Everyone daydreams about the things they would do and the places they’d go if they had money and the freedom to not work anymore⎯ but as Taylor deDiego has experienced, there are ways to structure your life to accommodate a job you’re passionate about while putting yourself on track to fulfill your dreams. How'd she do it? She found financial freedom through multiple income streams.
deDiego is an accomplished editorial copy director and brand strategist in the beauty industry who began her career at Sephora, working as a copywriter and editorial director for five years. After, she moved to Herbivore Botanicals to lead editorial copy direction. Two months ago she left Herbivore and more recently, she decided to go freelance to be able to work with multiple clients and increase her income stream.
Though deDiego has only had her business for two months, she's already noticed internal and external shifts that reassure her she made the right decision. “It doesn't feel like I have this glass feeling over my head, the way that I felt when I was in a 9 to 5 working for one company. I get to strategically figure out what kind of clients work for me, and how much work can I take on. And then that, in turn, is reflected in financial advances and possibilities," deDiego says. She generously shares her tips and insights into what it’s taken to find personal freedom, by increasing her revenue stream while successfully operating a new small business.
1. Know your value
One of deDiego’s biggest strengths is not accepting breadcrumbs. She stands firm in the value her expertise in her niche brings. “I'm not chasing clients who don't agree with my value,” she says. “What I'm charging is offering you value beyond, ‘Okay, great. We have somebody who's doing our copywriting and we don't have to do it.’ It's like impacting their business as a whole. I know the value of what I'm offering and not just as a service, but what the bottom line is for their business. I know the impact of having strong editorial direction and very strong copywriting.”
This mindset has provided growth in more ways than one. “It's based in neuroscience and reprogramming your brain to really come from a high-value place. And that has been super impactful for me,” she shares. “It has overhauled my entire life, whether it comes down to career, or personal and family relationships. That has been foundational in getting me to a place where I know that I can hold out for the clients that are the most aligned for both, pay and projects, and long-term relationships.”
2. Assess your priorities
For deDiego, as for many, the pandemic “shifted” a lot of things. “I got really clear on what is important to me. What are my long-term goals? What are my short-term goals? And refocusing on a career that felt fruitful and exciting was a place that I found I spent a lot of time thinking about.”
When you get clear on what you want, and even what you don’t want, you can start to intentionally create your life in a way that allows those things the opportunity to come to fruition. “I think that more than anything, I look at this as a real lifestyle shift,” she says. “I just think that it opens up a lot of freedom in my life.”
3. Merge multiple income streams
“I see the potential of how far this can go,” she says, of her ability to earn significantly more than she did at her previous 9 to 5 jobs. Multiple income streams allow her to control working from different places, and she’s planning on using that to her advantage. “I've always wanted to live in multiple cities,” she explains. “San Francisco is my home. It's where my family is. I have a beautiful apartment here! But I can also pick up and go work in New York for a week and be on a client's shoot there, effortlessly and easy.”
Another place on her list that can now be a reality? Paris. “That's the city that I've always wanted to live in again,” she shares. And I'm like, ‘Great. You can go on your quarterly vacation there,’ and spend significant amounts of time, doing the things that really light me up.”
While travel is great, her eyes are also on the future and stability that’s now possible to continue along this path. “And then I think on the longer-term goals, like buying a house always felt like, 'oh my God, how would I do that?'” Now, with multiple income streams, she doesn’t have to worry.
Written by: Abby Stern