On Building A Business Creating Feminine Themes For WordPress
Hello! My name is Tiffany and I run the blog Beautiful Dawn Designs, where I help creative women start and grow a successful blog and business by providing feminine WordPress themes, courses, ebooks, and more.
Currently, my flagship product is my online course for bloggers, The Blogging Blueprint. In this course, I share the strategies I've used to increase my blog's traffic and earnings.
What's your backstory and how did you get into entrepreneurship?
I began my career as a graphic and web designer though Myspace, believe it or not. Myspace was a social media platform that allowed you to deck out your page with your favorite music, graphics, etc.
Don't use failure as a reason to give up. It's okay to fail. Just make sure you learn from your failures and mistakes and keep working towards your goals.
I learned graphic design and coding because I wanted my Myspace page to look unique. Everything I learned about design and coding, I learned from online tutorials and forums.
As time went on, blogging became more popular and I found myself wanting to start my own blog on WordPress. During that time, it was hard to find feminine WordPress themes, so I decided to create my own. It wasn't long before I began receiving inquiries about my theme, and decided to create feminine themes for women bloggers professionally!
Take us through your entrepreneurial journey. How did you go from day 1 to today?
When I first started my WordPress theme business, success came easily. I was one of the few designers making feminine WordPress themes. There was barely any competition.
However, as more feminine WordPress theme business opened, my business started to suffer. Because things came so easy for me early on, I didn't know how to market my business, and that really hurt me. I knew that if I didn't change what I was doing, I could lose my business.
That's when I decided to use blogging as a way to not only market my business but diversify my income. Instead of making money strictly from WordPress themes, I could now make money from having additional products, earning affiliate income, ad revenue, and more.
Believe me, when I tell you, I've experienced my fair share ups and downs. There were moments when I wanted to give up. However, I can say with confidence that I've learned the blueprint for growing a successful blog and business.
I began my business as a graphic and web designer. Now I teach women how to follow their dreams of having a successful blog and business by offering free guides and premium resources.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Today my business is doing better than ever. When I started my business, I told myself that if I made $20,000 a year, I'd be happy. So to have surpassed that has been the most amazing feeling and something that I'm incredibly grateful for.
I've realized that I have a knack for growing blogs, which is why I decided to start a second blog. My second blog is doing well and generating income. I'm considering creating more blogs down the line and selling them to people who don't have the time to grow their blog from scratch. There's a good chance that this will be my next business venture.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
I've learned the importance of staying in my own lane. What I mean by that is to stop being concerned with what other people are doing. I used to beat myself up because I didn't think what I was doing was good enough. Thoughts like that do more harm than good.
You really do have something special to offer the world in your own unique way. Believe in yourself and your goals and remain consistent in your endeavors.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
When I first began blogging, I wanted to use all the tools that were being recommended in the blogosphere. However, as time's gone on, I've found myself using fewer tools and sticking with my tried and trues.
My favorite tools right now are:
- WordPress - content management system
- Convertkit - email newsletter provider
- Tailwind - Pinterest scheduler
- Teachable - online course platform
- SendOwl - sell digital products
- Unsplash - free photos
- Adobe Photoshop - image and photo editing software
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
While I'm an avid reader, I've been reading fewer books about business over the years. Trust me, I've read my fair share for sure. But I've found that I am the happiest when I'm running my business, my way. I don't want to fill my mind with other people's opinions, and feeling like I'm doing something wrong if I'm not following their advice.
One of my favorite books is one I don't see a lot of people talking about, and that's Get Rich, Lucky Bitch! by Denise Duffield-Thomas. In this book, Denise talks about the importance of releasing your money blocks in order to manifest a first-class life.
Courses that have helped me greatly are:
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing - affiliate marketing course
Money Bootcamp with Denise Duffield-Thomas - money mindset course
Traffic Transformation - ebook for increasing your traffic
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
If your goal is to make money, then you have to treat what you're doing like a real business. My advice is to:
Invest in your education. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars on courses and books. But I do recommend expanding your knowledge of whatever field you're in. Sure, you can learn everything for free on the internet, but it's nice to have everything packaged nicely in one place. And it saves you so much time.
Put in the hours. You have to put in the work if you want to be successful. You can't work on your business a couple of hours a week and expect to make money. Give yourself a work schedule and stick with it. Make sure you include 15-minute breaks and a lunch break. Do not do any work during your breaks either, just as you wouldn't with a "regular" job.
Expect to fail. We have all failed at some point in our business ventures. From the richest to the most famous. Don't use failure as a reason to give up. It's okay to fail. Just make sure you learn from your failures and mistakes and keep working towards your goals.
Where can we go to learn more?
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- 8,628 business ideas
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
