Monetizing a blog

I am still of the belief that I can turn this blog into a full time business. Into MY business. But it’s really freaking hard and I’m still figuring out what I’m doing when it comes to monetizing a blog.

One day I’ll write a post reflecting on how this thing became incredibly successful (hi future me linking back to this article talking about this day when I knew I could do it). Regardless, these things take time. And if you know me, patience is not a word that comes to mind easily.

Monetizing a blog is one thing, but being consistent with it is something else entirely. I truly feel like the hardest thing is getting started. It’s like the hardest part of working out is putting on your clothes and leaving your house. Funny how clothes are markers of strength and action. Especially when they’re empowered to be so. When you lace up your shoes to go to the gym you’re working with an intention that you’re going to take care of your body. When you put on an oversized blazer you are ready to be powerful and confident. The lapels, the shoulder (pads), the shape that it gives you–it’s the perfect combination that makes a blazer the perfect thing to wear. And as you know at With Mads, we believe that you can wear a blazer everyday.

The point is that clothes can help you shape your life, because they are a part of your life. Every day you put on an outfit, whether you have any intentionality behind it or not. You could spend 0.5 seconds grabbing the same sweatshirt and sweats you’ve been wearing all week, or an hour trying on different combinations of tops and pants with your favorite blazer, working to evoke a very specific emotion within yourself, and in the rooms you’re going to walk in. Whatever your choice your clothing is a representation of your inner self.

I’ve heard the sentiment that fashion isn’t a “real” or “serious” industry, that it’s frivolous and insipid. It’s odd to think that something we all particpate in, whether highly intentional or subliminally, we all are all partipants. I think it’s most beautifully stated in The Devil Wears Prada. (This is a long quote but it’s worth it, trust me.)

This… “stuff”? Oh, okay. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you.

You go to your closet and you select that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back.

But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue. It's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean.

And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner…where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.

However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs.

And it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact…you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room…from a pile of "stuff."

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There’s no point in trying to reinvent something that’s already perfect. And that passage really sums up the value of fashion, and working in fashion. This isn’t just some fun side gig to me, it’s something that I feel incredibly passionate about. What you wear impacts your mental health. And being able to tap into that myself unlocked so much confidence and joy that I hope to help other people with. Especially now being a woman who has spent half her life with weight fluctuations to now living in my postpartum body, it’s a wild ride to figure out what to wear, and how.

I’m in this groove now, writing and posting, and I’m really proud of myself. I’m interested now more than ever in being able to provide valuable content to you all, and you know, The With Mads Blog is where it’s at. Please let me know what you’re interested in chatting about in the fashion industry, or even what current challenges you’re facing when it comes to getting dressed everyday. That’s what I’m here for :).