Taylor Sterling is the Founder and Creative Director of Glitter Guide, a lifestyle website dedicated to providing inspiration and information. Before launching Glitter Guide, Taylor ran her style blog, Sterling Style, and worked full-time as a recruiting director for a financial services firm. Taylor eventually turned her blog into a full-time career. Read on to discover more about her incredible work ethic and journey!
Please share GG's story. When and why did you decide to start GG and how has it evolved since its inception? Where do you lend its success?
I loved working on my blog for three years, but I wanted to do something bigger and to create something that is more like a magazine. Glitter Guide was born from the desire to provide women with an online destination to inspire them to shine brightly. Since launching in 2011, our core beliefs and motivation are still the same. We want to help people by providing them with content that is inspiring, beautiful and fun. In the past five years, we've stepped away from more of the literal "glitter" to focus on things that make people feel happy and bright. My role is all encompassing since we're such a small team, but I'm in charge of the creative concepts, the look, and feel of the brand, helping with art direction, etc. I also handle the backend duties of running the business. GG's success has developed from a variety of things. We're a light, happy brand, so we are a great way for you to get a delightful daily boost of inspiration for free. We've stayed true to our brand over the past five years while still evolving and staying current. We also strive hard to find original content that you won't see anywhere else.
"Glitter Guide was born from the desire to provide women with an online destination to inspire them to shine brightly."
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We love keeping up with all things GG, whether it's Instagram, Twitter, or the blog. How do you keep it so fresh and exciting and how do you stay ahead when it comes to social media and content creation?
Thank you! I think the most significant factor here is that we love what we do. We love social media and beautiful imagery, so we work very hard to provide beautiful imagery for our readers all the time. I know for me, I am always on the hunt for that magical feeling—that thing that ignites inspiration and delight. Whether it's from a movie, a song, a dinner, meeting a friend, the ocean, etc., I'm always aware and looking for inspiration, so I have a lot of things to share via social media and editorially.
You and Caitlin Kruse (Director of Content & Partnerships) live in separate places - Taylor on the West Coast and Caitlin on the East Coast. How do you work together while living in different cities?
Yes! This is a pro and a con for our team. It's always been nice for us to be able to work remotely out of our homes because it allows so much flexibility. It's also ideal for Caitlin and me since we're working moms with crazy schedules. However, it's also challenging that we don't get to work together in person. We wish we could meet and get inspiration from one another and do shoots together. It would also be awesome for team bonding, but we make it work by using a lot of emails, G-chat, texts, and Trello!
Partnering with other brands is a big part of Glitter Guide. How do you choose which brands to partner with?
It's all about finding brands that we personally love and feel our readers would also love. If it's a brand we've never heard of before, we have to test it out and make sure we would endorse it even if it's not a paid partnership. I also love finding brands that understand us and give us the flexibility to be creative.
Women are the most incredible humans in the world. As a working mom, I know how it is to juggle the many hats we have to wear, and I'm always curious about how other mommies do it! With that said, how do you juggle motherhood and your demanding career?
Thank you! This is the question that all us working moms want the answer to, right? One of the biggest things for me is to be gentle with myself. I'm a workaholic and very ambitious, and now that I have two adorable kiddos, I don't always have the time to do everything I want to do! However, it's well worth it, and I love spending time with them. I want to cherish this time in their lives, but since I have to work (and I love my job!) I have to find ways to do both the best I can. I am not going to be perfect at either one; I am far from it, but I think the key is to do the best you can and not to be so hard on yourself.
"The key is to do the best you can and not be so hard on yourself."
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We all lose a little inspiration sometimes. Have you ever felt like giving up? How do you get back on your feet when you have bad days?
Absolutely! There have been a few times over the past five years where I felt SUPER overwhelmed. I felt like I was failing and there was no way I was going to be able to keep up the pace to stay successful in this industry. Especially now being a busy mom of two, I get that fear. For me, it's about balancing what I may need to cut back on with the ambition and drive I have to be successful. I mean if I give up, how would that look? Will I be happier? Do I want to go back to a 9-5? No! The answer is always NO. So I have to stay focused on what I can. I may not be able to handle all the opportunities that come my way or get as many as some of the women who aren't juggling as much, but I can promise myself to do the best I can with what I'm currently doing and continue to get better. Also, on those awful days, I often need to unplug and get out of the house. After a little break, I always feel rejuvenated.
What advice would you give to aspiring women entrepreneurs and what's the best advice you've ever gotten?
Just do it. This is the time. If you wait, it may pass you by. I would rather fail at something I wanted to do than not doing it and always wonder, "What if?". I've gotten so many inspiring advice, but the one thing that always sticks with me is to be gentle with yourself. Being a mom and an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart; it can be challenging, scary and tiring. However, they are both magical and amazing. I just have to be kind to myself and know that I can't do everything perfectly and that's ok.
