When Erin Schrader first launched her blog in 2011, she only meant to share it with a few close friends and family members.     

Six years later, that blog has more than 150,000 fans on Facebook and strangers have even recognized Schrader in hotel lobbies when she travels to conferences.

Schrader, who lives in east Elkhart, Indiana, along the Upper St. Joseph River with her husband of more than 10 years, never would have imagined that what started as a part-time hobby would turn into a full-time career. But last month — almost exactly six years after her first blog post — she took a leap of faith and quit her office job.

Now Schrader is pouring all of her energy — or what is left after spending time with her husband and her friends — into her blog, Living in Yellow. The name was inspired by two of Schrader’s favorite things: sunshine and macaroni and cheese.

At first, Living in Yellow was an extension of the gratitude journal that Schrader wrote in every day. It was a way to be more mindful about the simple joys in the everyday and to remind herself of the multiple blessings in her life.

“It was initially going to be my private space to transition my gratitude journal to the internet, but then it wasn’t this secret anymore,” Schrader said. “I started to realize that there’s a community here, that I can connect with people online and talk with them.”

Now Living in Yellow has turned into an online community of women across the country who turn to Schrader for fashion, travel and home decorating tips. Most posts on the Living in Yellow Facebook page consist of Schrader sharing pictures of herself in her favorite clothing finds from shops like Nordstrom, LOFT, Express and Target. In the caption, she provides affiliate links to the products — meaning that if someone clicks through to the site and purchases the item, Schrader receives a kickback incentive.

“It can seem like a petty, not important job,” she said. “You’re buying clothes, taking a mirror picture and posting that. There’s not a lot of substance to that, which was my worry. Is this just a self-indulgent kind of thing?”

But when some of her readers started reaching out about how her platform has changed their self-image, Schrader knew it wasn’t so petty. She has also heard from many moms that Living in Yellow makes their busy lives a little bit easier — and more fun.

You won’t find $4,000 handbags or those strange, bizarre looks from the runway on Living in Yellow. Instead, Schrader focuses on finding cute, basic pieces that any woman can incorporate into her everyday wardrobe.

“I think people’s money is important,” she said. “I want them to be able to afford the items I put out there. I spend a lot of time looking for sales and good quality items that I think people will like at an affordable price.”

Although the affiliate marketing is one of the main ways that Schrader can support herself as a blogger, her site requires an entrepreneurial spirit to sustain. She sells advertisements along the sidebar of her Living in Yellow website and seeks sponsors for her posts. Schrader also attends blogging and social media conferences to find inspiration to market herself to a larger audience.

Not only has Schrader turned her blog into a career for herself, but it has also given a full-time job for the woman she hired as her creative director last month, Becca Grabner.

“It’s an opportunity to come together with another female, learn from her creative mind, have somebody to constantly collaborate with and empower one another to make this space more than it has ever been before,” Schrader said.

Having someone around to help Schrader manage the site and social media platforms will help her find time to get back to the roots of her blog: the lifestyle writing. Although she works her personality into most of her posts currently — she’ll tell her followers what she’s up to that day, or update them on big news in her life — Schrader said she wants to make time to write more.

Schrader has big dreams for her blog and for herself. She said she would love to get into personal shopping, or to grow Living in Yellow into more of a lifestyle resource. But for now, Schrader is just trying to come to terms with the incredible growth of Living in Yellow.

The internet can be a mean place — especially when people can hide behind anonymity. But Schrader has been overwhelmed by the kindness of her followers.

“Usually the bigger you get, it brings more negativity. But I haven’t had that,” she said. “I’ve been so fortunate for the opportunities and relationships that blogging has brought me. It’s about connecting with people and sharing your life.”

Sokol writes for the Goshen, Indiana News.