But for me, 2016 wasn’t just a vibe. It was the year I bet on myself.

Outside of my 9-5 job, I spent every spare second blogging at Believe In A Budget and launching a Pinterest virtual assistant business in 2015.

After only 9 months of finding steady success, I decided it was time to go all in. I was ready to leave corporate life and the daily grind.

I quit my day job (always the planner, I gave an insane 90 days notice because I knew my position would take time to fill and didn’t want to leave my team scrambling).

Then I moved to Nashville and was ready for a whole new chapter in my life to begin. I can still feel that 2016 energy!

The best part? I kept a time capsule. I documented almost every month of my income, expenses and raw thoughts at Believe In A Budget.

Looking back ten years later, it really was a simpler time.

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The Identity Crisis: Blogger? Freelancer?

In 2016, I struggled with my label. Was I a blogger? A freelancer? A Pinterest Virtual Assistant? I spent a lot of time worrying about where I fit.

In reality, I was a business owner wearing every single hat.

I was learning the mechanics of monetizing my new blog while simultaneously juggling a startup Pinterest VA business.

I was the writer, the graphic designer, the social media manager, the scheduler and the customer service department all at once.

Flash forward to 2026: I run multiple businesses… and life feels really good

In 2016, wearing all the hats was a necessity.

Today, I have the wisdom (and lack of time) to know which hats to delegate so I can focus on the big picture.

The 2016 Receipts

The financial jump between being a part-time creator and a full-time business owner is staggering when I look at my 2016 stats.

• 2015 Total (spare time while at my day job): $12,895.85

• 2016 Total (my first full year for myself): $90,302.12

Leaving my 9-5 day job allowed my income to skyrocket because I finally had the time to execute the work I already had lined up.

But what’s really eye-opening isn’t just the income, it’s the expenses. Here’s a screenshot from my October 2016 income report.

In 2016, my monthly business expenses were well under $300 per month. Proceeds to cry tears of sadness in 2026.

My monthly expenses were:

• $5 G-Suite (now known as Google Workspace)

• $39 Teachable

• $79 for ConvertKit (now known as Kit)

• $120 for a virtual assistant (miscellaneous help)

My annual expenses were:

• $120 Tailwind (Pinterest scheduler)

• $120 Canva (shockingly, this price has not changed much)

• $80 Bluehost (website hosting)

On average, I was running a nearly $7,500 per month business with less than $300 in monthly expenses.

Shifting from Freelancing to Diversifying

If you’re a freelancer looking to offer more than your time, you’ll appreciate this.

In January 2016, ~53% of my income was from freelancing as a Pinterest virtual assistant. I was trading hours for dollars to build my safety net.

But when I look at November 2016, ~3% of my income that month was from freelancing. 97% of my income came from diversification!

My income streams:

• Ad revenue

• Affiliate income from a few products that I used and recommended (I was

• Brand sponsorships for my blog posts

• Creating 2 of my own products - a $10 Pinterest pin template and my very first course called Pinterest Presence.

As a Pinterest virtual assistant, I had a lot more freedom that my fellow social media managers or freelance writers. But I was still constantly working for clients each month with no let up!

As my income shifted, I was able to start taking regular time off while still generating income.

That was the moment I felt more like a business owner than a freelancer.

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2016 or 2026: Diversify or Be Left Behind

In 2016, I was obsessed with having multiple streams of income: ads, affiliate income, Pinterest management services and creating my own products. I recognized I couldn’t be solely depending on one thing.

That has not changed in the past ten years. My income streams still include everything from 2016 as well as additional sources of revenue.

In regards to traffic, this landscape is constantly evolving, for better or worse. Lately, it feels like it’s speeding up too fast.

In 2016, I was all over Pinterest. I created a newsletter. As time went on, I grew my Pinterest virtual assistant business into a small agency. I honed in on Google SEO and Facebook ads. I was featured on podcasts, guest posts, the evening news (!!) and large media outlets.

During the pandemic, I finally locked in and got in front of the camera on Instagram and TikTok (my biggest fear and insecurity!) which brought in a whole new audience.

If I had relied only on 1 algorithm, 1 client or 1 source of income, I wouldn’t be writing this ten years later in 2026.

The 10-Year Advantage

Reliving 2016 is fun for the nostalgia, but the real value is in the longevity.

By documenting my journey every month for years, I created an online journal for myself and anyone else interested in learning how to start and run a business.

If you have not yet made money from your freelance business or as an influencer, I documented how I made my first $60 online. It wasn’t much, but it was the confidence boost I needed to trust myself.

But behind the scenes, there’s a steady stream of juggling, planning, and system-building so all three brands operate smoothly.

For years, I’ve been longing for a way to share what it’s actually like to build, scale, and run everything as a whole.

Through private coaching and mentorship, I’ve shared how my seemingly different brands actually rely on similar core systems and overlap.

I’ve never had a dedicated space to share that ‘big picture’ of my business universe online… until now!

I want to be clear - nothing is changing with the brands you already know and love.

✅ Business as Usual: You’ll still get the same emails and news that you do now.

🐶 Diva Dog Bakery: For all things dog-related, go to my Diva Dog Bakery Substack.

💌 Behind the Scenes: How I actually manage three brands while navigating motherhood and keeping my sanity - this Substack is for you.

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The shift

While my businesses are always evolving, my life completely changed in 2024. Through international adoption, we became a family of three.

Overnight, my routines and my definition of work-life balance were thrown out the window.

An impossible puzzle began to form: how do I do it all?

I was juggling three businesses and motherhood full-time, not to mention a culture shock and language barrier with my daughter. She didn’t speak English (and we didn’t speak Mandarin).

A new system was needed to balance work, life and being a mom.

What to expect here

I’m opening up this space to show you the strategy, the systems, and the heart behind it all. I love what I do! 🫶

You’ll get:

• Business: A look at how I have built and manage three very different brands simultaneously. There’s no single “right way” to be profitable, and I’m proof of that.

• Work-Life Balance: Whether you call it balance or "revolving priorities," I’m sharing the systems that keep my life running - along with our travels, home life, and finding ways to keep the journey fun.

• Motherhood: The honest, often messy reality of raising a family, the beauty of our international adoption and finding our rhythm day by day.

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