We were lucky to catch up with Katina Lockhart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

It was not an easy road earning a full time living as a creative! At first I didn’t believe anyone would pay for my services, then I didn’t what to charge so I was letting my clients quote me anything. Finally I recognized my worth, settled on a price and began charging a suitable amount. The last step was finally realized after hiring a business coach who taught me marketing but also helped me see how valuable my services truly are. Had I started working with a business coach sooner who knows where my business would be now!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a content creator since 2010, starting with my blog Blondie’s Lipstick that covered fashion, makeup, hot topics, interview who’s next in the entertainment and fashion industry and provide media coverage for events around the Middle GA and Atlanta, GA area. Around the same time of starting my blog I also was hired a at local news station and my love for media and production grew. Over the years I created a youtube channel, have been an on air personality on tv and radio, and had a podcast. I’ve always enjoyed sharing my media and social media knowledge with other but never looked at it as a potential business until I realized people would pay me for my expertise. Social media comes easy to me but I know that’s not the case for everyone, so I offer content days and social media management for busy law firms. This allows my clients to create content and build the like know and trust factor with their online community on autopilot and without overwhelm.
One of my proudest moments was when my business coach recommended my services to a friend of his. It reassured me that I was on the right path with my business idea and boosted my confidence as an entrepreneur!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew about and believed in coaching and mentorship earlier in my creative journey. For years I would struggle in silence, afraid to ask for help, but I wouldn’t have had to suffer as bad if I reached out to someone who has done the things that I’m trying to do. I looked at online coaches as scammers and frauds -which some are, but there are plenty of people who are legitimate and qualified to help you in your area of expertise.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience on social media starting out as a natural hair vlogger. Once a week I would create a video sharing a hairstyle, technique or product on my natural hair. I stood out from other women posting similar content because I have kinky, honey brown hair, and the color and texture of your hair can change the type of treatment it needs. In 2018 I locked my hair, got a regular 9-5 and stopped making hair videos -but my love of content creation never left! Three years later I started telling people I was offering digital marketing services . My advice to those building your social media presence: be yourself and take people along your journey. If TikTok has shown us anything it’s that people are craving authenticity. Also if you pivot your content/ interests/ career/ etc, take your audience along. The worst thing I could’ve done was take a three year hiatus and then pop back up doing something different. I lost a chunk of my audience due to being inactive and them not being interested in my new direction. I know I would have still lost followers by pivoting but if I took my audience along for the journey I could have kept some because they might have enjoyed me as a person enough to stick around.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://instagram.com/blondielockhart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/klockhart17
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katinalockhart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlondieLockhart
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@blondielockhart https://stan.store/blondielockhart