and pictures in a mind map can be a good way to record a building idea that doesn't necessarily come to you in nice sequential list-able notes. 
• Word Association Maps help if you want to start from a one word prompt or a word stuck in your head. Write down that word and branch off from it and see what directions you can take from it.

 During/After Writing:


There are a few types of mind map that will be helpful to you when you write.

Type 1: Chapter Summary or Plot Outline Mind Map

 Type 2: Character Mind Map

 Type 3: Theme Mind Map

• Plot Summary Maps make it simple to see what's going on throughout all of your chapters in basic form. You can also add sub-plots
• Character Mind Maps can help when you want to get down the basics of all the characters of your story. It also helps if you add different character relationships and other tid-bits such as their emotional motivation etc.
• Theme Mind Maps allow you to take the simple recurring themes that are within your story line and expand on them. When you do a theme mind map it's possible to see all the different routes your themes may take and inspire yourself as to creating multiple endings.

How Mind Maps Help:

• Mind Maps Utilize Color; allowing your brain to compartmentalize a certain color with a certain aspect of your story or novel.
• They allow you to add to your plan in a non-sequential order, because creativity isn't always linear.
• They allow you to have a branched chain of thought, that sometimes listing does not allow you to do. Therefore you can come up with ideas you might not have been able to had you just done a list.
• The artistic like nature allows you to use both your left & right brain.

What to Use to Mind Map:

• Pen and Paper; can work just fine. Cheap and easy to do.
• Coggle.it: Free online software that creates multi-colored very customisable maps which automatically sync to your Google Drive. You also have the option to download it as an image, text file or pdf.
• Whiteboard; Very eco-friendly. Can be re-used multiple times and it is easy to wipe off. Only downside being that if you want to keep the maps for future reference then you would need to take a picture. 

Can you see yourself incorporating a mind-map into your writing process?

Weekly Wishes

• Continue to batch write. Done ! Wrote a ton of posts and content
• Finish reading Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett. Although I love how intriguing this is, I've been saving the book till bedtime to read and then it hurts my head to concentrate on it lol. Hopefully will finish this week.
• Work on side project;  Aww yeah, I feel like I made some MAJOR in-roads in to this and I've been experiencing success in it so far. Hopefully it continues.

• Be more active on the blog Facebook page; I always forget about this but I guess it's worth giving a shot.
• Try cooking a new food; I'm one of those people who can literally eat the same lunch everyday for months and not tire of it, and then all of a sudden hate the food. I really need to add some variety in to my diet 
• Reach out to one person each day: and make their day (and mine!) better

What are you planning for this week?