Of course. I would like to paint you a picture of the biggest risk I have ever taken in my life and explain why I did it.

I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer since I was in high school when I took a Practical Law course. It became my dream and something that I hoped to make a reality one day. I spent 7 years of my life post high school working towards that goal— 4 years in undergrad and 3 years of law school. I went on to graduate cum laude from law school with dual degrees, passed the bar on the first shot, and actively practiced for five years at a top tier tax firm. I had accomplished something I had worked so incredibly hard towards and as you can imagine I had a cushy paycheck, which resulted in financial security. Regardless, I decided to walk away from all of it a few months ago.

Why? I started my blog, Sugared Stilettos (@sugaredstilettos), in January of 2020 and as time went on I realized how much I innately loved what I was doing. It sparked this fire inside of me that I never knew existed. So I worked tirelessly to maintain and grow my blog on the side while I still worked full time as a tax lawyer. Every hour that I wasn’t spent working on one, I was working on the other… besides when I was sleeping of course.

Over the past two years I was able to grow my social platforms to a point where it became profitable enough to where it became possible to take that leap of faith— and with a huge law school loan that I was still paying off from putting myself through school, it was a HUGE leap of faith. Walking away from a career that I spent years building was easily the scariest decision I have ever made, but I knew my heart was leading it so I went for it. I decided it was time to take a chance on myself to pursue my own business, my own dreams.

You know that saying “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life?” I never understood it until now. I used to positively dread Mondays and now I look forward to them. It’s been such an amazing and rewarding experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m a firm believer in chasing your dreams. If something isn’t filling your cup the way it once did, it’s okay to pursue something else even when it doesn’t fit into the puzzle you were originally building. You only have one life to live and it’s so important you live it for you.

My blog is called Sugared Stilettos and it was founded on two simple premises— what to wear and where to wear it. It’s comprised of a ton of outfit inspiration, styling ideas, and my top recommendations from all my travels. I primarily use three platforms to share various types of content—my website (www.sugaredstilettos.com), Instagram, and TikTok.

I create in depth travel guides that highlight what to do, where to eat, and where to stay in various locations around the world. I try to make traveling easier for people by taking the guess work out of the planning process through my mapped out itineraries and tips. I also have highlights saved from my various trips on my Instagram so you can see everything I did firsthand.

In terms of fashion, I am definitely best known for styling bold statement pieces and all the “extra”outfits. Basically if you have a special event I’m your girl if you need help finding something unique. I also love showing how to style things in different ways and breaking down the costs of outfits. Traveling definitely goes hand in hand with a lot of location based styling inspo, so I also have you covered for what to pack on all your trips!

There are so many rewarding aspects of what I do, but these two are definitely my favorite.

First— the connections that I have made through my platforms with others in my industry and the brands that I work with have been so surreal. It’s honestly crazy to think that social media has brought some of my best friends into my life and that without it, I likely never would have met them. My platform has also opened so many doors that I am incredibly grateful for. I’ve been able to work with hotels, restaurants, airlines, and dream clothing brands that I have admired since I was a kid. Needless to say there are a lot of “pinch me” moments happening.

Second— I can’t even express how grateful I am for my followers and the relationship I have with them. I say it all the time on my page, but I truly have the best group following along with me on this crazy journey of mine. I talk to so many of them in my DMs everyday— about their lives, my life, and just random funny conversations. I also love that they put their trust in me to help style them for some of the most special moments of their lives— graduations, weddings, birthdays, vacations, etc. I get so excited when somebody DMs me asking for my help. I also absolutely love being able to inspire others to travel through my content. If I can “influence” anybody to do anything it would be to go out there and explore everything this world has to offer.

Two things— being yourself and always being honest.

There are so many influencers/creators/entrepreneurs out there, but only one of them is you. Single handedly the best thing you can do is to just be yourself. Don’t do what everybody else is doing, do what represents you. Having your own personality and owning who you are, the good and the bad, is what will set you apart.

Honesty is just as important because without it you are nothing in this industry. I want my followers to know that if I am recommending something it’s got my full stamp of approval on it. If people can’t trust what you are saying then what is the point? I can’t stress this enough, but don’t take brand deals just to make a quick profit. That “quick profit” will turn to loss even quicker because everybody you encouraged to buy it will never trust or value your opinion again. I have turned down so many paid campaigns for that exact reason. If I don’t like the product or if it’s not something that represents my brand, then the money isn’t worth it.

Stay true to yourself always and you’ll do just fine! AND NEVER GIVE UP!