Laura Agar Wilson is an entrepreneur, Wellbeing Coach and Business Mentor at @wholeheartedlylaura
What first inspired you to start blogging? Describe your career/lifestyle beforehand?
I started blogging back in 2010, I had just discovered blogs and I was looking for a way to keep myself motivated on my weight loss journey. I found blogging such a wonderful creative outlet I never looked back! At the time I was working for a charity with community groups and was a qualified youth worker. What is the premis behind your blog and how does it differ from other popular health blogs/vlogs?
My blog has changed a lot over the years, it started as a weight loss blog very much focused on food and exercise. However, it's always been reflective of my personal journey and now my blog is about being Wholehearted - living life to the full, being your own expert, taking care of yourself and reminding yourself of your wholeness. I feel like my blog is quite unique because I write about health and wellbeing but not from the sole perspective of nutrition and fitness. Self care, mindset, confidence and even spirituality are areas of wellbeing that I feel very passionate about and share on my blog. I've always been very open and talked about what I'm experiencing on my blog too, I know my readers have always appreciated that honesty as well.
How do you work running the blog alongside your other commitments?
I'm a Mum to a 3 year old little boy so it's always a bit of a juggle! I run my blog as part of my coaching business now, which means it is easier to balance it with my other commitments. I usually block off some time each week to create new blog posts and post on social media. Whatever I do I try to be present to that rather than multi tasking, especially as a Mum I don't want to always be on my phone checking Instagram when I'm with my son - although it does happen sometimes! What do you enjoy most about what you do? Are there any perks/downsides?
I enjoy so much! First of all I just love connecting with my readers, I've ran 3 retreats and working with them in person is just brilliant. I also love the creative side of blogging, I take all my own photos and I even designed my website. The writing is always interesting and sometimes quite cathartic as well. The perks definitely include some of the free products I'm kindly sent to review and the only downside for me is sometimes finding it hard to switch off. What would be your one piece of advice to any budding health and fitness bloggers?
Be consistent with your blogging, commenting and posting to social media so that people know what to expect from you and just be you! Try not to compare yourself to other bloggers, my favourite blogs are the ones where the blogger is really authentic and isn't trying to emulate anyone else. Always let your passion shine through, to be a successful blogger you need to have a lot of passion for your subject area!