Emma Drew – full time blogger and entrepreneur
Searching for Emma Drew online, and you will likely come across her blog. Stumbling across her website has changed my life. She makes a full time income through her blog and side hustles. Her money making and saving tips and resources have turned around my finances. I also would never have started this site if it wasn’t for her inspiration. I’ve been very fortunate that she’s agreed to be interviewed for my blog!
VE: Hi Emma, as an avid follower of you and your work, I already know but please tell my readers how Emmadrew.info came about?
I graduated in to the recession after studying youth work at university, so let’s just say that there were no jobs of any description, never mind something like youth work. I had a mortgage to pay so I needed to look at inventive ways to make extra money. I started my blog, formerly known as “From Aldi To Harrods” to not only hold me accountable to my readers, but also to share the genuine ways to make money, alongside warnings of the not-so-genuine ways that are often touted online. One of my post popular blog posts is about selling your smelly shoes on eBay, and I think my readers love seeing my tried and tested tips. Also popular is my matched betting blog.
VE: What is your favourite money making hustle? It doesn’t necessarily have to be the one that makes you the most money.
I have no idea how I would pick one…so I am going to cheat and go with two – blogging and mystery shopping.
Blogging is pretty much my world – it is a creative business, one that my husband can get involved in and one that has so many exciting things going on. Whether it is mastering Pinterest or trying to post about an amazing deal, it is very exciting. No two days are the same and that’s something that most of us dream about in our career.
Mystery shopping is so great because it has given me experiences that I haven’t had to pay for – mainly getting to eat out at nice restaurants! I also love mystery shopping in the run up to Christmas because I get reimbursed for lots of my purchases, meaning free Christmas presents all around.
VE: What are your top tips for people struggling with their finances?
Firstly, find out where you are at right now. Do a budget based on your usual spending and get all the latest balances on your debts and your savings account. Once you have this starting point you can look at ways to either cut back or make extra money – or both! It is no good setting a ridiculously low food budget and finding that you can’t buy enough food, or cutting back so much that life is a misery. You also can’t expect to make £10,000 a month straight from the get go. You’ll soon learn what’s important and what isn’t. For example, although we can afford it, we no longer have Sky TV because we found it to be a waste of £40 a month. However we enjoy meals out and annual trips to Disney World.
VE: How do you keep finding new ways of making and saving money?
I keep my eyes peeled at all times. It could be something landing in my inbox, or seeing a flurry of activity on social media. I think it is important to try everything out before I let my readers know about them.
VE: What is the best and worst thing about being your own boss?
There are so many positives to being my own boss. The biggest is that if I have a bad day (I suffer from anxiety and depression) then I can give myself space and time. A close second is that I work to make myself richer, not anyone else. Having that control is such a great feeling.
The worst thing is self-motivating myself. I have lost weeks where I have been unable to motivate myself and it is a constant struggle. I try to combat this by surrounding myself with like-minded people like yourself! People who want to achieve more, earn more and better themselves. Even if we’re just chatting online, it definitely helps.
VE: What do you do when you aren’t working on your blog?
I am always, always thinking of something to do with my blog or my business and I really struggle to switch off. I am trying to have “productive rest” instead of mindlessly consuming Netflix (which I love!) so I go swimming or head to the cinema a lot. I also love cooking and reading those trashy real life magazines.
Thank you so much for your time Emma! It was great to speak to you.
Emma Drew now has a 6 figure income and has launched a Blogging Course to help you to do the same! Find out all about it here.
You can find Emma Drew at http://emmadrew.info/ or find her on social media by looking for @emmadrewinfo on your favourite channels.
