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How
I Started

 
DANI RIOS
Content Creator.
Editor of LittleMixico.com
Wow, has it been 3 years since I started my blog? I never thought I would be here blogging full time. I also never thought it was so much work. I used to think it was all just fun and games, until I actually had to live off of blogging.
 
 
“I think it’s safe to say that I now have a grasp of what blogging is and what my duties as a blogger are.”
DANI RIOS
 
I must say, there are many downsides to doing what I do, but there are also so many great things. I am truly blessed to be doing what I love and basically being my own boss.
Wow, has it been 3 years since I started my blog? I never thought I would be here blogging full time. I also never thought it was so much work. I used to think it was all just fun and games, until I actually had to live off of blogging. I must say, there are many downsides to doing what I do, but there are also so many great things. I am truly blessed to be doing what I love and basically being my own boss. This week I have been asked so many times how I started my blog, and today I am going to tell you. It was actually a STRUGGLE to get to where I am today, but once you break through those small obstacles you can really thrive in this business.
So, I guess let me tell you how it all started. I remember being in a college classroom and being so bored learning about God knows what. So, I started to text my friend Frank. He told me that I really needed to start a blog and honestly, I was like hmm.. why not? We brainstormed on different names for my blog while I googled blog name generators to try to find a match. Finally, we came up with Little Mixico. One, because I am little. Two, because I am from Mexico, however, I like to MIX my Mexican and American culture together because both are a huge part of my life.
So lets say that my blog name was established in April of 2015, but it wasn’t until months later that I was actually able to launch. November of that year to be exact.
I was faced with certain obstacles, the main one being building a site to BLOG on. I spent months going back and forth trying to make a website that I thought was amazing at the time, and just having it up so I could post content on there was a hassle. I was also faced with trying to convince my family that I could actually make money off of this one day. I remember asking my grandma to invest in my future by paying for my website, and that later on I would be able to give back to her for believing in me. To be completely honest, I think my grandma was the ONLY person that believed in me then. I think my parents were very skeptical about it, and even when I would ask them for certain things for my blog, I don’t think they ever grasped how this would work. Of course, that was a little discouraging, but when has other people’s opinion ever stopped me? Never. So I begged them to buy me a camera and although they thought it was so dumb, they did anyway. LOL After that, I started to blog and did what other bloggers do which is reviewing products, posting DIY’s, and posting cute photographs on Instagram, right? Well, at least, that’s what I thought I had to do as a blogger back then.
Another obstacle I faced was WHO would take these pictures of me?! I think most bloggers deal with this, but if you live in the states just know that YOU ARE BLESSED. When I lived in Mexico, I couldn’t just collaborate with photographers or find someone that could photograph me like how I do here in the U.S. It is actually dangerous to reach out to anyone you don’t really know out there. So I was stuck begging my family to take a million and one pictures of me just to find out I could only make one work. Lol So trust me, if you think you have it hard, you don’t.  What is so amazing about the states, and what really helped me grow, is the community of bloggers and photographers that are here in Dallas. When I first moved back to Dallas, I tried to reach out to as many people as I could. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have grown as much as I did in the beginning, especially when I couldn’t pay as many photographers as I can now.
Then, of course, there is your brand you have to build and focus on. For me, I knew I wanted to focus on beauty, fashion and food. So, what did I do? I contacted as many businesses as I could so I could have content for my site and Youtube channel. It worked! Having that content that others wanted to see really helped me grow, and sooner than later, I had an actual blog with actual content to blog about! I think people saw what I could do and what I could bring to the table and they started reaching out! It’s the best feeling in the world to know that your hard work and perseverance was worth it all once you start getting brands interested in working with you.  Now for those that are wondering if I was ever able to repay my grandma, why yes, yes I did. I actually got a corporate job working for a multi-million dollar company as a social media manager a year later. I was able to afford my own place and everything and I was solely hired because of my blog! My grandma visits Dallas often, so when she was able to stay at my apartment, and I was able to take her out to eat with my income, I honestly was so happy that I could say, “Thank you for believing in me and investing in my future. I now can take care of YOU”.
(Almost teared up, anyway, back to blogging.)
I think it’s safe to say that I now have a grasp of what blogging is and what my duties as a blogger are. Those duties are not just to enjoy my life, and seem like I am having so much fun all the time, but also to share my life, my struggles, and help others become the person they want to be. I mean, if this was a small vision and goal I had for myself and made it despite some obstacles, trust me, so can you. You seriously never know where you will go if you don’t at least try. I mean honestly, I wasn’t even sure that I would succeed. I never thought I would actually LIVE off of my blog, yet here I am. It just takes someone that is going to work hard towards whatever they want and always strive to be the best. If I didn’t give it my all in every situation I was in as a blogger, I would be like any other blogger out there. However, making yourself stand out and doing what needs to be done to achieve your dreams is really all you need.
Now, I have other dreams and goals that I would like to reach. So, its time to get that vision again, plan it out, and take the steps needed to move forward.
 
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