Shopstyle x San Francisco!

I recently had the amazing privilege to hang out for a few days in San Francisco with the ShopStyle team! We had an amazing couple of days and I thought I would share today why I was there and what we did.

I often get asked how bloggers make money and the answer is that there are LOTS of ways. But the main source of income I depend on to run this blog and continue to create content for you all day after day is affiliate income. That simply means that when/if you click on an item I feature and buy that item, or other items from that retailer, I make a small commission. And how does that link tracking and sales tracking all work? One word: ShopStyle. Their blogger program called ShopStyle Collective helps me create trackable links, tracks my sales and clicks and ultimately has helped me turn this blog into a career. They also make this blog easy to navigate with tools like scrolling product widgets, the tech behind my "shop my Instagram" page and so much more. In addition about 90% of my sponsored posts here on the blog are brokered and brought to life by the amazing Shopstyle team. To say they are my most prized business partner is an understatement. As a "solo-preneur" it's simply the BEST to know that a team of people are behind the scenes helping to make the entire thing WORK.

The Shopstyle team recently invited me and a few other bloggers to San Francisco to where they are headquartered - it was so nice to finally meet all the people I email with in person, to brainstorm and talk shop, to sit down with some awesome brands face to face and finally, to have a little fun! It's was an amazing couple of days!

We first started out with a walking food tour of the North Beach (think: Little Italy) neighborhood of San Francisco. It was a fun way to break the ice and walking between courses of Italian food is probably the best way to eat Italian food! We indulged and then walked (most) of it off!

The following morning we were invited to the Shopstyle offices to meet one on one with brands. I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Sephora (I mean, wha!? A girls dream!), Everlane (you all know I am obsessed with them and their ethical practices in fashion are some of the best in the business!) and Lole (an amazing fitness brand with an awesome mission). I was literally pinching myself the entire trip but especially for the opportunity to face to face with brands that I know and love to talk about blogging and brand partnerships and share some laughs too.

Then that evening we were all treated to a private suite for the Golden State Warriors versus the Cavaliers basketball game.

The whole trip was such a whirlwind and even now sitting down to think about it I still am in awe that I was able to be there and spend time with some other AMAZING bloggers and the endlessly sweet and fun ShopStyle team. Like, me!?! I am invited!?!? So much in my career is done on my own, I sit at my computer by myself all day, I brainstorm by myself all day. Sometimes I will run an idea past my husband or talk business strategy with him but it's very much a job that is done in solitary. Just me and my computer putting ideas out into the world not knowing how they will be received or if anyone really is reading (hello, is this mic on?) I will never fully wrap my brain around the extent to which people value this blog, read this blog or incorporate it into their everyday lives. It still delights me when a brand values the work I do for them or even wants me to work for them at all. It always takes me off guard when people introduce themselves to me in the store saying that they follow along on my blog or social media. I guess what I am trying to say is that everyday even I am amazed at what I have built here with this blog and I am thankful to amazing companies like ShopStyle that make it all come together. And I'm equally thankful to YOU gals, my amazing readers for inviting me into your lives, letting me (hopefully) inspire your wardrobes and for your endless loyalty.

Here are some photos from the first evening on our walking tour... I'm already craving a trip back to San Francisco! What a beautiful city!