#BlogHer16: What Can Bloggers Learn from Sarah Michelle Gellar

At #BlogHer16, one of the keynote speakers was Sarah Michelle Gellar. Yes, Buffy spoke at BlogHer16. She’s been known for her acting from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cruel Intentions, All My Children, and more. She came to #BlogHer16 not just an actress, but an entreprenuer. Her business is Foodstirs, which has food baking kits that parents can buy and make with their children.

After Buffy, Michelle expressed that since she had the reach, she decided on how she was going to utilize it for her business. She goes over how she transitioned to Foodstirs from being an actress. Elisa began off the interview by asking Gellar why she pursued being an entrepreneur.

“I wanted take a little more control. Why? Because I saw the world as I know as entertainment changing. Why? Because I knew I was always capable of doing more and contributing more, and I wanted to test the waters. I’ve always said I was really lucky with Buffy. At a very early age, I acchieved more than I think I had really set expectations for,” said Gellar.

She already had a great reach, and wonder what she could do with it, so she created a business.

“I love the idea of creating something from an idea into something tactile, into something that you can see on a shelf,” the mom/actress said.

She realized that she had this huge reach, but really wasn’t sure on how to use it to her advantage. Sarah Michelle Gellar expressed that she had been intimidated by social media because she’s a private person, but realized that she could balance between give a piece of yourself, and have a line that you can still keep some of yourself private.

Having children really changed how she saw things, like legacy, and more. She got into starting the business because of her children’s interest in foods. She found a way to connect a bit of fun with learning and refining motor skills while cooking.

“We were always looking for ideas where we could be involved with the kids and to connect,” she told #BlogHer16 attendees

Gellar also expressed that when she went through the fundraising aspect of her business, it was tough. She said that she had all the right information, but felt like she was lucky enough to get into the door to see investers only because of her name. She worked hard to prove it.

“If it’s not challenging, it’s not worth my time,” said Gellar.

After successful fundraising, even after working extremely hard, and facing some failure along the way, Sarah Michelle Gellar broke through the hobby part, and got into being an actual entrepreneur.

Gellar said she looks at failure as different, and quoted something she heard at another conference, “Failure is just your first attempt at learning.”

The quote derives from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who said, “If you fail, never give up because F.A.I.L. means First Attempt In Learning.”

So, what can bloggers and business owners learn from Sarah Michelle Gellar?

#BlogHer16: What Can Bloggers Learn from Sarah Michelle Gellar

Well, there are a couple that I took away from her keynote at #BlogHer16:

1. Don’t be afraid of social media. You can still keep some things private, while also building a brand and a business.

2. You are capable of a lot of things. Don’t be afraid to test the waters.

3. Don’t think of failure as something negative. Think of it as a challenge to find a solution.

4. Even if you have built a great name for yourself, you still have to work hard.

Does her lessons help you as a blogger?