We were lucky to catch up with Yasmen Hunter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Yasmen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work for a little under a year now. It wasn’t like this from day one, it did take a while to get here.

I think one of the biggest obstacles was trying to find a starting point, I didn’t know where to look to get paid collaborations or where to get resources or support. When I first started trying to make a full-time income from content creation, I focused on building my portfolio with free collaborations and building brand relationships but when I shifted my focus more to having multiple streams of income aside from just paid collaborations with companies, and when I jumped into affiliate marketing, and UGC content creation that really propelled this into this making a full time living for me.

Social media can give us a false reality that everything is super easy and attainable but when you are an independent creator you wear many hats, you are a business owner, a social media manager, a chief marketing manager, a lifelong student, an educator, manager of operations and the list goes on and on… I wish there were a secret to instant success but I believe that everyone has to work from the bottom to get to the top. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, it’s exhausting, but it’s so worth it. I often joke that I quit my 9-5 so that I can work 24 hours a day because somedays it felt like that, but those long days paid off.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a content creator and blogger passionate about motherhood, family activities and travel, and all things lifestyle. I was blogging before I started with content creation on social media, I just enjoyed writing and reviewing and sharing our adventures through my blog it was an outlet for me, eventually, I noticed people were actually reading and enjoying what I was writing so I decided to pursue it a little more professionally and things grew from there.

I accidentally fell into content creation, I was asked to review a product and post a picture of it on my Instagram – which was just a personal page with very few followers at the time then I was asked to do more and more and things took off, I was being asked by more brands, getting more followers and more likes on my posts and then brands started paying me to post content of their products and local businesses were reaching out and inviting me to come to media events and come out to visit their museums, attractions, and restaurants.

I love to post about the Floridian lifestyle outside of the major theme parks that Orlando is known for and explore a lot of the local places and hidden gems that don’t get too much attention and I think that sets me apart from a lot of Orlando bloggers and content creators.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal was always to turn my blogging and social media creative journey into a full-time career but I was not in a rush and was working on my side hustle while working my full-time job in the legal field that all took a pivot when I had my son I decided that I was missing so much of his firsts, and I wasn’t seeing him much before and after work, so I decided it was time to turn my side hustle into my full-time job so I could stay at home with him as much as possible in his critical years so I guess you could say he is my driving force. I knew I had to make this work and even now I know I have to keep working hard so I am able to keep living the life I live and being a more present mom at home with him.

My son is 2.5 now and is actually a major part of my creative business, he loves to explore new places with me when I have to visit them to get new content and he loves to be in photos. He does get paid for his hard work in toy form from some of our favorite brands when they send them to us, so I think it worked out well for everyone :)

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is most definitely the freedom. I am my own boss, I can live on my own terms and I have the freedom to work my own hours. I have the freedom to accept work that I am passionate about, I get to work with brands I truly love. I get to travel to more places than I usually would if I were tied down to a 9-5. I have creative freedom when it comes to my blog and I am able to write freely about my passions, adventures, and experiences.

Another big reward for me is the community I have built, in my audience and also with other creators. I love to share my passions with people and I love to be supported and surrounded by like-minded and equally passionate creative people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sincerelyyasmen.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sincerelyyasmen
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sincerelyyasmen
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/sincerelyyasmen