We’re back, loves!!!!!!!! And, we’ve got an amazing human we want to share with you. Miranda Shultz and Bold have been in touch for MONTHS. But, with all of our craziness of the event and her schedule, as well, we just hadn’t had a chance to sit down and chat. Well… guess what… we did!
Miranda Schultz Runs the Plus Life Blog and we LOVE it. In it, she discusses ALL things plus. It’s about her life and her lifestyle. Not just the clothes, not just the successes and failures, the love, the resources. THE WHOLE THING! So, we sat down with Miranda and without further ado (gosh that looks so wrong, but we have learned that is the way to use the word, not the French word we often misuse), we’d like to share the meeting! Be Bold!
Bold Magazine: Miranda, we recently connected after finding each other on Instagram. But, you seem to do it all. Tell us about the blog!
Miranda Schultz: I definitely like to keep busy, and “doing it all” is the only way I know how to live! Haha. I started my blog at the end of March in 2018 as a creative outlet. I was feeling a LOT of stress at my corporate job and needed an outlet to pursue the things that make me happy. I’m pretty much a wannabe Martha Stewart or Joanna Gaines so I decided to channel my love of home decor, fashion, travel and home and family life into something productive and fun that I could share with others.
I was fortunate enough to have a lot of things go my way early on with the blog… things like meeting great people, seeing fast growth on social media and the blog, and having brands want to partner with me. I pretty quickly realized that this creative outlet and passion project could become much more for me and decided only a few months in to quit my corporate job to dedicate more time to learning all things blogging and building my personal brand.
I’d say the reason you see me “doing it all” is that I am 100% determined to grow my blog into a full-blown business that offers not only the free advice and tips I share on the blog but other products and services that will be beneficial to my audience. More to come on that in 2019!
Bold Magazine: So powerful! We love it! You focus on things other than fashion in your blog. Tell us why!
Miranda Schultz: Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE fashion. But I’d be bored to tears if that’s all I could talk about on my blog. I know a lot of people do it and do it well, but I’ve never been one who likes to be restricted into a single lane. Plus size women, especially plus size women over a size 24 like me, NEED fashion resources. It’s vital to have options that work for us and it’s always good to look and feel your best. For me, though, fashion is only a small part of what it takes for me to live my best life, and I wanted to share those other things with my audience too.
Also, prior to launching my blog, I followed a TON of plus influencers for fashion advice but realized I was always turning to skinny lifestyle influencers for everything else I was interested in. One day I found myself explaining to friends what I wanted to see more of on social media and blogs and realized that I couldn’t complain that my exact interests weren’t being discussed if I weren’t willing to start the conversation myself. That’s what sparked the whole idea to launch my own blog.
By the way, I was totally WRONG about there not being good lifestyle content from plus creators out there… I just hadn’t found it. I’m glad I was so naive because I probably would have never had the nerve to start if I realized how many people were already doing it so well!
Bold Magazine: Ugh! Send us all of it please! We love! We’ll share some of our friends, too! You specifically mentioned how long it took for you to start blogging and how it was your daydream in your “about us” page. What was the reason you began? Can you tell us the story?
Miranda Schultz: Blogging had been in the back of my mind for years but I had every excuse in the book not to start. I’m sure that many people have the same excuses. I don’t have time. I’m not outgoing or “extra” enough. Other people are more stylish than me. I don’t know how to do the technical stuff. I don’t have a lot of followers on social media. I’m embarrassed to start because I might fail. I could go on for days.
Ultimately, I started because after meeting and befriending many bloggers I realized that they’re actual human beings just like me. I realized that no one had all the answers in the beginning and that you learn and grow by TRYING.
I finally started because after ten years working in a corporate environment and not spending any time on my other passions, I was really stressed and my desire to try something new outweighed all the excuses I had made.
Bold Magazine: Girl… preach! So, other than Tess and Whitney, we don’t see a lot of women of extended plus size really making a splash in media. Why do you think that is and how has it influenced you? What are you doing about it?
Miranda Schultz: I think there is still terrible bias against large bodies and it seems to be one of the last “acceptable” types of discrimination. I think people like Tess and Whitney have been groundbreaking and are paving the way for others to be seen as human beings vs. just fat bodies. I think seeing the harsh comments and treatment of extended plus women in media is one of the reasons I was reluctant to put myself out there for so long. I’m tackling those fears head on and putting myself out there and making myself and my story known. I’ve been REALLY fortunate to have an incredibly kind and supportive audience, and I rarely have mean comments but they definitely do happen.
I would love to see more bodies like mine featured in media for reasons other than their size. I mean, HGTV or Bravo, I’m your girl if you’re looking for a Southern girl turned New Yorker turned Southern girl again to be featured on a show. (Just putting that out into the universe, you know?)
Bold Magazine: LOL! We’ve tried too! The shows that hit are so specific. Let’s get there, though! How do you balance your day-job/life and your blogging? What’s the goal? Where do you see the plus life blog going?
Miranda Schultz: Well, blogging IS my day job at this point along with freelance writing and social media work. Leaving my corporate job was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I’d be laying if I said that every day since quitting has been rainbows and butterflies. Turning my blog into a revenue generating business is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but I LOVE it! I work as hard or harder than I ever have in my corporate career for way less financial reward currently, but I 100% believe in what I’m doing and the possibilities for growth. I have also valued the flexibility of being my own boss tremendously and love that I’m able to work as much as I need to whenever I need to but I’m also able to take a random Tuesday off without asking anyone for permission.
Learning how to balance my work and my life is an ongoing challenge, though, and it’s something I need to work on. I want to ENJOY the flexibility more and not feel guilty about relaxing/resting when I choose to.
The goal for 2019 and beyond is to grow the blog as much as possible and connect with more and more people who will enjoy and benefit from the work I do. In 2019, I have plans to launch a new venture associated with the blog that isn’t QUITE ready to be announced yet. But I’ll give a hint… it’s a fashion related service that will give my readers the opportunity to work with me 1:1.
Bold Magazine: Oh em glee! We’re jealous! One thing we’ve noticed in your lifestyle blogging is your willingness to talk about your partner. Some bloggers or models don’t for various reasons. Why did you decide to make him a part of your online persona? What’s been his reaction? Feel free to mention how you left Bold on Long Island together! Hah!
Miranda Schultz: I share Kevin on my blog and social media because he’s cute and gets a lot of likes… haha! Posts with him really do perform best but that’s not why he’s there. My blog is a lifestyle blog and my marriage to Kevin is one of my favorite parts of my life. It only made sense to me that he would be part of what I share. I think that there’s also a misconception that fat women can’t find love or that we have to settle for terrible relationships or having significant others who aren’t proud to be with us and it’s just not the case. I want to show my single friends that finding real, beautiful love is possible and I want to provide resources for couples to have healthy, happy relationships.
Kevin is NOT an attention seeking guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s definitely handled it all well. He prefers to be behind the scenes (he’s my photographer!) but I’m grateful he’s OK with me sharing our lives with others.
Bold Magazine: LOL! We’re sure Kevin loves that you use that beautiful face for likes! He is very handsome! Where do you see plus size media going? How do you plan on staying involved?
Miranda Schultz: I think plus size media will continue to grow and become even more widely appreciated and utilized in coming years. I hope to see plus media feature bodies of all shapes and sizes (not just “acceptable” fats) and create content that shows us all as full, whole human beings because we are all so much more than our bodies.
I’ll stay involved by continuing to share my stories and life on my own platform and others through my freelance writing. I also want to open myself to other types of media including TV, Podcasts, etc. in the future.
Bold Magazine: Ugh! “Acceptable” fats. Not a fan, either! What do you enjoy most about being such a vocal voice in the plus community? Tell us some positives!
Miranda Schultz: This is an easy one! I absolutely ADORE the connections and friendships I’ve made through this community. Most of my friends in real life are skinny, and while they’re awesome… it’s so cool to have connected with so many people who understand this aspect of my life.
The other thing I love the most about being vocal in the community is feeling like I have the ability to ACTUALLY help someone improve their life in some way. I’ll never forget a message I received after sharing a post about tips for flying as a plus size person. A woman wrote me and told me she hadn’t seen her family in a number of years because they lived far away and she was too scared to fly due to her size. After reading my tips, she decided she could do it and BOOKED A FLIGHT! I cried and cried when I read that. Messages like that one keep me going and make me want to work hard to provide valuable content.
Bold Magazine: Well, we adore our connection to you! What’s next for you? It’s the beginning of 2019. What’s a story you want to tell in 2020?
Miranda Schultz: 2019 is going to be a year of REALLY hard work continuing to turn my blog into a business and launching products and services to fuel growth and serve my audience. I look at 2018 as the year I built the foundation. 2019 is the year this house gets built and I hope the story I can tell in 2020 is a massive success story.
Check Out Miranda’s Instagram Below!
https://www.instagram.com/thepluslifeblog/
Bold Magazine: Heck to the yeah! Lastly, Miranda, what makes you BOLD?
Miranda Schultz: I am unapologetically myself. At this point in my life, I know who I am, what I like and I own it. I am constantly trying to improve myself, learn and grow but I am 100% happy with who I am at this exact moment. I haven’t always been able to say that, but it feels great to be in this place.
