We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pearl Lai a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Pearl, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I have my parents and my family to thank for my resilience and work ethic. It has always been instilled in me to work hard and be strong as my father was a refugee when he arrived in America from Vietnam and has sacrificed so much to be where we are today. Growing up in an immigrant family and being a first generation American has made me become who I am today. The resilience I have is due to the sacrifices my family has made for me to be here and for that I am thankful.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
TravelingwithPearl stemmed from a passion of travel and wanderlust, that has now become so much more. As I develop and grow my Instagram blog over the years, I am growing up with it. My page has grown into a locals San Diego page which was a pivot when the pandemic started. It has since become a lifestyle page to surround my love for travel, fitness and food. During this time, I am highlighting local businesses in SoCal as well as sharing my adventures and travels. I have actively traveled at least once a month since 2022 and I aim to continue to share and do so moving forward.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities and skills I have include:
– ability to bounce back
– flexibility in the unknown
– courage to market myself
These were most impactful because when things don’t go one way, my ability to bounce back and pivot has been a quality that is important when building a brand. My flexibility in the unknown ties deeply with my ability to bounce back because even know I am not sure of the direction, I am willing to try out many different things to move forward, which then leads me to my third point of the courage to market myself. Building a brand is a business. Marketing yourself is challenging, but not being scared to find out what you can and cannot do is important. One rejection is just a redirection to another opportunity that is uniquely for you.
Some advice I would give to people who want to dip their toes into content creation would be to post for you. Post and create what uniquely speaks to you because that becomes your true authentic self. Don’t get caught up in the metrics, because it is your page and brand – not anyone else’s.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
As content creators, many people experience burn out and it is important to take breaks when you notice them. When building a brand, people often forget that there is a single person behind negotiation of contracts, creating content, and administrative work that comes with the job, When those things feel overwhelming, take breaks and break it down one at a time. For me, I spend one day solely on batching content and another day on administrative work like scheduling or prepping for posts. This helps take 100 tasks to smaller steps, which are achievable and leave you feeling accomplished. And a reminder that it is your life. Do what makes you happy and pivot when you see fit.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingwithpearl/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pearllai8
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@travelingwithpearl?feature=shared
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