New Jersey — Last year around this time, December 4 to be exact, Naty Michele launched ALoveAffairWithFashion.com, a fashion blog.

It started small. She took a few photos of herself in the mirror at home. She posted them. People started to notice.

“A thousand people visited my blog in the first month,” Naty says, still surprised by the traffic, almost a year later.

THAT GIRL 

Naty says she’s always been “that” girl who her friends go to for affordable fashion trends.

“Then I started asking my mom to take better photos of me during her lunch breaks and on weekends,” Naty says.

Her blog, which has recently experienced huge growth, topping out at just over 100,000 unique views in the last month and a half alone, is Naty’s main source of income. It’s clear when we speak that she’s doing what she loves.

“I’m a contributor for Lucky Magazine, I’ve been featured in Glamour, and I’m starting to style women as well,” Naty tells me.

I find her intriguing because of how she totally embodies the attitude of our generation.

LIFE CHANGING MOMENTS FOR NATY

The journalism-major-college-graduate turned 29 this year. She used to be a loan officer and mortgage broker out of college.

“I was so tired of my stomach being in knots every morning I went to work,” Naty said. “I was looking for a way out, and I was really grateful when they laid me off.”

Days after her layoff, her dad was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, and she made a commitment to him.

“I promised not to leave his side,” Naty told me, her voice quivering.

Naty’s dad died three months after his diagnosis.

“I had his hand in mine,” Naty said. “I had my other hand on his heart as he died.”

She talked her father through his death.

“What was so beautiful is that my dad smiled just as he died,” Naty said to me. “It was so peaceful.”

What is it about when someone close to you dies when you’re young? It changes the DNA of a person. I was 17 when my 13 year old brother died. Life becomes clearer, the challenges become less important and living an authentic life becomes essential.

HOW NATY  BECOMES ONE OF THE TOP FASHION BLOGGERS IN THE WORLD

How do I pursue my dream and still survive financially? This is something Naty, like most others with dreams of being the CEO of their own lives, ask themselves.

She received unemployment for a short time. She tapped into savings. She said she forced herself to figure it out because of how fragile she realized life was after her dad died.

“I made sacrifices, I didn’t go out as much to party,” Naty told me. “I had to find a way to make it work.”

And make it work she has. Her style and fashion sense has her trending on Instagram daily, with with over 25,000 followers, growing steadily.

In under a year, this full time fashion blogger has forged  partnerships and has been featured in Lucky Magazine, Glamour Magazine and The Fashion Bomb Daily.

Lucky Magazine grabbed Naty as a contributing blogger. Glam Fairy, a TV show on Style Network, feature Naty’s photos. Her partnerships have an audience of tens of millions.

“I take advantage of everything, and I think that’s why I’m successful,” Naty said.

SCIENCE OF SUCCESS OF A FASHION BLOGGER

While there isn’t a science to success online, it seems people like Naty are figuring it out through lots of trial and error. She says it’s about hustle, full-time focus, reaching out to allies and consistently generating new content.

Naty says she shops on a budget. She likes that her readers can easily re-create her outfits. Women around the world reach out to her to style them and re-do their closets. That’s how she makes money.

“I can’t have a full time job right now,” Naty says. “Girls who have full time jobs can’t blog or be as focused on their passion as much as I can.”

TURNING TABLES 

As we wrap up our lively one-hour chat, Naty turns the tables.

“Tell me how you published your book,” she asks me.

I explained self-publishing versus traditional publishing and how important it is to cater to your core audience, something she’s mastered.

“I think I’m ready to write one,” she admits. “I have it all in my head.”

That’s the thing about just finding a way, any way, to do it. Once you start doing exactly what you want to be doing, you can’t stop. It’s addictive. It’s momentum. It’s a matter of physics. You go. And go. It’s about the first step. The rest is the journey.

“Sometimes I don’t know how I do it all, and still find ways to make money,” Naty says. “I’m very grateful.”