Questions + Answers With @fashion_jackson
If you’re here via @fashion_jackson’s IG, HI! I’m Emma — a friend of Amy’s who hails from Dallas, TX and this is my blog. I’ve been writing this for 10 years, and EMMASTHING has become a community of no bullshit storytellers, open books, and bad ass bitches. I’m just your average 30something who overshares and can make a story out of anything. I’m not a fashion blog or food blog — I’m just a blog about nothing, yet everything. So basically, I’m the Seinfeld of blogs. Thank you for stopping by, enjoy Amy’s insights, and follow me on Instagram if you feel so inclined!
Back in 2013, I had become best friends with a girl who was roommates with Amy. Eventually, Amy and I were introduced and became fast friends. At the time, I had been running my own blog for about three years so when Amy decided to start her own, she reached out to me in hopes I’d have some ideas for a blog name. I still have the emails from that time, and revisiting them when I went to write this post was WILD. I’m not sure how we ended up with Fashion Jackson (I think she did, actually), but what’s wild is that my first ever name suggestion to her was “The Know.” How ironic seeing as though Amy’s gone on to see massive success via the LIKEtoKNOW.it platform and I’ve worked for the company for the past (almost) two years?!
Watching Amy evolve over the years has been incredible. She left her cushy retail job of seven years to pursue her dream of being her own boss, and to say she’s been successful is an understatement. From being one of (what I consider to be) the OG fashion bloggers to a full-blown brand, where she’s taken Fashion Jackson is an amazing testament to Amy’s business acumen and smarts. She’s won the fashion world over in terms of elevated basics by showing shoppers that you don’t need a closet packed full of trendy, loud clothes to look good; you simply need high-quality, straightforward basics to look put together and ready for just about anything. This is Amy’s story.
I sort of grew up all over; My parents are divorced so I had two homes growing up. I was born and “raised” in Del Mar, CA (where my dad lives). Moved to Lincoln, NE for elementary school, then Fort Worth, TX for high school, but Del Mar was always home base to me. Early on (like middle school) I knew I wanted to be in the fashion industry, just not sure exactly how or what that would entail. After HS, I went to TCU and majored in Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Radio-TV-Film. After graduation, I got a job at a cheer company designing uniforms and stayed there for a few years until I landed a job for a large apparel retailer, where I would stay for 7 years.
I started Fashion Jackson about 3 years into working my full-time job. It was a very demanding job, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I had the time to start a blog at all! I’m so thankful for my experience and I learned SO much, but there was little work-life balance. So, I started the blog as my outlet. It was the only way I could really lean into my love of fashion and find the work-life balance I needed. As luck would have it, a week after I launched my blog, rewardStyle signed me onto their platform as one of the first adopters of the business! Right time, right place, right everything. LIKEtoKNOW.it, which would first be the Instagram component of rewardStyle then its own app all together, wouldn’t be created until about a year after I started my blog.
Honestly nothing. I’m not joking. I had it all mapped out so I wouldn’t set myself up for failure. I set goals to leave my full-time career a year in advance, and told myself if I wasn’t hitting those goals, then I would re-evaluate. Of course, the uncertainty of actually succeeding got to me, but I didn’t let that stop me from trying. I realized that if I could live off my blogging income by only dedicating 10-ish hours a week to it, there was no telling what I could do by upping that to 40+ hours a week. And if it failed, at least I tried. Walking out the front door of my 7-year career was the most bitter-sweet, yet freeing moment of my life I was finally in control and doing EXACTLY what I wanted.
As cliche as it sounds, there was just something about him. You know how you’ll make excuses in relationships when you know they’re not right? I’ve never had to make an excuse with Will. As as soon as I met him, I was intrigued and that draw only grew more intensely. I can’t really pinpoint an exact moment where I “knew”—it’s more of a feeling. Everything with him was just easy and made sense, and he made/makes me laugh the hardest I ever have. He makes me happier than I ever thought I deserved.
That all I do is shop and take pictures all day and that people don’t think it's a real job you can live off of. I run my blog like a true business. I have a team of six (and growing). We strategize content daily/weekly/monthly, analyze sales reports, foster brand partnerships, pitch to new brands, test new verticals, etc. Not to mention running the blog/social media channels daily, connecting with readers via DMs and comments, etc.
I would say it’s just shifted the business. Like I mentioned, my team and I analyze sales daily, and look at what is trending for shoppers. Right now it’s more home decor and loungewear. I’ve always been a “street style” fashion blogger, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment for me for sure. But for the best! It’s been fun to test new products and categories during this time. I even did a full home decor blog post for the first time ever, and it was so well-received which was very exciting!
Don’t give up. It can be a tough industry, but it can also be so rewarding. Stay authentic to your brand identity, post as consistently as you can, and at the end of the day, have fun with it. Because if you’re not enjoying it, then what’s the point?
Thank you guys for reading and don’t forget to follow Amy on the ‘gram, but also follow her on the LIKEtoKNOW.it app to shop her impeccable style daily.
xox,
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