Meet Jennifer Harrup

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Harrup. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I feel like I still deal with imposter syndrome all of the time. Online our attention spans are so short and we find ourselves simply consuming whatever content our algorithm feeds us. We aren’t following creators like we used to. For example, I have a large Tiktok following, but to this day every video I post feels like an uphill battle to get views and engagement. When I do post something that does well I’m often surprised that the comment section feels full of total strangers- friendly people sure, but no one familiar with me, my work, or my house. “This is ICONIC” Someone might say followed by “WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE?” Or a repost of my viral painted countertop video from several years ago that will once again go viral and anger an entirely new set of home owners. I often think…where are my followers? Does Tiktok not even bother to show my content to any of them? It does allow for a lot of freedom of what I post, but I do find myself yearning for a small yet loyal following that is tuned in and invested in my projects. When that does happen (see: my latest lattice ceiling project), it feels so so good.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an interior design content creator. My goal is to makeover my home, share the entire process, and hopefully inspire you to do the same along the way! I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for five years now. It feels unreal. I am currently focusing on consistency and showing up authentically online. Which is easier said than done!

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?

Three skills I have that have helped me in my journey are- perseverance (I refuse to give up), snark, and a figure it out attitude. If there’s a task or a project I don’t know how to do I know I can always figure it out. My past life as a wedding planner trained me that there is a solution to EVERY problem it just has to be found. Perseverance is also key in the content creation game. When you start in this field the chances of anyone (other than your mom) seeing your first pieces of content are slim… so you just have to keep going. Post the story, make the content. It may take weeks, or months before anyone sees anything, but if it’s good and it resonates it will get seen! The fun thing about content is that it doesn’t have to be precious- we all consume so much that if it’s not perfect that’s ok- just post it! You will find yourself learning and improving over time naturally if you just keep going. As for snark- let’s pair that with a thick skin- you won’t survive online without it and responding to any haters with a idgaf attitude and a dash of snark will go a long way!

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed I take a step back, take some time off. I didn’t have that luxury in my past life and career (as a wedding planner) so I love that as a content creator I don’t have anyone to answer to. It’s not great for the business and I totally recognize that it’s a luxury/privilege, but I truly believe if you are going to survive online long term you do need to step away every now and again. Go touch some grass.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Jennifer Laura Living

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