Rising Stars: Meet Lisa Taylor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Taylor.

Hi Lisa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I look back on my teenage years, my 15 years old self would never have thought that I’d end up spending 27 years of my life as a soldier; but, that’s exactly what I did.

What I really wanted to do was go to Hollywood, become a famous writer or a fashion model. Serving in the military wasn’t even on my radar. Flash forward to 26 years of age, and there’s me, holding up my right hand to pledge my commitment to the US Army. Looking back now, I know that it is one of the proudest moments of my life.

Serving in the military as a woman was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I joined in 1989 and never once did the notion that we would ever be at war again enter my mind. And then, in 1990 we engaged in Desert Storm. A short-lived event, however totally altering the course of my life. I decided afterwards that a career in the Army was what I was going to do and made my decision to become a “lifer”. My career was well underway and another war would come. After serving during Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, I finally retired in 2015 after serving for 27 years.

When I got out, I was 51 years old, still a single gal, and had no idea what the next phase of my life would look like. I had a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, thanks to Uncle Sam and the GI Bill. I lived in Austin and was happy to be at this place in my life, but I needed to find my next “thing”.

Austin is a great place to be an entrepreneur and I had many friends and family that had started small businesses so doing that, as opposed to ever working again for someone else, seemed like a great idea to me. But, what would I do? I needed to tap the right skillset to market and so I started asking my business owning friends what they thought. Then, my answer came.

Social media had long been a part of my daily life, starting way back with Myspace. I’m what they call an “early adopter”. I love trying the new stuff when it comes out and because of that I was very familiar with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, et al however; I found that many of my friends were not comfortable using social media nor were they doing a lot of marketing because they were too busy running their own businesses. So there was my in. I started a digital media marketing company called The Write Place with a few small businesses and never looked back. Six years later, I have somehow gleaned favor with the Real Estate market in Austin and have a roster of clients that is Realtor heavy. Along the way, I also went back to school to get a degree in Social Media Technology and Communication from ACC.

My personal life also took a huge diversion. In 2017, I met the man I’d been waiting a lifetime for, and in 2018 we were married in a small ceremony in an old warehouse space in East Austin. It was a magical day.

Of course, we all know what happened in 2020. Well, when small businesses closed their doors, they stopped all their marketing too, and then the dominos started to fall.

Over the years as I was building my business, I’d become familiar with the term “Influencer” and was following many women on Instagram that made money showing beautiful outfits or sharing lifestyle tips, etc. and I’d always wondered how they got into it, so I did some research and found a company that represents almost all of them, so I applied. They told me no. No reason. No explanation, just No. Well, I applied several more times between 2015 and 2020 and always got the same response. And then, in April of 2020, I got an email from them that said they accepted me! I was elated.

So, now I am an Influencer! Well, whatever that means. I get to take photos of all my favorite outfits and share them with the world, or at least all 1759 of my followers. I suppose I’m what you would call a micro-influencer. LOL But, I am having a blast, playing at being that fashion model that I’d always dreamed of being and making a little money while doing it. It really is amazing that at 57 years of age, anyone would give a crap about what I wear, where I eat, or how I conduct my life; but, here we are.

I am Lisa Taylor, a loving wife, sister, and Aunt. I am a fashion blogger (printsandpinots.com) an influencer, a small business owner, a veteran, and a dog mom and I love living in Austin, Texas.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Serving in the military for anyone is difficult, but serving as a woman has its own set of struggles. It’s a good old boy’s club for sure and full of misogyny.

Many soldiers also struggle with making the transition from a lifetime in the military to civilian life after they get out. It can be difficult starting over, and for most, you’re also dealing with ageism. I knew that I didn’t want to put myself in a position to experience ageism in my search for my next career so starting my own business seemed like the perfect way to do that.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My Influencer life is just getting started and I love the fact that I’m meeting many wonderfully creative women that I respect for being their authentic, true selves and opening their lives up to criticism. It’s not easy to put yourself out there every day and many experience online bullying which is really unfortunate, but it goes with the territory.

My husband and I will start traveling again soon and I am so excited to share my adventures via my blog with all my followers. I get to exercise my writer’s muscles, take photos of beautiful clothes and fabulous places, and share my experiences with the world. It’s all of my teenage dreams packaged up into a neat little ball and I couldn’t be more in awe and appreciative of it every single day. As a veteran, starting over again at 57 years old, and showing that you can enjoy a wonderful life after a lifetime in the military, is the icing on the cake.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The pandemic really showcased for me the importance of friends and family. We’ve spent so much time with our little “pod” of friends that I can’t imagine having to go through this without them. And my family and I have become closer than ever and I’m so grateful for that. They are also here in Austin so that made it easier to be with them.

Another thing that I am extremely grateful for is that I had already been working remotely for many years prior to the pandemic and so making the transition for me was just another day at the office.

Contact Info:

• Email: printsandpinots@gmail.com
• Website: www.printsandpinots.com
• Instagram: printsandpinots
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrintsandPinots/