Gabby Beckford is an expert planner, even when things don’t work out as expected. Shortly after graduating from college and getting her first job in engineering, she realized that working in an office wasn’t for her. But this didn’t throw her off course, it presented an opportunity. Over the next two years, she used savings from her job to become a full-time travel blogger. On her website Packs Light, Gabby writes travel tips for Gen Z, offers influencer guides and services and runs occasional partnerships with travel brands and companies.

In February 2020, Gabby planned to go to Bali for a month. But just a week later, the lockdown took hold and airports started to shut down. True to form, she decided to turn things around. “When the pandemic hit, I was in a reactive state anyway,” she says. “It was actually a benefit because I could pivot kind of easily.”

Luckily, she could live at her mom’s house and had a consistent, if small, income from the blog. Even though she (and everyone else) was stuck at home, she doubled down on travel writing — but now, she was pitching publications.

Gabby is happily traveling the world again, and now incorporates guidance on doing so responsibly during the ongoing pandemic. She has some tips for how creators can pivot in the face of unexpected challenges, and even uncover new prospects for growth and success.

Don’t quit, adapt

Gabby noticed that many travel bloggers shifted their focus to topics like beauty or fitness, but she decided to stay true to her core mission. “I knew that no matter how long this pandemic lasts, there would be a travel reboot eventually,” she says. “So it was an investment in myself to stay in this industry and continue building when the competition was low.”

Sticking to her mission while pivoting to evergreen topics, like how to apply for a passport or travel as a full-time student, also aligned with what her followers were interested in. “Just because people stopped traveling doesn't mean all 10,000 of my Instagram followers stopped caring about what I did, or about travel in general,” she points out. This continued focus cemented her reputation as a dedicated travel blogger.

Be ready to jump on opportunities

In the corporate world, Gabby was used to planning things a year in advance. But the uncertainty of the pandemic forced her to think just a few months ahead. “Every three months, we were reassessing,” she says.

Luckily, growing up in a military family that moved around a lot prepared her to react quickly. She started proactively reaching out to write content. “In the beginning, brands were screaming, ‘Someone give us an idea, our content schedule is out the window,’” she remembers. “It was a very unique opportunity to partner with brands I probably would never have partnered with before.”

Focus on community building

Sharing opportunities with other creators helped promote her brand and expand her network. “[On] Patreon, I'll share if a brand comes to me for an opportunity and I can't take it because the rate isn't right or it's not my brand,” she says. She also posts paid travel opportunities on her site.

Building a community grounded in generosity was essential not just for business, but for Gabby’s mental health during the early months of the pandemic. “You want to make sure you’re on the same page as everyone,” she says. “Is everyone feeling the same way I am? Is anyone else still indoors?”

Trust yourself

In difficult times, it’s natural to second-guess your choices. But indulging in doubt can be damaging. “You don't have to have everything figured out, but you have to have the confidence and trust in yourself that you can figure it out,” she says.

The day Saya Hillman got fired from her last full-time job in 2004, she made two lists. One was of all the things she wished she could get paid to do, no matter how ridiculous. The other was a list of names, ones that gave her a “warm and fuzzy” feeling, for the company she decided she would start. And so Mac & Cheese Productions℠ was born — and lists would become a big part of its success.

Saya had always made lists as a way to connect with people. She’d been sending emails to friends for a while, “really random lists of ‘here are things that I have found interesting,’” such as articles, tech gadgets and books. The feedback was great, and Saya realized it could be a great sales tactic for her new business. “I don’t have that used-car salesman, ‘buy me buy me’ feeling,” she says. “I’m just doing what I already love to do.’”

Today Mac & Cheese Productions℠ offers a wide range of resources, events and content designed to connect people and help them live aLife of Yes℠, a concept Saya created and defines as “making life easy and more fulfilling.” Her lists — which she sends out in newsletters and posts on her website — continue to serve as a gateway to attract more “Cheese-Its,” as she calls her followers.

While some lists are humorous and lighthearted, like Saya’s boyfriend criteria, she also offers practical ones — including her popularservice provider list. Even that one abides by Saya’s community-minded credo: She only includes providers who she has worked with directly or have been recommended by someone she knows and trusts.

Saya shared some tips on how lists can help attract attention to a website, and why they’re so integral to her brand.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel

“I don't think any of us are coming up with anything new — it's all how you put your own personal spin on the thing,” says Saya. So while her list concepts might not be a novel idea, her whimsical approach — where lists for home office equipment recommendations and her own pet peeves are on the same page — is.

Lists also help busy people make sense of an overwhelming amount of information. “People are hungry for curators,” she points out. “That’s why lists are so popular. They’re easy to share, they’re easy to consume.”

Lists also align with her overall ethos for Mac & Cheese Productions℠. “One of my favorite things is helping people to be more efficient and create systems,” she says. “The list format lends itself to be productive and efficient and good at time management.”

Be authentic — but it’s OK to make money too

Trustworthy referrals and recommendations have been a huge part of Saya’s success. “People know you’re doing it because you actually love the product or the person,” she says, explaining she has never received money from anyone that she’s put on her service provider list or other recommendation lists. Instead, it’s a “win-win” that spreads goodwill and website traffic all around, and can eventually result in opportunities and income, if not always directly or immediately.

That said, she’s unapologetic about taking a piece of the pie through affiliate marketing and her paid marketing services, as long as the products and services meet her requirements. “You just have to share that upfront,” she says.

Use lists to expand your network and draw visitors

Saya uses lists strategically to grow her network and draw more visitors to her site. “I’m spending all this time curating and creating for free, but to get that information, you need to go to my website, instead of me just giving you the information,” she points out.

Tying lists to holidays, seasons or other events can also forge connections and drive engagement. For example, while most of her lists are evergreen, Saya also offers an annual gift guide where she tags the businesses’ or individuals’ Instagram accounts — which helps expand her reach. “I’m always thinking, how can you make what you create easy to share?” she says.

Queer automotive educator, journalist and influencer Chaya Milchtein has carved out an unexpected niche at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ community, car repair and empowerment. Starting with blog posts that answered common questions about auto maintenance, she gradually built upher brand, Mechanic Shop Femme, into a mini-empire that spans workshops, one-on-one consultations, articles and podcasts, and more.

It wasn’t a path she ever expected. On her own at the age of 18, Chaya was “desperate” for a job. A connection landed her a position in the auto department at Sears, even though she didn’t even have a driver’s license when she interviewed for the job. But she really enjoyed working with customers and explaining what was wrong with their vehicles. “I’m what I like to call a translator — I translate complex car topics and information into language that the average consumer can understand,” she explains.

While she enjoyed the work, she felt she had reached a ceiling by 2017. Climbing the corporate ladder was a possibility, but she didn’t want to stop working directly with customers, the part of the job that gave her the most joy. Meanwhile, friends in the queer community were regularly reaching out for car advice. A career coach suggested starting a blog — and even though Chaya didn’t have a lot of confidence in her writing skills, she jumped in.

Almost immediately, Chaya started planning her next steps and trying to figure out how to turn her concept into something bigger. In addition to the blog, she started offering online classes on car topics, which led to more classes and speaking engagements. She also launched a career as a freelance writer, landing bylines in publications like Real Simple and Shondaland.

All of that came in handy when she got laid off from her job in April 2020 and decided to scale up her efforts. Mechanic Shop Femme is now her full-time gig. Chaya explains how she managed to build a following and unite a diverse range of interests under the umbrella of her website.

Show your whole self

From day one, Chaya was open about who she was, from the name of her site to posts about her wife. “It was important to me that I could show up as my full self,” she says. She also recognized that her unique point of view is an attraction. “There’s lots of places where you can learn about cars, but none quite from my perspective,” she points out. “Cars are what draws people to me. And they learned that I was queer and obviously saw that I was fat and where I come from, and they would stick around for the full meal. Because that's what was interesting.”

Showing that she’s part of the LGBTQ+ community also helps build trust among an audience that may feel intimidated by or excluded from car-centric settings. “I want to make sure that the people who come to my platform know that they’re not just there to learn about cars, that the space I created is not just something where they’re an afterthought, but that they’re welcome.”

Venture outside your niche

One piece of advice Chaya often heard was to focus on one topic. “While that might be great advice for some people, that's not necessarily good advice for everybody,” she says. On the blog, Chaya weaves in a queer or body-positivity angle on everything from fashion to travel in addition to her car content. Exploring different topics helps attract different and new readers, and it keeps her from burning out on car talk.

Treat your site like a business

Chaya refers to her work as an octopus with different tentacles — her blog, her classes, her journalism and her consulting, with her website at the center. “If you want to book a call with me, if you want to pick a class, if you want to read my writing, my website is going to have all of those things,” she says. From the start, it was important for her to own her platform rather than focus solely on social media, where influencers have less control. “I’ve spent a lot of time on TikTok, it’s part of my overall business strategy,” she explains. “But I’m aware this platform can go away, unlike my site, where I own the content.”