Meet Anne Hodgins | Brand Content Manager + Film Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anne Hodgins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anne, how do you think about risk?
I used to be absolutely terrified of risk. I was the smart kid in class who was always recommended for the AP classes, but turned them down because I was too scared I would fail. I liked being comfortable.

But comfort isn’t where the success (or money) is.

Before I started my business, I was super stuck. I was working a job I no longer enjoyed, and living out of my savings because I wasn’t making enough to afford living in California. I had thought about starting my own business, but it was always in a far off, “maybe some day…” kind of way.

I remember my mom (who’s also very risk-averse may I add) mailed me the book “Bet on You” by Angie Morgan & Courtney Lynch after hearing about it on the news (yes, she’s that kind of mom). I got maybe a chapter in and realized that if I gave myself the opportunity to think about taking the risk, I would 100% talk myself out of it, every single time. So I decided not to give myself the time to think, and I quit my job and went freelance.

If you think you can’t do something, then you’ll never be able to. You will always find reasons not to do it. But as cliche as it sounds, if you have even an inkling that you’re capable of more, I promise you are. Take the d*mn risk.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Growing up, I always felt like I was good at a lot of things, but never really great at one thing. I could never stick to a single activity or project for more than a month – knitting, ceramics, photography, sketching, graphic design… seriously everything. There’s piles of these things in my parent’s attic from each phase I went through.

I come from a long line of what I would call classic careers – doctors, teachers, nurses, etc. so naturally when it came time to graduate high school, college was the next step. But I did not want to go at all. I ended up getting a full ride for accounting so I thought well, if I don’t want to go, I might as well go for free.

As you can imagine based on my current title, accounting didn’t fulfill me. Again, I was pretty good at it, but I couldn’t imagine doing something I was “pretty good at” the rest of my life. I ended up pivoting to marketing, under the guise that it would be the perfect career to blend my analytical brain with my creative side, and that’s what I got my degree in.

I ended up landing a job in California a year after I graduated as a Marketing Coordinator at a small interior design firm in Santa Barbara. And it was super great at first, but the thing about being a naturally creative person working in a typical 9-5 environment is that you’re expected to produce top tier content, all. the. time. And that is absolutely exhausting.

I got burnt out extremely quickly, and creating content became more difficult. Trying harder lead to being more burnt out and the creative ideas started to dry up. That’s the thing about being a creative, you have to give yourself time to sit around and do absolutely nothing in order to dream up those amazing ideas.

So one weekend I visited my boyfriend down in San Diego, randomly visited an apartment, fell in love with it, and decided to drop everything. Literally everything. I put in my 2 week notice with essentially no plan, and no cash flow. But I learned a few years ago that the more you allow yourself to be open to opportunity, and truly be comfortable with the uncomfortable, that’s when the magic happens.

That same day I started telling people I was a freelancer, because believe it or not, you can actually be whoever you want to be, and people will believe you. I shot my shot with an interior designer who I’d followed on Instagram for a few years, and by the grace of God she believed in me (shoutout Ali of AEF Interiors!). She was my first social media/brand content client, and it’s only been up and up from there!

So when people ask me what I do, I kind of say everything. I’m an artist, a film photographer, a social media manager, a brand content specialist, and I’m a writer. I’m a little bit of every single thing that I was good at when I was younger. I’m a little bit of everything that I was told I couldn’t make a career out of. I’m everything I’ve ever wanted to be, bundled into one.

I think the most important takeaway from my story and what I’ve learned in business is that going out on your own is simultaneously the easiest and most difficult thing you will ever do. You have to learn to be comfortable with the comfortable, and to understand that what is meant for you will never pass you by. And last but not least, you have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t, no one will.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This question actually makes me laugh because my boyfriend and I were just discussing where we would take our family and it pretty much entirely revolves around food. So consider this your unofficial food guide to North County SD!

We’ll start the day at Sidecar Doughnuts in Del Mar grabbing the world’s freshest donuts (no, seriously) and then head over to the Del Mar Dog Beach to run our maniac of a dog, Mysto around. If you’re a shopping gal (or guy) like me, you’ll want to head just up the road to Solana Beach and check out Cedros Avenue Design District. My favorite shops are Ta-Dah!, Intimate Living Interiors, Native Poppy, and SoLo.

After that, we’d head on over across the street, pop into Fletcher Cove to check out the surf and sand, then head to Cal Coast Adventures for an e-bike rental. We’d head up the coast on Highway 101, stopping at Seaside Reef, Swami’s Beach, and then enjoy exploring Encinitas for a bit. It’d be about lunchtime so we have two options. Lobster rolls at Lobster West (get extra lemon tarragon aioli!!) or Taco Stand for a few Grilled Pescado tacos (trust me).

Head to Moonlight Beach for some swimming and sunbathing, then bring the bikes back, and head up to Leucadia for some SoCal locals vibes. If there’s enough time we’d head to Grandview to watch the local surfers in the late afternoon as the su sets, then last but certainly not least, we’d grab dinner at Solterra Winery. You can’t go wrong with anything on their menu, but the crab cakes, ceviche, and mahi tacos are to die for (and all gluten free!).

If you’re not absolutely stuffed by now, and have a sweet tooth like me, you can finish out the night at JoJo’s Creamery in Encinitas, or head down to Kula Bar in North San Diego for vegan and gluten free ice cream and waffle cones (their birthday cake is heavenly!).

As you can see there’s a ton to do (and eat, haha) – and we haven’t even checked out Carlsbad and Oceanside yet! Basically “eat and beach” is our motto here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Ooh geez that’s a tough one. I’m a really big believer that every single little thing in my life has played a vital role in leading me to where I am today, so I’m grateful for all of it. I truly can’t pin it down to one person or thing but I’ll give you my top 3: my relationship with God, my family, and daily journaling. I truly believe I wouldn’t be where I am today without these three in my life.

Oh and two books that changed my life in ways I never could’ve imagined: “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson and “Bet on You” by Angie Morgan + Courtney Lynch.

Website: www.withgratitudeandjoy.com

Instagram: @annehodgins