We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauryn Hock. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauryn below.

Hi Lauryn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

A lot of people on social media are searching for more authentic content. They want a more organic feeling to the photos and videos posted. This means less staging, studio lighting, “planned” out videos, and edited to perfection content.

As a content creator working with brands, more businesses are looking to partner with influencers to make User Generated Content. These are photos and videos produced by individual creators, not posted to their own audience in a sponsored manner, but for brands to use on their feeds.

Lauryn, 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 started my blog in the middle of going to college back in 2013. After graduating Cum Laude with two Bachelor’s degrees in education, I taught special education at a low-income school for four years. During my teaching career, I continued to update my blog and social media, gaining an audience of over 80,000 followers across all channels. In my publications, I talk about travel tips, fashion hacks, and beauty tricks to make those more accessible to the everyday woman. Similarly, I also enjoy creating content for brands to use on their own media and marketing initiatives. I’ve been invited to and attended New York Fashion Week, have been featured in numerous online and print publications, created content for household brands, spoken at seminars and charity events, and appeared on segments on local news stations.

In 2019, I took a career leap, quit teaching, and pursued blogging full time. I’ve now been blogging for 9+ years; working full time as a blogger and social media expert for 4+ years. I love to brainstorm with brands, create unique content, and connect with my audience. Recently, I moved from Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah to San Diego, California with my husband and two cats.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Ultimately, the idea of working full time as a creative has received less stigma over the years. However, there are many people that still believe artists and influencers “don’t have a job” or “don’t work hard” and live easy lives.

What isn’t typically seen is the backend of a creative business. There is planning, organization, brainstorming, emailing, negotiations, contracting, legalities, and creating the content that goes into the day-to-day work. Many times, a creative is running their own business and wearing multiple hats, doing a multitude of tasks, just to stay afloat. I can’t think of one successful artist or marketing creative– and a myriad of people that haven’t found success– that doesn’t work hard on a daily basis. It’s not only a job, but a lifestyle, and it requires passion in order to devote yourself to the extreme work ethic and emotional/physical toll it takes!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Nowadays, I often tell other creators not to work for free. It’s so important to value your work and charge your worth when it comes to selling your products, services, and time! However, that doesn’t mean that every single job I take is paid. I believe that it’s crucial to build a portfolio by collaborating with local shops and small businesses. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my fellow entrepreneurs in the community that lift my business up or recommend my services to others. It’s valuable to find business owners with a similar passion that are willing to share the love, introduce you to the right people, and welcome you in– and you can only get there by doing the same for them!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lauryncakes.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lauryncakes
• Facebook: facebook.com/lauryncakes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauryn-hock/
• Other: tiktok.com/@lauryncakes pinterest.com/lauryncakes