Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Lenhart.
Emma, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started off working as a social media manager online in my senior year of high school. I was introduced to the world of social media management through an internship I had in high school and fell in love with the content creation process, etc. My friends started asking me how I was able to make money online and get clients, so I made a website (called MinimalistaMedia.com) to explain what social media management and freelancing was like.
When I moved to Chicago for school, I was introduced to the world of blogging and decided to turn my social media website into something that was more my own. I renamed/rebranded my site and made it EmmaLenhart.com. From there, I started writing about different aspects of my life (college, fashion, beauty) other than just social media management. Everything EmmaLenhart.com is today really spiraled from there!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it has not! Starting your own blog is not cost-free and I invested a decent amount of money as a college freshman into my web design, hosting, camera equipment, photographers, etc. However, I love to put out valuable content, and so I knew that if I was going to blog, I wanted it to be the real deal. I would tell others who are just starting out that it’s not as easy as Instagram may make it look: and you will hit a lot of frustrating dead ends. However, if you really love it, you can succeed and it can become something really rewarding.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into EmmaLenhart.com (or @emmaklenhart) story. Tell us more about the business.
I am really proud of how I came to be the blogger I am today. My website stemmed out of the need to help others understand how they can make their own income online, as a freelancer. While I don’t blog much about freelancing anymore, I still do make sure that the content I put out is helpful in some way and valuable. People have short attention spans nowadays and I strive to help someone out everytime they interact with me, even if they are only on my Instagram page/blog/Twitter for a few minutes.
Today, I’m moving into the video space and just launched my own YouTube channel. I’m excited to mesh my blog and video content together and get to know my audience on a more real and personal level.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think that people can sometimes see female entrepreneurs/bloggers/content creators as an occupation that is “cute” or just “fun for now.” It’s unfortunate that some people can’t see the hard work that goes into blogging. However, the industry is BOOMING, especially now that we are in a digital age. Content creators are really making waves in the world and media space, so we should be seen as legitimate. I hate that girls can feel insecure about self-promoting their side hustle/passion project. I wish we could all feel so PROUD of what we are creating because it really is awesome to be able to contribute to the world in some way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emmalenhart.com
- Email: hello@emmalenhart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/emmaklenhart
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/emmaklenhart
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/emmaklenhart
- Other: www.youtube.com/channel/UCBphYtpKAKIx0w1EOLqtKkA
Image Credit:
Nicole Jansma Photography, Cassidy Hopkins
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