I am always on the lookout for extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. I love showing my readers pieces of proof that anything is possible and you can live the life you want.
Today’s interview is with Victoria Sully. She is a blogger who runs three blogs! She also is a devoted wife and a mommy to her two children. Victoria is extremely passionate about finding different ways to make money online.
She makes a full-time living online as a blogger and is able to work remotely and set her own hours. Victoria is a down-to-earth mama who is on a mission to create massive financial security for her family and to travel as much as she possibly can in her lifetime!
In this interview, you’ll learn,
- what she does and how it all started;
- What a day in her life looks like;
- What it’s really like running a blog;
- What she does when she’s not working;
- Advice for starting your own blog;
- And more!
This interview is loaded with lots of valuable information to share!
Enjoy! 🙂
Tell me your story, who are you and what do you do?
I am Victoria, wife to Ben, and mum to Bella and Reuben who are currently 10 years old and 7 years old. I am a professional blogger with three money-making blogs of my own and I also co-write two more blogs with my husband.
I make money online through brand collaborations on my blogs, affiliate marketing, and social media marketing. My main blog is a personal finance and lifestyle blog at www.lyliarose.com and I also write a healthy living blog at www.healthyvix.com and a travel blog at www.travelvixta.com.
How did you start your blogging journey?
I started it by accident! I originally ran an online shop selling fashion accessories and clothes which I started in 2012. I started a blog on my eCommerce website in 2013 to try and generate more website traffic in the hope of increasing sales.
I actually loved blogging and in 2016, after three years of writing blog posts, my webshop wasn’t so profitable anymore, but I began to notice blogger income reports and realized I could be sitting on a gold mine!
Other bloggers were making some serious cash from their blogs and I wondered if I could too. I decided to pivot my website business and go all-in on the blogging front. Within six months I was making a full-time living from my blog and I’ve never looked back.
Related Content: How To Start A Blog In 15 Minutes or Less!
What things (good and bad) have you learned about running an online business?
The good is that I can work from home, I can work remotely and I can be flexible with my working hours.
The bad is there are never enough hours in the day, it’s hard to switch off and aside from weekends, I never have any days off, even when we’re on holiday!
Also, the bad is probably that most people don’t get it. They don’t understand how people can make money online and think I don’t do anything!
Opinions are changing, but there are still some that think we just magically make money without actually working! It’s actually quite insulting as building a business, even an online business, takes so much hard work and dedication… more hours than any ‘normal’ job!
Related Content: 19 Things Every Blogger Goes Through
What does an average day look like for you?
I wake up just before 7 am and check my emails. I work with companies globally, so I usually have a stack of emails to wake up to that have come in overnight from different time zones. I quickly read them all, send replies to any that are important, and update my spreadsheets with any new accounting information.
I have two primary school-aged children, so after 30-45 mins I’ll get up and dressed, clean the kitchen and walk my children to school. My husband will already be downstairs helping them make breakfast and their lunch boxes.
Sometimes I’ll run some errands right after the school run if needed, but other times I’ll head right back home to crack on with work. This is also the best time for me to work out usually with a long walk, a 5km run, or 20-30 minutes of yoga. If I don’t do it at this point, then I’ll usually get so engrossed in my work it just won’t happen for the rest of the day!
Once I’m home from the school run and whatever errands or workout I might have completed, it’s on to the laptop! Once I get fully stuck in my emails and work there’s not much that can drag me away. I usually have plenty to keep me busy all day. My husband works at home too and will usually make me lunch as I often don’t have time to stop to make any.
I’ll stop to pick my children up from school which is any time from 3:15 pm to 5 pm depending on if they have school clubs. Sometimes it’s two school runs if they finish at different times! By the time this is done (it’s a 2km round walk once or twice), it’s dinnertime and either my husband or I will make dinner whilst the other cracks on with household chores like laundry, washing up, tidying the house, kids homework, etc.
If I’m super busy then I skip all this and carry on working whilst my husband does it, but I usually wash up after dinner every night!
Once dinner is done then I’m usually back to work and my husband takes care of the bedtime routine. I tend to work until 10 pm most nights, but I’ll stop earlier if I’m particularly tired or really on top of things (a rarity!).
What is your favorite task in your business?
My favorite task is probably coming up with new ideas! New ways to increase revenue. When I have a great idea to implement I always get really excited. I guess it’s the challenge of seeing if it will work.
What is the most challenging thing for you to do with your blog?
Keeping it updated is challenging. It’s so old and big now that there are thousands of blog posts. I’d love to have the time to audit them all and properly SEO them all, but I just don’t have the time. I have to keep the new work and money coming in so that’s my focus, but I try and update a few posts each week. Basically, not having enough time to do everything I want to do is a challenge, so I have to squeeze in what I can each day and prioritize.
What does your average monthly income look like?
It fluctuates monthly, but last year (2021) my turnover was just over £73,000. (That’s $116,692.13 in Canadian dollars)!
You can read more about where this income came from in my annual income report https://www.lyliarose.com/blog/read_200252/2021-annual-blog-side-hustle-income-report-how-i-made-73341.html
If you are interested in learning how to start a blog, I highly recommend signing up for my How To Start A Blog Free Email Course! It will teach you how to start a blog the right way as well as help you make your first dollar!
What new skills have you learned in the last month?
I haven’t dedicated any time to learn any new skills such as I’m just about juggling my business, two kids, and a recent(ish) house move with relocation, but I am always learning new things with my business.
With blogging, SEO, online marketing, and running your own business, there is always so much to learn! I am constantly reading new articles and information related to my field, learning more about SEO, blogging tactics, marketing tactics, etc.
I network in groups related to my field and there is always new information and ideas being shared. So in a way, I am always improving my existing skills, rather than learning new ones.
What is your why? What motivates you to wake up in the morning and work?
Because I have to! I am the breadwinner for our household and my family depends on me to make a living. If I don’t get on with work, then I don’t get paid.
I need to make a certain amount each day to cover my mortgage, bills, and household expenses as a family of four so I am motivated to reach this goal each day, or rather I have to reach this goal each day. Luckily I am very self-motivated and a workaholic so it’s not an issue for me.
Although, even when my children are no longer dependent on me (a decade away so not anytime soon), I am certain I will still be motivated to work as I always have goals such as paying off our mortgage, saving for retirement, and pursuing travel.
Hopefully, by then I’ll take an extra day off in the week! That might be another goal – a three-day weekend instead of two days!
I actually enjoy working online and chose to do this to work for myself, so that is my motivation. I’m also very motivated to make money each day as this is my full-time job and my family’s income, so I have no choice but to be focused and productive every day.
I love to make my own money and I don’t want to be employed again, so that’s also a great motivator!
You definitely have to be motivated to work for yourself and by yourself, otherwise, you will likely fail. When you are self-employed there’s no pay unless you make the pay!
What life-changing habits have you picked up?
Since having my children and deciding I wanted to work for myself I’ve definitely come to believe in the saying, “Where there’s a will there’s a way, if not there’s an excuse”.
I’ve always been hardworking, but since working by myself this has reached a new level and I’ve found the drive and determination to succeed in making my own money that I never had before.
I really believe if you set your mind to something then you can make it happen.
What are your future plans?
To continue to grow my blogs and have my husband learn the ropes! He’s already sporadically working with me and learning, alongside doing up our new home, so once that’s complete we can both really dedicate our time to the blogs and increasing their revenue.
It will be great to have someone to bounce ideas off, share the workload, and hopefully be more efficient together as a team. After working on my own for so many years, it will be great to have a partner in crime!
Personally, we will be trying to be more financially secure by making as much money as possible to pay back our mortgage and start saving for retirement. We don’t have much of a retirement plan yet and it’s something that freaks us out, so better future financial security is one of our goals and something that motivates us with our businesses.
What are you doing when you are not working on your business?
I’m usually busy ‘mumming’ and doing all the things that come with the responsibility of being a parent. School runs (so many of them!), homework, maintaining a family house, and all the life admin that comes with parenting! I used to work a lot at weekends, but now I don’t unless it’s really pressing.
This means I can switch off from my emails and workload for two days which is amazing and concentrate on family time.
We love to explore coastal paths, beaches, and natural landscapes, take family bike rides and go kayaking and do various sea activities in the warmer months. We now live by the coast (since 2021) and have numerous beaches near us, so we are excited to explore these more on the weekends.
I love interior design and home decor, so we are also busy styling our new home and garden which takes up most of my spare time right now. Once this is complete in the next few months, we will use any spare time to explore the new county we live in and be more active.
I also love to travel and for now whilst most travel is on hold I enjoy weekends away visiting friends or exploring somewhere new.
What advice would you give someone who wants to reach the same level as you?
Don’t expect to make a full-time living right away: It can take time, even years, and you will have to put a lot of effort in at the beginning for what seems like little reward, but it’s the long game.
Network with other bloggers on Facebook and Twitter: Learn from the information they share, for free, and join groups where you can ask questions (no matter how ridiculous they might seem) as a new blogger. There are so many experienced bloggers who are in these sorts of groups who are willing to help out for free and offer advice if they have the time.
Don’t stop learning: You’ll never know everything about blogging, marketing, and SEO. The industry is always changing and there’s a lot to learn, so just keep chipping away at it and reading what you can. I’ve had a website for a decade in 2022 and I’m still learning so much every week! I’m always reading articles, watching videos, and learning what I can when I can.
Do it because you want to do it: This is the best advice. You have to do it because you are truly passionate about it and want to do it. Otherwise, you’ll lose motivation pretty quickly and give up.
Thank you so much, Victora for an amazing interview! 🙂
This interview was jam-packed with lots of great information that will be useful for bloggers just starting out, as well as a good reminder to bloggers who have been blogging for a while!
If you are interested in starting a blog, I highly recommend going over to my How To Start A Blog In 15 Minutes Tutorial. It will help you get started with your own WordPress blog.
You can also sign up for my 5-day FREE email course. This free course will teach you everything you need to know about how to start a blog the right way, all the way from the technical side to earning your first dollar online!
You never know where blogging can lead you. It’s been extremely life-changing for all the people I interview, it could be for you too! You will never know unless you try! 🙂
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