Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Holloway.
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I officially started Sunshine and Key Lime Blog early in 2020. Before that, my blog was named Pretty Pink Passport and was intended to be a travel blog until I realized that even though I traveled multiple times a year, it wasn’t enough for content purposes. I had the idea at the beginning of 2020, before COVID-19 was readily known and the world shut down. Since I spent most of my time in Orlando anyway, I thought, why don’t I post about what I’m up to here? Sunshine and Key Lime Blog was born out of a need to showcase my creativity while simultaneously showing my friends and family what I was up to. Shortly after the brunt of COVID-19 hit the US, businesses either were closing or doing carry out only, and everything was so unknown at that point. I always had a goal of exploring Greater Orlando and showing what it had to offer, but it was delayed a little bit, understandably. In the meantime, until we figured out our “new normal,” I started posting fashion and at-home content as a way to get comfortable in front of a camera because I was incredibly camera shy! Once things started to reopen, I started to explore and post about it. It wasn’t until I finally caved into creating reel content about two years into the process that I started seeing success and account growth. In the beginning, I didn’t ultimately have an end goal in mind since I was quite literally figuring it all out and learning as I went. I surely didn’t think it was a possibility I could potentially make money off of it! I made plenty of mistakes along the way and figured out what did and did not work, which has led me to where I am today. I still work full-time while managing my account and have to also manage the projects that come with being a homeowner, but it’s still my creative escape where my family and friends can see what I’m up to (along with some new followers I’ve gained along the way).
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No one prepares you for what it takes to become a content creator. Initially, you’re footing the bill for everything, which adds up FAST and might not be something that is in the cards for those starting out. If you want to use equipment other than a phone camera, you have to keep that cost in mind as well. When you finally have content that goes viral, you also have to develop a thick skin because there are a lot of people on the internet who are not very nice, but ultimately, you have to learn that it is a reflection of them, not you. Today, those comments don’t bother me, but it took a while to learn how to be okay with it. Once you get those two factors down, it’s smooth sailing from there!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In my full-time role, I am a Director of Brand Advocacy for a local healthcare technology company. I have been in Marketing for over 6 years and love it! I specialize in organic marketing, including email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, PR, etc. I started my marketing career after working in Film/Television for several years, as that is what I went to school for. After undergoing a layoff after two years at Golf Channel and narrowly surviving a company re-org at HSN, I learned that the Florida film and television market isn’t consistent, and as much as I loved production, I wanted something that offered stability. I took a step back after a period of more inconsistent freelance work and decided that I was going to pursue marketing. I took certification courses to teach myself when I got home from my part-time retail role and volunteered for a non-profit for a year free of charge, creating social media content to build a portfolio. I even got promoted full-time in retail during this time and maintained that while still working towards my Marketing goals. I got my *official* professional start in marketing roughly a year later for a local marketing agency, took a leap of faith, and quit my full-time position at Publix, dropping back down to part-time. I was terrified because I was leaving my comfort zone, and I had imposter syndrome, but I knew I was capable of doing the job. Throughout the years, I have grown to where I am today.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My drive. If I didn’t know something, I took the time to learn and figure it out because I was determined to succeed. I’m still learning new things each day to this day! I’m currently taking new certification courses to help me in my career, and it is a goal of mine for 2025 to do at least 1 certification course a month. Just because I’m older and more established in my career now doesn’t mean those goals stop!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/sunshineandkeylimeblog
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunshineandkeylimeblog
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Sunshineandkeylimeblog
Image Credits
Lauren Holloway, @sunshineandkeylimeblog
