Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexa Archibald. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alexa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I had been working at Facebook for seven years and was heading out my second maternity leave. I had washed all of the baby clothes and installed the car seat in the car and then I was just sitting around waiting to have my baby.

One thing about me is I hate being bored and because I was off from work and my baby ended up being late, I had a lot of time on my hands. I decided to start an Instagram account, focusing on my favorite design aesthetic – grandmillennial style. I was not really thinking at the time that it would become my full-time job eventually.

By the time my baby was born, the account had hit 5,000 followers and I quickly realized that there was absolutely something here.

I registered my LLC, bought the domain name, hired a business lawyer, found an accountant I loved and was off to the races.

By the time my maternity leave ended, I knew that I could go full-time with Charm Lane and not return to a 9-5.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I graduated college a year early and was VERY eager to just get to work. I cold emailed an HR email at Lilly Pulitzer’s corporate headquarters pitching myself as an intern. I was so excited when I got an email back and then interviewed. I starting interning full-time at Lilly HQ during what would have been my senior year of college. I absolutely fell in love with the retail industry during my internship and Lilly is truly the most fun place to work with incredible people.

I then moved to New York City to work full-time at J.Crew and Madewell’s corporate office. I actually also got that job by cold emailing my resume to the head of talent acquisition. I ended up working at J.Crew HQ for four years during such an exciting time for the brand.

Instagram was then starting to really take off and I wanted to make the transition into the tech space from retail. I applied to a job posting at Facebook, which happened to be in the same office building in New York as J.Crew’s offices. I always would watch the Facebook employees go to the elevator in the office lobby and think to myself “one day I’m going to work there”. So when I got the job offer to join Facebook full-time, it was honestly such a dream come true.

I ended up working at Facebook for seven years before taking my business full-time. I absolutely loved working there and got to travel internationally and also relocate several times with Facebook. I started in the New York office, then moved to the Chicago office, and also spent a few years in California working for them.

I had exposure to so many different roles while working there and spent my last few years there leading and managing teams which was an absolutely incredible experience.

My background in corporate fashion combined with nearly a decade in big tech and getting to live in so many different cities I think positioned me well to start my blog and business. I am so grateful for my experience because I’m truly pulling from it each and every day as I build and scale Charm Lane.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is one of my favorite topics to chat about. I grew my Instagram account over 100,000 followers in under a year which is still surreal to me. I think on any social platform it is imperative to really understand who your target audience is and consistently be making content specifically for them. Niching down and having a clear POV is key while also be authentically you and producing original, innovative content that you’re not really seeing anywhere else. I think for Instagram specifically, it provides so many great insights within the professional dashboard for business and creator accounts. I am extremely data-driven so I really focus on the content that is performing well and then analyze why it’s performing well and further lean into that.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I am incredibly grateful that I was able to take what initially started as a fun creative outlet to now a business I am running full-time. I absolutely loved my time working at Facebook, but I knew with two under two, I really would love to find something that would allow me to be more present with them.

Very early on – not even a month into starting Charm Lane – I knew that it could be a business. I’m very data-oriented and I remember about two weeks in I created a spreadsheet forecasting my business growth and in that moment I had a lightbulb go off. I knew if I kept showing up that I could 100% make it my full-time job – especially if I focused on creating a strong foundation for the brand.

For me, that meant really doubling down on the Charm Lane website, taking the time to build an email list, and focusing on creating a loyal readership for my blog as my home base first and foremost.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charmlane.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charmlane/