Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Darks.
Hi Lori, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always had an obsession with social media since it first came out. I was born in 1986 (woohoo! 80’s baby!) so I started with the Xanga/LiveJournal days! I’ve always been into YouTube and thought about making a YouTube channel but never did. My amazing husband encouraged me to start one and finally, I started my YouTube channel in 2014, as a “lifestyle channel” where I spoke about hauls, my favorites, tag videos, etc. As the years went on, it turned into a home decor and DIY channel when we bought our first house in 2016. I really honed in on my home decor/DIY niche and started working with such amazing brands. It’s been so surreal working with some of my favorite brands. My YouTube channel has also sent me on another path of starting my own boutique influencer marketing agency where I help other influencers get deals and grow their following. Honestly, starting my YouTube channel has been such a blessing in so many ways.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m a very positive person so even though being a content creator hasn’t always gone smoothly, it’s still been amazing! I’m going to say something that a lot of social media influencers/content creators don’t really speak on. This new “industry” is very catty. At the very beginning of my YouTube journey, I dealt with a lot of fake friendships with other content creators, not knowing if people really wanted to be friends with me or take advantage of my following. It almost feels like high school! I learned pretty quickly to just ignore it, stay in my own lane, and focus on my growth.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My Lovely Texas Home is a YouTube channel that focuses on home decor & DIYs. My channel really started to blossom when we moved into our first home in 2016. We bought a spec home in the outskirts of Austin, TX, and did a lot of DIYs like custom built-ins, wood walls, new flooring and so much more. Some of our DIYs got millions of views and it just blew up from there. I keep saying we because my husband and I are definitely a DIY duo when it comes to my channel. We are so excited to re-launch the channel with our new endeavors. We recently moved to San Antonio in 2021 and bought a new house and we can not wait to start DIYing this new home. We also purchased land and are going to build a short-term rental that will be open in the Fall of 2022. We will be filming the whole process of DIYing our new home and building our short-term rental! We are so excited for the future!
What matters most to you? Why?
My faith! My faith is the most important thing in my life. It is what makes even the tough times, make sense to me. God is so good! In 2018, my consistency on my channel took a hit because I went through a scary cancer scare and wasn’t uploading as much.
My husband and I have struggled with infertility for 10+ years, turned out I had more serious issues happening with me. I chose to share that on my YouTube channel because I wanted to document our baby’s journey. Through that journey, I learned my faith is stronger than ever and my YouTube community is truly the best. They prayed for us during this time and their support meant the world to us.
Contact Info:
- Email: lori@mylovelytexashome.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mylovelytexashome
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MyLovelyTexasHome
