“My unhappiness lead me to blog, now I’m an award-winning blogger and UK Blogging Coach” – Vix Meldrew
Hi Vix, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Without further ado, let’s start this BoxHuman Business Inspire Series. Can you please tell me a little bit about you and what you’re especially known for?
We at BoxHuman are passionate about highlighting and celebrating inspiring humans; especially the ones who are inspiring, helping, and bringing light to the world. We do this to rebalance some of the negative messages we often hear, see, and receive daily. We met up quickly with one of these amazing individuals…
Hi, I’m Vix Meldrew, I’m a content creator and community cultivator! I founded Grow & Glow – a membership network for creators. My platform allows experts and I to teach our members a variety of skills to help them grow their platforms and ‘glow’ for their audiences!
A brilliant into Vix, thank you! I’m really interested can you please tell us… How, when, and why did you start blogging – What inspired you to do this?
I started blogging as a hobby when I was on a 6-week holiday break from teaching. I was unhappy in life and in a relationship and wanted an escape. I had followed so many other amazing women creating blogs, writing, sharing their lives, inspiring and entertaining their audiences and I thought – that looks like fun!
In the beginning, I wrote about really random things – the night bus, jeans, my trip to New York, etc but things really picked up when I became single and started solely blogging about dating! I began to earn more money, appear on radio and TV, and be recognised within the industry.
Now that’s very interesting! It’s inspiring to hear how you’ve turned an ‘escape method’ into something so amazing! Tell me, what’s been your life’s proudest achievement so far, and why?
My proudest work achievement has been leaving teaching to pursue this career full-time and in my first-year freelance, making enough money to live on, move house, start the business, and get married!
Then on launch day for Grow & Glow, when we first opened, we reached 150 members in 58 members – I expected 20 people to join! Since then a brilliant moment was hosting an event for members in collaboration with Pinterest. Standing side by side with such a huge platform to share training on how to use the platform for our members was such a great feeling.
Running a business can have its ups and downs…Can you please kindly tell us about any hurdles and challenges you’ve faced since starting your business? Why do you think this happened and how have you overcome this?
The biggest challenge has been spreading the word about Grow & Glow! No creator or influencer ‘needs’ a membership community, so trying to share more about the transformation our members go through as part of the community has helped. Sharing their wins has helped us show other creators that the work we’re doing will really help them and is the key to the door they so sorely need!
Thank you, Vix. As a writer myself, I am really intrigued…Can you tell us about your Grow & Glow platform and how people can benefit from joining it?
Our members receive expert training, advice, support, and empowerment through video seminars, resources, templates, online and in-person events. It’s the one-stop shop for anyone looking to grow an online platform or market their brand through content marketing, we teach it all! Moreover, the support from members and how transparent everyone is when helping each other – there’s nothing like it!
Your expertise and insight are so valuable so I think it would be good to start our BoxHuman Insight questions. Let’s start…
1) What do you think people should learn or take from your own personal story?
2) If someone was just starting out as a blogger what top 3 expert tips would you say they should know before starting?
I think my personal story shows that everything is possible. If you make space and have time and energy to give to something you’re passionate about – you can really take it to places you never knew.
Also, it’s OK to fail as long as you try! Nothing is ever smooth sailing and things don’t always happen overnight so if you hit a stumbling block, get back up, pivot, persevere and you’ll get there.
My top tips are:
1. Find your niche – there are 4547445 lifestyle blogs out there so how are you going to put your unique perspective on it?
2. Find your voice – you can write about whatever you like, it’s your space and your blog so then write it in your unique tone of voice. Don’t be dry, it’s not an essay – inject personality!
3. Join Grow & Glow – we’ve got you! (Cheeky plug insert)
WOW, Vix! Some awesome advice let’s keep the questions going…
1) What’s the hardest thing about being a blogger and business owner and why?
2) Why do you think people are inspired to sign up for your platform?
3) What advice would have helped you before you started your business?
1. For me, it’s negativity and scrutiny. I’m a very sensitive person deep down and opening yourself up online can open you up to criticism and scorn. Something I find hard to take. I would much prefer if people didn’t like my platforms for them to leave them and keep scrolling but that’s not how the world works so I need to not let it get to me as much!
2. People appreciate that we’re bringing more collaboration and transparency to an otherwise often murky and solo industry. We work with our members to solve their problems, help them make connections, and save them time by collating everything into one space.
3. I wish I knew more about finances! I spent a good year living on each invoice and it gets stressful when not everyone pays on time. I wish I had systems set up sooner!
It’s sad to say, but we’re nearly at the end of our time together. Let’s throw in another quick BoxHuman Inspire question before we say goodbye…
1) Who and what inspires you and your writing on a daily basis and why?
My world is my inspiration. Everything I write is a take on what I observe and experience. So everything I encounter and every person I meet shapes my views and opinions. I’ve also learned loads in therapy and I’m keen to share some of the bigger life epiphanies I’ve had!
I always ask, ‘What is your legacy?’ – it’s something that I think creators and bloggers don’t think as much about as they should and it also helps keep me in check. I want my legacy to be that I’m a person who wanted to help people. Whether that’s through my writing or through Grow & Glow if people leave these platforms better in any way than when they found them – that’s a good legacy!
And…2) What are your top three ‘go-to’ things you need to get you through the day and why?
Three things to get me through the day are – cuddles with my puppy Olive, I swear it’s like meditation, Diet Coke and my 90-day manifestation journal from Vibe + Flow / Chloe Slade to help me stay clear and purposeful.
Simply all I can say is one word…inspiring! Finally and to conclude this very inspiring interview…A BoxHuman is an empowered individual. They will not be defined by society’s labels. They show the better qualities of humankind, such as strength, kindness, and inspiration. Can you please tell us what makes you a BoxHuman?
In a world where we’re told to follow the ‘girl boss’ model of ‘grinding’, ‘hustling’, ‘competing’, and fitting that image, I want to show there’s another way.
You can be successful in business and online if you take things slow, empower others, share knowledge and boost one another and you don’t have to fit that traditional image of what a girl boss is – anyone can do it if they’ve got the heart, energy, and space for it.
“Thank you, Vix.”
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For more inspiring human stories check out BoxHuman Empower Stories. Want to share your story too? We’d love to hear from you, so please say hello
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