We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kim Ollerhead a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Balancing work and friendships is hard and there are many ways in which this can imply to my business. I have asked my friends and my family to follow my account and like, share and help me grow my account, however few have. I feel like I can actually connect more with “Instagram friends” than “real life” friends at times. People I speak to regularly on Instagram are often going though something similar in their lives and that is why they reach out. There is definitely a line that has to be drawn between business and friendship. In my industry there are a lot of collaborations and connections made online, and you have to make sure whoever you are referring to your following will be a good fit and not take advantage. I draw the line immediately if someone betrays my trust.

I once worked with a Mom on a few collaborations, she seemed nice enough. I tried to help her grow her account about her food. I felt comfortable enough to have playdates with our children. Then one day she posted a picture of my daughter with an inappropriate comment and I immediately stopped trusting her. She has attempted to be parts of collaborations I am involved in and I simply show my fellow businesses what she posted and she loses any credit she may have had.

Kim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a twin Mom who loves going on adventures and sharing all of my favorite things with everyone along the way. When my kids were old enough to get out into the world, I was constantly looking for things to do. I had lists of fun playgrounds, indoor places, museums, art galleries and more that I wanted to go see. I found myself reading reviews on the same blog fairly often and I reached out to that blog and asked to join them. That is how I became part of PhoenixWithKids.net. We because friends and our children are friends who always have fun on adventures with us. We have even managed to surprise our kids with meet ups as well as run into each other out of town not knowing the other would be there! I knew I wanted to share our adventures on Instagram, so I started PhoenixWithTwins in 2019 and have been sharing fun things to do with kids ever since. This platform has gone from pictures of a new playground to collaborations on much larger projects and even the ability to create content for local businesses. It has given me the opportunity to bring my kids along on adventures, which is my favorite thing.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing I can hear from anyone is that I inspired them to do something. A new Mom going out for the first time with her kids which feels so powerful as that new Mom. Or when a fellow Arizona native mentions that they never thought about going to a certain place, or doing a certain thing with their kids. Be able to support and advertise when friends start up companies. Creating just the right content for someone that brings in a new customer of guest. The ability to try out new trends and then seeing if others enjoy them is always fun. They say a refferal is the greatest compliment you can get, so when someone says “so and so told me to follow you” it puts a smile on my face.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Sometimes I wish people understood that everyone has a different creative process. There are days I can film amazing content, make a killer Reel, and write a great blog all at the same time. There are days I stare at the keyboard and can’t think of a single word to explain the adventure we went on. I have lists in my phone, on my calendar, in notebooks and all over of fun things I want to do. However if I had something planned for the day and it gets cancelled, I have absolutely no idea what to do instead, my mind goes completely blank. Sometimes people will ask me for ideas and I rattle off a long list. Other times, I can’t think of anything. Being creative can happen at 1pm while kids are at school or 1am when everyone is asleep and I get up to create something or write down my idea. I will also never be able to be creative if forced. I probably have a hundred adventures that I haven’t shared yet, and may never share because I simply don’t have time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.phoenixwithkids.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenixwithtwins/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064120059217

Image Credits
Crystal Koel of Koel Memories Photography Nichole Pach of Nichole Pach Photography