← Call Her Creator with Katelyn Rhoades
Call Her Creator with Katelyn Rhoades
170. Shoot Your Shot: How One Instagram DM Turned 250 Followers Into a Thriving Business
00:48:53
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- [00:00]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
This episode is sponsored by Shopify, Whatnot and Storyblocks. If you've ever dreamed of turning your ideas into a business, Shopify makes it so much easier. Whether you're selling products, digital downloads, or building a brand from scratch, Shopify gives you everything you need to create a beautiful online store without the tech headache. Love finding amazing deals. Whatnot is the largest live shopping marketplace in the country, where you can discover everything from collectibles and beauty products to fashion and home goods while shopping live with sellers in real time. It's interactive, fun, and full of incredible finds. And if you're creating content like I am, Storyblocks is a game changer. Instead of spending hours searching for the perfect stock footage, music or sound effects, Storyblocks gives you unlimited access to a massive library of high quality creative assets so you can create content faster and make it look incredible. Ready to check these out? Start your business with Shopify by signing up for your $1 per month trial at shopify.com CHC download the whatnot app today and get free shipping on your first order. Just search wh a t n o t whatnot in the App Store and start scoring amazing deals. And bring your creative ideas to life with storyblocks by visiting storyblocks.comchc welcome back
- [01:15]
Host - Interviewer
to another episode of Call Her Creator. Today's episode is going to be really fun. Very different. I don't typically do this, but I just was playing around on Instagram one day, I got tagged in something and then I started following this woman and I'm like, you know what? She has a really cool story. She does really cool videos. Let's have her on the podcast. There are so many of you women out there that are so scared to just hop online and do the thing and start the thing. And I think that's exactly what Dee did. She just built something from passion, which I think, I think, but I don't even know. We're gonna get into the story soon. So Dee, let's start off telling them, okay. Who you are, what you do now, and then we'll get into your story.
- [02:05]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Okay? So Cliff Notes I am D born Danielle and I am a product based business first, do me a favor. Started as custom ceramic coasters and had during COVID turned into graphic apparel and koozies and coffee mugs and all this sort of things that fall under the sublimation umbrella. And then also during COVID we were all lonely at home, right? Doing everything virtually, talking to our phones, Facetiming our friends. And I was not super active On Instagram, aside from posting like pictures, heavily filtered pictures to my stories. And then when I finally started talking face to face and having that FaceTime in stories, people were asking, you know, I was having more conversations with followers, building more trust, building a community, which then turned into recommendations and links and monetizing and creating content. And then so now we're about, you know, we're, we're a good mix of things. But I'm really passionate about the content side and the creation side for a lot of reasons. But that in a nutshell is kind of my story as far as, like online. I am married with two boys. I have a 10 year old and a 7 year old. And I think a lot of that is why I have such color and creativity in my products, because I don't have girls. So I'm dealt with a lot of like Super Mario Brothers and race cars and that side of stuff so creatively. I think that's my outlet too, to connect with so many women online.
- [03:49]
Host - Interviewer
I love that. So you started a business and then you knew that social media was needed to like, amplify the business, so you started posting about these things.
- [03:58]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I don't think I knew. I mean, I did it because it was just another way to get my pictures out there. I mean, for a long time my feed was strictly sweatshirts and pictures of my products. And I remember I had one influencer share my koozies, and she's one of my role models. I love her whole account and she's huge. But I remember telling my coworker at the time, because I was still working in corporate, and she was like, my God, I saw she shared your coasters, like, how many followers do you have now? And I was like, 250. I was like, it's so much more than my, my personal account. I was like, well, I can tell you I have more than my personal Instagram. And like, so every win has always felt big and, you know, grateful. But I think, I mean, I never knew that the end. I mean, back then in 2020, I don't think I knew at least how people were making money on Instagram.
- [04:59]
Host - Interviewer
Right? Yeah, it was so new back then. How many followers do you have now?
- [05:04]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I have 98,000.2.
- [05:08]
Host - Interviewer
Okay, so we're almost at the 100k.
- [05:11]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yes. I think when you get that close, you start really looking at the, the decimals and tracking and waiting for it to switch over.
- [05:19]
Host - Interviewer
Oh, you do, you do. For sure, for sure.
- [05:21]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
Our.
- [05:22]
Host - Interviewer
Our agency account hit 13,000 followers last week. And then today I Saw it was at 13.2, and I'm like, okay, girls, let's keep going. So.
- [05:30]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Which is nice.
- [05:31]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah, Yeah, I think. I think, you know, that milestone of 10k is really exciting, which is so funny.
- [05:40]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
You just posted that a few weeks ago, right. Or a week ago, and now you're already at 13.
- [05:44]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. So what's funny is I think that used to be like, oh, you got to get 10k so you can get the swipe up and people can link. But now, you know, anybody with you can have 500 followers and still do this, the swipe up in the link and make money. So. And we'll get into that too. So tell us, what was your corporate job before you. And did you leave the corporate job? Are you still there?
- [06:07]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
No, I. I had a lot of jobs, but mostly in hospitality and restaurant administration. I always wanted to be a chef or a restaurant owner or a special events planner. Like, the idea always changed. It was always entrepreneurial. Luckily, it always stayed within my major, so I never had to change. But once I had my first kid in 2015, I knew working nights and weekends at restaurants was not what I wanted. And so I jumped into financial firm and I started an entry level, and I was there seven years and was ready to leave for a lot of reasons when I did. So it was the right time.
- [06:51]
Host - Interviewer
I also had my first kid in 2015, and I also was working in the hospitality industry. I was their priority manager.
- [07:00]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah.
- [07:00]
Host - Interviewer
And they're like, oh, just so you know, when you work for hotels, you know, you don't get Thanksgiving off, you don't get Christmas off. And I was like, this is not gonna work for me. So I ended up switching, obviously, but I kind of. I. I did love the hospitality field, but there, it's.
- [07:17]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
It's.
- [07:18]
Host - Interviewer
It's. It's a hard one to be in for the work life balance, that's for sure. Um, okay, so we start posting on Instagram. Someone share. Are you gonna tell us who shared your. Your Koozies, or is it.
- [07:31]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah. Loverly Gray.
- [07:34]
Host - Interviewer
Oh, my God. I have so many friends that love following her.
- [07:38]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I love her. I just think she's done her business so professionally, and she's. She's one of the people that I think has stayed really on brand, where I think it makes sense, obviously, someone that size. But yeah, she shared my custom coasters. And then I sent her a shirt and she shared it on ltk. And I was like, oh, my God, my shirt is on ltk. Like, that was when you had to swipe up and LTK was like, the only place to be. And I was on vacation with family, and I. My Etsy was just like, over and over, and I was like, okay, this is a good feeling. I want to, like, keep doing that. And so I shot my shot to a lot of DMs and inboxes for a long time. I had no shame in being ignored or being told no or being told yes and having it not work out or being told yes and having it be a great thing for my business. So I like to try to do that now.
- [08:32]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
Do you.
- [08:33]
Host - Interviewer
You have to shoot your shot. And I'm trying to really into the confidence reps, too. Like, you have to put them in, and you have to be okay with being told no, because we. You. If you don't get told no, you're probably never going to get told yes
- [08:45]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
because you're probably not trying.
- [08:47]
Host - Interviewer
Now. When you first reached. When she first shared your product, had you kind of reached out to her first and said, hey, I've got these coasters, or did she find you? How did she find you?
- [08:58]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
No, I reached out. I think we had. I had opened the door in DMS by replying to, you know, a story or something back then. I mean, I think when she shared it, she had like 2 or 300,000 followers. Okay. And I just was really honest and I said, I love, you know, watching your account and your family. And I, I. I think I showed her a picture of them already done. And I was like, I created these that has Birdie your dog on it and, you know, your wedding day and all this stuff. I'm like, can I send them to you? And she was like, oh, my God, yes. Like, here's. Here's my, you know, my address. And then I kept sending stuff. And then she never, you know, she was like, all right, girl. Like, chill.
- [09:40]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've. I've made some really nice connections, too, from, like, what you say. I also call it ask for the cookie. So, like, there's shoot the shot, which is like, you're gonna do something valuable for them. Shoot your shot. But they're asking for the cookie where it's like, okay, what can they do for you that you can ask for? So I try to do a 50, 50 of both, but I love that, and I think that's a really great way to, you know, grow your business. At the. At the end of the day, like, if you're new and just getting into, you know, entrepreneurship, you can use social media to gain visibility. And I think that's the best way to gain traction, visibility and get your name out there. But until you start connecting with people and sending those dms and commenting on their posts, were you also like, commenting on her post and making sure that you engage?
- [10:33]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Okay.
- [10:33]
Host - Interviewer
Yep. She's shaking her head.
- [10:34]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah, I mean, I was probably only. I mean, I was still, what, under 200 followers? So I probably had. I was probably following very little people. And so like, her stuff was constantly in my feed as opposed to now where like, you're following a thousand people and you see the same four people, you're like, I don't even know where that person, what she's doing anymore. I know. So, yeah, it was a pretty constant, like, complimentary relationship.
- [11:00]
Host - Interviewer
I love that so much. Okay, we're. Let's talk about for a second. So one thing I love about D is when I went to your profile, I started seeing like, you thrifting. Tell us about that. And how did that even happen? And are you still. Do you still have your business with all the things that you're making? Plus you're doing like, tell us where you're at right now, today.
- [11:27]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Well, me and a local friend are currently planning our first Thrift Crawl because so we're going to. We have sponsors, everything is lined up and we're doing a group of hopefully 30 women doing a crawl. And then we're going to end at margaritas and having lunch. But it started. Yeah, I think, I mean, I think saving, pinching a penny, whatever the saying is, has been instilled in me since I was living at home. My mom, when we would go to the mall, we would go into Abercrombie when they would have their half of half sale. And well, any store we went into, we went straight to the back because that's where all the sale racks were. We. And if I wanted something upfront, my mom said we'll come back in two weeks when it's on sale. So unless something is like have to have, I really don't like paying full price for anything because I know it's all just a scam and you don't have to pay full price. So the sale items have come through her. The DIYs, I mean, she was always letting me rearrange my room, letting me put all the Abercrombie bags on my wall as wallpaper. So just like that thrifty, like reuse, repurpose, you know, cut your shirt, add some buttons, like make it your own has always been something I grew up with. And then as far as thrifting. I think once you, once you take that bite and you get a good haul, it is, it is a high you chase often. Yeah. And I didn't, I don't think I thrifted as much obviously when I was like working full time and then making shirts in the basement at night. But now that I have that freedom to, you know, thrift tries twice a week or whenever I, literally anytime I'm passing a thrift store, if I have 20 minutes I'll pop in. Or if we're on vacation, I'm always know map questing thrift stores near me kind of thing. I love that. And then just sharing it and it, it has slowly I know there's potential to make money from it, but not everything. I think when you, when you add monetizing everything, it kind of takes the fun away from it. Yeah. And can add like stress, but it also gives us add girlies. Like we hyper fixate on something every month. Right. So it's always been an idea and it's, it's always something I've loved doing. I just am at the point where I have so many clothes and such a little social life as a 41 year old with kids that like I don't, I can't wear everything. So I have racks in some consignment stores and I would love to do like bundles or thrifting for people. But baby steps, we're just, we're getting there.
- [14:15]
Host - Interviewer
That is so fun. Tell us about how are you? So you're doing this. It's almost like a passion project, but then you're posting about it too. Tell for anyone who doesn't follow you yet, what do you share about? Are you sharing like you on your way to the thrift store or what you found afterwards? Like what does that look like as far as your content goes? Okay.
- [14:38]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
If you're someone who wants to make money online as a creator, listen up.
- [14:42]
Host - Interviewer
I know a lot of people, they
- [14:44]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
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- [15:00]
Host - Interviewer
they're really good at creating.
- [15:02]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
And what I actually like about this is how simple it is. You create content around your niche, you upload it, you build your audience and start creating income from it. Whether you're into lifestyle, fitness, business, education, literally whatever. It's built to be beginner friendly. So if been sitting here thinking, could I actually do something like this? The answer is positively yes. If you want help getting started, Fanview has a creator academy that walks you through the whole thing step by step. And if you're ready to start your own creator journey and see what's possible, head over to fanview.com and get started. You guys know I'm constantly creating content between my podcasts, Instagram, and the content we create for agency clients, one tool that's become an essential part of my workflow is Storyblocks. Storyblocks is a 100% human made stock media library built for creators. It gives you access to millions of professionally curated footage, clips, music tracks, sound effects, templates and images. Every asset is made by a professional filmmaker or artist, never AI generated, and everything is professionally curated, pre licensed and ready to use and monetize content under one subscription. Personally, I use Storyblocks when I need
- [16:11]
Host - Interviewer
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- [16:14]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
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- [16:38]
Host - Interviewer
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- [16:40]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
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- [16:55]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Oh gosh, it's always there's been a lot of one episode series, right? There's, there's a lot of series ideas of like from, you know, Pinterest, but make it thrifted or steal my thrifted look. And then I do it once and I'm like, okay, I want to do something else or whatever. So I mean the thrifting content has been like a dartboard. It's all over the place primarily. I mean people love to see it in real time, like what I'm looking. I'll kind of like show my rack at the store, like what I'm grabbing and then I'll do a thrift haul and then I'll wear it. So it's like a three part video, but in no formal sense. Okay. I mean sometimes the thrift haul is like from my trunk and I'm telling people what I got because I was so excited, right? That from that haul it just Kind of depends, like, what. What I've thrifted and how excited I am about it.
- [17:50]
Host - Interviewer
That's so fun. Are you monetizing that yet? Like, are you.
- [17:54]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
Have you made a guide, like, here's
- [17:55]
Host - Interviewer
how to go thrifty or anything like that? Or are you just right now having fun with.
- [18:00]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yes and no, I have. I was actually. I just had a brand photo shoot last week that I was waiting for updated pictures. I've wanted to do a thrift guide. It's on the back burner. I have a guide that is 80% finished that is more insta. Like, I mean, the. The title of it is how to grow your Instagram without being cringy. And it's not so much like thrifting ideas for your Instagram or, you know, social media coaching or anything. It's like, just like your pep talk of. From your girlfriend of, like, start the stories. Like, start showing your face, talk on videos, like, here's ideas if you want to ease into it. Or like, here's all the tools I use for content creating and like, I don't know, sort of just like your guides that you can do it in a natural way. But, yeah, for thrifting, I mean, I get a thousand dms. Not a thousand dms. That's insane.
- [19:01]
Host - Interviewer
No, I get a lot. Yeah.
- [19:04]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah. Like, what are your favorite thrift stores? I'm so bad at thrifting. How do you do it? And I guess I just lack the confidence right there that it's come so naturally to me that I feel like, well, you just have to go. Like, I don't know what else to tell people other than, like, you just gotta go often and go with, you know, set the bar low.
- [19:26]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. I mean, when you do go into a thrift store, are you looking for, like, are you just seeing, oh, I'll see what I find today. Or are you like, okay, today I'm looking for a specific brand or a shirt.
- [19:38]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah. Yes and no. I feel like I really believe in manifestation and putting things out into the universe. So, like, sometimes I will record myself walking in and being like. And sometimes I'll use the content, sometimes I won't. Yeah. But I'll say out loud, okay, we're going thrifting. I'm looking for, like, I've been really trying to find, like, red cowboy boots or just any pair of good cowboy boots. Oh, cool. Or something. A lot of it comes from Pinterest scrolling and just saving ideas of outfits that I like. And then subconsciously I see something that would regularly See, like show me no potential on the rack, but I'm like, what that looks like that cute outfit I, I pinned two weeks ago and I have shorts at home that would probably go with it. So I'm gonna get it and style it that way. So it's like always having that photographic sort of memory, I guess.
- [20:32]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. In your head. Yeah, I love that. Let's get into your content creation since you like doing that stuff. Not now, but when you first started, did you have a microphone, a light and all that stuff or did you just pick up your phone one day?
- [20:49]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I think back in the day I relied so heavily on filters that like my content doesn't even look like me that much anymore. Like from 2021 or 22 for sure. And the content was very product heavy. It wasn't as creative. It was like, here's my sweatshirt and here's it with jeans. Or like, here's the different sizes you can order. You know that they were more helpful, which I would love to say. All my content is helpful now. Some of it is.
- [21:21]
Host - Interviewer
I love it, it's fun.
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Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I.
- [21:23]
Host - Interviewer
When I land it on yourself, I'm like, oh, I never get to see fun. It's just like you're, I can tell you're passion about something and you're good at documenting it without like it being overly done. You know what I mean? Because I'm really big on, I think anyone can start something online. Social media. You want to be an influencer, you want to just make money, you want to just show up. You don't need to talk to a video, you don't need to have ring light. You can just like be yourself. And there are people that are going to fall in love with that and there are people that are also interested in the thrifting that you're doing. How many times a week are you posting right now?
- [22:02]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I typically post every day. Okay. Like once I try to post in the morning. Yeah, once every day. Like grid posts like reels or, or a carousel. Sometimes I'll post twice a day if I have like a, you know, a partnership post or something or if I, I don't know if I wasn't like in love with what I posted this morning, but I had to get it out because it was about a market or if it was, I don't know. I'm, I'm trying not to just post to post. Like, I definitely have days where I skip because, you know, everyone says quality over quantity and I agree to an extent. But I also don't heavily Edit and sound bite, you know, my content either. So it doesn't take a lot of time to put out what I put out. Like, it's, you know, it's not. It is quality content, but it's not the kind of quality where it's like someone highly editing their film, you know, their videos, which. There's nothing wrong with that. I think if that's what your followers are expecting, right, then that's what you gotta do.
- [23:10]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
Before we jump back into the episode, I want you to think about something. Dee didn't grow her business because she got lucky. She grew it because she decided to become visible. She stopped waiting for opportunities to find her, and she started putting herself where opportunities could actually see her. And maybe that's you. Maybe you have this business or an idea, or maybe you're just really good at what you do, but you are so terrified to post online if that's you. I created something that makes showing up so much easier. It's called the Visibility Vault. Inside, there are 150 plus plug and play Canva templates that I've personally used to grow my audience and my business. And they're organized by your goal. Whether you want to grow more followers or more engagement or more sales, you never have to wonder what to post next. Here's what I've learned, guys. It only takes one post, one person seeing your work, one opportunity, one DM to completely change the trajectory of your business. If you're ready to stop overthinking and start getting seen, head to the show Notes and grab my Visibility Vault today. All right, let's get back to the episode.
- [24:11]
Host - Interviewer
But me and Dee over here, that's not what you're going to get with us because I don't have time for that. My ADD does not have time for that. And I'm also just. I'm not a perfectionist. There's some people out there, too, that haven't started just because they're like, like, well, what if it sucks? I'm like, yeah, so what if it does? Then you learn what not to post, and then you learn what they do. Like, yeah, I'm. I'm posting. I'm trying to post like twice a day right now. But I truly like. If I compare posting twice a day to posting once a day, I can't tell you that. I've seen a huge difference between the two. And I'm talking about my main account too, guys. The one, because I have two. I have the. My call her creator, which has 10,000 followers. But then my personal brand has over 200,000. I'm still trying to post twice on call her creator too. But I can't tell you that I've really seen a huge difference. I agree with you, Dee, that I would rather post something quality versus just share something and then it suck and then it die and then, you know, there was no point doing it. I also am always scared that I'm going to get on someone's nerves, like they're going to see me so much that they're going to unfollow. But then like you mentioned something earlier, you said now you can follow you know these people and you don't even see them anymore in your feed because
- [25:28]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
the algorithm is so crazy these days
- [25:30]
Host - Interviewer
with what it's showing us. So what about stories? I notice you're a stories girl.
- [25:36]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I am, yeah. Which I love.
- [25:40]
Host - Interviewer
It helps me feel like I know you.
- [25:43]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah, I, I feel like stories are where, you know, I make the most income. That's where affiliate links live. It's also where a lot of humor is and just updates, you know, I don't share, I don't know, like a ton of personal stuff with. I feel like I have a lot of local following that started from do me a favor from the products and the in person shopping and that sort of thing. So when we talk about like where I'm thrifting or like what pool the kids that I went to or like, you know, hot topic recently was my son getting strep throat for the third time in like two months. So I was talking with a lot of moms about tonsil removal and like why our surgeon didn't do it and who they used, you know, so it's great to like, like I wouldn't necessarily want that information on a post that was on the Internet forever. Right? It's, it's nice to have that dialogue, you know, and it's nice to hear, you know, when I meet people in person, they're like, oh my God, I watch your stories every day. Like see what you're up to and what the kid, you know, it's, it's just nice to have that reassurance that like, you know, you're not just talking to a wall. And if you are, who cares? That's one thing I tell people when they say like, how do you get on stories so confidently? Like you're, you're, you're, you know, you're talking to us in your robe with that makeup headband every morning and I'm like, well, I don't know, like you can record a story. That's what I say to people who are nervous. Like, record the story and watch it back. And if you don't love it, then delete it. Like, you don't have to post it. It's not like you're going live, you know, and, like, what you said. It's like, if you post something and it flops, like, who cares? You learn, you know, Data. Maybe no one saw it. Yeah, yeah, it's data.
- [27:35]
Host - Interviewer
One thing you posted the other day, which hopefully you don't mind talking about, but the Shrek. When you did the Shrek meme against you, I was dying and I was like, that's what we have to do is make fun of ourselves. Because I've had it too. Like, people have talked. So what I'm talking about real quick is there are trolls out there that will say dumb stuff to us women online. I'm trying to get it too. But, like, I've been talked about my fingers. I've been talked about so many things. And Dee, like, she was just laughing back at them in the stories, and she ended up putting a Shrek with her. Like, how do you handle the critics out there? It's not. I mean, it's not a lot. I can't assume that you get critiqued a lot because most of your content's nothing that people would talk crap on. But there are times when it goes viral, that's when the trolls come out. So how do you handle that feedback from people?
- [28:28]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Um, I think making fun of the situation is a safe base. I never want to counter with hurtful. I mean, I have, I guess, depends on the severity of what they've said. Yeah, I don't know. I think the Shrek comment was just so funny that. Because I kind of was like. Well, I guess I do sort of. Like, everyone kind of looks like Shrek. Like, in a way, in a weird way. Like, I feel like now that I've. Like, when I'm looking at someone, I'm like, I guess they kind of look like Shrek. Like, is it. Is it a bad thing? I don't know. But, yeah, I think. I think just reminding myself that I don't know that person and they aren't coming to my house for dinner and they aren't paying my bills and. Yes, who cares? I just.
- [29:30]
Host - Interviewer
I've always heard, too, don't take criticism from someone that you wouldn't trade places with.
- [29:35]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
So, yeah, if.
- [29:37]
Host - Interviewer
If this person has time to comment on something mean, then they're obviously unhappy with themselves and you do not want to have that life that they're living.
- [29:47]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah, I did. I did delete. Oh, I. I did handle that last one. The Shrek comment came from a Father's Day reel because I posted it Saturday night because I honestly thought Sunday was Father's Day. And I was in this. This creator chat with some friends, and they're like, well, you have a. You have a week to negotiate the Father's Day gift. And I was like, I thought Father's Day was tomorrow. That's why I posted it tonight. And anyways, I did end up taking it down because I was starting to get a lot of men followers. And I've gone down that road before. This is a reel that, like, I post every year for Father's Day, and it always, like, it should be a system. Everyone should. I mean, if people want to go viral, that's. Piss men off is how you go viral. Basically every. Every reel that has something to do with attacking, you know, a man's sex life. They're gonna come after you for it. But I think that I've got. Because I've gotten a bigger account now, and I've worked really hard to build a following of women who like thrifting and who like sweatshirts and who like the same kind of fashion I do. Like, I don't want to ruin it with a bunch of skis ball men who are following me for. Who knows why.
- [31:03]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. The wrong audience.
- [31:06]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah. Because it. Cause then that can really screw with your algorithm. I had some really random reels. I had one reel bring me in 40,000 followers and no way. And it was a. It was a thought. It was my personality. I was. I've had two that have had that kind of effect. One, I was coloring our house with rainbow chalk add project in the summer. I wanted to see what it looked like. And so I colored each brick in with a different color piece of chalk. And so, like, people loved my voiceover and the personality and the commentary, but, like, I don't. Who's going to do that more than once? Like, that wasn't. That's not my content. So luckily, I mean, the peop they were following for my personality, which I do a lot of voiceovers, and I try to keep my personality there. But this male. The Father's Day one was like, I'm over it.
- [31:58]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah.
- [31:59]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Like, annoying.
- [32:01]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. One thing I do want to note that is true with viral videos. Like, if it's going viral for not a reason that you want it to go viral, then that's when you can attract the wrong followers. I know I've had. My personality is just funny and fun. And, like, I've done reels, too, where I've attracted a following that I didn't mean to attract. And then I'll start posting stuff that I clearly post about all the time, and it just bombs. And I'm like, oh, it's because I got all these people from this wrong audience. So it's not always good to go viral, guys, unless it's for something specific. Now, for Dee, I think with you doing that, you could even do more videos on ADD or adhd, too. Like, if you were talking about coloring the bricks, that's actually very fun. And you can. You can out things about that video and do like, a part two or part three. But there's also some moments where it's like, okay, I can't do a part two, part three of this viral video. But that's so fun. 40,000 followers.
- [33:07]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yes.
- [33:07]
Host - Interviewer
What was another viral reel that you've done?
- [33:11]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
The other one that had actually four parts? Because I kept. I'm actually doing another kind of rebirth of it later this afternoon. But I. I was talking in stories, keeping my followers up to date with, like, what we were doing this week. And I. We had this, like, Vegas gala that we had to go to or that we got to go to, and the theme was, like, Vegas nightlife. So I wanted to wear a really sparkly dress, but I wasn't finding anything at the thrift store, and people know I'm not going to just order something online. So I had this dress laying around in my closet that I wore to my best friend's wedding, like, five years prior, and it's been sitting in my closet ever since. So I've been talking about this, you know, real time on stories, and I'm like, I'm just gonna dye it black, because what have I got to lose, you know? And the voiceover was very on brand, very adhd. Like, very. I didn't read the instructions. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm putting it into this bucket with black dye, and we're going to see what happens. And the Internet was just like a. They had to see the result. They were pissed that I didn't post the result. I'm like, look, it's got to dry. Like, I'm hanging it up. It's drying for two days, and I don't want to wait to make the content. So, like, I'm just posting as we go. Like, this is what it is so that one. And then part two was trying it again because so many people left good advice about you have to use the RIT synthetic dye. You use the wrong dye. Try it again. I have to see if it works. Like, because the dress had sequins and lace and all this stuff. And it ended up after the fourth time, not looking great. I mean, sequins were like falling off. It was like, please stop putting me in the bucket with dye. You're killing me. But it was fun. It was an adventure. And I, I think that the. The chaotic diy. I definitely did lean into ADHD after that. I had just recently been diagnosed actually too that year I had just sort of like learned that all of these things I thought were because I was unattentive or because I didn't care or lacked emotion was just those reasons. And I talked to my doctor about it and she's like, well, I'm gonna put you on this for adhd. And I was like, oh, that makes a lot of sense. Like, I didn't realize I had that. So the more okay, I have to
- [35:41]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
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- [37:37]
Host - Interviewer
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Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
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- [38:08]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
talked about it the more also people resonated with that and so that's a lot of where my, you know, no niche and thrifting. It's like that dopamine, right. Like us adders need that that quick.
- [38:24]
Host - Interviewer
Tell us about dopamine too. That was one of the questions I had for you was about what is it Dopamine dressing. Is that what you call it? Tell us about that.
- [38:33]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yes. Which I think is trending. But I also think it's like a smile on your body. Right. Like it's. And I don't think you can force it. I think if you feel like you want to crawl out of your skin, if someone's going to tell you to wear leopard pants and pair it with a polka dot top and you think that is disgusting, then don't wear it. But I love mixing prints and I love color ways. And I think if you know, you're not that. Not if your life is boring. I think. What am I trying to say? I just think dopamine dressing is another way of expressing, expressing your creativity and your confidence.
- [39:17]
Host - Interviewer
I don't think you can fake for someone who's never. I've never heard of this term until you. So like explain it to me. Like I'm five.
- [39:26]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
It's. It's sort of like mixing all your colors together. If you're coloring outside the lines and you're five and you want to make your. Your grass pink and your Flower polka dotted in your garden instead of making your rose red and your grass green. Yes. And you do that and you make the, the house. You're coloring pink. Like, who cares?
- [39:49]
Host - Interviewer
Do you dress like that a lot
- [39:52]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
when I go out? I try to. I mean, like, yeah, when I. I mean, I'm a very like sweatshirts and leggings and stay in my robe all day person. But I do believe that there's a creator I follow. And she says, she does this, her mantra, sort of 10 minutes for a better, for the best 10 hours. So she spends 10 minutes in the morning, like curling her hair, doing a little bit of makeup, and it makes her feel better for the rest of her ten hour day. Okay, so I think, I think it's great to get dressed every day if you like doing that. I tried again. I tried like a series and I did maybe three days and it was like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get dressed every day. Even if I'm just going to the grocery store, I'm gonna wear my damn clothes because I thrift too much and I have too many clothes and I'm gonna start wearing them. And I did that until it became, until it felt like a chore. Because you don't. I think your outfit is only. You only enjoy it if you had fun wearing, putting it together and wearing it. I mean, you don't want it to, you don't want it to feel like a chore. But I would say describing it to someone who doesn't know what it is in kid terms, it. It's like mixing all your color. It's like finger painting, whatever you want.
- [41:03]
Host - Interviewer
I love that I want to start doing that because working from home, I go into the office like once a week. So today I have overalls on and like literally a sports bra under me. So I'm not a dresser upper, but
- [41:16]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
I really would like to be a dresser upper.
- [41:19]
Host - Interviewer
Do you think your ADHD inspired the dopamine dressing?
- [41:26]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Probably because I feel like we don't let go of things. We don't like, donate and purge as often as you'd think we would because we have very, like, yolo, you know, I don't give an F kind of attitude about things, but we also hold tight to memories. And like this necklace I've had since college and I may, if I thought long and hard enough, I could probably tell you where I got it. But every, every piece is like, oh, I remember when I got that, or I wore that when that happened to my friend or something, so I forgot what your question was, but that's your
- [42:10]
Host - Interviewer
just said, did ADHD inspire it? And then I forgot what your question was. That's the adhd. I love it. Let's talk about someone that is just like me and you. They want to do something on Instagram, posting videos or TikTok. Like, what's your advice for them? If they're sitting there right now and they're just overthinking things, how do they just get out of their own head?
- [42:39]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I think writing things down can help, I think, because I think a lot of time, a lot of times if you don't say something out loud or write something down at least to get your thoughts on paper or audibly out of your head, it can be very loud up here and very run on, you know, a big nerve. A big nerve and not fear. But I guess what's it called when, like, you lack confidence or like a. I don't know. One thing I try to work on, I guess, is talking to the camera without a lot of pauses. I do use an app that, like, will clear, you know, take out the silences and the filler words and that sort of thing. You know, I'm sure everyone has heard about the yapping thing going viral. And that type of talking could never be me. I could never. I could never. That could never be me. And even if I tried to learn it, I would probably just feel bad about myself. So I think the advice is to not try to be someone you're not. Like, don't try to use all these big words. If you say a lot and like, a lot, who cares? Like, you'll. Maybe you'll get comments of people saying, wow, can you form a sentence without saying, like, who cares? Like, there, I said it. You know, it's so. Yeah, I think. I think having some sort of preparation is probably smart and responsible and something you should do. But most of my ideas come to me in the shower. That's a very true. That's a very real thing. I've heard people talk about the shower thoughts and the shower ideas are where it all happens. And then I get out of the shower and I don't do anything with it.
- [44:32]
Host - Interviewer
You don't know what you said or thought. I do that right before bed, too. I'll like, I have the best marketing ideas when I'm about to fall asleep and I'm like, oh, you'll remember that in the morning because I can't move to even write it in my phone. And then last night I even. I woke up this morning I'm like,
- [44:48]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
dang it, what was that idea I had?
- [44:51]
Host - Interviewer
And I also like. I like how you're saying, like, there is a lot of pressure out there that to be taken seriously or to be a thought leader in your industry, you have to talk to the camera and have these talking heads and yap. Which I am not a natural yapper myself. That's why I actually just started the anything but yap challenge.
- [45:10]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
I've got it.
- [45:11]
Host - Interviewer
Yeah. Because I've built my business without having to yap to a camera. My adhd, I can't. I can't keep a full two minutes of me talking to you on a camera. And it be valuable to you. I'm gonna go off tangent. I have to have some prep. I have to write it down. Or even doing voiceovers helps me. Even picking some audio, trending audio and showing visuals or doing carousels. Like, there's so other. There's so many other ways to be visible online and put yourself out there without having to talk to a camera. So I wanted to mention that just because you brought it up, that it is. It's going viral that you have to yap to the video and you don't. There are other ways. We. And I like how you said too. I don't want to try to learn it because I would feel bad about myself if I did. I can relate to that. And I know there's so many others out there too, that you want to make that happen, but there are just some of us that are just not natural yappers. And you are better. You have a better. You're. You're really good. You have a better talent for something else. So.
- [46:21]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
And that's okay.
- [46:23]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah, I love that.
- [46:25]
Host - Interviewer
Dee, how can people find you on Instagram and what can they see if they were to follow you?
- [46:32]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
They can find me by searching. Do me a favor. Stl. That's my handle across all socials. So they are in TikTok and I guess Pinterest. Although I don't really know what happens over on Pinterest. Everything just sort of cross posts over there and you can expect to see a lot of thrifting, a lot of, like visuals for. I feel like inspiration. I hear a lot. Like, I would have never. I would have never thought to put like those two things together or would have never thought to, like, wear it that way. And I think a lot of that comes from, like, not wanting to be an outfit repeater. Although there's nothing wrong with that either. I'm just trying to, like, not look Like a model on Amazon like everyone else is.
- [47:21]
Host - Interviewer
And when are you launching? You said you were putting together something to help content creators. Like, when are you looking to launch?
- [47:28]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Well, I said by the end of June. So if I put that out there, that'll be. I mean, we've got some trip, little trips coming up. So what is. I don't know, maybe the end of. Maybe in a month and a half, end of July. I don't know, you guys. I'd probably bust my ass and get it done. But I think part of it is the nerves of not taking my own advice for. For just, just doing it. You know, it's like, I wanna. You said something in the first podcast I listened to of yours, and it was, you know, I should have wrote it down. That right when I got back from my walk, but I thought I would remember was something like, you're not. Your business is slowing or it's not growing because you're not making decisions or you're like over thinking things before you make a decision. It's like you're not growing because you're not.
- [48:21]
Host - Interviewer
You're not taking action.
- [48:22]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, oh, girl, I needed to hear that. Because every. I've got, everything is at 60% done. And I just want to start something else because I'm like, well, what if. What if no one likes it? What if no one buys it? Or what if. What if someone does buy it and then they're like, my account didn't grow in a week. You know, like, what's wrong with your
- [48:45]
Host - Interviewer
guy when it comes, sister? That's.
- [48:48]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah.
- [48:49]
Host - Interviewer
Yesterday, the Anything but Yap challenge. I made that idea up on Saturday, I launched it on Monday. And my husband's like, are you sure you did everything right? Like, are you sure it's. It was ready to go. And I was like, if I don't do it, I won't do it. So have I seen some misspellings on my sales page? Yep. I've been in there today. I've been fixing things up. I've been spruce and everything, but there will. Like, this is for anybody listening. When you launch something, there will be something wrong. Nothing goes perfect, but you just gotta fix it. And maybe you apologize if something went wrong or somebody got the wrong thing, they downloaded it, you apologize, you fix it, you over deliver, and then you keep going. And then that's. That's how you make a business. I think if you wait too long or you try to make it perfect, you'll just never do it. So de I'm going to be following you all summer long and being like, all right, where's your offer? So I do my girls that listen to our podcast because they're going to be asking. So now you have something to achieve.
- [49:46]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yes. Thank you. You're welcome.
- [49:49]
Host - Interviewer
All right. I've really loved our conversation. I think you gave some real life tips to just women out there that. That have all these ideas and just need to do the dang thing. I also liked your message on shooting your shot, and I think that'll probably be the episode title because if you wouldn't have done that, can you imagine where you'd be today if, like, I feel like that was your butterfly effect
- [50:14]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
to where you are now?
- [50:16]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Yeah, it was. I mean it. You remember the wins and the feeling of success way more and way more strongly than you do the embarrassment of a rejection.
- [50:32]
Host - Interviewer
Ooh, that's gonna be our snippet.
- [50:35]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
What are the young kids do? This. What does that mean?
- [50:38]
Host - Interviewer
Whatever that means.
- [50:39]
Host - Podcast Sponsor Announcer
We don't know.
- [50:39]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
We both know.
- [50:40]
Host - Interviewer
I had a child too, in 2015, by the way, so we both have a 10 year old, so.
- [50:45]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
But is yours a girl?
- [50:47]
Host - Interviewer
Um, no, mine's a boy.
- [50:48]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
Oh, okay.
- [50:49]
Host - Interviewer
I have a boy that's 10 and a girl that's 6, so I got the best of both worlds. But my 10 year old is teaching me things. This is one. Or maybe it's this.
- [51:01]
Guest - Dee (Danielle)
My 10 year old hasn't done this yet, but he will say slay or something. When he says slay, row all the things. And he roars, he'll go, rawr. And I'm like, I don't. What? Stop doing that. I don't know where that came from.
- [51:14]
Host - Interviewer
What do you mean by that? Are you hungry? I feel you. Thank you so much, Dee. It was a pleasure speaking with you.