Today we’d like to introduce you to Janeal Velez
Hi Janeal, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey on social media started in 2020 during the pandemic. I was going through a divorce after being married for 20 years and needed an outlet to keep my mind busy. I also had an event & wedding planning business at the time which was hit bad because no one was having events. I started on Tiktok doing funny skits and my following started to grow. I knew I had to take advantage of this following and figure out a way to monetize on it. I signed up to be an Amazon Influencer and saw that Instagram was a better platform to use for that . I just didn’t know how to get contacts with brands so I just started DM’ing brands I liked and asked if they would be willing to start with a gift exchange so I could at least get some content up. I was getting discouraged because I was not getting responses and at the age of 47 I was beginning to get insecure thinking it had to do with my age. I looked at other influencers content and continued to reach out to brands they worked with. In about 6 months I actually started to monetize from it and it grew quickly. From there I was approached by a restaurant to do a collab and I really enjoyed it. I took the same concept and started to reach out to restaurants which also began as an exchange and quickly turned into paid collaborations. Then I thought, why not travel and began reaching out to hotels. In just 1 year I have worked on almost 200 different collaborations with restaurants, hotels, fashion and more! People tell me all the time, “you’re so lucky you get clothes, eat and travel for free” but it takes work, hustle, determination. Not letting the rejection stop me for continuing to pursue what I want. There is work that goes behind it. The recording, editing and having a creative mind. You have to be true to your brand and be authentic. It’s a hard thing to do on a daily basis because you constantly have to be on. There are days I don’t want to get dressed up and record or edit but it’s how I earn my money now full time so I have to keep going. I turn 49 on December 20th and never in a million years did I think I would be where I am today. I am so super grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given so far.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. The rejection is hard when you reach out to brands, restaurants etc. and you get no response or they are not interested. I struggle with insecurities so I began to think my content is no good. I’m too old to relate to the younger demographic. As hard as it was I continued and I’m so happy I did.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My content is all things I love. Fashion, food, travel and fun. I want my page to be a place people can go and find a little bit of everything to help with their lifestyle. I’m definitely know for my shimmy & smile. Thats usually how I start most of my videos and I think it’s important to have some sort of signature people recognize. I’m most proud of how quickly I have been able to make this my full time job. The messages I receive from people thanking me for the content I share. I think what sets me apart is that I’m authentic and real. I share some parts of my life that are struggles because I think it’s important that people see it’s not all perfect. I’m mom of 3 and grandma of 1 so that keeps me motivated to keep going. I also enjoy bowling which is my therapy and I play competitively.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I enjoyed spending time with my friends. We didn’t have the internet or cell phones so it was nice to just spend time outdoors. I was a cheerleader during middle school and even did judo which I really enjoyed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/janeal_velez
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodlifewithj
