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Welcome to the socialize strategy, Friday, May 24th. And today, we have a very special guest with us for the strategy session. And I'm going to start off using the words she uses on her website to describe herself because I just kind of love it. Lorraine Ladysh, woman, mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, writer, entrepreneur, yogini, and I'm going to add successful content creator and influencer. And that is quite a resume, Lorraine.
Helen:I'm really impressed. So Lorraine was a writer and a journalist who lost it all in 2008, when a lot of people were struggling, but she literally lost it all and was on welfare as a single mom. She quickly realized that she did not have to switch careers to turn her life around, and she just had to take her skills online. She started blogging in 2006 and then created her own platform, viva50.com in 2014, as she entered a new decade, 50 plus, and decided to turn this thing called social media content creation into a full time job. So she was truly an early adopter of all things related to social media truly were, Including using it for social good, which I am going to ask her about.
Helen:Thank you, Lorraine, for agreeing to this workshop podcast and doing it live with guests. That is so appreciated. I'm so excited to have you here.
Lorraine:I don't know who's more excited about it, honestly.
Helen:So we connected a while back, Lorraine. And, you know, sometimes you just hit it off with someone online. And you were I was surprised because having such a big following on Instagram, she has 45,600 followers on Instagram, Is also on TikTok, but I think Instagram is where I really became aware of you. And you responded to some of my messages. So let's talk a little bit about how we first found each other, because you you have to remind me of something that I don't remember.
Helen:How did you first start following me and and how that come to pass?
Lorraine:So reels had started, and I was resistant to do one more thing. And finally, I had to give in, of course. And I was having a hard time figuring myself out. And then somebody that we both follow, Strong, Maria Strong, who by then I think I had interviewed for my YouTube channel, said follow this person. She's doing crazy stuff, and you're gonna learn a lot.
Lorraine:So I followed you on TikTok, but then I made it by business to find you on every other place. I could find them. You are resourceful resourceful. And I reached out you, I think it was on Instagram, because that's my favourite. It's more I'm more comfortable on Instagram.
Lorraine:And I think I told you, hey. I love all your tutorials and this and that. And in fact, I would send you some of the things I was trying for feedback from you.
Helen:For feedback.
Lorraine:That was it was during the pandemic. That's for sure.
Helen:And you know what? I also remember very, very strongly about you is that you always shared my lessons. And I thought she's got this huge following, and she's taking the time to share my lessons. And I I don't have a huge following on Instagram. It was it's very slow growth for me.
Helen:I really lean into
Lorraine:For me too.
Helen:That's where I put my yes. It's just slow. So I was so appreciative that you would I was honored that you were happy to share my lessons and and just give of yourself to someone that you you didn't you know, we just had met, and I really thank you for that, belatedly.
Lorraine:The thing and then you thank me back then too, but, I think that hustlers and, I mean, in a really good way, like somebody who works and grinds and and and does the stuff, we recognize each other.
Helen:Yes.
Lorraine:And there are so many people who are like, windy about things, you know, and when you recognize someone who does does the stuff, then you're like, that's my person.
Helen:Doer. Yes. We are we are doers. Yes. Alright.
Helen:So let's go let's talk about how you realized. I know that I said in the intro that you quickly realized you didn't have to switch careers to make a transition. But I'm sure it wasn't like magic, you just woke up one day. No.
Lorraine:No.
Helen:Tell us a little bit about I know you have a lot to share, and we wanna get into the the meat of the matter. So just briefly, a little bit about what made you wake up and think this is something you can do and make money at.
Lorraine:Okay. So first of all, preface it very briefly by saying I'm a published author. I've written and published 18 books. I had that. I was a journalist.
Lorraine:I knew how to meet deadlines. I, you know, I've always worked for myself since of the age of 18 or 20. Always. So that that's I think that's very important to realize because I already had those skills of working for myself, being accountable, etcetera. I had lost my analog gig, so to speak, with in 2008 with regular publications.
Lorraine:I was writing for the Palm Beach Post. And so those things dried up and I was kind of online, but Facebook was barely starting. I was 2 years late into joining Twitter, and I kicked myself for it later. That's why I immediately grabbed my handle on every platform no matter whether I'm gonna use it or not because you never know.
Helen:Mhmm.
Lorraine:And so then at the very beginning of losing everything, my marriage, my just everything. I had nothing. I had so much debt that eventually I had to file for bankruptcy. That was harder than the divorce. I was in my forties.
Lorraine:And being half Spanish, my family in Spain said, why don't you just come back and and be here in Spain? And I was like, you know what? At 40 some with 2 little kids, what the hell am I gonna do there? You know, it's not as easy in Spain to to be yourself and and hustle like here. So I did try to have a regular job, like anything menial, just work at a supermarket, be a bartender, whatever.
Lorraine:But I had never had a job by choice, and I was unemployable. And so that did force me to be on welfare for a year, actually. So it wasn't like, woah, 2 2 days. It was hard. It was very hard.
Lorraine:And I did a little bit of direct selling, but then a bunch of people that I had interviewed for the Palm Beach Post who knew my skills, and they were familiar with with, well, how I worked. They I I either reached out to them or they reached out to me saying, hey. We've heard that there's this opportunity online, you know, and to do this, that, and the other. Back then, I was also salsa dancing just to keep my sanity, and I would take my kids. There was no booze, nothing because Of
Helen:course you were.
Lorraine:Yeah. And the kids loved it. And I met people there. And there was this guy that he was a young entrepreneur. And he's like, Oh, I saw on Facebook that you're a writer.
Lorraine:And I'm like, Yeah. And he's like, well, I need someone to write for my blog. And I'm like, oh, woo. I'll you know, I can make money writing again. He says, but the blogs have to be SEO friendly.
Lorraine:And I was like, oh, see what? Right.
Helen:And you figured it out, though.
Lorraine:Exactly. And Figured it out. Very, very quickly after that. I mean, he was paying me, like, $5 per or $10 a pop, and there was nothing. But it was a lot for me who was making $0.
Lorraine:And from there, somebody gave me a heads up that about.com, which then belonged to the New York Times, and I was called dash.com or something like that or dot dash, that they were looking for experts, quote, unquote, for different, sections, and they need a Spanish speaking experts. And I applied to the mom section, and it was so freaking hard back then. You had to learn HTML. You had to learn how to make a website. You had to learn SEO, the tech everything.
Lorraine:And it was grueling. It was like a month and a half of that. And I thought if I don't get this gig, I will know everything I need to know to do my own thing. I got the gig. I got the gig.
Lorraine:It paid very little, $650, but I cried because that was a lot for me back then. And and from there on, I it was like online was just happening.
Helen:Right. And you were learning it on the job in a sense. Right? So then you were
Lorraine:That's my whole life.
Helen:Yes. Yes. We're very the same in that way. Oh my god. At some point, I thought I'd have to do a podcast about that about myself because I was always grabbing from my jobs and learning and watching the people running the business to learn how to run a business.
Helen:So and those skills are they're not always findable on like, by Google. It's like living them. Right? Yes.
Lorraine:So to try and because I'm also Spanish and talk a lot and go on tangents. I will try
Helen:to stick to this. You're good.
Lorraine:So the the fast part of that is that after having this gig, people again that I had been in journalism, they were starting to, to need people online. And they knew that I had these skills because they could see me using them online. And then I rather quickly became the editor in chief. As a contractor, I always like to to make it that distinction because I I don't like jobs as I repeat a lot. And I was the editor in chief of a then successful Latina mom website.
Lorraine:It was in English and then in Spanish. And I I just I managed pools of writers. I managed budgets. I managed, goodness, the people who are advertising on the website. And I was like seeing the amounts of money these people were throwing out the window.
Lorraine:Like, the they used to pay the writers so much money and me a lot of money. I was like, this guy's you know, it's not gonna last that long. And then eventually, when I was almost 50, I was like, you know what? I wanna do my own thing. I really wanna do my own thing.
Lorraine:And I thought, what can I do in the next 5 to 10 years? Of course, now it's been 5 and it's been 10. In the next 5 to 10 years, they really love and that I am good at, and that on the worst days that I hate everything because that happens to every one of us.
Helen:Yeah. I
Lorraine:will still do it.
Helen:You will still do them. That is so the key because that becomes what your passion that drives you. And that keeps you going where even if you're not making money, you're interested in doing it, then that's what you should be doing. So in order to connect the dots, because rather than have you go through your entire timeline and then we don't get to the part we wanna get to, I have an idea.
Lorraine:Yes. Yes.
Helen:Yes. So I almost wanna jump to right now, and then we're gonna connect the dots. So right now, as a content creator, can you tell me the places the way how you make money? Do you have multiple revenue streams? Do you have one?
Helen:And then what I'm gonna do is connect the dots with how you got how you connected from then to now. So just so everybody understands now, the way you have monetized to make this a full time job, you make money from boom. Go. Take it.
Lorraine:Mhmm. So it has morphed over the years. Right this second, my biggest, source of income is sponsored posts. That being said, if you've noticed, 95% of my content is not sponsored. Okay.
Lorraine:And why is that? I love that. Because, first of all, I don't like to follow people who are selling something in every single post. There you go. I'm more of a storyteller.
Lorraine:I am more of somebody who wants to share their life and things that will help other people. And because the budgets that are managed right now, I am able to live off of that and do where the hell I want with the 90% of my content. The best
Helen:of the content. Bravo. Because this is this explains why a lot of people unfollow when they start seeing sponsored post sponsored post sponsored. But then it's like, oh, this person's just doing it for the money and they're not they don't really even like the thing or they're or they're just doing this just because that's that's all their content now. And I think they lose their audience.
Helen:So you're very smart. And I've noticed for you in particular, you share in your story a lot. And I love that. And that's a common thread with another one of our guests, Gina from Skinnytaste also.
Lorraine:Mhmm.
Helen:She is a huge cookbook author, but everyday story posts, very personal. So she feels like she's my friend, just like Right. You are the friend to your followers because they're coming along on your journey. Do you think that's how you've maintained the loyal audience? Do you think that that has contributed to that?
Lorraine:Yes. I have people that I've been in touch with for decade or longer before I had my own brand. And the fact that we have conversations on the side and sometimes very heavy conversations, because it'd be it could be something that could give a nuance as to we're having exactly We have. Trouble at home or whatever, but people kind of understand what it means and they ask me. And I'll tell them, Maybe I won't say it in public because it pertains my kids or whatever.
Lorraine:But Yes. But then we get into these deep conversations, and we're I mean, makeup and all that is wonderful, but that's not my main focus. My focus is mental health, physical health, wellness, and so many other things that I think are vital to just being alive.
Helen:And then do you did you enjoy doing a lot of because you did say that you were very involved with social media for social good. And is that a big is that is that important to you still?
Lorraine:Very much so. I will lend my voice and have lent my voice to there's an organization called Moms Rising, which is specifically geared towards helping improve mothers' quality of life. And I'm I was very involved in the Hispanic community and helping people. This is not political, but get out the vote. That's it.
Lorraine:You know, just help Spanish speakers understand that they have to do that, and they would sit and write postcards. I've been taken to Washington DC. I've gone to the capital to do things like this, and it was very, very cool. I was invited by Saint Jude to see the, Children's Cancer Hospital and be able to get out the word of why people should donate and learn stories 1 on 1.
Helen:Think that influencers are getting paid. And typically, those are the things that they're doing because they love it.
Lorraine:I want to. Yeah, you want to. And I help small businesses, like even local businesses have if they offer to send me something often, I will say no, thank you. But I will promote your business because I can't guarantee that somebody's going to buy their whatever flowers or something. But if they if they're nice about it and, you know, they're we're just small businesses.
Lorraine:I'm a small business. I know how hard it
Helen:is. Alright. Now you know
Lorraine:So because of this, the the the getting the big sponsors that I have no qualms collecting the money from, quite honestly, because I have big budgets. I can do whatever the hell I want for the little people who aren't little people, but you know what I'm saying? That they don't
Helen:have the people that don't have the big budgets. So you you enlightened me. 1 of the one of I remember this conversation specifically about how to think about the brand sponsorships, because I was like, Oh, doesn't it feel hard? Don't you struggle with doing that when you know you're trying to sell? And I want you to share your perspective because it was very unique.
Helen:So do tell.
Lorraine:I do remember what I said. But, but what I think of is that I'm not selling anything to my followers. I don't care if they buy the thing I'm talking about or not. My my money that's coming in my pocket is gonna be the same. My affiliates are so tiny, like I always say, and it's true that I suck at affiliates.
Lorraine:I have a couple that do okay. But that's it. I mean, the LTK, all that does not work for me. I have it just for the hell of it and also because you can get brand deals through them. But, honestly, I don't mind if you buy this or you don't buy that.
Lorraine:So it's I'm not selling anybody anything. So they see the ad, and it looks like an ad very often, increasingly so as things get more stringent.
Helen:Sure. They make rules
Lorraine:for this. But they don't my my real good followers don't care. And the people who I don't know, I don't care.
Helen:You don't care.
Lorraine:Enjoy it or not. And it just gives me so much freedom. And obviously, what I do, is work with brands that either I use or I do a lot of awareness, and I do a lot of of awareness around health. So if I've ever had a health issue, I've I've I'm going to have talked about it. Like, my mother had a stroke when she was 28, so I've worked with the American Heart Association.
Lorraine:My dad had a quadruple bypass, and, I almost had colon cancer and blah, blah, blah, blah. So all these things, if it's to raise awareness, of course, I would do it for free. But if they're paying me, of course, I'm gonna do it. Yeah. It's just there's so much more than just makeup.
Helen:No. No. And you you you really you opened my eyes because the whole time, I think a lot of influencers struggle with this idea of selling out. Like now I'm gonna be doing sponsored posts and people think they have to buy it. And this other pressure, which I'm gonna add, I have seen on TikTok, more on TikTok than Instagram, though, where people are sending the post when they get a sponsored deal.
Helen:They send it and then they go, oh, please interact with this post because it's a sponsored deal, and they wanna get interaction on it. And they're constantly, like, begging for the engagement on a post because they wanna make it as if it's valuable to the advertiser. And that's just the whole point is just moot at there when it comes to that. Because if you have to beg for the engagement, it's not real engagement. So it's silly, and it's I I it's a waste of time.
Helen:I don't even understand the strategy.
Lorraine:Let me let me tell you something that it doesn't really matter. That engagement because several things happen. Brands know that as soon as you put a paid tag on your post, it's not going to get the great engagement that other posts get just because you put paid on it. Yes.
Helen:You have to.
Lorraine:The algorithm, the whatever, but they know this. So what I get paid for in addition to just the fee of do this real or whatever is white listing. So then the brand has access to my channels, and it's not only Instagram. I have Facebook. I have 3 Facebook pages.
Lorraine:I have well, there's YouTube. There's Pinterest. There's a blog. There's all these channels that nobody on Instagram sees or knows about. And then the brand pays me to have access to those channels.
Lorraine:And then they run an ad, but they're reaching an audience that
Helen:they They're paying for
Lorraine:it. So Exactly. They pay me for access to my channel.
Helen:Oh, wait. They're paying you for access to your channel.
Lorraine:So they run an ad.
Helen:And it goes to your channel? No. No. It's on their channel. Right?
Helen:When you're white listing, where is it then?
Lorraine:It's it's on the Internet, but it's not on my feed. And it's it looks like it's coming from me.
Helen:Oh, so white listing works. Yes. Yes. Oh, I'm learning something. I always thought it was you either do the ad and then they run it on their channel, but it's your face so that you're maybe you're recognizable to some people or relatable to some people.
Helen:Well, that I'm sure some of it is that, but that's not white listing. So white listing is it looks like it's coming from Lorraine Ladysh. Literally, it looks like it's coming from your account. Yeah. But it's not on your feed, and it's an ad that they run.
Lorraine:Yes. Yes. But in addition, maybe I did post it on my feed. Maybe I didn't. Like, there's a lot that I do that people don't even see.
Lorraine:Oh, wow. My god. Not people my followers don't see it.
Helen:Okay.
Lorraine:And then I see the reach that it got. Like, last year, I did a campaign that I basically like, the work on my side was almost nothing. Mhmm. And I got paid some people get that's their salary. And I was like, I can't believe this.
Lorraine:I was so grateful.
Helen:Right. So grateful. Now I'm just saying the work
Lorraine:was almost nothing on my side.
Helen:Yeah. No. Let's talk about this. Because now we're almost working our way backwards in the timeline. But you had to, at some point, make the leap into getting an agent.
Helen:Mhmm. So I'm sure you didn't have an agent in the beginning when you first started. So I wanna know when did you make a transition? What was happening that caused you to say, I can't I just can't do this anymore? Because you we all know, content creators.
Helen:You're your own financial manager. You're a salesperson. You're a director, producer. You're a videographer. Now you have your husband.
Helen:We'll talk about that. But, you know, yeah, you're playing all these roles. And at some point, you had to say, I can't do this anymore. Someone else has to manage this part because it's too much. And what when did that happen, and what was the trigger?
Helen:So it
Lorraine:was a couple of years into what I was doing because I made it work financially right away. That's a story for another day. But but it didn't happen. Like, I was monetizing the 1st year. And I had told Phil.
Lorraine:I said, I don't know if we're ever gonna make any money. Boom. 1st year, I replaced my salary as, editor in chief. But that's, again, that's very that's his own story. But then within less than 2 years, I think I was on a phone call with the PR agency, and I knew the people because I had been, you know, working with them in a different capacity.
Lorraine:And they're offering me this gig with, it was in a commercial, and I had to go to Miami and have it shot. And basically, I was talent. Nice. And they're like, well, what's your fee? And I'm like, what the hell do I know what my fee is?
Lorraine:So, anyway, I made this figure up, you know, and I think I said 3,500. I thought that was a lot of money. And then they say they're, like, cornering me into giving them an answer right there, which now I realize is stupid.
Helen:But, of course,
Lorraine:on my side anyway. And so they kind of mute themselves and they come back and they're like, okay, we'll pay you that. And if you throw in a blog post, we'll give you a 100 a 5, 500 more. And that was like, oh my god. I undersold myself.
Helen:Result. Yeah.
Lorraine:They were not only that, I talked to the talent that I happen to know that was there. We were all different ages. We're all Hispanic, but we're all different ages and from twenties to my age, back then 50 maybe or 52. And we were all getting paid completely different things, and it had nothing to do with our following. And I'm like, oh my god.
Lorraine:I need somebody else to do this. I cannot be doing this. And so it still is the wild west. I mean, it's it's the name of the game is the the brand will try and get away with as little as possible. You're trying to get paid as much as possible, and it was true back then as well.
Lorraine:And I did not want to spend my time and energy doing that. To figure
Helen:it out too
Lorraine:because you have to figure
Helen:it out and then fight for it.
Lorraine:Yes. And and and excuse me while I talk to myself if I'm gonna accept this. You know? It's like that. Exactly.
Lorraine:Doesn't make sense. So I tried different things. I actually got a friend, a colleague, much younger than myself, probably around Julie's age. And she I said, I'll give you 30% if you deal with this. But then it was like being her mom, and she wasn't doing anything.
Lorraine:I'm like, man, I'm just giving away 30%. So I started just there were no agents back then. There was no such thing as an influencer agent, and the word influencer didn't exist. So I just started asking around, and finally well, first of all, people just wanted to change my media kit, and I'm like, no. My media kit maybe is is crappy, but I'm getting work.
Lorraine:I have work. What I need is someone to help me do this.
Helen:Mhmm.
Lorraine:And finally, at this Spanish social media conference, somebody gave me a lead and said, well, we had the speaker and blah blah blah person, Joanna Voss, represents her, and she sure can negotiate. I'm like, okay. Who is this person? So why is this her?
Helen:She sure is your agent now.
Lorraine:Oh my god. We've been together for 7 years.
Helen:Good for you.
Lorraine:We're in our 8th year. I love that. And but here's a funny part is that when we got together, it was I paid her I paid her money to give me a strategy session. I flew her out to Sarasota, Florida where I live, from Denver where she lives. And as we were speaking, because I also wanted to make more money speaking and figuring out how else I was gonna make an income to diversify because we're always trying to do that.
Lorraine:And I had an income inbound request. All nearly All
Helen:of the
Lorraine:same time. Say 98% of my work comes from inbound requests, meaning that I don't pitch. They find me. So that happened, and she was with me, and there were 2 different things. And one of them, she's I said, would you please deal with this?
Lorraine:And she did. Boom. Boom. Boom. She did a proposal, whatever whatever, asked for double or triple what I would have asked for, and they accepted it, like, within an hour.
Lorraine:And I'm like, are you This is what I needed. My agent?
Helen:This is this is what you needed.
Lorraine:And she she didn't understand what that meant. And now she has 7 other people or 6 other people. She's made it I mean but I recognize in her that willingness to learn.
Helen:You saw it in her, and now you have given her, like, wings to fly. Love that. Oh, my gosh.
Lorraine:And we support each other, and I will always intro her to whoever Great. Needs an agent because she is really, really amazing.
Helen:And she's story.
Lorraine:I mean That's full circle. She took me I mean, she take she she earns. She earns 20 doesn't take. She earns 20% of what I make. But recently, we had this conversation with the other talent.
Lorraine:We have a monthly meetings, and we have mastermind retreats and stuff. And she was telling us that lately, her brand deal that we get, there could be 76 to a 100 emails going between her and the brand. Oh my god. You know how much time that saves me? At such time and energy?
Lorraine:Such time. Like, she really earns that 20%.
Helen:And I think that what you just stated is that's what content creators are dealing with because those who don't have agents, that's what they're dealing with. So we're we're actually getting a question related to this. So I almost want to stop and just take this question right now. So Krista has asked, what is your advice on how to get sponsors for posts and do you seek it or do they target and reach out to you? So you've just said most of them come to you.
Helen:But I was saying
Lorraine:98%. 90%. But the same. In the beginning.
Helen:So it was people saw your your feed and they there was something and maybe maybe you were in early. So maybe it Well like as a as an older creator even back then?
Lorraine:Of all, there were not very many women saying I'm 50 years old and I love it.
Helen:Right. That was
Lorraine:Yeah. People ask me why are you pigeonholing yourself? What are you gonna do in 10 years? And it turned out that it worked.
Helen:And I was 10 years and look at you now.
Lorraine:10 years later, look at me and Dan, no, I'm not doing Viva 60. I'm keeping Viva 50 because I'm still over 50. And, you know, just but to the point of that I was always very good at keeping my relationships the same way that you and I hear it on your podcast that you're getting work because maybe not as an influencer, but you're getting work related to your skills. And my skills were that if I say I'm gonna do something, I do it. If you're gonna ask me for a deadline, I'm gonna meet it.
Helen:That's the
Lorraine:skill. That's it is. Nowadays, a
Helen:lot of people have that skill.
Lorraine:Like, 90% of it is showing that I know this because I've been an editor too, and I've had to run after people. Yes. And so if you are professional and people see that you're being professional like, I did a launch on Twitter. Back then Twitter was important, and we made money on Twitter parties and all the rest of it. I had a launch online.
Lorraine:I invited everybody I knew from PRs from this and that and the other. And whenever they they saw, oh, there's something for an over 50 woman who's Hispanic, let's ask Lorraine. But But, of course, the difference is that back then they offered me $200 and I thought it was a fortune. Mhmm. And now that's nothing.
Lorraine:That's what
Helen:we like to hear.
Lorraine:I get paid now.
Helen:That's amazing. Do you still love making content in the same way you did? Okay. Good. That's what I love to do.
Lorraine:Answer is. Yeah. But remember that that's why I prefaced it at the beginning saying I have always been a content creator all my life. I even feel and I think you and I have talked about this. I feel like I grew up with the Internet.
Lorraine:I didn't. Right. Right. Internet came around.
Helen:I feel like I did too.
Lorraine:I telecommuted. You know? It's like
Helen:I That's right.
Lorraine:I work for myself. I've had my lorraine.comwebpage since for 30 years, I was thirties, very little, you know. So so the thing is that I remember in my 1st year, or second year, maybe the beginning of the 2nd year, and I got my 1st year long sponsorship, and they reached out to me from a brand of of, lenses for glasses. And I said, would you like to see my immediate kit? And they said, no.
Lorraine:We know who you are. And I was like, oh my god. I told Phil. They said they know who I am. They whatever.
Lorraine:I didn't wanna ask anything else. You know? And so what I would say is create content that will make brands notice you because there is, like, there are women that have all this big following. You've said it a number of times, and they're not making absolutely any money. And there are people like, Austin, Adam?
Lorraine:Austin Tizon? Yes. So who, like, you were saying that her her entire following was not as big, but we don't I don't always get hired because of my following. I get hired because our pictures are good. And so we take pictures and we sell them.
Lorraine:We license our pictures. We get hired as talent because they can see I'm comfortable on camera, and that I, you know, I'm able to deliver this or that. So Phil and I as a couple have been hired as talent and flown out to places and recorded videos, which, of course, I don't post on my feed because that's not what that's about. Because I'm a a certified yoga teacher, and I was a fitness instructor when I was younger, and I share about that. I've been hired by AARP to create videos for their website.
Lorraine:1st, they flew me out to do an MDC. And then during the pandemic, I filmed them at home, which was an odyssey, but we did it, and they live on it lives on ARP. So what I mean is that there's not only just one way of thinking about one's presence online. It doesn't have to be only creating content. It could be a bunch of other things.
Lorraine:And that's why I tell people it's not all about the the follows. It's not all about the likes. It's about the quality of the work you deliver. Like, we recently went on this sponsored cruise. Do you think I was lying around sipping margaritas?
Helen:I know. That's the thing that also people realize that you're working.
Lorraine:I had a blast.
Helen:Yes. But we're you're editing content at night, and you're making sure you get the shots, and you have to think about all those things.
Lorraine:And I am I am grateful that that my husband is, my second husband and hopefully the last one and forever one. He is a professional photographer. He's,
Helen:not out with that. You really looked out with that.
Lorraine:He hates taking my picture. I have to say that. We argued at the very beginning. It wasn't very smooth. Working together was a mess.
Lorraine:But we had to learn it because he was like, okay. So working for the New York Times, daily rate is 250. Taking a picture of me in the backyard is about 2, $3,000. So what do you think he's gonna do?
Helen:Yes. If I can
Lorraine:choose this, taking my picture and putting up with my bossy self.
Helen:Yeah, it's true. I you you have really, you have evolved to a point where you can make it happen. You're about quality. And I think that brands see that right away. Yeah.
Helen:Because you can see sometimes I deal with clients now on the other side. As you were saying, I get a lot of work through TikTok now for my production work. And I will have the same thing where I I'll be talking to clients, and they'll be talking about influencers they're working with and how much of a disaster it is because they're not getting the type of content that they wanted. And it's really like throwing a dart. Like, a lot of them will talk about it because I'm hearing it from the other side.
Helen:Because I'm shooting their their commercials or their slick social media content. And they they talk about it all the time, how difficult it is and the different agencies that they have to work with. And you probably experienced some of these agencies in the beginning before you had an agent. Did you go into those agents at all agencies at all?
Lorraine:I actually still work with them because this is what happens. I am signed up to every possible influencer platform.
Helen:Okay. And your agent did that for you or you did that for yourself?
Lorraine:Hell no. I did it. No. She gave us a list that we just all signed up.
Helen:You gotta do it. Absolutely.
Lorraine:Yeah. But they find you there, but it doesn't mean that they're going to hire you through there.
Helen:Right.
Lorraine:So maybe you're findable there, and they're looking because all the parameters are woman over in my case, woman over 50 or over 60.
Helen:They approach you privately.
Lorraine:And then they approach you privately. And just It is. Yes. Please sign up to all of them all of them. I don't care if you have 5 followers or a1000000, because, also, user generated content, which is another thing that I've done.
Lorraine:And I tell people, like, I use the hashtags on my content that I want to how would I say this? They're aspirational hashtags. I I use UGC creator before I had ever done one single piece of UGC.
Helen:Oh, I love that. Fake it till you make it kind of social media version.
Lorraine:Yes. And then I got hired to be a UGC creator. Then I also use over 60 over before over 50 modeled because I had this idea that I wanted to do modeling, but turns out that I don't have the look they're looking for because I don't have gray hair, or I don't wear my hair gray or whatever. But anyway but the point being that that you can be because people are, my gosh, Phil and I got cast twice. Nothing has happened, and I I think it's not gonna happen, so I wanna say it, for 2 different reality TV shows.
Helen:Oh, right.
Lorraine:You know, I don't know if I would I was excited
Helen:about it. It's so scary because I got approached for 1 and the same as you. I'm like, be careful what I wish for because I'm like, what if I don't know if I want that. And so I was almost happy not to get it because it's like Yeah. It's exciting, but it's also, okay.
Helen:What a relief. I didn't get that.
Lorraine:Well, I was thinking of all the followers, and they'll make more money. But then it was like, what if we divorce?
Helen:You know?
Lorraine:Or what
Helen:if it's like so this talked about getting negative comments, which I didn't get a lot of.
Lorraine:And then you also came and sent me voice messages
Helen:after that podcast. And you were like, I wanna talk to you about came and sent me voice messages after that podcast. And you were like, I wanna talk to you about the haters, and this is what happened to me. So tell tell everybody here your experience with haters, how you deal with it, and what has that been like? Has it been challenging to your ego?
Lorraine:Well, I think I'm like you that I'd I'd like to think it's not gonna bother me, and for the most part, it does not. And especially since I have I'm older and I have a at 20, I don't think I could have dealt with it. I had an eating disorder, mental health problems. I was depressed. I mean, like, clinically.
Lorraine:I don't think I could have dealt with it back then. But being, 60 right now, and my mental health is pretty good, and my self confidence is pretty good. However, my regular followers aren't usually mean. I will say they're just not. But if a post goes viral and you do that, YouTube, Facebook, especially on Facebook, they're older people.
Lorraine:And the hate could be the the oddest thing is that, you know, I do these walking videos and beautiful dresses or stuff like that because they're actually very like, I got 500,000 views the other day on one of those. And then I'm, like, 5 hours doing this video and it gets, like,
Helen:I know. It's ridiculous.
Lorraine:I feel your pain. Those videos, they're like, she's probably never worked a day in her life. Look at how she moves her hands. Oh, she must be a paraplegic. I mean, they they say these things like, oh, she must have Parkinson's.
Lorraine:All these things, you know? And I was like, woah, what what the what's wrong with and then they argue with each other. You know? I thought gosh. So I when I when I start getting a bunch of and I don't have any I don't have notifications set for social media or I go bananas.
Lorraine:But sometimes when I go to Facebook and I it's happened on on on TikTok too a couple of times, but and I don't have a big following there. But when the virality happens, it's usually not for a good like, the way I moved my my foot in a dance video with Phil. It was like, oh, look at her with that foot. Well, that was like the forget that I was talking about the fact that I had found love after losing everything, and I was happy. You know?
Lorraine:They were focused on how I was dancing or that he was gonna leave me for a younger woman or that I was a kept woman. And mostly, it's from women that I've had a face lift, which I have not had. And, you know, just all kinds of me. It's like that. And then if it catches you on a bad day and
Helen:you know. It could really it could really damage you on a bad day. Absolutely. You know, right?
Lorraine:It's like,
Helen:you start obsessing on it, and you're like, what's wrong? And I think I told you that when somebody commented on my legs or something like, what's wrong with my legs? I never had I mean, for a minute there, I was questioning my legs. I was like, should I get them?
Lorraine:Do you wanna know the worst? The thing that I get told the most when they wanna be hurtful to me that I look like Steve Tyler in drag.
Helen:Oh my god.
Lorraine:The for the younger people, he's the singer of Aerosmith. He's the father of Liv Tyler. So I was like, well, I happen to think it's pretty good looking.
Helen:Yeah. Take that.
Lorraine:They're like, with the hair, the big mouth, whatever. They're like, oh my god. You're like Steve Tyler in drag. And and I get a lot of those. And I was like, man, people are really mean.
Lorraine:Yeah. People can be
Helen:really mean. It's it's really you find them on the Internet. I don't get as many mean women as I do. Either young people, young guys or older men will be. I will get like, oh, get a job.
Helen:Oh, you might you should get a life. You you give this woman something to do. And I'm like, they should only know what I'm doing. It's If they only
Lorraine:knew. But I I I I had to look. I bought a subscription to The Atlantic just to read an article about how to deal with trolls. That's how bad I was one day. Not not that The Atlantic isn't interesting, but it was like, I don't want another And I read it and they were like, you can't engage with trolls because they're not regular people.
Helen:They're not. And they're just sitting there behind their keyboard.
Lorraine:Trying to arrive. In his basement and just completely whatever is wrong with them because I'm thinking even when I disagree, and I think this is probably true for you too, online with someone, I don't say anything. Yeah. Why? Doesn't make it just why
Helen:the times that I've the times that I've used it, Lorraine, is when there's a funny trend and then I'm like, oh, my God, that comment would be
Lorraine:so good for a trend.
Helen:And that's when I do it. And then people come to my defense and they're like going after the person. I was just doing it because it was funny. I don't even really. And a lot of times I hide the person because I'm like, I don't even need to bring this person any attention.
Helen:But whatever. It's just so it's so frustrating. Do you make all your own videos? Do you I know Phil helps you film some things, but do you put them in your phone? Do you edit?
Helen:Do you have an editor? How do you manage your content?
Lorraine:I do it myself, and I do it myself because and I do it on my phone. Phil and I are actually starting a new channel called unlikely detours only for travel because we are now empty nesters almost, and we get to travel more than we used to. And since we get hired together because of his beautiful pictures, we decided to start this together. I don't know if we'll make money with it again or not, but we've already traveled. We still keep traveling, so we're just doing this.
Lorraine:And he I taught him. I started teaching him how to post reels. And he had this. He had this on his desktop because he prefers Premiere Pro. I do it all on my phone, and one of the reasons is because I enjoy it.
Lorraine:Mhmm. And because I'm 60 years old, and I need to keep my brain sharp, sharp,
Helen:happy and safe. It does help you. It does help you stay current. It's it's it's keeps your mind sharp because you're the thing the apps constantly changing. That's why I always have something to teach Lorraine.
Helen:I never get bored because my guess what? They just change this feature. I can make a new video or they added this thing. And I love to do the things myself. You know that because I love doing those transitions.
Helen:And when I can do the transitions, as well as the younger people that are, you know, launching, they're starting the trend. It just makes me feel really good. I love it.
Lorraine:I just bought, a NASA 360 camera. I don't know what that is.
Helen:I do. I did the commercial for the Fuji and oh, God. The original, the original was Instax or something, but it's the same brand, right? Isn't it? Fuji?
Helen:Yeah. Same brand. We worked
Lorraine:with it. Insta Insta 360x4, the latest one. It's crazy. And I it took me a while to buy it because everybody was saying how hard it was to edit with it. And as soon as I wrap my brain around it, I'm like, this is wild.
Lorraine:I can not only can I do this, this is very enjoyable? It's so bad. Right? Because it records in 3 60 and you can grab whatever. You have to get one of those.
Lorraine:Oh, my God. You're gonna love it. If you get it, I think you'd love it. It's very good for solo creators.
Helen:Oh, I love that. That's fun. So alright. So Phil's now doing his premiere pro thing. I love that he's embracing it, and he's gonna take maybe
Lorraine:I don't know
Helen:if he's
Lorraine:embracing it. But he prefers it to doing a bunch of other stuff. So we have I mean, it's a lifestyle for us. So it's like, you know, and we don't take it for granted.
Helen:I find that being on the phone editing gives me more leisure flexibility about it. It doesn't feel as much Yeah. Like work because I could be online somewhere. If I'm stuck, you know, charging my car, I can, like, I can be editing a video for 20 minutes while the car is charging. So I do find it a way to keep it more fun and not make it work.
Helen:The minute I put it into a laptop, when I'm sitting at my laptop, I feel that it's more like work. So I try.
Lorraine:I just don't know how to do it. I'm gonna be quite honest. I've never mastered it. No. I know.
Helen:I had to evolve from the laptop because through the years, it was like Right. You know, Imovie, then Final Cut, then Premiere. So, yeah, it's funny.
Lorraine:The camera is the Insta 360x4.
Helen:Oh, it's great.
Lorraine:Crazy amazing.
Helen:Alright. So if you have questions for Lorraine, start putting them in the chat, and we'll start taking the questions. You can put them right into the chat. You don't have to put them in the q and a if you don't want to. I wanna know, is there anything that you how do you keep organized, and how much do you work in a week?
Helen:Do you feel that you work, like, a full time full time job hours? Have you ever thought about it, or it's just doesn't feel like work because it's
Lorraine:because I've again, I think it's just because I've always, always, always worked for myself and kept my own hours. Like, I'll I've always refused. Even when I was managing somebody else's website, I said, don't call me at 9 to see if I'm working. You know? I'll get the stuff done.
Lorraine:So I don't know. I've never really thought. Like, I work a lot, but I also rest a lot. I sleep a lot. Yeah.
Lorraine:That's that's the camera. But I so I I have no idea because a lot of the times, like, for example, when we're traveling, a lot of it is people how would I explain this? People could think, oh my god, that's so much work, but we're actually enjoying it.
Helen:Of course, you
Lorraine:don't enjoy every fricking second. They're always, they're very irksome. Yeah. But I don't enjoy it when a client comes back with all these little nitty gritty changes after they approve my initial concept, and now they want this and that. But I try to be easy to work with.
Lorraine:I'm not a I'm not a I'm not a jerk. You know?
Helen:Okay. So do do you have, like, a content calendar? You do you say I'm gonna post 3 times a week? What what so
Lorraine:do you have that? When I when I started VIA 50, I had systems that was very important for me. I had a publication calendar for the blog, and I had my Facebook and Pinterest and Twitter and everything had its everything was because that way and I do have people help me. I do have somebody who does my Pinterest and somebody who does my even Twitter, still my Facebook and the things that I dislike doing. I don't like to do Pinterest.
Lorraine:I don't enjoy spending time there. So I have people who do that. I hired writers because I set it out as a magazine. So I do have people doing a number of things that I personally don't enjoy doing. But for the things that I enjoy, I keep saying I'm like you, or you're like me, but it's true.
Lorraine:I am more I'm not so much like Julie who plans everything. I'm like, oh my god. Where am I gonna
Helen:gonna post now? Exactly. I'm like, me.
Lorraine:Sponsored. Yeah. Unless it's sponsored. And then I know that tomorrow, for example, is it agenda? Yes.
Lorraine:For GoodRx, which is actually going up tomorrow for real. And then sometimes I'm more organized. So I'm I'm I'm a little bit by the seat of my pants, but that's how I've always been, and I don't think it's gonna change. And at the same time, it kind of that's the energy that I need. I mean, I've been on Instagram for 13 years.
Lorraine:13 years every week. I have thousands of posts in there. 1,000. And at the beginning, it didn't matter. We didn't have a strategy.
Lorraine:Instagram was not a place where if if if you go down there and see my first post, they have nothing to do with what I'm doing now. Right. But what I mean is that you have to have a certain kind of character to keep up with this.
Helen:Relentless is where nobody's even looking at it. My favorite word is relentless because that's the person who wins, the person who just keeps going and doesn't let anything discourage them and and anything kinda get in their way. And I you have But
Lorraine:there are days there are days that, of course, you're like, oh my god. I don't know. Should I get a job after I've not had one for 40 years? But then I'm like, first of all, I'm unemployable. And second, you know, it's it's I don't want that.
Lorraine:And feel the same.
Helen:So I love this. So what what so you're saying that you do have the days where you feel that way. I'm not going to say you're ever going to take them on. But what is what would be something that causes that? Like, can you give us an example?
Helen:I know today you said you had a doozy of a day. I don't maybe if you wanna talk about that or or talk about something that makes you think that way.
Lorraine:Well, sometimes, for example, my goodness, I another source of revenue they didn't mention is ads, programmatic ads on the website, which I started doing in 2019.
Helen:But that's, like, on your blog meaning? Like, with when you say programmatic ads, you means like an AdSense thing where they're putting ads automatically? Okay.
Lorraine:It's not AdSense. It's Mediavine in my case,
Helen:okay, we've
Lorraine:talked about AdThrive or Mediavine. There's a number of others. So I'm in Mediavine since 2019, which was unfortunate because in 2020, all these algorithm changes happen and how they keep on happening. And I don't know if you've been hearing that everybody's talking about Google and how that's growing up everything because now Google is prioritizing AI answers. Where if you say, how do I cut my bangs?
Lorraine:It's gonna source from everywhere and give you the answer. You cut your bangs with scissors, and you're not gonna click and go to the different people who are telling you how to do that. So suddenly, tomorrow, we actually have an agency meeting about this, because everybody's losing all kinds of traffic on. So of course, that makes me wanna shut down the blog. And you know, I've been doing this for 10 years.
Lorraine:Why is my blog tanking now? But I have the sponsorships. But what if TikTok shut well, not for me TikTok, but for you or Yeah. Buying. Buying went down the drain.
Lorraine:I was viable on buying at one point, but went
Helen:down the drain.
Lorraine:I remember. Away. Of course. And so so on those days, when, you know, at the beginning of the pandemic, everything was kind of shut down and I panicked. But for me, it was a really good year because I do wellness and exercise and all that.
Lorraine:So in, like, within a month, I had the best year of ever. But so it's so fickle that as you well know from all aspects of what you do, that I know that it's a temporary feeling. I, you know, when I don't like it also, when a client owes me money and it's like 3 months
Helen:behind. And so your agent is not chasing that or your agent is She is.
Lorraine:But that doesn't well, she doesn't get paid until I get paid.
Helen:So Right. So she wants to get the money to it.
Lorraine:But, it's happened. It's happened. It's something but but again, it's something I've done all my life, so I should be used to it by now. Right? But, you know, there are some things that it's I I think it's like, I don't know.
Lorraine:It's a little bit masochistic because to do this knowing that this can happen and does happen Yes. Not everybody can handle that. But I'm I I seem to be made that way.
Helen:It's good that you are. It's good. It's and the thing is, the operative word here is being able to pivot when something when you see something's going just like you didn't really want to do reels. But it's like, guess what? That's where that's where the future is.
Helen:Do you? So can you think about how you hated doing reels and do you still hate it or do you like? No, I love it. Love it.
Lorraine:Love it. Oh, not only that, since I started a year and a half ago, Phil and I started improv classes and we did the whole series. And then I took acting classes, and now we're doing sketch writing. And, you know, so all of this helps me online, you know. So it's for me, it's it's like, I don't when people ask me, like, what are you gonna do in the next 5, 10 years?
Lorraine:I have no clue. I didn't know I was gonna do improv.
Helen:That's right. So great. Because I was gonna actually ask you, do you make a plan? That was my next question. And I and you're we're very much alike.
Helen:And I'm I'm learning Spanish, Lorraine, so pretty soon, you'll be able to do this interview instead. Okay. We'll do one for your Spanish community when I when I get to them. Okay. But so you're very, very much same in that we we sort of follow the road and see where it's gonna take us and pay attention to the signs.
Helen:Yes. Right. And so when this thing happened with TikTok, now, funny enough, when I first I think after 1 year of being on TikTok, I started to see people that were going, get on my email list, get on my email list. So even though I didn't have a plan to do an email list and or a plan for what I would do if I was gonna have an email list, I was like, oh, I'm gonna listen to them. Let's let's start gathering an email list.
Helen:And I'm grateful that I did that back then because I do have a port a portion of the audience that is ownable, that's off the platform. And that's I mean, do you pay attention to that much?
Lorraine:Yeah. Yeah. I have an email list too. Of course you
Helen:do. You're no dummy.
Lorraine:But even no. But it's not even I'm I might not be good at it, but but I do try to at least have some the same way that I repost to TikTok. So I'm not on but I have gotten TikTok activations and gotten paid for them. I have 10,000 followers, which is nuts. Okay.
Lorraine:Just for this is for you who has a 100, 1,000,000. So, you know, so just know this, that if with a 10 with a wait. What did I say? 10,000 followers, I can get just to only TikTok. You definitely can.
Helen:That's so crazy. So when you when you say activations, you're talking about brand, like, brands Sponsors. Yeah. Brand sponsors.
Lorraine:Sponsors. Sorry. Yeah.
Helen:That's Yeah. And so does that come through your agent or those people are contacting you directly because it's TikTok?
Lorraine:Really, honestly. And and Joanna tells me this, and she's very open about it, is that most people come to me. They go they reach out to her just because that's how I want it, and I have it set out in every place that I'm on online. I say, please reach out to my agent. I have no desire to do things myself.
Lorraine:Yeah. That being said, I do have, like, the list of people we've worked with. I send them thank you notes. Like, it's not like I'm, oh my god. I don't talk to them.
Lorraine:I do. I'm very involved in everything that happens. But honestly, most of what of my work is because they find me. Yeah. Just crazy.
Helen:And also, though, Lorraine, you have I mean, I'm going to compliment the heck out of you, but you're gorgeous and you have a vibe and you have the model figuring where the clothes and your posts are very, I will say, sponsorable, even your non sponsored content, because because, you know, the hair. Well And I'm not putting myself down by any means because I have value, and I know, obviously, I wouldn't have a million followers. Oh my god. Please. But my value is different.
Helen:I don't have necessarily a value to a makeup brand or a nail brand or a hair brand or
Lorraine:I'll tell you what, though. My the least number of sponsors have ever come from clothes or makeup. I only worked with L'Oreal. I think that was my longest thing during COVID. I worked with a hair brand, and I did I've done, I think, one paid clothes post.
Lorraine:That's it. Oh, okay. So just so you know,
Helen:there's no luck with it. You you to me, I look
Lorraine:at your high director.
Helen:Okay. I'm a director, and I see you have the look.
Lorraine:Well, not the other people don't think so. But here's what's different. What's different is that I don't let it get to me. For example, I had and I I think I sent this to you or I wrote it in somewhere that years ago, somebody wanted me to meet the head honcho of brand x y z that I use, and everybody uses. Young people use it, older people, especially younger people.
Lorraine:And they're like, let me introduce you to this person, but Lorraine has this website. Okay. Fine. Doesn't give me a time of day. Somebody else tries blah blah blah.
Lorraine:This guy doesn't wanna work with me.
Helen:Right.
Lorraine:I'm not gonna shove myself down his throat. I don't
Helen:The the end. Right. You don't yes. That's a good attitude because the thing is just roll with it. It doesn't it doesn't matter.
Helen:It's so interesting because I have been on the other side of this for my entire career. So until 4 years ago, I was not in front of a camera. So it's it's a very strange place for me. And so I see things through a different lens because I've been on that side. And so I'll and I assess like, I'll see people online and what they're doing.
Helen:And I'm thinking, like, you are so marketable for so many brands. That's it's just crazy. Tell them. And go They're stupid.
Lorraine:I'm kidding. But, you know, it's like I also heard you and Julie once talk about your dream brand. I have worked with dream brands. And but that doesn't mean it's great because maybe the PR is is not good to work with. Maybe their what they want out of the campaign is not what you can deliver.
Lorraine:I'm not good at delivering clicks or
Helen:Right.
Lorraine:Sales. I already know this. So before, like, we we are very clear, and I've I've said no to campaigns, 5 figure
Helen:dependent on sales or something.
Lorraine:Yeah. And I said, I can't guarantee that. Or there was another one where I had to guarantee that someone was gonna sign up to the $65,000 clinic. That that's the cost of it. And my my money was gonna be very good.
Lorraine:It was almost 6 figures. And I was like, but I couldn't sleep at night.
Helen:Yeah. You can.
Lorraine:That's thought that I had to deliver this. Yes. So, you know, there's so it's not like, oh, I wanna work with my dream brand, but maybe it's a pain in the butt.
Helen:Maybe it ain't no dream.
Lorraine:No. Exactly.
Helen:Maybe it's a nightmare.
Lorraine:There's all these things that go into it, you know? And then sometimes I'm like, why is that person working with this brand and I'm not? Well, who cares? Maybe they're not getting paid, you know. Anyway, I'm I'm I tell Phil, and we talk each other off ledges all the time because he's also like, look at this writer.
Lorraine:He got this accolade. And I'm like, but you have 5 books.
Helen:Yeah. Sometimes you can't help it because you're putting pressure on yourself and you think yeah I mean I know I'm as good as that person or I don't know sometimes I'll see people featured on the news like a tick tocker doing such and such and I'm thinking that that why is that person on the news? I it really actually confuses me sometimes, but I'm just like, whatever. I can't you can't live your life that way. It's like stop looking out and just keep like, look in and look forward and just live your life to for for your potential.
Helen:So anyway, that's where I'm at. I would love to before we wrap up. Well, we don't have any major questions, so I'm just going to say what I would like you to share is, you know, people might think, oh, you got into this so soon. It's too late for me. I there's no way I'm gonna make it.
Helen:So what advice would you have for someone that's maybe just starting to gain a following, just starting to gain traction? Thoughts on that? Because I haven't
Lorraine:honestly, because I've had people say, oh, I'm not getting the brand deals. And then I look at their Instagram and they post once a month. Of course, you're not gonna get brand deals, you know, and don't do it for the brand deals. If you really share from the heart, then maybe you'll have to be honestly, I mean, of course, I have to sometimes read scripts, and I'm trying to learn how to read them without looking like I'm reading.
Helen:You got it. Julie needs to give you some advice on that. She has to memorize all these comedy sets. I'm like, how did she do it? God.
Lorraine:So tell like to sound that yeah. Well, Phil wants to do stand up. We'll see where maybe one day, I'll I'll join Julie on the stage. But it's like, you know, if you how would I explain this? You have to look at it from the point of like, when I started blogging in 2006 before I made money with it, I would I had a thing.
Lorraine:I'm I'm gonna post twice a week, and I'm gonna do it like this. And it was called Success Diaries in the most unsuccessful time of my life. And I did it. And nobody was paying me, and nobody was waiting for the post to go up. You have to be that person.
Lorraine:If you're not that person, like if, if everything went to hell in a hand basket, I probably would continue posting. Yes.
Helen:That's so funny that you say that. I have the same thing. And it's funny that every single person so far that we've had on this expert series says the same thing that if they didn't make money from it, they still would be doing it. And that is something that
Lorraine:I mean, I would I have to find another way to make money.
Helen:To make money. Of course.
Lorraine:I would probably, go back to journalism if I could or or writing for someone or publish another book, which I don't even time for because I spend all my brain cells online, so I don't have a book in my head at this point. But
Helen:Right. No. You're so you are incredible. I am so thankful for you joining us today. And, I mean, sharing your story from the beginning, and I know that we couldn't go through the exact timeline, but I feel that we really got I
Lorraine:don't think it matters. No.
Helen:I think we got the meat of what you you did, how you turned your life around, why it's working and how you stay consistent, even though some days are not that great. And that's
Lorraine:Oh, no. Some days I I mean, I've spent days in bed, and I've spent days, like, during the pandemic, we had some personal issues, at home, not not between Fo and me, but but we're very heavy. And I've I've shot content where I was crying between takes. I kid you not. But you know how that is.
Lorraine:You had cancer and and I forgot. That is. And so then and people are like, oh my god. How do you do that? Because it's my work.
Lorraine:Like, if
Helen:I had
Lorraine:to go to an office where I'd be like, oh, excuse me. I can't go. No. Yes. I would still go probably.
Lorraine:No.
Helen:No. You show you show up.
Lorraine:It's your work.
Helen:It's your character as well.
Lorraine:I'm sorry. I get all worked up with this.
Helen:I love it. You're you're awesome. We're going to have to do we're going to have to do part 2 and so we can cover more and more topics But you are amazing. Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm gonna do my little if you did land here via a podcast platform randomly, don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter at hellosocialize.com so that you get all the weekly updates and you're aware of our of the links and the things that we're gonna share.
Helen:And I will put in the show notes, Lorraine, any of the things. I'll put your handles where to find you on all the socials. I'll put a link to your newsletter if you if people would like to subscribe, I get your newsletter. I I get the Viva 50 newsletter all the time. And it's funny.
Helen:I challenge myself to read the things that are in Spanish, by the way.
Lorraine:Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
Helen:It's really helpful for my Spanish studies. Alright. Thank you so much for being with us today. I appreciate you so much.
Lorraine:I appreciate you. Big hugs.
Helen:And now I have your cell number. So watch out. I'll be texting
Lorraine:you. Same.
Helen:Dangerous. Okay.