Interview || Whitney Vass
Whitney Vass: recent college grad, blogger, and business owner?! Talk about a superwomen. After seeing her blog planner circling Instagram I knew I had to buy it. The description of the planner mentioned her blog so obviously I had to check it out. I am in L O V E with her blog! I love her philosophy about blogging and I love her content. Every time I get an email about her blog being updated its like a little sunshine in my inbox.
I wanted to give my readers a glimpse into how Whitney created her blog Whit Speaks, and how she started her business Heart & Arrow Designs. She graciously agreed to an interview:
Photo from Whitney Vass' Instagram
Whitney Blake Interview
1. What inspired you to start your blog?
I actually started my blog back in 2010 as my new years resolution! I blogged about everything from college life to design, and it’s actually pretty funny to see the evolution of my posts. Slowly I fell in love with redesigning my blog as I got more confident in my coding skills, and then I changed it again and again… and the rest is history J
2. Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?
All. The. Time. To be 100% honest with you, if I’m struggling to write, I just don’t post (not very good advice, I’m sorry!). Being a full time business owner means that I don’t have time to waste just staring at the screen waiting for words to come to me. If I don’t have anything to say, I move on and write another time when I’m feeling inspired!
3. When did you decide that you wanted to work for yourself?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but I started Heart & Arrow my junior year of college (about a year and a half ago) when I realized that I needed a lot more money to study abroad. Senior year of college quickly arrived and I applied for jobs, mainly because it seemed like that’s what everyone expected me to do. I realized in my less than half hearted job search that I didn’t want to work for someone else. I have way too many ideas and dreams to put them on hold doing what people expect me to do!
4. How do you come up with ideas for the graphics you sell in your Etsy shop?
I honestly just doodle! You can tell that a lot of my graphics are things that I find funny, useful, or appealing, and I’m working on expanding my shop to appeal to others more!
5. What tools do you use to create your graphics?
This is answered here:
From http://whitspeaks.com/2014/09/answering-some-faqs.html
6. How do you stay organized while running your blog and business?
Staying organized is actually the least of my worries, haha. In college I balanced so many different things and deadlines that this is a breeze! I do have a few favorite tools, though:
- My daily planner (big surprise there!)
- Emily Ley’s Simplified Life Planner – for long term planning
- ToDoist app (for my phone and desktop) – to give myself digital reminders
- Gmail Folders – I have my entire Gmail color-coded and I try to keep my inbox empty as often as possible!
7. What advice do you have for girls who want to do something similar to what you do?
This is answered here:
From http://whitspeaks.com/2014/09/answering-some-faqs.html
Photo from Whitney Vass' Instagram
8. When will the blog planners be available for purchase again?
They’re available now, just backordered! I should be getting my next inventory shipment in on Monday or Tuesday though! Yay!!
I want to thank Whitney again for answering these questions! If you're a blogger, or just a person who loves planning their day, you need to check out her Etsy shop!
xoxo
AME
