Yads is a contributing Health and Beauty Editor over at The Grace Tales and a Freelance Journalist, Editor and Health Coach on her health and beauty site Clean Beauty Talk! Her work has been published in magazines such as The Collective, Cosmopolitan Bride, Cosmopolitan Pregnancy, Shop Til You Drop, The Knot, HOORAY! We talk all things career, the joys of freelancing and pending babies...
DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY IN 5 WORDS…Pregnant. Forgetful. Happy. Ambitious. Hungry.
WOW YOU HAVE AN AMAZING CV, ARE THERE ANY CAREER HIGHLIGHTS THAT REALLY STAND OUT? Launching myself as a freelancer has to be my stand out. There’ nothing like working from the comfort of your house, sans makeup, 90’s playlist on repeat and eating peanut butter out of a tub to make you feel like you’re on the right path.
HAS ANYONE BEING A HUGE INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER? I think everyone you meet through the workplace has the ability to inspire your work, although business mama Georgie Abay is def. up there as one of my all time inspirations. Ex Deputy Editor of VOGUE, she’s now a mother to two beautiful girls, runs her own website, The Grace Tales, which I have the gigantic privilege to write for, while also running a luxury clothing business for children, Atelier Child on the side. Whenever I have one of those days where I’m not sure how I’ll handle a career and motherhood I think of other women like her who are doing it and realise that with a little effort it can be done!
WHATS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF? Don’t be so mean to yourself… and don’t date stupid boys.
WHERE HAS YOUR PASSION FOR HEALTH STEMMED FROM? I’ve always been into health/a bit of a fitness freak although it was only when I started writing about beauty that I realised how inextricably it was linked to health, which is what lead me to study nutrition at the Institution of Integrative Nutrition in New York and combine the two through my work. I even had my husband promise to forever get excited about ‘superfoods’ during our wedding vows! (Sucker.) Although health is such a huge part of my life.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT FREELANCING? ANY TIPS FOR SUCCESS FOR ANY OTHER BUDDING FREELANCERS? Freelancing is the life although when I first started I found it a little scary. You really need a strong work ethic and patience (some invoices can take forever to get paid) to make it work. Basically, you can’t slack off or your bills won’t get paid. Which is pretty good mojo.
It also helps that I love what I do and love the clients I work with. Also the amount of time I save not brushing my hair as well as the joy that eating peanut butter out of a jar while I write is incomparable to any 9-5.
I’m picky with who I work with too. I’m lucky that I’m in a position where I can be, although I’d say if you’re a freelancer, it pays to be picky. Get your work published where you want your writing to take you and don’t say yes to everything. You need a life too. I’ve learnt that the hard way.
SO WE SEE YOU HAVE A LITTLE BUB ON THE WAY, HOW HAVE YOU FOUND BALANCING PREGNANCY AND YOUR WORK? Some days it’s been tough, especially when I don’t sleep although I figure it’s probably much easier to be pregnant and work than to have a newborn and work. Next year I’ll be teetering into the working motherland of the unknown…so will see how that goes. Eeek.
WHAT’S NEXT ON THE HORIZON FOR CLEAN BEAUTY TALK? Since falling pregnant my brain has been in baby land far more often than I’d like to admit so I’m super excited to be branching out of health and beauty writing to incorporate a little motherhood and baby writing too. I have been able to add a little pregnancy writing to Clean Beauty Talk over the last nine months (although that’s mostly been complaining). I’m sure motherhood and everything that comes with it will be just as exciting to write about as well.
Discover more about Yads and all things health, beauty, lifestyle and now of course, babies!
Health Lab x
