Fashion, Friendship + Blogging with Taryn Newton

This podcast was transcribed using Descript. Please forgive any typos or errors.

Brittany: Hi friends. Welcome to Life with Loverly. I'm your host, Brittany Sjogren. I'm excited to share my heart with you beyond the 15 seconds we get on Instagram, grab an ice coffee and let's do life together. 

Hi friends. Welcome back to today's episode of life with levelly so excited to be here today. I have my friend all the way in Texas Taren noon.

Hi Taryn. 

Taryn: Hi, thank you for having me.

Brittany: I'm so excited for you to join the podcast today. I feel like when we asked people at the end of last season, who. They wanted to hear on the podcast. You were like over and over and over. People wanted you to come on the podcast. So I'm happy that you're here with us today.

Taryn: I'm so excited that you're having me. And when you like started this podcast, I was like, please let me be on the show. Please, let me be on this show. 

Brittany: It's so crazy, but I feel like we both have so much business friendship, just conversations that you and I have in this influencer space that we could share with other people, and so I thought it would be really fun for us to chat about how we are as business owners, which we'll get into in a second. I actually just got back from Taryn's house. I went to Texas over the weekend to celebrate sweet baby girl, that's cooking or blooming as we will say. 

I know it 

Taryn: was like, I feel like don't you feel like that was so needed for our friendship? Like coming and like now I just need to come to you now. 

Brittany: You and Rick just need to come on a vacation or we need to like meet with the families somewhere. Maybe we'll just show up. When you go to Cinnamon Shore in a few weeks.

Taryn: I feel like Cashton and Hazel need to meet. 

Brittany: I know. Well, so part of our story, you guys is we met on a Red Dress influencer trip back in 2019.

Yes. We went with red dress to Rhode Island, and that was the first time you and I ever met. And I knew I was pregnant at the time with Hazel, but I was like five or six weeks pregnant. And so it wasn't like telling anybody and then turns out that Taryn was also pregnant at the same time. And didn't know yet.

Right. You didn't know? And so then Hazel and Cashton are three days apart. And so I feel like so much alike, so much alike. I don't know what it is about like that, like mid June, baby from 2020. 

Taryn: They are a different breed, for sure.

Brittany: It's funny, but I feel like that trip you and I connected so much. I loved just getting to know you. We had a lot of downtime on the trip. Like we were doing things, but sometimes influencer trips. For those of you guys who aren't familiar, sometimes it can be like a lot of photo shoots or going and doing like adventurous things. But for this one, it felt like there was also some downtime where we were able to just kind of sit and chat.

Taryn: I agree. I felt like they allowed us to kind of connect. There was still some work, but it was like, Hey, part of the trip I felt like was just us interacting. And so allowed us to like connect. And, you know, I think that we kind of grew close from just having our pregnancies. And I think after that, we stemmed from having like our different size perspectives.

And so after the trip we started doing a side-by-side of us wearing the same thing. And different sizes. And I felt like that's always helpful for people to see different size perspectives. So I love that we like when and carry that on as well. 

I know it's funny. I feel like we need to do that again.

Brittany: I feel like Nichelle took my spot and I love it. . Like I love seeing it because I think that no matter if I like the space needs to see your size, my size and Nichelle's size. So I feel like it's just a good thing to do. Well, and the crazy thing too. I am the size. I am. You are the size you are. I get messages sometimes where people say like, can you show this on a different size? And I'm like, well, I don't have a different size. I'm just my body size, but because we're showing items and kind of like being this liaison from the brand, people are like, I like, how I see it on you. Now, I want to see it on like, somebody that looks like me.

And so I feel like influencers have had to get really creative in being size inclusive, which is great. And it's been really fun, I think for you and I to be able to try on certain things or even like, when we've done selects with a brand, you've been like, well, these are things I really like, and here are things I really like, and then we cross over. So I think that's been fun.

Taryn: Because the reality is, is that while we have our communities that love following us, they're not, of course all our same shape. And I feel like it's nice when you do that here and then because I feel like it allows your community that loves you to still see different size perspectives.

I think that's always like a valuable thing. And I feel like we've never had any negative feedback. People just praise that we are doing that and just be more inclusive. 

Brittany: Totally. I mean, you know, we could do a little bump style, summer bump style. Maybe we'll have to put something like that in the works. 

Taryn: Yeah, for sure. 

Brittany: So I know my community is wanting to know a little bit more about you. Would you mind sharing some of your backstory kind of like what you did before blogging, how you got into blogging and kind of share a little bit about like the Taryn Newton brand. 

Taryn: Yeah, of course. So I actually started I'm from Michigan originally when we moved down here to Texas we're in Dallas, I just kinda felt like there was more than I wanted to do with my life. I am based in HR, so I feel like I've done every different hat you could think of with HR, and I just feel like I needed more. I was growing my family and I felt like, how can I grow Taryn? And at that time, like I was following some influencers and I was like, I could totally do this. Like, this is something that I could totally do.

And that's like back then where you're like, really like taking selfies, like of just your purse. Yeah. Barely see your face. And I was like trying to practice and I was like, I can do this. And so finally it took me forever. I wanted to like start blogging for probably six, eight months and just fear got in the way of that.

And I was like, you know what, I'm going to tell fear to have a seat. And I am going to actually go out and try to do this. And it was just Rick and I, my husband and I just going in our apartment at the time. We didn't own a home, and we were just in our apartment complex. Trying to take pictures. I'm sure people thought we were like really awkward because that's like back then when, like you would take like a bunch of different outfit pictures.

So we were like changing, cause we didn't want to, we lived on the third floor. We didn't want to go all the way upstairs. So he was like covering me and I was like changing, but that's how like Tara Newton started. I actually started with, Glamorous Versatility. That's such a long word. It was such a long word and that the hyperlink was just ridiculous, email was ridiculous. And so through the years, I've just nixed all that. And I just said, Taryn Newton. Initially, I felt like I was trying to be more in the lane of, I think what you are, which is so valuable of just fashion. And I felt like you are just a different breed of amazingness and you don't give yourself enough credit of just how valuable you are in this space of just how many looks that you can share with people in fashion, but quickly I realized all right this is not my strong suit. Right? So I took some time off. I actually took a year off. I started in 2016. I took a year off in 2017 to 18. And because I wasn't inspired, I wasn't growing. I felt like my community. I was doing nothing for them at the time. Actually. I can't even say community.

I don't feel like I was really even pouring into a community at that point. And then. And I was like, I'm just going to show my life as it is as real as it gets at that time, I had three kids and that's kind of where it started just being a little bit of everything of my life. And so now I just share my perspective.

I'm very honest. I like giving pretty blunt conversations because I feel like that is absolutely needed on this space. That's kind of where it came and then evolved where I dropped Glamorous Versatility. And I just became Taryn Newton. 

Brittany: And I feel like you still do a really good mix of like sharing outfits and, you know, cause people are always like watching your stories and listening to like your mom advice and watching the boys and looking to hear from Rick, and then they see you in cute clothes. So I feel like you still incorporate a lot of fashion. Because people will see you wearing clothes obviously on stories. So do you feel like you still get that little bit of like an outlet of like fashion that way?

Taryn: Yes, totally. I think where it differs is before I was like going out and taking pictures and stuff that was like not reflective of sharing and I think that anybody that's aspiring to be a blogger or that's currently a blogger. I feel like you're going to get really burnt out really quickly by doing something that's not true to yourself. So whenever I share fashion, now, I just make sure that it is, this me. Is this something that I'm actually wearing? Is this something that I feel like I can handle and put on with four kids?

And so that's the lens that I go now versus like trying to do what I thought everybody else was doing fashion. And now I just worry about like what looks and makes me feel the best.

Brittany: But I feel like you have also like flourished with that mindset, you know, it's so cool to see like your brand grow as you're like sticking in the lane that you know is true to you.

Taryn: Yes. I feel like I got literally nowhere when I was like, you know how, like back in the day, like, I'm sure you probably didn't, but I was doing it. I was like, okay, all right, let me screenshot this blogger. And let me try to like, see if I can like, pull this look off. And then some of it was like, great.

Everybody should get inspiration from other people. But I felt like I was never like tapping into like what makes me tick and what gives me purpose on social media. And so now I feel like I've kind of stripped that back and I've really, and that's when I flourished. Like when I met you, I think I, in 2019, I have like 50,000 followers.

And for me while follower count doesn't really matter because people can have millions and millions of followers, but if they are not having a community pouring into their community, if their community, does not engage with them, it means nothing. So I say that with a grain of salt, that I have 50,000 followers, but over the years I feel like I've just really kind of grown just based on wanting to inspire women.

And that's what has made me, I feel like proudest is that I'm growing this community. I'm adding value to their life. 

Brittany: I love that. And I feel like you can like truly see that in the people who like come to your page and who are like commenting and just the questions people trust you to help them answer.

 And I know people are going through a lot of the same things that you're sharing about. So it's super relatable. So that's exciting. I think a lot of people in my community will definitely connect with you guys over there as well. 

Taryn: That's awesome. And I love that we can like, have so many different voices here. Like I feel like there is a voice and a place for everybody on this space. Like people go to Loverly Grey for so many things, and then you are successful in your own right. And they come to me for something maybe different and I'm also successful. So it's awesome to see that you don't have to be. I don't have to be Brittany to be successful. I can be Taryn and still be successful.

Brittany: Yeah. One thing I love about our friendship is just that we are able to bounce ideas back and forth off each other. We just like ask questions like, Hey, are you seeing this? I still love that we can have those type of conversations. And sometimes it might not be related to the same thing, but I think that's one thing that's just been so cool about our friendship is there's been some like tough life changes that have happened. Business changes on my side, and I always knew like bouncing this off of Taryn is going to be like a judgment free zone. And I think everybody kind of needs that person that understands the business that they're in, but can help give honest and legit feedback. 

Taryn: I 1000% agree. I feel like we have connected just on many different levels of just like family, work and everything. And I feel like it's so crucial to like, have someone in your corner. That's first, just not a yes person. I know that I can go to you and I'm like, Brittany, don't give me fluff, like, just give it to me real.

And I appreciate that. I appreciate having people that you can trust to give you sound advice. That's not just like what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. And that has been so valuable for me. It's such a testament of just like, you have to have people in your corner and you have to, people are, are stronger together in a community than just like on an island.

Brittany: Totally. It's funny to think back over the last two and a half years that we've been friends and just everything that's happened in between. But I feel like we are stronger friends than what we were when we first started. So I don't know. Sometimes I like talk with Chris and like, it's so crazy, like who would have thought our worlds would have collided and we would have, cause you go on brand trips a lot or I have before, and I feel like I have some friends I connected with, but then not every time did I leave a brand trip with a legit, good friend that I will fly to another state for

So I have some questions from my listeners. I polled the audience and got a few questions that I figured we could kind of go over and then if there's any questions you have, or we want to spawn off of these, we can kind of go that direction. First question coming in was, do you have any tips for having a career and a big family?

Taryn: Wow. First, you cannot do it all by yourself. I think sometimes as women, we sometimes think it's like this badge of honor to like, be like, I'm cooking dinner, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. I'm running this business or I'm clocking into work and I'm doing this. And like all that leaves you, completely burnt out, unable to pour into other people. So I've had to like kind of relinquish that, that I do not get any extra points for like taking it all in and not asking for help. So I think first, like for me, like I've had to rely on my husband. I've had to have even sound counsel, like you to be able to talk things about and hear about other people's processes.

So I think for me, the crucial thing is like, teamwork is huge. Whether it's like, Hey, you hire somebody to help you, you know? Enhance your business, or even if you get a cleaning service, because you can not like I've had to like take off a little bit of extra shoes in my budget so I can afford a cleaning lady because it's like that for me is necessary.

So I think first having a large family, you have to have help. Secondly, like you have to be organized and I say that very lightly. I know that's not an easy task, but I've had to like sit down and carve out personal time where I'm just like getting my life together and getting myself together because I can be like a hot mess express real quick and it could go completely crazy.

So getting help. In any capacity, that's going to look different for everybody. And then also like definitely being organized with your life. 

Brittany: Yeah. I think organization is so important just as a small business owner too. You know? There's so many things our hands are in and for anybody who owns as an entrepreneur and owns their own business, you know, and understand that you are wearing a lot of hats.

You even were somebody that really encouraged me to get some help in different areas and just kind of like the relief that I felt from that. But I mean, you're like living proof, it is possible to own your own business and be a successful person in your career and have a big family because Taryn didn't mention this earlier, but she has four boys and has a fifth baby girl on the way.

Taryn: Definitely busy, and I think that you also have to like, really look at your life and just say like, all right, is this adding and walking in my purpose? And if it does not serve to feed into your purpose, you also have to let it go. So you also have to be able to say like this one I have to let go, or this door needs to be closed because you don't also don't want to take on too much as well. So that's like something that I kind of like learned the hard way. You got to take things out that don't serve you.

Brittany: I think too, with different seasons of life that you enter that could change the way you're doing your career a certain way. If you are really trying to be present and your kids are just at an age where they really need you, then maybe that means you have to make a few shifts, you know?

Cause it's also like big picture, like Chris and I talk about this a lot. Sometimes I feel I am go, go going and trying to like, do more. And I sometimes feel like if I don't do it now, am I going to be able to do it? But then there'll be things that I'm like, I absolutely do not want to miss this, or I want to be available every, you know, call it like Thursday to do this.

And we've just had to make that a priority. And so I've had to be okay with maybe some things going a little bit slower on the business side, which is hard to swallow at times, but sometimes you just have to do that. 

Taryn: I completely agree with you. I think that I have a teenager and in the fall we had actually in the winter time, we actually had an incident, nothing major, but it was just like something that happened. And we had to work through that. And it was like a big wake up call because I didn't know any of this stuff was happening. I just had to take a step back. And this was when we were closing out the year and I just had to tell Rick, I'm like, you know what? I have to be even more present because, you know, I am naturally like a worker bee.

I'm naturally very driven and goal oriented, but I have to make sure that in that process that I'm not losing myself. It's not at the detriment of my family. And so I had to really. For my 2022 goals kind of really pull back my business goals so that I can ultimately do what really matters because it doesn't matter how successful I am at the end of the day, if my kids are like drowning.

 Being a mother, we also have to factor that in as well. 

Brittany: Right? Yeah. It's hard at times. You know, I think it's so important to be available for our kids, especially in this world. You know what I mean? I know you have a teenager and it's just probably like, you're having to like, walk a different walk and have conversations that you're probably like, okay, here we are.

 Cameron is going to be in high school. It's so crazy. Yeah. 

Taryn: Yes. It's so crazy. And you know I want to be a hands-on mom. Transparently, and I'm sharing this openly because I feel like, you know, I know there's some other women that probably have been in the situation, but there's parts of last year where I was so busy with just like life and work that I know that I was not being as present as I needed to be. And so the thing about that is it's never too late to change, but you have to be open and honest and be able to see that. And so for me, I had to just take a step back. 

Brittany: Yeah, I totally get that. Another question that some of our followers had was around budgets. When you guys like set a budget, if there's a new couple, who's maybe wanting to start like setting some budgets or get some things going in place to be in a financially good situation. Do you have any advice on where they should start. 

Taryn: Yes. So backstory quickly, I used to be not great with finances, Rick or I, and so we had to do a lot of live and learn, and so a big part of my platform is I want to try to help shed light on that because I don't feel like, I mean, do you feel like it's talked about a ton? I don't feel like finances. Not that it should be like, you know, we're not Dave Ramsey. Right? But amongst influencers, I don't feel like it's really talked about a lot for how much we talk about sales.

Brittany: Right. And the fact that we're like, buy, buy, buy. But then it's not like, here's how you could afford this. Like, don't buy this so that you can save for that. So, yes, I agree. It's not talked about enough. 

Taryn: Well, I'm not like a financial guru by any means, and I don't ever claim to be a financial advisor. I do feel like for how much I know that I've share sales. I know that I also should share some financial literacy things or just a little bit about my experience. And so with that process, like Rick and I used to be a mess with our finances, and we got it together. It also was like a huge strain for our marriage at one point, because we were like talking completely different languages.

 I am a spender and Rick is kind of a procrastinator, but doesn't spend so all of that came to a head, and so we had to get a solution. The first thing that we had to do is first be honest with your financial situation, to be able to, you know, really change your habits. What are your pitfalls?

And then from there, we had to create our budget. And so we actually just changed our budget again, like the platform that we were using to use something that was more efficient, but I think we're using just an app called I think like Every Dollar and it just makes it really easy where you can plug everything in.

You don't need to know about it. Sometimes I think we get intimidated about making a budget, but a lot of times these apps now like literally walk you through everything where I just say, just start a budget. And I think that if you are a person that is married or with somebody or you're doing joint finances- the biggest tip that I could just say is just make sure that you guys take your defense guards down because it can get really easy where you guys are defensive and like, feeling like, well, I didn't do this or I did this and it could just make it where you guys are not really listening and communicating.

And Rick and I had to really get better about that. I just always say with your budget, just start, you'll figure it out and just make sure that you check in on it. 

Brittany: Yeah, I would say in addition to starting a budget is starting to save money. When I started working in my like first corporate job out of college, I had an account manager who was assigned to kind of be my mentor, I guess.

 She was helping me fill out all my paperwork and there was like a direct deposit form. And she was like, okay, so now I would suggest that you put $25 from every paycheck into a separate account. And she was like, as you start making more, you can start like making that number bigger if you want that.

Just start saving from like the very beginning. And that was so valuable to me because that account grew. I didn't even kind of notice it because I wasn't like looking at that account all the time, but every time I was getting a paycheck, money was going over there. And so then when Chris and I got engaged, we opened a joint account and had money from each of our paychecks going into this joint account that we kind of like, again, didn't really see, and that helped pay for some of our wedding. 

Taryn: That's awesome. 

Brittany: And then we kept it going in through marriage and it paid for us to go to Europe for our one year anniversary. That money that we had just kind of had already blocked out of our mind. And even those on a budget somewhere as like income, it was going into a separate place. I try to always tell people, just even if you can save like a small amount from every paycheck and get used to doing that, that's just gonna help you in the long run.

Taryn: Absolutely. And I think that we also have to look at our life and just be like, Hey, where can we even cut back on? If, if you aren't seeing anywhere where that's sometimes the question is like, I don't have anywhere that I can say, look at your lifestyle because I know for us we had areas that we could absolutely cut back, like I could definitely not do so many, like Starbucks runs and stuff of that nature. So I always say like, look to that because where you start saving, doesn't have to be where you end. Just get in the habit of starting to save. 

Brittany: Totally. So kind of along the same conversation around budgets, how do you keep up with trends without blowing your budget, or do you have a kind of a separate allocation that if you're like wanting to try something new that you would maybe go to, or how could you encourage somebody who, you know, has a set budget, but wants to try some new trends and maybe they need to pull some expenses out?

Taryn: Yeah. So I would say that doing a budget first, I'm just going to say like, kind of a rush on what we did. We first sat down and we pulled up looking at our bank account and like looked at our finances and then put that altogether. Then from there we sat down and we were figuring out what app is the best for us.

 I feel like if you guys need to get a new start and a fresh new way of thinking, I think, just look to yourself and just look at alright can I pull back? First, look at the categories of your life. We put our categories for everything, from like our childcare to like our restaurants and stuff of that nature.

And then I feel like, look at those areas. Then from there after we did that we looked and saw like, cause we wanted to aggressively pay down our debt and stuff of that nature we had to get side hustles. Rick was legit an Uber driver for a little bit. We had to. When we first moved to Texas, I moved to Pottery Barn to get some extra cash.

 Sometimes you have to do that. You know, it's not fun to have to dive into any type of finances or fix any type of financial issues, but I feel like sometimes it's needed. For us in that season, we had to bring some extra money to the table to really kind of help repair. So I think anything with finances, you have to be willing to change some habits, find what works for you.

Brittany: Yeah. I feel like Rick would be such a fun Uber driver. 

Taryn: Oh my gosh. So many people say that and I'm like, first I've never told them that because I don't even need him to be any more feeling himself. Another thing, that little known fact, this is so random when I first met Rick, he was like the late night radio DJ.

And I'm like, seriously. It's funny cause people's like, man, Rick has a really nice voice. They're not trying to say like in a creepy way, but they'll say that. And I'm like, oh my gosh he used to be a radio DJ, from midnight to two o'clock. And I'm like, he's just a talker. 

Brittany: I could totally see him doing that though. And like thriving.

Taryn: Oh my gosh. He's so ridiculous.

Brittany: That's so funny. Okay. Another question from the readers is what is one thing that has surprised you most about having boys?

Taryn: In a not so serious way. The amount of times that my kids use the bathroom without putting the toilet seat up and I have to clean it.

So that's just like next level. And now we just start having them clean. I'm like, I am not going to be sitting down there and having to like dodge debris. So that's like the first thing is we now even have our four year old Cyrus wiping the toilet because it's just ridiculous. I was not prepared for that.

And I was not prepared for the amount of like bodily functions that we have to talk about. Like, I am so tired of talking about poop, gas and everything like that and thinking it's hilarious. So I'm really concerned about like how a girl would fit into that conversation because it's going to be kind of bizarre.

Another thing about like being a boy, mom is I feel like boys sometimes get a bad rap of not being emotional, not being affectionate. I feel like you kind of get what you get, you know what I mean? And so I feel like with me pouring into my boys a lot and just always showing them love. I feel like they're never shy to myself, to my family, to show love.

And I think that it starts there with, you know, kind of building young men up by just showing them and telling them that they're loved. And I have been kind of even waiting for my teenager to be like, no mom, no kisses. I mean, of course I can't give him tons of kisses right in front of his friends, but he always shows me love.

 I think that it just shows that if we're showing them it's okay to love people and show affection, and boys are a lot softer in a good way than what people may think. 

Brittany: Well, even the other day, when Calvin came in from his baseball tournament, after the shower was kind of ending, and you could tell he was just like excited to be back and hug you and tell you a little bit about the game without I don't know. You could just sense that he was like, I got to tell my mom. You just got that good feeling. I feel like boys are so loving to their mama and they're just going to protect this new baby girl. I mean, I kind of feel sorry for her future boyfriends because of the army that she's going to have around her all the time. It's going to be great.

Taryn: It's going to be so bizarre outside of the fact that Cyrus wants to call her snake and he does not change that at all. So I'm like we're not going to call her baby sister, Snake. Yeah, I'll ask him, I've asked them legitimately like 10 different times. I'm like, what do you want to name baby sister? And he's like, Snake. 

Brittany: That is so funny. I wonder when that came from. 

Taryn: She will be really protected. 

Brittany: I know, I know. I can't wait to hear the name once you guys decide it. I know everybody is excited for that. I think I'm mostly just excited because I've got some ideas for gifts that I want to send her that I'd need to know her name first.

Taryn: And I mean, you can always feel free to give me any of Collin's and Hazel's wardrobe because they dress so cute. 

Brittany: Listen, I will pack you a box and send it your way. I'm writing that down. I've got a few questions left, switching gears a little bit away from family and going back into like the influencer space. What advice do you have for somebody who's trying to get started in this space right now?

Taryn: So it's a different time to start. It looks way different from when we started and in so many ways, because I feel like now what people want is real, and they want you to do Tik Tok and reels, you know, but I think that they want definitely the unfiltered.

Right. And so I think that first, don't overthink it because the people that are growing and thriving on this space now are the people that are not overthinking it. You know, it's just a different time where you can be this viral sensation and blow up in two seconds. I would say people that are trying to start now, like while there's that whole theme is like Tik TOK or going viral, I would tap into being less of a viral sensation and still figure out like, what makes you thrive?

Because ultimately, I don't want to blow up and be this huge page just on viral videos. I want to still connect. So I think first find what makes you tick, find your purpose and just get out there. I would say whenever people ask me to grow 1000%, I always say like do Tik Tok or reels, but just make sure that that's not the only way that you're trying to connect with your community.

 Also right now because there's so many people on the space, find what makes you different from other people? For me, for instance, not everybody is my size. So when I'm sharing reels, I'm going to always be highlighting the fact that I'm more of a midsize, curvy figure. So just kind of find what makes you stand out from others and then package that up, but don't overthink it. 

Brittany: Yeah, one thing I always say too, is like, figure out what you see that is missing. What could you offer that you're not already seeing that's out there. You know, for me, when I first started there wasn't really anybody sharing workwear inspiration. And so that's where I was kind of like, okay, I see a void.

I think I can help in that area. And that's what sort of made me unique at the start. But I think there is enough to go around here. Literally anybody could be an influencer, but I feel like people don't understand the amount of work that goes in to it behind the scenes. So prepare yourself for that. 

Taryn: Yeah. I feel like the biggest misconception of this business is that they think that you just snap a picture, just like show up on stories and that's it.

And there's so much stuff behind the curtain. Additionally, I feel like people will sometimes say like, hey, I need a side hustle. Cause you know, they'll come to me about like financial questions and I always want to call out to them, it took me years to make money from this. I just don't want anybody starting this for money purposes because first you're not going to be inspired, you're really not going to be connecting and you're going to be doing it for all the wrong reasons and then additionally, just like any business that you start, it's not initially gonna make you a bunch of money, you know, or ever. So I just want people to always come into this, like more than just a monetary gain.

And I always want people to know that. Another thing that I will always like people to know is make sure that you're showing up for any of the amount of people that are there. You know, sometimes we get discouraged. I know even myself and you're like, okay, you know I'm not gonna show up, but you have to keep going and you have to be consistent because your community that you're building wants to know that you're going to show up for them every day or every other day.

Brittany: Right. Consistency is key. Wherever you decide for that consistency to be, it is so important. No matter if you're trying to be an influencer or you're running an online shop of some sort, like coming up with a cadence of like posting and letting your audience know when they can find you is super valuable. It's funny, you said that about like going viral from like Tik Toks and reels and things like that and how it seems like it would be so cool, but there's actually a lot of weight that comes behind that. I was reading, I don't know if you've heard of fohr.com, but they're an influencer platform.

They share a lot of information on the influencer world, how to work with brands. If you're wanting to be an influencer, definitely check out fohr.com. I saw something on their Instagram the other day that was why you actually don't want to go viral. And the problem is, people create these videos and then one of them just so happens to take off.

 Then the people that follow you from that viral video are now expecting to see that content that you did from that video. So then people are completely changing their brands to give more of like that same content that, that one video went viral from, but then that's changing who they are and maybe they don't actually like doing that type of thing all the time.

It happened to be a one-off, but the quote unquote fame that they gained and the followers that they gained from ultimately ends in disappointment from followers. So they unfollow disappointment like on the influencer side, because then they feel like they're not enough because they're not doing what they love anymore.

 It kind of validated me because I feel like I've been very consistent like here's what I share. While I've added in like reels; it's still very heavy fashion related, not as much of like funny and silly dances and things like that, which I absolutely love to watch. But for me, I just know that's not going to be something I'm going to enjoy to produce, and sometimes I'm like, gosh, I really hope one of my reels would go viral. But if it does, then that's the same type of content people will continue to see. I just thought that like whole mindset was very interesting. Because I think people are like, oh, let's go viral. And then there's all this weight that comes behind it.

Taryn: Oh, absolutely. I feel like that kind of happened to me on Tik Tok. I don't know what I'm doing on Tik Tok, so I'm really not over there that much, but I recorded one time. It was actually just like me doing Instagram stories and then I put it together and made it to video. It was when Rick was going to be starting golfing, and him golfing is kind of a joke.

 So we were like getting all of his golf things and it went viral, and it went everywhere. Like people are still sending me that this video has like gone to different. PGA tour shared it. It just went everywhere and the problem is then I got this influx of just like men that were following like golf talk.

I feel like ever since that point, it's been really hard for me to kind of like find my footing over on Tik Tok because I just got so many males. So I think that you have to be, but of course I'm not going to just all of a sudden have all these videos of Rick golfing on my page. So you just have to really be true to yourself.

 Also with a lot of viral videos, why I love Instagram. You know, I say that because, you know, Instagram is not perfect by any means, but while I love that over Tik Tok is you have more of a community. And whenever you have like viral videos, it's a lot of people that are coming to your page that are not part of your community.

So you'll get like some messages that you don't love. So it's like you got to also have thick skin when you start having viral videos because you can get anyone that sees it and anybody that comments. That's another reason why I've kind of pulled back from doing more videos, like reels and Tik Toks with my children because it just goes to the masses where I'm getting unsolicited advice.

I'm getting more eyes on my children, and so there's a lot to think about that. So I think that over trying to want wanting to be viral, I think just really work on what you can work on and just work on being yourself and connecting with people. 

Brittany: Yeah, consistency is just, I think what it goes back to, because if you're consistent in doing what you want, even if you go viral, that's still going to be the same thing that you're sharing and what that audience can come to you for. That's all really great information, actually. 

So two more questions and they're both kind of like related to you and I, the first one is what personality traits did you see any, each other that made you connect instantly? 

Taryn: Okay. Can I go first? I would definitely say you're just a warm person and very welcoming, and I felt that. Again, I was just starting blogging when I went on that Red Dress trip and I felt like you just embraced me with arms open. I even remember getting messages over the trip that just like we're giving kudos to you of how you just seem so warm. And I feel like it's still continued. You are just so much of a inclusive and you can sit with us type vibe and I've always appreciated that.

 Then as I've gotten to know you I just feel like you're so inspiring to so many women. I think that it's just awesome that I get to be your friend and see, like this boss, mom, that can do so much. And like I learned so much from you and I feel like you're just a wealth of knowledge.

 I think that it's nothing that you feel like you need to keep yourself, which doesn't happen all the time. There's women that are out there that are so successful and can have so much to give to other women, and they choose not to because they feel threatened. They feel like if I give this information out there, it's going to take away from my shine and you're so not like that.

You're like, Hey, I want us all to shine. 

Brittany: Yeah. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. I feel like on that trip, one thing, like, I feel like what kind of like drew me to you was Taryn is so funny, you guys. You had some one liners on that trip. I will never forget when you were like. "Yeah and Cyrus needs to have several seats instead of saying sit down."

 I think I was laughing for way longer than I should have been, but then I was just kinda like, I want to get to know her more. Then as we built this relationship and I loved hearing you inspire so many women and talk about real life and your struggles that you and Rick went through early on when you guys were dating and then into like marriage and financial. You truly tapped into a market that nobody else was talking about.

And so I feel like I really commended you for having the guts to share some of that stuff. Because like we've mentioned, you put all this stuff out there and you might get negative comments. You might get people wanting to give you their unsolicited advice, but I feel like you've just kind of been like, we're not having that here.

This is what you get when you come here. That is so cool. I respect that so much. So it's made it like I want to share what I know about the industry with somebody like you, who I know is going to receive it and has genuine questions behind some of the stuff that we've talked about. So I appreciate that.

Taryn: Yeah. I try to keep it as real as possible. And I feel like even with my friends, I just want you guys to know that I'm going to give it to you real. We'll probably have some laughs you know, there would probably be some crazy moments, embarrassing moments that we just sort of laugh about in the process.

Brittany: Yeah. It's always a good time. That's for sure. Okay. Last question is I thought this was kind of interesting because so many people only see us as like who we are on the internet. So somebody was like ask Taryn if Brittany is really like this on the internet, or if she's a different person in person. So what do you think.

Taryn: I feel that you do show yourself fully and like what you see with Brittany. Like you're very much a hustler in the sense of like, you know how to work. You will know how to problem problem-solve and like put some outfits together, but I also feel like you are so like really funny and I feel like people don't always see that on the internet.

 I feel like Brittany also can give you a ton of laughs and like her conversation. I feel like your mouth kind of can get a little dicey too, that people don't really know that. And so I'm like, I'm just like waiting for that to come out one day on Instagram because Brittany gets dicey.

Brittany: I know it's so funny. One time somebody asked Nichelle what my favorite cuss word was, and she said that I drop F bombs a lot, which I do. But I don't on the internet cause sometimes I'm like, well, what if somebody's kid is watching in on stories? Then they're upset about that. I don't know.

I feel like as people get to know me a little bit more then I relax with the language.

Taryn: Oh yeah. It's like totally funny to me. Like, I'm like here's Brittany showing you like ten looks for workwear. And then like, probably in between takes it's like F bomb. 

Brittany: I know it's the behind the scenes sometimes it's kind of funny, but I just think of it as like, this is a business to me and I wouldn't want to like walk into a store where somebody was like F this F that. I don't say it that much, but you know.

She's just a lot dicier than what you probably would think, but like totally what you would see and think of Brittany is totally her, all the way, just add a little bit more flare on the back end.

 Yeah. It's a good time. Well, any last minute things before we wrap this up, anything else that you would like to share with the life with Loverly Grey community?

Taryn: I just think that one, I already said this in this conversation, but like the community that you have built has been so inspiring for so many.

The amount of work that you put in the backend to add value to people. Like not everybody in this space. I mean, you know, in this industry, not everybody does that, you know, there's some people that just show up like rolling out of bed. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And like hey here's a camera, but like, you are just so meticulous on making sure that you're adding value to people in so many different ways.

 I think that people should know that and just know that you have created a solid community that truly wants to help others. 

Brittany: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. I think Taryn will always joke with me whenever we go somewhere, she'll be like, okay, do you have your tripod? Are you about to like go bust out some outfits over there?

Taryn: Yeah, like legit. We have to say this before we wrap up, Brittany was like, we were in Utah on a brand trip. I'm laying down like surfing I think on Instagram. And Brittany had to walk by my room to go outside. Brittany has like went back and forth like three or four times carrying her little tripod. I'm still in pajamas. And she's swapping out outfits and I'm like, wait, trying to put myself together. Do you want me to go help you? She's like, no, I'm okay and taking all these outfits and it's for you guys. So you guys can get like so much added value and like you just work harder than anybody else that I know.

Brittany: It's so funny because to me, I'm like, I just love doing that and I love putting outfit ideas together. So to me, I'm just like, this is going to take me no time. I don't want to bother anybody else on these trips. Like, I'll just go pop out and, but Taryn's always like, oh, there she goes with their tripod again. 

Taryn: It's no joke. She does it for you guys.

Brittany: Well Taryn, thank you so much for joining us today. Will you tell our listeners where they can find you? And of course, we'll leave all that in the show notes as well. 

Taryn: Yeah, I appreciate you guys having me. It's just @tarynnewton and then I've simplified my website. It's just tarynnewton.com and you guys could go there to see a little bit of everything. I know that it gets crazy sometimes over here, but it's always going to be real and honest. 

Brittany: That's awesome. Well, thank you so much for being here and Life with Loverly friends. We will talk to you soon until next time.

Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate and review on the platform you listen on. It truly means the world to me, and don't forget to follow along on Instagram at life with loverly until next time.