Houston Chronicle Sunday Style Feature
Hi, all – I hope you’re having a great week so far. It’s been an exciting week here, beginning with the Houston Chronicle doing a feature on me and the business of this website in the Sunday paper! My friend and photographer, Maritere Rice, was so kind to share on Instagram this image of the full-page spread.
I haven’t talked about it much here explicitly, but 2016 began with one huge change for me:
I “retired” from my corporate career of 17 years!
That’s right – after 17 years in engineering and finance roles in the energy industry, I took the leap of faith to focus on growing the business of Wear + Where + Well. While I’m forever grateful for the engineering, finance, and business experiences I gained in my 17-year career, it was time for a new challenge.
It’s an exciting new phase of life for me. And I love a good challenge!
As an aside, I do have an energy investing / consulting company as well, but the vast majority of my time is spent on Wear + Where + Well these days. I also continue to serve on the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering executive advisory board.
My long business background causes me to look at the fashion industry and the business of blogging quite differently.
A big thanks to the Chronicle’s fashion and beauty editor Joy Sewing for allowing me the chance to discuss both fashion and business. Make sure to read the full article here.
The Photoshoot
For this photoshoot for the Chronicle feature, I of course thought through every detail very strategically. I wanted to highlight my favorites…
- One of my favorite photographers: Maritere Rice who has become a dear and treasured friend during the last year and a half of working together. Her photography talents continue to amaze me.
- One of my favorite Houston murals : this wall painted by Los Angeles artist Risk (aka Kelly Graval) at last year’s inaugural HUE Mural Festival
- My favorite trends: one-shoulder dresses, statement earrings, fringed sandals
- Side note: mark my word – one-shoulder is the next big trend, an off-shoot of the off-the-shoulder trend that’s been so popular for several seasons
- My favorite designers: I wanted to highlight those designers who have been so supportive of me and my vision for Wear + Where + Well. So, I wore the following:
- Sachin & Babi dress and earrings
- Elena Ghisellini handbag
- Aquazzura shoes
5 Business Tips for Bloggers
On the topic of business… With all these recent interviews (Houston Chronicle, Daily Front Row, and a few others coming soon), I’ve been asked repeatedly what advice I might give to someone new to the digital style industry. While what I have learned in the past year and a half has been immeasurable, I’ve boiled it down to these top 5 tips:
- Decide whether blogging is a hobby or a business for you.
- Either option is fine. But make that determination from the onset. That will determine how you approach operating your website.
- Treat it as a business.
- Assuming blogging is a business venture for you, then treat it as a business at all times.
- That means that you must think about how all of your actions – both in-person and online – reflect upon your brand.
- Know your numbers.
- You need to know your business better than anyone else.
- Know your website statistics, know your customer demographics, know what content performs well for you, know any and all numbers pertaining to your business.
- Play the long game.
- Too many people sell out too quickly. They are willing to promote anything to earn a dollar, without much thought as to whether or not that partnership is truly in line with the long-term vision of the website.
- Don’t trade a short-term dollar for the long-term value of your brand.
- Be true to you.
- Believe in yourself, your style, and vision.
- Avoid the comparison game. Keep doing you and carve out your own niche in this world.
- Remember that you are your own best advocate.
Let me know your thoughts on the article. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have as well!
I know I say it often, but I truly mean it… Thank you for your loyal support. I appreciate every visit to this site and every comment. Wear + Where + Well would not be possible without you.
Photos by Maritere Rice
Makeup by Edward Sanchez
Congrats on the article, Carrie! Loving this look on you!
Thanks a ton, Jennifer! Xo –
Beautiful look and I absolutely love your advice! This is such a great article!
Also, I will be checking out this dress. So gorgeous!
xo Bryn
http://www.waketonroad.com
Many thanks, Bryn! I’m so glad to be getting to know you through this world of blogging. 🙂
This is such a great post Carrie,Congrats on the article you deserve it!!! I love that dress too its pretty fantastic
http://xoxobella.com
Big thanks, Bella! Love ya –
AHh!! I knew that was a Sachin & Babi dress from the moment I saw the picture!! So fun when you can pick out a designer right away hehe! Well congratulations on this article!!! And on your new step in life! I can’t wait to see all the amazing things wear where well has in store! All your work and thought process for your shoot defiantly shows! Have a wonderful day <3
Way to go, girl! You’re learning your designers. 🙂
Thanks for the words of encouragement!
Hi Carrie,
That was a great article. I think some bloggers are not as transparent as their readers would like, so your comments about stepping away from engineering and how you are intentionally making your blog business and purposeful are important. As a reader, I appreciate that.
Your look is gorgeous. Keep up the good work!
Sheri
Hi Sheri,
I really appreciate you saying that. In the spirit of transparency, I’ve toyed with the idea of sharing more about how I monetize this site. I find that many people either (1) don’t know it’s a business at all, or (2) have no specific understanding of the ways I can make money here.
Would that be of interest?
You know I appreciate your loyalty. You always have such good solid feedback for me. That’s so valuable!
Thanks!
Hi Carrie,
Ah, thanks 🙂
I think people would be interested in learning how you monetize the site. I’d also be interested in how you plan for your posts. I can imagine there is a lot of planning (travel shoots, products, etc). I can only imagine!
Sheri
Loved seeing such a fun article in the newspaper of you, Carrie. As an individual who’s going the same route (who woulda thunk it?!?!) of petroleum engineering at UT and fashion blogging, it’s hard to imagine what my future holds, but you serve as a great mentor for me – both in and out of engineering business. Thanks for serving on the executive advisory board at UT, while continuing to provide inspirational content on WWW. I’m grateful to know you. Thanks for sharing this with us!
XO,
Sarah | The Bella Insider | @sarah_thebella
Many thanks, Sarah!
You know I feel we are kindred spirits, given our unique set of similarities.
Keep learning how to think (via your engineering education), keep learning about business, and keep pursuing your passions. The rest will eventually all fall in place as it’s meant to be.
Thanks for your continuous encouragement and support, Carrie. Happy Thursday!
My pleasure! Glad to have connected.
Hi Carrie. Wonderful job by Joy Sewing capturing your business spirit and acumen! I’m enjoying seeing your blog develop and appreciate your sharing your desire to switch career tracks. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives, but it takes courage to make the change, so – well done! Love the red Aquazzura Wild things sandals. Assuming you’re aware of the lawsuit filed against Ivanka Trump for a copycat sandal. What’s your take on how far (or close?) designers should go to create their own take on popular fashion trends such as this sandal.
Hi Karen,
I’m glad you liked Joy’s feature. And thank you much for the encouraging words! It’s scary to take that leap.
Yes, I am aware of the Aquazzura / Ivanka Trump lawsuit… Edgardo Osorio of Aquazzura has become a friend of mine through the years. I admire his passion and unique eye for design. He pours so much of himself into designing truly creative, signature styles. It’s really unfortunate that multiple designers continue to knock off his unique designs. The issue is not isolated to only Ivanka Trump’s company. I am sad to see her company involved in this, as I’ve admired Ivanka’s business acumen from afar for years.
Furthermore, I’ve seen many bloggers wearing and promoting the knockoffs. I do understand that not everyone can afford Aquazzura shoes. However, there are plenty of great quality, on-trend shoes available for purchase that are not direct knock-offs of Aquazzura (or any other designer for that matter). We in the fashion industry must do our part to support original design and discourage copy-cat design.
For anyone who might read this comment and want more info on the subject, check out these articles:
http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/aquazzura-files-trademark-suit-against-ivanka-trump-and-licensee
http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/aquazzura-speaks-out-about-lawsuit-against-trump
Thanks for asking, Karen. As you can tell, I feel pretty strongly about this.
A big congrats to you, Carrie! You are so deserving of this piece — love and agree with your tips and you know I LOVE this dress! You look gorgeous!
xo, Jennifer
http://www.publicistinpearls.com
Thank you so much, Jennifer. I appreciate tremendously all your continual support.
Wow congrats!! I hope to get here someday 🙂
http://www.maggiealamode.com
Ah, thanks, Maggie. That’s so nice of you.
Congrats, Care! I had no idea. This is so exciting.
Love,
Min
We clearly need to catch up, Min. 🙂
Love ya.
It is very nice to discover your personal sense of style and your vision that is somehow different from everything we see lately! It’s colorful, fun and feminine. I love it!
Wow – that’s such a nice thing to say. Thank you, Alisee!
and I am soooo happy you decided to blog full-time so that I can keep coming here and read articles like this one :). Oh, and so that I have a travel companion of course!! <3
Love you!
xoxo Amanda
The Miller Affect, a Fashion Blog by Amanda Miller
That is the sweetest! Thank you so much, my friend.
Hi Carrie,
You have become one of my favorite fashion bloggers! I love that your looks are fun, colorful and on trend, yet unique and classic at the same time. So many bloggers out there have the same “look”. Its inspiring to know that you left your 17 year career and have embarked on a new journey and are finding success. I too left my career of 17 years earlier this year. I have thought of blogging, but have some apprehension. I’m now even more inspired to take that leap of faith. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Quicha – thank you so very much for your comment. Your kind words touched me. And best wishes as you embark on your next phase of life. It’s very exciting, albeit a bit nerve wracking. Let me know if I can ever be of help or encouragement to you.
Such a cute dress!
Adi xx
http://www.fancycorrectitude.com
Thank you, Adi!
Love this dress! So cute! The floral embroidery is perfect for summer! Those heels go perfectly! BTW great tips! =)
~Alyssa~
shesalyssarenee.com
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Thanks, Alyssa! I really appreciate that.