Eleven years ago, 28-year-old Amanda West was home alone with her toddler most days and many nights. Her husband was often away for work, so it was just her and her daughter, whom she loved wholeheartedly and all-consumingly. “My entire life revolved around this tiny human,” West said recently from her home in Batesville, Indiana.

West was used to working hard. She had held a job since she was 13 years old and was accustomed to waking up early, dressing up, and showing up to get things done. Even as a child, she often wore her mother’s lipstick around the house, and she always had a purse draped over her arm (often containing nothing more than a couple of dollars for the collection plate at church).

Now, she was working hard, but at home with no one to show up for except her daughter, who didn’t seem to care one way or another if her mother was wearing lipstick or yesterday’s mashed potatoes. She had stopped bothering with getting dressed and fixing her hair, much less buying new clothes.

In her spare moments of zoning out, she scrolled Instagram and discovered a few women who posted their outfits every morning. She felt a ping of inspiration. She started putting herself together. She did her hair, put on makeup, and pulled together some outfits.

“It motivated me, as a stay-at-home mom, to get up and get myself ready every single day,” West said.

“I feel like when I look good, I actually tend to get more accomplished in a day. I just feel better about myself.”

She decided to use Instagram to post pictures of her own outfits, thinking it might inspire other moms to remember how good it feels to show up for the day, even if only the tiniest of humans are there to notice it.

From these modest beginnings, Almost Ready Blog was born.

‘The happiest accident’

Today, West’s @Almost_ReadyBlog Instagram account has around 750,000 followers. She posts daily outfits with links to buy each piece, like a personal stylist for her audience, along with lifestyle content such as recipes, travel tips, and make-up or skincare she enjoys.

“My followers are everyday people who want to put together outfits that make them feel good without the hassle of searching and piecing things together themselves,” West said. “Many of them are teachers, full-time workers, or stay-at-home moms. They’re busy, and this way of shopping makes their lives easier.”

When she started posting her outfits for inspiration over a decade ago, she never imagined it would one day become a full-time business.

“It was probably the happiest accident that’s ever happened,” she said.

Back then, the job of a social media influencer didn’t exist. Other women were finding her profile and following her, drawn to her style and upbeat tone, and she started to wonder if she had stumbled across something. She worked hard to get onto the fledgling platform called LiketoKnow.it (now a multi-billion-dollar influencer marketing company called LTK) and was one of the early creators to join the exclusive cohort. Once the platform started catching on, West’s audience grew exponentially.

“It took off like wildfire,” she recalled.

Today, West works with brands she has supported over the years and new brands that fit her audience. West said she remains passionate about her work, even though it has grown beyond just a hobby. Her business supports her family; her husband no longer travels for work but instead helps with the backend of the company. And the work has given her the opportunity to build a business while doing what she loves most.

“I truly cannot imagine any other job or career that allows this kind of flexibility on a daily basis, that I can still be the stay-at-home mom,” she said.

“I cook all the meals. I make lunches and take my daughter to and from school. I’ve never missed a sporting event. But also, I’m working full time and building a business that I own myself.”

West’s family lives in Batesville, Indiana, a small town “with a great public school system” about 30 minutes from Cincinnati, where she grew up. Her daughter, now 14, is into sports, so the family is often busy ferrying her to sports practices or catching Cincinnati Reds games. But mostly, they live a quiet country life, spending time outside and with their extended family nearby. Quite often, the family is also busy planning their next trip to the beach.

‘Our thing’

Those trips have become permanent fixtures in the family’s life in the past two years. In the spring of 2022, they bought a second home on the west end of Scenic Highway 30A near the pristine Gulf of Mexico coastline in Northwest Florida.

When West was growing up, her family spent vacations nearby in Destin and other spots along the gulf. “Road trips to Florida were just our thing,” she said. She kept it going with her own family.

Several years ago, she discovered the 30A area on a work trip to Seaside. Soon after, she brought her family back to visit Rosemary Beach. Then they started visiting as often as possible, staying in every nook and cranny along the 20 miles of Scenic Highway 30A.

It didn’t take long to start dreaming of buying a house there for extended stays with their two dogs. After more than a year of searching, they were about to give up when they finally discovered the perfect home. Now, entire summers are spent at the beach from when her daughter gets out of school until she returns.

“There’s no more relaxing place than being on a beach,” West said. “It doesn’t matter the time of day or the activity, whether it be swimming, walking, or just sitting and looking at the wildlife, it’s serene. I always feel good when I’m down there.”

West has traveled to beaches all over the world but hasn’t visited anywhere as much as she has the gulf in Florida. “Not only is the beach absolutely incredible, but the water in that part of Florida is like pool water.”

West noted that the 30A area offers an abundance of activities. There is something for everyone in the family (whether it’s a casual beach day or a fancy dinner date at Alys Beach) at every age and stage. Each time they return, her growing and changing daughter finds a new interest to explore or a new restaurant to try.

When West is on 30A, she posts beach content, often for people planning beach trips and looking for bathing suits or outfits for hot and humid weather. (Tip #1: One-piece outfits like breezy dresses or rompers help to pack light. Tip #2: Bring powerhouse pieces such as an oversized button-down shirt that can be a swimsuit cover-up but then washed and worn again as part of a night-out outfit.)

Over the past decade, as her business has grown, West has stayed true to what originally inspired her first post.

“Getting up and putting yourself together gives you this little motivation for your day, no matter what you might be doing,” she said. “I’ve come to realize this about myself, and I think a lot of people feel that way. I think that’s why this has taken off the way it has because when people see other people doing it, they’re like, ‘Okay, I want to get myself together,’ and it’s just a simple way to help yourself feel good.”

Follow Amanda’s fashion journey and daily style tips at AlmostReadyBlog.com and on Instagram.