by Bronte (From Bee With Love) is a modern-day visual storyteller. She uses her creative work to encourage others to embrace who they are, own their creativity and redefine what success means to them. In her own words…
“My whimsical, nostalgic style of photography is mixed with a love of books, adventures, fashion and entertainment to form a unique, eclectic style. My accompanying writing is character-driven and I like to touch on subjects often not discussed in the mainstream media, all mixed with a dose of creativity, sarcasm, and wittiness.”
Bronte
While studying a Creative Writing degree over 10 years ago, Bronte started From Bee With Love and since has grown its following to include a dedicated fan-base eager to see her creative work.
We love Bronte’s intelligence, openness and willingness to express her introverted nature, so we asked her to answer a few of our burning questions.
Creativity and Influence with From Bee With Love
As introverts, being in the limelight is usually seen as stepping out of our comfort zone. Have you ever found it to be stressful, or do you manage it in a different way?
I don’t think stressful is the word that I’d use – exhausting definitely! Whenever I go to events or go on press trips I always need a few days to recharge afterwards, but other than that being in this industry can be a very solitary experience. Most of the time, I’m on my own in front of my laptop with a cup of tea which is pretty much my idea of paradise.
But for me, I’ve liked pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and trying new things because you never know what could happen.
Would you say being an introvert has helped you with your online business? If so, how?
I think It’s helped in some aspects and hasn’t helped in others. The online world is full of a lot of big personalities that command attention. You could either look at this as being overshadowed or a gap in the market for people who don’t have extroverted personalities. I’ve used my introversion as a source of inspiration, I write blog posts about how to be in the influencer industry when you’re introverted and I’d say my photos are more introverted in nature than extroverted. I think I’ve also naturally attracted an introverted audience, so we have a mutual understanding.
However, being introverted has also had its setbacks. It took me quite a while to be comfortable posing in front of the camera and an even longer time to become comfortable posing in public. I’m also not very comfortable talking in front of the camera yet – I can stare at my face for hours when editing a photo but I can’t point my phone in front of my face and talk for a minute! I think it’s about taking it at your own pace and knowing that you’ll get to where you want to be eventually.
You put a lot of creative energy into your work. Do you have to manage this energy and balance it with other tasks?
Oh definitely! I need to give myself some downtime to unwind otherwise I can feel really deflated and run down. This is usually just giving myself some time to read or catch up on a TV show I’m loving in the evening. Despite being introverted, I sometimes find that it’s helpful to actually go out and spend time with my friends as that’s the only time I can fully switch off.
We know that our mental health and wellbeing is important to manage as introverts. Do you ever schedule time away from work to re-charge and ‘get away from it all’?
ALWAYS! I think it’s super important to give yourself time to recharge otherwise you’ll just work yourself to the ground and end up being too tired to do anything or make yourself sick. I always have a rule that I never work for more than a couple of hours at the weekend and give myself time to be lazy and literally do nothing other than get lost in YouTube videos. It’s so important for me to be able to turn my brain off as I can very easily get overwhelmed.
For all the introverted businesswomen out there, do you have any advice to help them on their journey?
Do something that scares you, even if it’s just once. Of course, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself by constantly doing things outside of your comfort zone because, as you know, that can be super tiring for us introverts. But some of the best things I’ve ever done and some of the best experiences that I’ve ever had is by doing things that scare me. Find a balance between doing things you’re comfortable with and things that scare you. Oh and don’t be tempted to feel you have to behave like an extrovert, there is a place for the quiet deep thinkers too.
Have any of your own questions for Bronte (From Bee With Love)? Leave them in the comments.
Otherwise, you can find her at: www.frombeewithlove.com
Or follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/frombeewithlove
