Prior to creating her blog, Necole worked her way up her career ladder from an intern to a position in promotions at a radio station within months. After her parents passed away in 2007, Necole says she moved to Detroit, a place where she had no friends or family. After leaving the entertainment industry, Necole was jobless and moved back to her small hometown in Maryland, determined to make a name for herself – literally.
“No one wanted to give me an opportunity,” she admits. “I felt like I failed and ended up right where I started. I was devastated.”
Necole says her blog was originally something she produced to pass time and didn’t expect it to gain popularity to this magnitude.
“I was caught in an imaginary world, but I also knew I had to make this work for me. I wasn’t going to work in a gas station.”
With her six-month plan, Necole adds she researched and realized there was a market for what she wanted to accomplish: a blog for the young female audience, specifically a 24-year-old female. Necole says she decided to narrow it down to one person because it’s easier to focus on topics for that detailed audience. Within that female audience
, Necole comments she’s sensitive and thoughtful of young women who don’t have college degrees or higher incomes, which allows her to feature items that cover the income spectrum.
In addition to research to her tailored audience, Necole says she did her homework on advertising for her blog.
“I’m stern with my advertising rates because I want people to take me seriously,” she admits. “I built this from the ground up and it wasn’t given to me.”
In January, Necole moved to Miami and recently established Bitchie Life, her online magazine. She says the online publication is an extension of her blog, which features more than celebrity and entertainment news. The magazine includes beauty, fashion and lifestyle features.
“I wanted to give my ‘girls’ (what she calls her readers, like her friends) more discussion on different topics,” says Necole.
As she settles in her fifth state in six years, Necole admits she reinvents herself each time she moves.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I know when it’s time to go,” she says.
Necole Bitchie is a name that’s not fading away anytime soon. The self-made entrepreneur says she plans to expand her brand. She aspires to produce television projects, enter the magazine publishing industry and write a book.
Necole advises aspiring bloggers to research other sites similar to what they wish to create. She also says to establish linking relationships with other bloggers of those sites is great for networking with others for inspiration, encouragement and idea-sharing.
