We recently connected with Julie Manquen and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
I grew up in Cincinnati Ohio and knew from a very young age that I wanted to live close to a beach. My husband and I were able to make that dream come true back in 2019 when we moved to the Charleston SC area. That is when my blog, Hello South was born! I wanted to document our adventures of living in the South, my love of coastal décor, and my passion for sharing hair and skincare tips with other women.
Julie, 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 like to think Hello South Blog is a place where women can go to get helpful tips for their home, hair, and skin. I turned 50 last year and have noticed other women are struggling with aging and self-confidence just like me. I have found that too many people are scared to talk about it!
Aging isn’t easy! Loving yourself isn’t always easy! Loving others has its challenges sometimes too! I am a work in progress, and I would love for other women to come on this journey with me. We can grow together! Life is better when you have someone to lean on.
I like to say that we are aging gratefully because not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to grow older. But there isn’t any reason that can’t get a few tips along the way and look good while doing it!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of having my blog is finding out that an article that you posted helped someone. Because I think that the biggest reason most of us do this is to help other people and make an impact on someone else’s life. We all have struggles and it can be difficult at times to reach out to our friends but Google, Pinterest, or Instagram can be our best friends when searching for an answer. When someone either stumbles onto my blog or is referred and finds my content helpful it makes it all worth the time and effort that goes into it.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Running your own business can be challenging. Luckily I am a very structured person by nature, I love a schedule! It can also get lonely. Most people that have a blog or home business spend most of their time working from home and not around other people. That can work well if you are more introverted but can still be difficult at times. I suggest you look for a local community of home business owners that get together. I recently had to move to Florida for my husband’s job so I still need to follow this advice in our new area! It is great for your mental health if you can talk with others and share ideas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hellosouthblog.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliemanquen_hello_south/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloSouthblog
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-manquen-b01a1950/
- Other: https://hellosouthblog.com/lets-connect/