Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Cardozo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Natalie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After being laid off in a restructuring in the corporate world this past Fall, I decided to turn my hobby of health and wellness blogging into my full-time job. I wanted to share with my followers that there are ways to eat clean, and use natural makeup and skincare products, without sacrificing your health.
I’ve always been a relatively healthy person with regards to exercise and clean eating, or at least so I thought. Nine years ago, when my husband, then-boyfriend, was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I was forced to start paying much closer to attention to the ingredients in our food. Back then, we had no idea what gluten was, so I was forced to do a ton of research on switching to a gluten-free diet.
One thing led to another, and I kind of went down a rabbit hole. I became fascinated with health and wellness and began reading tons of books on the subject. Fast forward six years later, I turn my eye to the ingredients in everyday products like makeup and skincare and find they often have toxic ingredients that do more harm than good. This started my initial journey to share these same lessons learned with others through my blog, Precious Time Blog.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting a blog is not an easy thing to do as people may think. I was one of those that thought, “how hard can it be? Create an Instagram account, set-up a website, and start posting right?” Wrong. There is SO much behind the scenes work. Set up a website that you can grow your business on (I used a free website and I hit a wall after six months). You’re going to want a reputable site to host your business such as wordpress.org. Then, you have to think of your niche, create a logo, start writing and taking great photos. But that’s not all, from there, you need to build your audience, be comfortable with social media and creating videos, monetize the blog.
Now that you’ve done that, how do you start making money? After all, this is now the business. So marketing your blog, reaching out to brands and creating pitches, setting up your media kit, also known as your resume with brands, charging fees, and so much more. I’d say the biggest challenge for me currently is the whole Instagram algorithm. Instagram is funny in the sense that it will only show a certain amount of people your posts. Crazy right? So how do you reach more people? I’m now learning that Pinterest is a great start, creating an email list and sending monthly newsletters to those who sign up, and how to ensure you have the right SEO’s (search engine optimization) so people can find your posts on google. I am still learning, and in the world of social media always changing, I will never not be learning the latest and greatest business techniques.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I created Precious Time Blog to share all things clean and natural whether its food, beauty products, or so much more. With so many toxic ingredients in conventional products, I want to help educate others about what to look for in their products and share with them clean alternatives. Switching to a cleaner, more natural lifestyle doesn’t have to be hard but can be difficult when first starting out. My blog’s sole purpose is to help others make that transition stress free and give them someone they can refer to, trust, and ask questions. I do my research and lean on other amazing bloggers in the community for advice, so I can scale lessons learned to my followers. To me, you only have one life to live, so make it non-toxic.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Dallas is a huge city and what I love about it is the rise in cleaner restaurants and beauty stores popping up. Besides that, I love how diverse it is here and most everyone is a transplant. I myself was born and raised in California. Moved to Dallas ten years ago with my hubby for a better quality of life for not just ourselves, but for our children. The schools are great, the cost of living is amazing, and people are so friendly. There is something for everyone here!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.precioustimeblog.com
Image Credit:
Douglas Cardozo
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Sponsor Shoutout:
Love tea? Or looking for a way to get your caffeine fix in a tasty but less sugar-filled way? Jasmine Oliver’s Tea Please is an amazing solution.
Tea Please is a dessert flavored loose leaf tea company. It is a tea that is for those that are wanting to watch their sugar intake, yet still wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth. You know, because giving in to your cravings is self-care.
Check them out here: http://www.teapleasetea.com/ & on instagram: @TeaPleaseTea
