Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Joaquin.
Hi Vanessa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story began when I had my first child at 16. I was ambitious because I did not want to not fall into the stereotype. My first goal was to get through high school and then get through college. College was difficult because my son’s father (now my husband) and I had to financially provide for ourselves. We lived in an expensive apartment in California, My son went to a pretty pricey daycare and we were too prideful to apply for any assistance because we were so anti-being the stereotype. Eventually, we both got great-paying jobs and did not enroll in another semester of college.
At 21, we had our daughter and again our ambition kicked in. My fiance at the time and now husband decided to go to school to be a Pharmacy Tech. It was an eight months program and when he was done, I decided to get a Business Administration degree. We got married while I was still in school. Two months after our wedding, our daughter Alexia who was one at the time was diagnosed with stage 4 Wilms Tumor (kidney cancer). We both quit our jobs and I quit school so we can be with her during her treatments. We had to send our son to live with his grandma in Texas because we were living in a hospital and we wanted him to be around family and do normal things. We ended up transferring her care to Texas after she completed her radiation treatments. We stayed with my inlaws in Texas while she was going through chemo so we can provide our kids the best life during this season in our life. After seven months of treatment and only one chemo to go our daughter passed away due to complications with treatments. She was two weeks shy of her 2nd birthday. I felt extreme guilt because I did not make every moment special. So from that day on, I made sure no matter what my son came first. I made it my only goal to be a mother and my career goals or aspirations no longer mattered. We decided to have another child.
After I gave birth to our son my husband got his ambition back and I did not. I was working at a law firm and every second at my desk, I felt guilt for not being available to my sons. One evening my husband took me on a date and simply asked me what my goals were and I told him to just be a great mother and wife. He then asked me what are my goals that benefit me. I brought up that I think it would be cool to start a blog about motherhood, being a wife and fashion. The next day he bought me a laptop and told me to do it. My blog was about being a working mom and shortly after starting, I was pregnant with our daughter. We decided it made more sense for me to be a stay at home mom because my pay would only cover two kids in daycare and gas to get to work. I then switched my blog to the stay at home mom life. At this time, my blog was not making money and I had no clue how to monetize. It was just a hobby. I ended up meeting my neighbor Jesse Coulter and she introduced me to the life of influencing on social media. She would take me to blogger events. Then eventually, I got invited to my first one without being a plus one, haha! My husband was always my biggest cheerleader and when I first started being offered campaigns, he became my photographer. Next thing I know, we were being hired as a family to do these mini ads for social media and all we had to do was “act”. When the pandemic hit, I was being offered more Instagram campaigns and it was a blessing. I got to work and create content for companies I would have never imagined would look at my micro-influencer page.
In the middle of the pandemic a company reached out to me to create their content for the entire month of January. Then another small company reached out to me because they were struggling with their social media presence. They wanted to pay me just to post the content they already created. My kid’s soccer club seen that I knew my way around social media and offered me a position as their social media manager. When word got out, two more companies reached out and the same company that I created content for hired me again for another month. I realized I had a natural talent with creativity on social media and had a passion to help these small businesses have a presence on social media. They are trying to run their day to day tasks and social media is another job on its own. And that is how I started Vee Nicole Social Media Management.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My internal struggles always get the best of me. I lack confidence and still struggle with extreme guilt as a mother. I have not quite figured out the balance because I always want my kids to have the best of me. Sometimes I have to say no to things they want to do with me and sometimes, I am late on my campaigns because I want to do things with my kids.
Another struggle at the beginning was finding my true authentic identity on social media and blogging. I would copy what the top bloggers and influencers were doing and it was exhausting. This is where my confidence got the best of me. I was not confident creating things that I do, in fear that others would judge me for not creating what these top influencers were doing. Eventually, I realized I was happier and more successful when I started being true to my authentic self.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Vee Nicole Media Management was created by a “Mom” blogger turned Instagram influencer. During the pandemic big business’ began hiring me to create content for their campaigns. One small company had reached out to me because they needed help with creating eye-catching content but did not have the means to hire a production and photography team. They offered what they could and I accepted. Shortly after another small business struggling to post content, come up with catchy captions and had no clue about hashtags had asked her for advice. I had noticed that small business and solopreneurs were struggling to keep up with the social media Jones’ because they were busy trying to manage everyday operations. I wanted them to succeed and that is when I came up with the idea of A La Carte Social Media Services curated for small businesses, solopreneurs and freelancers. She is passionate about creating and posting real, authentic, and professional content for small businesses on a budget.
What matters most to you? Why?
My family is what matters the most because they have been the reason and inspiration behind my success. They always encourage me even when I feel like I do not give them enough.
Contact Info:
- Email: vanessa@veenicolee.com
- Website: veenicolee.com and veenicole.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veenicolee https://www.instagram.com/veenicolemedia/
Image Credits
lightbyiris
