Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenae Bradley.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Well… where to begin? Haha! My entrepreneurial journey has taken many twists and turns over the years. The base of it, however, has always been blogging — which I actually started in 2009, back before it was the cool thing to do! During the last ten years, I’ve also tried my hand at a homemade jewelry business, scentsy, lipsense, running an online women’s clothing boutique and beachbody (shoutout to my husband for always supporting and encouraging my crazy ideas)! Those things all fizzled out for various reasons — but mainly due to the lack of direction and lack of time. For example, the clothing business was, perhaps, one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done — but with two young children (and a 3rd we’ve since added in October), it simply wasn’t feasible. I just wasn’t willing to sacrifice the type of mother I knew I wanted to be, in order to make the business succeed, so I made the decision to close it down six months later (and it had been profitable since the first run)! It was painful to give it up but I knew I’d regret not being present in my kids’ lives more than I’d regret closing the shop.
As long as I can remember though, I’ve had a desire to own my own business. I think this comes directly from my own mom, who we watched build an incredibly successful business from the ground up — and it’s one that’s still running 28 years later. She’s a brilliant businesswoman, always designing and implementing new ideas and it’s something I witnessed my entire childhood! So much so, that trying new things and throwing caution to the wind and going for it, really never scared me. I actually found that each time I “failed”, I had a better understanding of myself and my strengths and weaknesses and a better idea of what I really wanted to do! I truly believe that the reason I’ve always come back to blogging is because it holds everything I was always looking for: the ability to create, which is life-giving to me, and the ability to build a community of women who support and encourage each other!
And so, this is where I’ve landed time and time again — yes, my blog and Instagram are a source of income for our family, as I market and represent various brands but honestly, it’s become so much more than that. I have found the most incredible community through my blog and on that silly little app — women who consistently show up to offer a kind word, who rally alongside of others, moms who are also struggling and exhausted, women who are just brilliant and talented and hilarious and so, so inspiring. To be able to play a role in that, to receive the messages I do from lonely moms, struggling moms, hurting women, who somehow are made to feel less alone because of something I’ve written or shared… it’s a MASSIVE privilege. And it’s one I don’t take lightly. Connecting with these women and creating community is completely life-giving to me and it’s what I was always searching for. I’m so happy to have found it!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? What would your advice be to someone wanting to start?
It’s definitely had its ups and downs! My advice would be: don’t give up! Stay consistent. Keep showing up, day in and day out. Don’t be afraid to be transparent — the world NEEDS more people who are willing to be vulnerable and honest. And remember that people will connect more with your weaknesses than they do with your strengths, so be REAL about your struggles.
The most painful things in my life (estrangement with my dad, losing five babies to miscarriage in 2018, our rainbow baby being born this past October but nearly bleeding out due to an emergency c-section and the trauma that has come with that experience, etc.) have been the things that have connected me the most powerfully to other hurting women. Being vulnerable and open about those things has not only deepened my current friendships but it’s also created new ones from people who say, “I am SO relieved you shared your story. I thought I was the only one!” I’ve come to realize that the words, “me, too” are some of the most powerful words we can speak. To come alongside people and let them know they’re not alone in their ache or grief or joy… what a beautiful gift!
What should we know about your work? What are you most proud of? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I blog over at BrenaeBradley.com and also do a lot of social media marketing on Instagram under the same name! In the business sense, I’m incredibly proud of the brand I’ve built over the years — like I said, it does provide an income for our family but maintaining trust with my readers is, hands down, the most important thing to me! Which means that I only promote products or companies that we truly stand behind and truly love. I turn down probably 10+ proposals a week because that authenticity is everything to me. Sure, I could probably double my income by saying yes more, but then I would lose the trust I’ve worked so hard to build… and that means more to me than any paycheck. Beyond that, I’m just proud of the community of women we’ve built — I feel like it’s a little pocket of sunshine in a (sometimes) harsh online world.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I feel like women, in general, are probably undervalued in the workforce. And definitely in the online world! Overcoming the stigma that online digital marketing is not a “real job” is a struggle. I get a lot of assumptions and even snarkiness about what I do, a lot of comments about “mom bloggers”, like it’s a dirty word or something haha! So many people don’t realize the time and effort and WORK that it takes to build a brand online and to be successful at it. Pitching ideas, signing contracts, creating content, staging photos, editing said photos, posting daily, staying relevant in the industry, making contacts, etc. all take an incredible amount of work. And it pays off! I find that most people don’t take me seriously until I explain that yes, I posted one picture to Instagram and it paid our mortgage that month. That usually makes them stop in their tracks haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brenaebradley.com
- Email: brenaebradley@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/brenaebradley
Image Credit:
Moments by Melissa Watson
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