I’ve been thinking about this for almost a year, planning for months, and now it’s here.  The people who know me realize that I’m always doing something on the side. Something that motivates me, alongside my day-to-day digital marketing career. And it’s usually an extension of it.

This time, I got some help. I had an idea, but I knew I needed a partner in crime to get to where I wanted to go. I sat on my couch one night and thought about the people, the women, in my life who had similar aspirations, likes, and compatible personalities. Randomly, one name came to mind. Lindsey Varney. A friend who I met my first week of college and lived across the hall – 13 years ago. We had been in touch off and on, but it had truly been years since we had hung out. I knew she was also in digital marketing, a day younger than me, loved fashion, and had a fun outlook on life. Someone who would balance my type A planner-ness. Months later, here we are. Partners in a new adventure, called Radiate Daily.

 What is Radiate Daily you ask?

I pondered that question for a long time myself. What do I want this site to be. I didn’t want another fashion tips site. Tips only go so far. I wanted to get to the root of the pain points that people have on a daily basis.

 Confidence. Inspiration.

I want to inspire people to believe in themselves. Help focus on the things that drive who they are, each day of their life, and in turn be proud and confident. Style is something I’ve loved for a long time. It’s not fashion – fashion fades as they say. Style is something we all possess (whether we believe it or not). But confidence in one’s style comes from my places (like my story here). It can be a fitness routine, a quote we read, a compliment from a friend, a story that inspired us, or our careers kicking butt. That confidence shapes the rest of us, including our style. It helps us Radiate Daily.

So join me and Lindsey. Join us in our new adventure to help inspire others every day. Come read the stories, check out the snippets on social, and help us collect more to share. Share yours! And of course, tell me what you think. What helps you #radiatedaily ?

I launched my new site last Monday and had been planning for this launch date for a couple weeks. When launching a new site (like any product) you hope goes as smoothly as possible. Hope is the key word. Does it actually go that smoothly? Ha! That’s a silly thought.

I apparently forgot the wisdom of checking things not once, but twice or three times.What happened?

1. My Email subscription link did not work.

2. My RSS subscription did not work

3. My Facebook link went to a different “Pam”‘s page.

YIKES !!!

Then what?

1. Easy fix. Took me a minute to fix a Feedburner issue. (Thanks Lane for pointing this out).

2. Not an easy fix. Or at least not for me. Thankfully the awesome Mike Troiano alerted me to this issue. I almost had a panic attack thinking people couldn’t subscribe (when this is the way most people like to – easy and simple to do). I immediately contacted my friend who helped me set up the site. He unfortunately couldn’t tackle the issue until later in the day. I tell myself, “breathe Pam breathe!” The issue will be solved. It’s ok if you just tweeted out to the world and Facebooked about it and emailed all your friends that your site has been launched. They may come back later and subscribe….ha! Yes I freaked out. As I sit in my global branding class and freak out some more as my friend is unable to figure out the issue…I brainstorm all the individuals I know who have some web/coding smarts. I thank the many stars that I had formed a friendship with the great David Wells who solved my issue in…wait for it….10 minutes!!!!! I couldn’t have been more relieved. It may have taken all day, but that glass of wine at 11pm was well worth the wait. Thank you Dave – you rock! And you saved me a heart attack or two. Being 27, I think I am too young for that heart attack, just yet.

3. Quick fix thankfully – especially after #2.

So what did I learn? Check your links people. Check them not once, but twice! And preferably have someone go through them for you before you “officially” launch. This is what I would have normally done in a work setting…but woops!

At the end of the day all is well and I am breathing easy again.

“Breathe, Pam, Breathe….”