Meet Amanda *yeah, don’t even try pronounce it* Campeanu – the owner, face and creative genius behind the business, you guessed it, Amanda Campeanu (previously known as Plush Content Co)
Amanda has had a pretty impressive year, with plenty of milestones and growth moments. I knew someone as committed and determined as Amanda would be a goal setting boss, so I’ve done my darndest to squeeze every inch of advice from her, so if you’re struggling with your own goals in 2019, she will give you plenty of inspo!
Alright, hit us with your elevator pitch: who are you and what do you do?
I’m Amanda Campeanu! Photographer and Instagram strategist helping other passionate female entrepreneurs stand out amongst the crowd with gorgeous imagery and powerful Instagram strategy that converts.
I’m relatively aware of your business journey, going from full time day job in finance with a side hustle, then moving to a part time job to focus even more on your business and then recently taking your business to full time. First of all, congratulations! How long was that journey for you from start to finish, and what would you say that contributed to allow you to do that?
I think as soon as I graduated from my Masters degree and went to work for my brother, I wanted my own business so badly. I have NO idea what it would be in and it wasn’t until 2 years later I finally bought myself my first camera and fell in love.
I’ve only been in business really for about a year now so I’m pretty dang proud I’ve been able to go from full-time corporate world (where it literally sucked the soul out of me) to full-time (mind you, involuntarily) in my business. I got fired from my part-time job and I’ve never been happier.
A lot of it I believe has to do with a combination of mindset and believing in yourself, working hard (I’d wake up at 5:30am every morning before work so I could jump on Instagram and engage for an hour), showing people what I can do, and actually just showing up on Instagram.
My business is built off Instagram (which I never thought I’d ever say) but in all honesty, by simply being me, getting on stories, getting personal with my followers and showing off my work, I’ve been able to book consistent clients from it. People want to know there is a human behind the business, and if you can connect with them on a deeper level outside of the business world, then it makes it a whole lot easier!
You talk about the power of manifesting and putting what you want out into the universe, would you say that setting goals is a part of that as well?
Absolutely! You kind of want to be as specific as possible when you’re asking the universe for things. When I decided I was going to go part-time I wanted to get out before my probation was up (which was one month). I put it out there that I just wanted to find the perfect part-time job before my probation ended.
I was looking EVERY day and then I saw a job going at Lorna Jane head office. I nearly didn’t apply but I was like, whatever, let’s see what happens. Managed to get the job the day after my interview and I think I was 2 weeks off my probation.
The job was perfect for me (at the time), perfect hours, perfect days, great team.
In the lead up to getting fired (not even ashamed of it), I had mentally checked out of Lorna Jane and would ask the universe (every damn day), “when is it time to go full-time?”. The day I got fired, I said those words out loud before leaving the house and basically yelled “GIVE ME A SIGN”. It was kind of freaky actually.
I think by knowing what you want and visualising it so vividly in your mind, it eventually becomes your reality.
Do you set goals strictly for your business or for personal goals as well?
My personal life has pretty much become all about my business, especially now that I’m my own personal brand (previously I was working under Plush Content Co).
However, a huge personal goal of mine is to take my mum overseas for a holiday after she beats her breast cancer.
And then into the future, I just want to be able to provide for my family and be there for them, especially when I eventually create my own, so they are huge motivators for me.
Is there a particular way you set goals? (mood boards, goal setting pages, phone reminders etc)
I actually use my Canvast! When I enter a new year, I’ll write down everything I want to achieve in that year in my personal diary, so one year later I can come back and revisit those goals. But then I’ll break those down using my Canvast to set monthly, weekly, and daily goals to keep me on track.
Would you say that setting goals plays a big part in your business going from strength to strength?
100%!! If you’re not setting yourself goals (and big goals) then it makes it a lot harder to motivate yourself to move forward. I was able to double my income by going from full-time to part-time in my business, and now that I’m completely full-time is SO important to stay on track in order to hit my financial targets and keeping pushing forward.
What do you do to make sure that your goals don’t fall by the way-side (as they often can?)
We need our motivators. We need to constantly remind ourselves of our why. Why are we doing this? What will our life look like if we achieve these goals? I believe there are 3 key ingredients to achieving goals: Mindset, Action and Reflection.
Some people don’t achieve their goals because they don’t believe in themselves. They don’t believe they deserve it and therefore, it becomes a wish and not a goal. Wishes don’t get actioned. Goals do. So I think the first thing we need to do is BELIEVE that we are worthy of what we truly desire and believe in ourselves.
I also remind myself that every big goal I’ve ever had, I’ve achieved so far in my life. So I’ve already proven to myself that I CAN achieve anything if I set my mind to it.
Were there any goals that you had set for yourself that you didn’t achieve this year? If so, how do you deal with that?
Actually, no! I looked back recently on my 2018 goals and they were pretty tame. A lot has happened for me this year and I’ve achieved more than I could have ever imagined. 2019 on the other hand .. well that’s a different story!
I know from personal experience that sometimes there can be a million things we want to do, so setting goals can be hard sometimes, Is there are particular way you get clear on what you actually want to achieve?
For me there are two things that really matter. Being happy and doing something that lights me up, and having enough money to live the way I want. All the goals I therefore, set contribute to those two things.
And I’ll constantly ask myself, is what I’m doing contributing to my happiness? Do I feel fulfilled? And is this going to make me money?
What would be your top goal setting tip?
Dream BIG! Have those big goals, because they are going to push you forward. Then break those big goals down into smaller ones that you can work on every single day. If you don’t dream big, you’re missing out on SO many possibilities in life.
Can you tell us a big goal you have for 2019?
Ok, I have two actually! One, is to hit 10k per month in my business and for ONCE I actually believe I can do it. Two, is I’d love to travel and work, and expand my photography into content creation for hotels, and fashion brands. I’ve got a vision, I just need to bring it to life and 2019 is the year!