Before the First Post: The Work Before the Work

If you've ever thought about starting a blog, vlog, or brand-centered social media account, let me give you a little peek behind the curtain: the hardest part isn't hitting "publish" -- it's everything you have to do before that.

When I came to the decision to document my journey of learning to formulate skincare (and eventually create my own line), it's easy to suspect that the hardest part would be figuring out the science, formulating safe products, and building a trust with future customers. And yes, that will be hard -- but wow, I completely underestimated how much time it would take just to set up the foundation.

Let me walk you through what I have been doing for the last several months before I have even shared a single video, blog post (this is the first one), or social media update:

1. Name Hunting & Domain Drama

First up: the name. I wanted something simple, original, and available -- on all platforms. Easy, right? Wrong. Every name I loved was already taken on Instagram. Or TikTok. Or as a domain. Or all three. I ended up spending hour typing name into search bars, trying to find something that wasn't already in use. I felt like I was in a digital game of musical chairs, and every seat was already taken.

Instead of letting the name hunting hold back progress, I landed on something that felt right and is planned to be more of a "collective," if you will, and the skincare name will come to me at the right time. (Hell, you might even give me a suggestion that I love!) So, I bought the domain, snagged the usernames (for the most part), and triple-checked everything to make sure I didn't miss anything.

2. Setting Up Platforms (aka The Time Warp)

You'd think setting up social media profiles would take like, ten minutes. Nope. Between writing bios, picking profile photos, connecting accounts, setting up email addresses, and navigating the weird quirks of each platform (why does Instagram hate links?), I easily lost a full day or more just building the skeletons of each page.

Then there is learning how each platform wants content. Square videos? Vertical? What's the difference between a Story, Reel, Post, and Highlight again? How do I share content on each platform that is the same but different, since each one has a unique audience, who prefer different styles of delivery? I found myself deep in YouTube tutorials and TikTok creator guides just to feel like I knew what I was doing.

3. Trying to Look Like I Know What I'm Doing

Let's be honest -- first impression matter, even online. I didn't want my blog and socials to look like I threw them together during a lunch break. I created simple branding: a natural color palette, fonts, a logo placeholder (until I can afford a real designer), and some placeholder posts, so it didn't look like a ghost town when people found me.

I also set up a basic email newsletter template (even though I am waiting for my first subscriber), save some hashtag sets, created a Canva brand kit and template for future posts, and wrote out content ideas in my Notes app so I wouldn't blank when it was finally time to post.

4. Analysis Paralysis is Real

I'm a perfectionist in recovery, so the hardest part has been letting go of the idea that everything has to be flawless from the start. Yes, I want this brand to grow into something real. Yes, I want people to take me seriously. But I also have to remind myself -- this is the start. The messy, unglamorous, pre-launch hustle that nobody really talks about.

So, I'm talking about it.

5. What's Next?
   

Now that the usernames are secured, the domain is live, and the branding is (mostly) set up, I'm ready to start creating the actual content. The real stuff: the learning, the formulating, the trial and error, and all the skincare chemistry experiments that will probably be both exciting and hilarious.

If you're still here -- thank you. I'm so excited to share this journey with you from day one (or, let's be honest, day negative 100).

Let's build this thing together!

Have you ever tried to set up a brand or blog and gotten stuck in the "pre-launch" chaos like me? Let me know -- I'd love to hear I'm not alone...