My Success Story - LOVE, OLIA

Although I feel like I still have a bit of ways to get to where I ultimately want to be in life, I saw a recent comment on my post asking to hear more about my “success story” and I thought that might be a good post to dive into!

Now let me preface this by saying, my success story is different from everyone’s and what I consider success might not be what someone else does and well,.. that’s ok! So I’m just going to give you guys a little basis as to where I got to where I am today,… in a nutshell. For those of you who have followed me for a while you may already know the full story but for anyone who might be new, here goes it…

I’ll start by saying I grew up in a European cultured family where the relationship with my family was extremely close and still is to this day. Unfortunately, as many relationships do, my parents didn’t work out (and that’s ok) but ultimately this taught me the valuable lesson to grow up independent and to never have to rely on anyone other than myself in life. I don’t say this in a malicious way, I just mean a relationship is a partnership but not your entire being. I grew up with the belief that I wanted to be emotionally and financially independent and truly be able to navigate this complicated world on my own. If I met someone along the way to share that journey with, great but if not, I would ultimately always be OK.

Fast forward years later, I followed the path to get my college degree. I will say, I hated school. Like legitimately HATED IT. I never felt like I fit in. I hated going to class, I wanted to just get on with my life, start working and making money. In fact, I got my first job when I was 15 years old (but that’s a story for another day). I ended up graduating with an Accounting degree and an internship turned into a full time job the DAY I graduated and I couldn’t have been more thrilled/grateful for that opportunity. I thought life was AMAZING. I was about 20-21 and making a “big girl salary” and SO STOKED. Mind you — I think I was living off $200 every month during college living at home so anything over that felt like I was rich, haha.

Now let me back track and say, I’ve always been kind of a loner — I’ve never lived with roommates, never was part of a sorority, never had a HUGE group of friends.. basically I’ve always liked my alone time, preferred 1-2 quality friends over quantity and lived at home until I moved out on my own.

That’s when the BIG recession hit in 2008. I was working as a Staff Accountant, living at home saving virtually every paycheck I made because well,.. mom paid the bills haha. A year later in 2009, the government was offering HUGE incentives to boost the economy in the form of a First Time Homeowners credit in which you could get up to $15k back. So, at 22 years old, I purchased my first condo for a total STEAL and that’s where it all began. Now let me also preface this by saying — at the time I didn’t realize it was a “steal” because it was all relative. I was still struggling financially at the time but now when I look back I can’t believe the price I paid because that shit doesn’t exist in California anymore but that’s besides the point…

Here’s where it gets rough…

Fast forward a year later, I was so happy with my condo BUT so unhappy with my career. I hated it, I felt it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. I would spend virtually every day staring at the clock waiting for it to hit 5pm so I could go home. I would dread Sundays because it would mean that Mondays I would have to go back to work, etc.. That’s when I realized I needed to make a change. I remember as a child my mom would always say I should come work with her as an Esthetician and I would be stubborn and say “oh gosh no, I don’t want to do what you do!” Boy oh boy was I wrong. Folks… always listen to your parents. I realized shortly after I should have listened to my mom. I’ve always loved beauty and I hate having a “boss” and I would love nothing more than to work for myself and with my family. So guess what I did…

I went BACK to school (secretly) while working as an Accountant, while having a mortgage to pay and MY GOD was that stressful. Eventually I finished the program, passed the state board exam (which was brutal), got my license and it was probably one of the best days of my life. Immediately after I left my accounting job, went to work with my mom and never looked back. I was so happy working as an Esthetician being around my mom, learning from her and learning so much about skin and beauty and just being immersed in it. It was such a passion of mine and suddenly the struggle all made so much sense. About a year in I decided (being the loner I was and having nothing to do on my weekends, haha) that I wanted to share fun tips with other women out there so I started a little website to just occupy my time and share what I love most — beauty, fashion and all things that made me happy. That’s where Love, Olia was born! This was a time when Instagram was non-existent which I’m actually grateful for because I love that I started with a website and continue to write here weekly. It brings me back to the good ol days and I have memories for YEARS to come.

Moving forward I worked as an Esthetician and continued keeping my blog up (as a hobby) for a few years until I started getting more serious with my blog. Once I made enough to support myself financially with my blog I wanted to dedicate more time there so about 4 years later, I left my Esthetician job and have been doing this solely! I do keep my Esthetician license up to date since I may one day want to go back – it’s always been a huge passion of mine!

Regarding the rest — I stayed in my first condo for 3 years (a requirement of the first time homebuyer credit) and sold it in which I made a significant profit which allowed me to purchase my next townhome! I loved that place SO much and stayed there for 4 years until I was ready for the next step – a single family home! I purchased the home I live in currently about 1.5 years ago and it’s a dream. I look back daily and think how far I’ve come and I continually express gratitude for where I am in life and how I got here. Life truly is a blessing and the journey is incredible. I can’t wait to see what the next 5-10 years has in store!

Love you guys and can’t thank you enough for helping make my dreams come true <3

Love, Olia

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Top/Bottom: Rue Stiic // Boots: H&M (similar)