We recently connected with Elisha Kelly and have shared our conversation below.
Elisha, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I’m incredibly fortunate that I had parents who instilled confidence and self-esteem from a young age. I’ll never forget my dad telling me that I can do anything I want in this world, as long as I had determination and was willing to put in the work. So that’s the mindset i’ve always had! After losing him 8 years ago, it’s all I can do to make him proud and continue to know my self-worth.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
For 6 years I was a Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (previously known as Home Ec) teaching everything from Culinary to Interior Design to high school students.
In the Spring of 2020, my husband and I bought our first home. I’m a big believer that your environment plays a huge role on your overall mood and well-being, so it was no surprise that I had big plans to design our home in a way that reflects our personality. For fun, I decided to start an Instagram dedicated to home design and DIY so I could share all my projects! This is when @ouraesthetic_abode came about!
My husband and I both had little to no home improvement experience, but my dad was an avid DIYer and even flipped houses for a living. Growing up in an 1838 fixer upper home seeing my dad refinish floors, install wallpaper, re-tile our bathrooms… I knew I could tackle these projects myself. So I taught myself how to use tools (youtube is a DIYer’s bff) and the rest is history.
DIY is my passion, my connection to my dad, and now it’s my career. I’m a full time content creator sharing very detailed tutorials (mistakes and all!) on my Instagram and blog so others can have the confidence to tackle these projects too!
My husband and I just sold our first home in South Carolina and bought a 1930s brick home in Pittsburgh, closer to family! We’re thrilled to have an older home and can’t wait to put our own touch on it, while still preserving the character. I’m planning to expand my tutorials to long form videos on youtube in addition to my Instagram and blog! I’d love for you to follow along!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, I would say the 3 most important qualities that got me to where I am now are courage, patience, and persistence.
There’s so many things about starting this business that scared me; quitting my job as a teacher, putting myself out there on the internet, starting a blog when I was never a good writer, using intimidating tools, learning videography, and the list goes on. But fear is just an obstacle and you’ll never grow if you can’t surpass it! And you can.
Just remember… everyone has to start somewhere! Sure, it’ll be uncomfortable at first, and you won’t do a perfect job right away, but you’ll keep practicing and skills and confidence will develop over time. You have to be patient and persistent. Good things don’t happen overnight and you need to keep working at it. Don’t give up.
It’s not easy, and it’s normal to have constant struggles, but it’s all part of the journey and I promise, you will be stronger for it!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I don’t know what i’d do without the friendship of other content creators in my niche. Connecting with those in your industry is a must. Not only for networking purposes, but also for your mental health. Join Facebook groups, attend conferences, go to retreats, or just simply reach out and introduce yourself.
My job is unique and it’s difficult for my friends or family to fully understand, so having “colleagues” to vent to, or to ask advice, is so valuable to me.
Every year I attend 2-3 DIY/Blogger/Small business owner conferences and it revives me every time. While I do learn a lot in the classes, I really go just to meet or see my other content creator friends who understand. It’s in the casual conversations we have that I learn the most. Most importantly, I can complain about the latest troll experience I had 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ouraestheticabode.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ouraesthetic_abode/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ouraestheticabode
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg5tGU7LTnN2iohEVyP1JCg
Image Credits
I took all the photos 🙂
