My Background
Hello! If you’re reading this right now, I just want to thank you for being here.
I want to share whatever I can with people along my life’s journey, just in case it adds value to others. I think that it’s important to give information about where I came from because it plays a huge role in who I am as a person. This episode will be pretty detailed, but you might find something to relate to me on. You might be here for specific business advice and not here to get to know me, and that’s ok! Maybe just skip over this blog for now :) But like I mentioned in my first blog, I want you to know and understand ME and the way I do business. So let’s get right into it.
At the time of this blog in June 2021, I am 27 years old. I currently live in Louisiana, I’m about to move to split my time between Nashville & Los Angeles… but I grew up in Texas!
What was my family dynamic like growing up?
When I was little, my parents divorced, and both remarried people that already had kids as well. So from a very young age, I had 4 parents and LOTS of siblings. I think this is important because it taught me to truly love every single person for exactly who they are. I have 9 siblings (8 step-siblings, 1 full-blooded) and NONE of them are the same - so I learned to accept and get along with pretty much anyone. My parents all got along great, but of course, no family is perfect. I was one of the youngest siblings, so I was definitely treated as the baby and learned A LOT from my older siblings at a young age. This is good because when I was being annoying, I was made very aware. I’m grateful they taught me self-awareness, confidence, and communication. I think that helped me really appreciate the art of growth and getting out of my comfort zone. Another thing that helped was sports. I was a cheerleader from the age of 4 until 18 when I became a coach instead. Up until high school, I also danced, played volleyball, and played the clarinet. I always had a boyfriend (literally starting in 4th grade) and was constantly with friends. I was super social, outgoing, and talkative FROM BIRTH. I am very introverted, but I can be outgoing because I care about people - ALL KINDS of people.
Was I super smart in school?
I started working for a lawyer at the age of 16. My parents didn’t “make” me work, but definitely encouraged me to so I could pay for things I wanted. Plus, I really wanted to make money and learn how to endure a heavy workload. I wasn’t the best student in school (I could take tests & guess at answers and get A’s, but I was the worst at paying attention or going to school). I just didn’t do well sitting in a classroom learning - it drove me crazy. I have ADHD but never knew it until college. I also didn’t really care about learning, but I knew I wanted A’s, so I did what I could. I was super charismatic so that helped when it came to getting good grades or study material from people who actually paid attention.
What did I do after high school?
Senior year in high school, I broke my foot in cheer practice. I was planning on going to college for cheer, but that shattered that plan. Looking back, I am SO grateful that happened. I didn’t know why then, but I do now. I went on to Texas A&M and studied Business Marketing & Management. I thought I wanted to be a nurse because I love helping people, but I cannot see people in physical pain, so that changed real quick. I have always had this entrepreneurial gifting in me (even from a young age), so business made the most sense, especially if I wanted that to be my undergrad for law school.
What did college look like for me?
In college, I worked a full-time job while going to school. I started as a leasing assistant at my student housing apartment complex and quickly made my way to management. I didn’t mean to, I think it was just my work ethic? It was never on purpose or something I tried, it just kinda happened. Most of my jobs were like that, honestly. I was raised not to do the bare minimum and be lazy - but instead, give the most to what you have to do. So that’s just what I knew to do.
How did you end up in Louisiana?
Like I said, I have always worked super hard. But one day I realized that I was working full-time, going to school full-time, and partying full-time. It was a lot. Around that time, it was my junior year at Texas A&M. I had just gone through another bad breakup and decided I was going to go stay with my dad/stepmom in Louisiana for the summer with my sister, Megan. Megan is 9 months younger than me and although she’s my “step” sister, she’s really not. She is my sister and best friend. At the time, Megan was living in Los Angeles (for 6 years, she’s an actress) and was going to come with me to stay with our parents in Louisiana! We were going to have a fun summer together doing acting things. I was sort of unfulfilled with where my life was, knew I needed some stability, and wanted to get into acting. It was something I had always wanted to do. So in June 2014, I packed my apartment up and moved! The first week we were in Louisiana I met with my sister’s talent agent. I was immediately signed and was getting auditions while taking some acting classes. I even booked 2 commercials pretty quickly! Since show business was red hot for us in the tv/film world, we decided to stay until December. I took my Texas A&M classes online that fall semester and found a job. I had been offered two jobs that paid HIGH, but I knew they weren’t going to make me happy. Plus, we were staying with my parents, so I didn’t have many expenses. I eventually took a job making $8.50/hour starting out - which is very low when you were previously paid $25/hour. However, it was at a fitness club 1 mile from my house so I was happy about that. I’m so grateful I decided to take that job because I learned SO much and met some amazing people that helped me with where I am today.
Wait so… a summer trip turned into a 7-year journey?
Since show business was red hot for us in the tv/film world, Megan and I both decided to stay until December. I took my Texas A&M classes online that fall semester and found a job. I had been offered two jobs that paid HIGH, but I knew they weren’t going to make me happy. Plus, we were staying with my parents, so I didn’t have many expenses. I eventually took a job making $8.50/hour starting out - which is very low when you were previously paid $25/hour. However, it was at a fitness club 1 mile from my house so I was happy about that. I’m so grateful I decided to take that job because I learned SO much and met some amazing people that helped me with where I am today.
Life in Louisiana for the first 3 years genuinely helped me more than I realized…
I ended up wanting to stay in Louisiana, so I transferred colleges and started attended Southeastern Louisiana University in the Spring of 2015. I lost a lot of credits, but I knew it was where I needed to be. I felt peace. Definitely was never part of the plan and was super inconvenient to have wasted so much time and money, but the life lessons & growth I gained is priceless. It has all been worth it.
So what was my new life like in a town where I only knew my sister & parents?
My new life consisted of:
M-F I would wakeup at 2:30am, be at the fitness club at 3:30am to do my opening duties, work the front desk until 8am, then drive 45 minutes to class from 9am-5pm. I had acting classes twice a week from 6pm-9pm, but thankfully my sister and I rode together.
Just like with the apartment complex, I quickly moved up in the business world. I got asked to work the business office desk part-time after only a few months of working there. So my schedule every single day for 8 months was:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Wakeup at 2:30am, work front desk 3:30am-8am, then work the business office 8am-5pm. Monday & Wednesday we had acting class from 6pm-9pm.
Tuesday & Thursday: Wakeup at 2:30am, work front desk 3:30am-8am, drive to class for 9:30am, and have class until 7pm.
This lasted for 8 months straight!
Again, 8 months went by and I never complained, I always showed up, I worked hard, and I was nice to people. I did what was in front of me because I felt like it’s where I needed to be!
After 8 months, I got promoted to being the executive assistant of the CEO while still in school. I absolutely loved this job and who I worked with. I got asked to also work as the manager on duty (part-time) a couple of times per week. I would even stand in for people in membership if they were busy. I basically knew how to do many things and people knew they could count on me to do an excellent job. Plus, I never had the “it’s not my job” attitude. I genuinely don’t think like that and am always willing to go the extra mile when it’s needed, except I’ve also been taught boundaries. This is something I will be sharing many times on here soon.
2016 is when my life actually started to shift…
Spring 2016 I went through another breakup and was so confused about why I didn’t feel peace about marrying the guy I was with. Basically, I was working a ton, away from all my friends, and felt pretty lost. I knew there was one Person who could help, and I knew it was God. I randomly googled churches one Sunday morning and saw one that I’d heard about from the gym, so I just showed up. I remember walking through the doors and seeing my friend from the gym! I asked if I could sit with her & her mom (it was a big church) and I felt so comfortable there. I really felt like I was home.
Of course I immediately dove into volunteering and leading groups without even guessing it!
I kept attending this church I found and felt like leading a small group in January of 2017. That same month I joined the volunteer photography team, was serving with the youth and running their social media, and absolutely loved being there to volunteer. It was something I LOVED doing for free. I even started recruiting other people to join the volunteer team with me and was able to teach people whatever skills I had to share! It brought me so much joy and life. That’s when I realized I needed to do more of this in my career. I remember one day I woke up and realized that I needed to put my notice in at my fitness gym job. I hadn’t wanted to be there for a while now because I wanted to serve/volunteer more at the church. Plus, I was living at home so didn’t have many expenses - but I still made the most of every single day while I was at work! I never slacked off or became complacent. I finally put my 2 weeks in without anything else lined up. The next day, I went to the church for youth and was sat down by someone that was on staff that I reported to. He asked me if I wanted to come on part-time doing some project management stuff at the church... I remember feeling SO overjoyed and in awe at the timing. Of course, I said yes! I didn’t care what I was going to do, I just knew I needed to be there.
This is when photography & more social media came into my life!
I started out with running the photography team & helping with some assistance things, but we all soon realized that my niche was social media. At this point, I had been running social media for 4+ years (I started in high school) and it came so naturally to me. Plus, I loved doing it! I had a lot to learn, but every single thing I learned has helped me run my business today. I quickly built up a team of volunteers, taught others how to run the youth social media so I could run the other accounts, and loved being there! Not to mention, I started dating someone that was on staff there doing videography - his name is Evan. He is now my husband :) we run Those Hendys together.
So this new part-time job that came out of NOWHERE looked like what?
Back to work… I was loving my job at the church (we’re a megachurch with multipe campuses). I was overseeing graphic designers, doing project management, art direction, social media management, and digital marketing. The thing about ministry is people wear multiple hats - which has been the best thing for me NOW because I do that in my business. Everything was going great when COVID hit. The church I worked for was a big church and I knew several people in it. I remember there were 5 people who randomly all reached out to me to help them with marketing because everything was shut down. I remember being like WHAT IS HAPPENING because it was so random and simultaneously happening individually! It was hard at first because our whole church service had to go online too, so I was working 50-80 hours/week PLUS creating websites, branding, and running social media for people - most of which I did as a favor (aka free). However, I LOVED IT. I felt so energized when doing it. I never felt like I was working 80 hours per week. I loved helping people, loved the creativity, and didn’t mind doing it for free.
That’s when I KNEW it was what I was supposed to do…
Again, I didn’t mind doing these things for free. They gave me life, joy, and I just loved it. Eventually, the people I was working with told other people about me. That’s when I realized that I should probably start charging people I don’t know for these services… although I had no idea what the going rate was or anything like that! I knew if I was going to be making income then I needed to be a legitimate business with contracts and legal things and I was like OK GOD what do I do! And I felt like it all just fell into my lap. However, I’m going to explain exactly what I did on my next blog post :)
How did I know what to do and where to start?
I remember sitting there one day in August, looking at my computer screen and realizing I had just laid a solid foundation on a thriving business without really trying. I was NOT marketing the business, I did NOT have a thought-out plan… I just simply knew it was what I needed to do! So I got it done. Right after that, Evan started talking to me about how he desired to join the military (Army Reserve) and I was so excited for him. He had been working at the church doing videography for 6 years, so I was happy he wanted to do something he loved. I encouraged him to go after HIS dreams and that I want him to be the best he can be! He eventually enlisted and we knew he was leaving in January for 4 months. This was a huge change for us, especially since he could sometimes help with the business, but change is good and being uncomfortable produces growth. In November I had a chat with my boss at work about going part-time because I really did love helping businesses with their marketing… but it was hard working 9-5 and then getting off and working on my business from 6pm-2am EVERY single night. We decided to just wait, which I was fine with. I really started struggling when I had to turn down clients. When I realized that I was having to say NO to people because of my job, I started to feel like I needed to leave. At this time, I was still able to work remote (which I realized is how I work BEST and I need to be remote always)... before Evan left in January, we said that the one thing that will decide my next step is if I can’t be remote anymore.
When did I finally go full-time in the business and quit my job?
Well the week after Evan left, I was told that I had to come back into the office. It’s really what the team needed, and I understood that. They also needed more of a leader and less of an executor, which should’ve excited me! But it didn’t. It was an honor to even get asked, and I LOVED who I worked with - they were family - but I wasn’t excited. I was anxious. I was lost. I was trying to force myself to do it, but I knew it wasn’t what was for me. Plus, it was the ONE thing that Evan and I agreed upon before he left. That’s when I knew I needed to put in my notice… that was my sign. That was the closed door I needed.
So how did I quit my job?
I left on a great note. I wrote down every single thing I could, make tutorials, and planned out the calendar to the best of my ability from February-July. When I finally left, I felt so much peace. It had nothing to do with the job itself, though. I absolutely LOVED the job, loved the people, and loved the culture there. However, I knew what I needed to do - I needed to do my business full-time.
In February 2021, I took a leap of faith and officially left. I wrote about it in a letter to Evan (he couldn’t talk to me for 4 months) and I just went to work. I mean, to this day on June 15, 2021, I still have not done marketing for my business, but I think there’s a reason for that. Things will change, but for right now, I’m happy with the way they are and the clients I have. I want to scale and hire, but that’ll come soon.
Are you still reading this? If so, you’re amazing and THANK YOU!
Ok so that was a lot - I know. I get it. However, I’m always so curious how successful people even got to where they are… what was their past like? What skills did they have? I mean, I am still just starting out, but I feel like there’s something here. Even if I just help ONE person, that’s worth every second I spend focusing on this.
I have always worked hard and chosen to do what I love and enjoy. So like I mentioned in blog post 1, please do things because you love doing them, not because you know it has proven to get someone else success. Work hard, be nice to people, have good intentions, and follow your instincts. Do things you know you need to do.
In my next blog, I will break down the steps I took to start the business the RIGHT way. Of course I made some mistakes, but I’m glad I did because now I can help you all learn NOT to do that! Talk soon :)
