Growing Twogether | Ariel Lelonek
I'm a year and a half into my Goddess Revelation series (GRs). I guess you can say this is chapter 2. Going into the 2nd chapter, I wanted more and new levels for this series. Not only for the women I will meet and interview but for myself. I set my intentions as clear as possible for 2018, but I truly believe infinite intelligence understands me better and know what's best. I also finally decided to do new digital layouts for my interviews. I have been planning and executing my goals - which brought me to a day of filming at my sister's salon. She spoke of a young lady that has been assisting with her new level of marketing for her business. She also told me that this young lady may be perfect for my GRs. Listen, I am always open to meeting women who have chosen the path of becoming they're authentic self, it is a true choice. A decision made moment by moment . Well, my sister was right. After spending a few hours with Ariel Lelonek, I felt in my spirit that she was definitely GRs status.
Introducing Ariel Lelonek, a New York native currently residing in Atlanta, GA. Despite working full-time, being a new wife and a bonus mom to her beautiful step-daughter, she also found the additional time and energy creating a blog "Growing Twogether" ,with her husbae T.J. Growing Twogether is a lifestyle blog centered around the growth and development of two individuals coming together as one, experiencing all that life has to offer as a married couple. From traveling to different parts of the world to intimate family outings with her step-daughter.
Checkout my interview with Ariel below!
Q & A
1. Were you named after someone?
My sister named me. I am the youngest of 8 her favorite movie at the time was Ariel. The only reason my mom accepted it was because it’s a traditional Hebrew name (all of my siblings are named after people in the first testament). Ariel is the town king David was born. Ariel in Hebrew means “lion of god”. It’s traditionally a boys name.
2. Where did the idea of "Growing Twogether?" come from?
GrowingTwogether came together Somewhat haphazardly my husband and I were contacted by a natural hair company As I Am on instagram and they asked us to do a video demonstrating how we work together involving our hair.(we both have naturally curly hair) The video went viral, so, we got a lot of great feedback and people started getting people interested in us. Saying things like ... “relationship goals”. we started thinking even though As I Am is a great company and has afforded us other opportunities....what are we doing for ourselves? how can we take this interest and turn it into a business?? and that’s how GrowingTwogether came about. We took the interesting parts of our relationship and started to make it a brand.
3. What or Who inspire you?
Myself really. And not in a cocky way at all. The way my family dynamic was set up I really had no option to fail. Of course there are people in the media and in my life who I look up to and want to have similar success,but the person who really keeps me going is myself.
4. What did you want to be when you were a child?
“The presidents secretary “ I have no idea why. Lol
5. What were you doing before you started officially pursuing your purpose with “Growing Twogether”? I manage a doctors office. I’m still doing that full time and working on getting certified in some things ( don’t want to speak on that until I’m finished)
6. What has been the hardest part in developing and maintaining your brand so far?
Being consistent is extremely hard. I still have life going on around me. I work full time + I’m in this with another person getting our schedules to align is always challenging. I also have a step daughter who lives in Savannah. We travel there and back almost every other weekend. All things considered finding that time to plan/produce amazing content on a regular basis is for sure the hardest!
7. What have been 3 key points in branding yourself so far?
Knowing your audience/nitch, consistency, and outward appearance. The last one sounds vain but when you are putting yourself out there to be judged by others you have to come correct.
8. What advice would you give to those aspiring to develop their own brand?
It isn’t for everyone. It’s not as glamorous as it seems. It takes a lot of hard work... after your 9-5 you have to be willing to put that same kind of work in your brand.
Now for some fun questions. 9. How is it working with your husband on the venture together?
Working with my husband is amazing! He is really the first/ only person I have been open with... Like he knows all my hopes and dreams I don’t even talk to my family about that kind of stuff. He hears everything I say and then tries his best to help me make it my truth. All around just a dope partner in life and in work. But It’s not without it’s challenges! We made a rule if we have tension/beef/currently arguing we won’t work on GrowingTwogether. We want to keep our work enjoyable so we keep that kind of energy away from it.
10. What is your must-have item when it comes to your personal style?
It’s not really a clothing item but more so my makeup. Nothing like having a beat face!
11. Do you have any goals left for 2018?
2018 is really about growth and perfecting our craft. We’d really like to have more followers on IG and YouTube to be able to reach/ help more people. So this year our goal is to raise our followers as much as possible
12. How do you keep yourself motivated and positive?
I stay motivated by constantly trying to learn new things... I have little Inspirational quotes taped up all around the house... and always keeping my end goal in mind. knowing that this is just a small blip in the bigger picture keeps me moving forward.
Follow Growing Twogether @growingtwogether or their site growingtwogether.com
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