Little Piece of my soul- Blogger interview

Hi, Guys! I have a confession to make, you ready, I’m a little attached to my computer! I love blogging and discovering new bloggers that bring something new to the table. Blogs that teach me something I never knew I even needed to know. Shalika from A Little Piece of My Soul  blogs about her love for life and her serious passion for fashion. This young woman is very talented and even owns her own boutique. She’s an amazing person that I think you all will love! So without further delay, Give a warm welcome to Shalika!! 

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Please Introduce Yourself:

Hello SOULmates my name is Shalika Martin. I'm a lover, mother, and friend. I was born and raised in sunny Northern California, but I currently live in the Emerald City aka Seattle. I must say the transition was rough on me at first, not only was it hard to adjust to the weather and exchanging my opened toed shoes to rain boots. People's sense of fashion was...how can I put it nicely, a little behind and rough around the edges. I was the girl people would ask, "Why do you always dress up?" while wearing high heels, jeans and a simple top, seriously...grrrr! My new motto is "Everyday is a Dress up Day," inspired by the one and only Coco Chanel "Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
My family consist of my long time lover, our handsome 18 year old son and our beautiful pet kids, Kizmuh the voluptuous cat and our dog, Princess Mulan. I am a professional Sign Language interpreter by day and a social diva by night. We are proud owners of a Bubble Tea/ Juice Bar-The Bubble Shack and just a year ago I opened an accessory boutique called SOUL. I am a sucker for a great sale and fabulous pair of shoes! Fashion is in my veins, it is a way to express myself without having to say one word. I love inspirational quotes, and if I were to come back as an animal I would want to be an Elephant. I know I weird and I love it!

 

You’re a very busy woman! With all of your responsibilities you still find time to blog. What is your blog about?

 

My blog is about sharing a little piece of my SOUL, day to day life happenings, my love for life and all things fashion. I enjoy sharing tips on how to style everyday look to glam on a budget: finding great deals, thrift shopping and making smart choices on signature pieces that are timeless. I get so excited when I find items for a fraction of the price, the heart starts beating fast and my eyes sparkle with glee. Its all about the hunt and its so freaking addicting, and I want to share my addiction with the world.

What made you start blogging?

 

I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be blogging. I was the chick that snooped around blogs to admire other bloggers charisma and the ability to engage their audience through words and pictures or just words or just pictures. It fascinated me enough that I started blogging for a few months but was too scared to click "Publish." NO WAY, I am not a writer, I thought. I couldn't imagine putting myself out there like that. After a few encouraging words from a friend and a little self talk, I went for it. So here I am, a bonafide blogger, LOL. However I'm still a little scurrred. Honestly, fear keeps me going because I will not allow it to take over what I want to accomplish in life, in fact fear is the fuel to my fire.

I believe we all started out that way! Now that you’ve conquered your fear of letting the world read your thoughts, Do you have any goals for your blog in the future?

 

In the future I hope my blog will attract  people of all ages, and background. My goal definitely is not to have hundreds of readers but instead continue to work on my craft as a blogger, be inspirational, express my love for life and all things fashion and hopefully find a core group of friends along the way. If I gain the attention of hundreds of follows great, if not I am ok with that too.

I love your positivity! What advice would you give to a new blogger?

 

Wow, honestly I am the last person to give advice about blogging. I'm still new to the game. I'm too OCD to leave this question blank, so here I go.

I would encourage you to find other bloggers who you feel engages their audience through their blog and not by blog hopping or giving things away because often times you end up gaining superficial followers. Don't get me wrong blog hops and giveaways are great but it shouldn't be your only means to gaining an audience. I've already made that mistake. Its important not to get caught up with how many followers you have because you may lose yourself along the way. Stay true to yourself, easy to say but hard to do. It is important to remember why you started blogging in the first place. Look for bloggers for example like Danielle, bloggers who offer other bloggers a platform to authentically gain new followers. If at all possible find a mentor, this is a hard one, in fact I am still searching for one myself-HELLO anyone out there wink, wink:). I would also suggest finding bloggers that you can use as inspiration, WARNING don't try to mimic them. People are smart and they are able to sniff out fakes. As a reader I don't look for perfection, and I don't look to see how many followers bloggers have, but I do look for authenticity. Most importantly take your time, breathe and try not to do too much at one time. Blogging shouldn't be stressful, in fact it should be the exact opposite-a stress reliever.

GOOD LUCK and most importantly have FUN! 

 

Wow, what an inspirational young woman!! I really enjoyed interviewing Shalika and I hope that you all enjoyed learning more about her and her blog. Who knows, in the future you might even see a guest blog post by the lovely Shalika!

If you would like to be featured on Sweet Tart Beauty, please shoot me an email at info (at) sweet tart beauty (dot) com. I would love to interview you!!