Today we’d like to introduce you to Delanie Majors.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Delanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first started my creative journey about a year ago when I finally decided to start a YouTube channel. Funny thing is it started out very “newsy” as I majored in broadcast journalism in college and I was considering integrating that into my brand. As time went on, I realized that wasn’t really the path I wanted to go down. Then, I played around with the idea of a fashion foodie. So, my Instagram had a lot of great food posts along with fashion pictures. I played around on YouTube with videos testing if “Instagram food” was actually worth it. Those were a ton of fun but I came to the conclusion that it didn’t feel organic enough, so I tried to shift gears.
Since then, I have naturally gravitated into more of an affordable lifestyle niche. It very seamlessly happened as I love optimizing my life and how I spend my time and money.
In 2019, it is so easy to think every 22-year-old lives like Jake Paul and all these Instagram kids, but that isn’t normal, and that’s okay. I love showing people that you can go out to trendy places with cool cocktails, and wear an outfit that is killer, and take a picture for Instagram that you’re excited about, all without blowing your entire paycheck.
I love wearing something that makes me feel confident while sipping a great cocktail at Parliament just as much as the next girl. But I also love doing it reasonably. For me, it is about experiences, and investing on key timeless pieces that will last you forever (while buying cheap when it comes to fast fashion), and that can be a hard way to shift your brain to think.
I have always thought this way, so when my Instagram shifted to this on its own, it all started to flow much better for me. Once I came to this point, I decided to launch my blog to act as a hub for all my content. The name Bite Me + Co. comes from taking a bite of good food, good friends, good style, and overall a bite of life. Plus, it is a little cheeky, like, “bite me!” which I’m all about.
I love where I am, even though it isn’t exactly where I want to be at the end (is there ever really an end? haha) Right now, I’m just focusing on sharing my true personality and growing a community that really understands and supports me and the content I produce.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it is not easy at all. The numbers game on social media can be extremely toxic. While numbers aren’t everything, they can feel like everything. It can make you feel lesser than other influencers or like your not worth that brand deal or that you can’t talk to that girl at that blogger meet up.
The best thing you can do is get that out of your head. No one actually cares, and if they do, you don’t want to surround yourself with that anyways.
Take this time in the early stages of your journey to get to know your community and put yourself out there so they can get to know you. For instance, my feed is curated and pretty and the typical Instagram, but on my stories, I make an absolute fool of myself, because that’s just who I am.
I’ll hop on stories when life is messy or I’m on the struggle bus, or when I have to rant about a ridiculous thing that happened to me that day. People love it, not because I’m funny, or I’m pretty, or because it has the perfect text and GIF on top of it. People love it because I’m being me.
If you never share the highs, the lows, the ridiculous, the funny, and everything in between, people will never get to know you and you’ll never get to know them. Think about it, you never made friends without breaking some walls down first. Social media is the exact same way.
As cliche as it is, be yourself and curate strong relationships with that small community first, and then everything else will follow.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As mentioned, I do a lot of affordable lifestyles while still being on trend an boujee (for lake of a better term). I mainly focus on Instagram now while sprinkling in blog posts and YouTube videos as well. Lately, I’ve even been thinking about a podcast as well, so we’ll see!
Weirdly enough, a lot of people actually know me for my candid stories, and captions that are reflective of me and what is actually going on in my life. Nothing makes me happier than when someone DM’s me and says, “your story is so funny, you had me actually laughing.”
To know I can be myself and goofy, yet still cool and sexy is really fun for me. Better yet, it is so cool to know that other people see that balance in me too.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
I know it is so so scary to start a YouTube channel, or a blog, or a more “creative” Instagram. You’re thinking, “oh my goodness what will people at my school say, or what will my parents think. Everyone is going to think this is so stupid and think I can never do this.”
Do not listen to that voice.
The moment you do it and just start going for it, all that fear rolls away. Once I announced I had started a YouTube channel, I felt less pressure than when I was hiding it.
I go back to, no one cares, and if they do, you don’t want them in your life anyways. Get out there and do it, whatever “it” is.
I have had so many people tell me they love what I’m doing and the content I’m creating. Not one person has told me that I’m dumb. Now, I’m sure there are a few people that have talked negatively behind my back, but it has never come back around to me. I literally can’t hear the haters, because they’re to quiet to speak up.
Plus, you’re living your life for you, not them, so do what you want to do, no matter what it is. You’ll feel so much more free once you do it and forget what anyone else might think.
Contact Info:
- Website: bitemeand.co
- Email: delaniemajors@gmail.com
- Instagram: @delaniemajors
- Other: www.youtube.com/delaniemajors
Image Credit:
Delanie Majors
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