About Me — Sweta Sharma
(How I Hit 1 Million on Pinterest While Sitting at My Desk Job: The story which turned an editor into a content creator.)
Hitting the 1 Million mark is a dream for many, and I’m no exception to that.
My professional journey started in 2014.
This was the year when I joined a publishing house as an editor and I guess my first salary was 15K (179$).
Honestly, my first job at 19, was a learning curve.
I had no idea how to write or edit books; I picked it all up on the job.
There was this lady named Maya (name changed for privacy) who was my senior.
She’s an absolute gem when it comes to teaching people the right way and I’ve learned most of the basics of my field from her.
As I mentioned, I was a total newbie with no prior internships or experience so, stepping into my first job was like diving into the deep end.
It was a reality check in every sense of the word.
One of my colleagues, like the villain in the story, was too obsessed with me or rather I’d say he likes to tease people in the best way possible.
Let me tell you about a brief incident which has happened to me.
I think it was one week after I joined the company.
My senior, Maya, has shared a PDF with me and she has told me to take a printout of that PDF.
Now, I don’t know how to do it.
So, I went to that guy and asked him for help.
He came over with his usual arrogant tone, hit the print command, and left without a word.
As he walked away, his attitude spoke volumes and I to date remember what he said while leaving —
I don’t know how they fill up such people in the office, they don’t even know how to get a printout.
I was just 19, clueless about how to handle such harsh words.
That evening, I replayed the encounter in my mind countless times, trying to make sense of it all.
Eventually, I resigned myself to the idea that perhaps this is just how the corporate world operates.
I took a sigh and joined the office again the next day.
This went on, but I somehow figured out what needed to be done on my side.
I acknowledged that my lack of knowledge wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine.
And, that just flipped all the things in my head.
I started working hard and took everything as it came.
While I may not have been the top performer in the office, I can proudly say that I was always sincere and hardworking.
And that dedication truly paid off for me.
Fast forward, I became the HOD of my department.
Life was good, with its usual ups and downs and then COVID-19 came out of the blue.
Like everyone else, it was a whole new experience for me.
Suddenly, there was this whole work-from-home thing, keeping systems running, and working beyond regular office hours.
It was a lot to take in.
But, anyhow we all learned to deal with this in our own ways.
I discovered Pinterest during the lockdown.
Even though I’ve always loved my job and my team, for some reason, I decided to give this new thing a try.
Pure instinct-based decision!
I started posting random content on Pinterest with zero idea — what to post, how to design, and all that stuff (It was a part-time for ME!).
Let me show you one of the initial designs I made.
As you can see this pin gets no engagement.
Why should it?
There’s nothing in it that can catch the attention of people.
It has to be catchy and the only way to do so is to enhance my skills.
Anyways, I kept on posting content that feels relevant to me at that time.
After posting consistently for a few weeks I started noticing positive results.
The screenshot isn’t very clear, but I’ve crossed my first 7K monthly views that day on Pinterest, and my brother whom I refer to as ‘Minjhiya’ said some really motivating words to me.
By the way, He’s the only one who knew I was working on this side hustle.
To make this win more special we went to a little success party.
I have this single photo of that day!⬇️
From that day onwards I started taking Pinterest seriously.
Growing on Pinterest requires you to be skilled, at least at the basic level which can further be improved.
But, as I didn’t have prior experience my skills weren’t good enough.
In fact, my designing skills were HORRIBLE.
Even though I was using Canva, I still couldn’t hook people’s attention with my designs.
The only solution I could think of was the same one I applied when that guy in my office criticized me: work on your skills.
Improving skills take time and when you have a 9–5 taking out time for something new could be a bit challenging.
But, challenges eventually help you grow.
I generally have free time in my morning and evening hours.
So, I started using that time to my advantage.
I began waking up early to watch YouTube tutorials, then I’d go to work. During lunch, I’d watch more tutorials, and after leaving work around 7–8 due to overtime, I’d practice designing.
There were days when I missed my practice because the work schedule is too hectic.
But, I somehow kept on learning.
Day-by-day, week after week, my designing and content creation skills were improving.
I was also discovering other passive income streams which I’ve shared in this section⬇️
I kept creating content, whether it was good, bad, or ugly and suddenly I realized that I’d created 8000 pins all by myself.
That was a huge win for me because I was working full-time.
I’ve literally compared my first and 8000 pins, and I can say for sure — that consistency pays off.
All you need to do is to put your head down and focus on the work that you’re doing.
That’s the only way to make it HAPPEN.
At least I’ve realized that from my experiences.
The journey which started from 7k Monthly views has reached more than 4 Million views in a single day, without any paid ads.
Long story short, around October-November 2023, things started taking a turn for the worse in my professional life.
Despite my efforts to stay calm, the situation continued to deteriorate.
But this one incidence literally awake me.
Here’s what happened!
On the day of Diwali, a cherished Indian festival, I was stuck in the office until 9 pm, as usual.
My mom called me for our usual family tradition of shopping together for festive items.
It’s something we’ve done every year for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never missed it in the past 10–15 years.
But, this time it couldn’t happen.
Why?
Because I was so busy working.
I picked up her call and explained everything.
She replied in a very low tone and told me that she would go alone.
I put the call down and something inside me just lit up.
I realized what the hell am I doing.
What’s the point of doing something that doesn’t allow me to be with the people who matter to me the MOST, which doesn’t give me the FREEDOM to live the life I want to live?
And, it was a wake-up call for me.
After finishing my tasks, I shut down my system, packed my bags, went downstairs, and headed home.
It usually took me 45 minutes to an hour to reach my destination.
Those 45 minutes were life-changing for me.
I decided that I was going to leave that job.
I thought about everything:
- What are the repercussions of leaving a so-called stable income source?
- Is it OK to leave a place that’s known to me?
- Would I be able to take the side hustle forward and turn it into a real cash-flow business?
And a hundred other things…
The moment I reached my destination, I had made up my mind — I’M GOING TO DO THIS!
The next day, I went to the concerned person and told him about my decision to part ways with them.
When this news spread in the office arena, everyone around me started advising me.
- “You shouldn’t leave a stable job.”
- “Things like this happen in the corporate sector, it’s too common, why are you making an issue out of it”
and countless baseless arguments.
But without paying attention to even a single person, I trusted my instinct and stuck to my choice.
Within 3–4 days, I sent them my resignation by email.
And you know what?
The moment I clicked ‘send,’ I felt like I had made the best decision ever. Maybe I should’ve done it sooner.
I served my notice period, and on the last day i.e. on 16 December, 2023 I bid farewell to my team members, who had become more like friends.
We had a farewell party for the team.
This was the cake I cut on that day⬇️. It was too yummy!
Everybody felt emotional.
May be it’s because of the feeling that we won’t be working together from tomorrow morning.
For the next two days, I just slept, binge-watched movies and spent time with my family.
I felt like Home.
It’s been 9 and a half years of this professional life.
I was 19 when I joined this corporate sector and now I’m 28.
I’ve actually grown up during this journey.
My Takeaways From this Journey🙌!
- Listen to your Intuitions: Your intuitions never lie; you should listen to them more than the noise around you.
- Experiences Matter: Appreciate every experience you have, whether it seems good or bad. They all help you grow and learn.
- Say ‘NO’ to Toxic people. That’s the most important thing! If you feel you’re amidst people who’re sucking your energy, wave a good bye ASAP.
- A Closed Door Open Hundred New Doors: We often feel disheartened when things don’t go the way we expected them to go. But that’s not the truth.
That disappointment doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road.
It’s the beginning!
To be able to learn and take these lessons as they come is my biggest win in life, till now!
And I’m sure it’s just the beginning of something very HUGE (as I mentioned earlier) that I’ve never imagined.
All I need to do NOW is to follow the same trick :
Put my head down, focus on my work, and keep learning❤️
What’s your biggest win in life? Let me know in the comments!
Hey, pals! 👋 I’m Sweta — An Editor Turned Digital Content Creator.
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It feels great to have awesome people in team❤️
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