Like my father always says, "You are your best investment" and that has been stuck in my head lately. I fear not being able to land a job when I graduate college or being able to make something out of myself but what if I turned myself into a career? But where do I start, how do I market myself into a brand, and what do I do? Our world thrives off of young entrepreneurs and I spoke to a couple of free-lancers to tell us how they were able to brand themselves...
The Panelists
I, luckily, know these successful and brilliant people and I am glad to call them my friends. They are an inspiration to me and I hope they can be your muse when kick starting your own brand:
Nicole:
Nicole is a 23 year old Montclair student. A beauty, style, and youtube guru who has managed to work with the best models and best gigs in NYC. Nicole Pigott has always had a passion for the beauty industry and she took what she loved and is now making an empire out of it. She currently freelances with Femmebot located in Montclair.
Natalia:
Natalia Londono has gone from being an Accounting Major to an epic Fashionista, now studying Fashion Studies at West Virginia University. The 20 year old Latina has launched a choker line called Aurora's Collection an releasing new styles every season. She started designing lingerie for plus sized girls then realized her passion for jewelery when she used excess fabric to make a matching choker.
Deborah:
Deborah Lee is the true definition of "you can do it if you put your mind to it" because she picked up on photography not that long ago. After learning all the ropes, she applied herself and now is an up and coming photographer. From portraits to editorial, she has taken the photography industry under her power. How she did it? Motivation.
Alexa
A 21 year old up and coming singer in a duo with Rickie Lane, RickienLex, who has gone through the motion of musical theater and studio time. She has gone to audition for The Voice and has sung on stadiums. This urban South Jersey girl is what determination is made of.
The Interview
1. Who inspires you? Why?
Nicole: I'm currently inspired by a bunch of people. I find it's never just one person. Consistently it's the women in my life- my mother, my best friends, Stefani, Michelle and Mic, my late grandma and aunt: they're constantly a rock for me. They're all so different. Fictionally I'm currently OBSESSED with Game of Thrones and I adore Daenerys Targarien (sp?). She's the coolest person in all of the seven kingdoms. She's herself in every way possible and is a strong leader not only for women, but also her people. Plus she has dragons. Like how freaking cool.
Natalia: I think the person who inspires me the most is my mom she inspires me because she has been through so many hardships in life and to see her doing so well and being so happy inspires me to continue working hard so I can be as happy as she is when I'm older.
Deborah: My best friend, who also happens to be my boyfriend, John, inspires me. He is my biggest supporter and always pushes me to the right direction. He helps me get through my fears and motivates me to work hard. He’s smart and super hard working.. and you know what they say, “who you spend the most time with is who you become.”
Alexa: I have a lot of people that inspired me to sing like alicia keys and christina aguilera.. but beyonce definitely inspired me to be a great all around performer.
2. Tell us how you got a following? What did you do to market yourself?
Nicole: I honestly owe the majority of my following to my time at Anthony Robert Salon (the Jerseylicious salon). I was never on the show more than occasionally in the background but when you're friends with people you get noticed. I also wrote a viral Buzzfeed quiz over the summer that helped gain some attention from the makeup community as well. However I also bust my ass to consistently post my own original work. My work is my pride and joy, my pure passion. I make sure to always be interacting on all of my social medias. People like friendly people!
Natalia: I got my following by (what I personally think) is just being me and doing what I enjoy and showing people that it's possible to make your dreams come true, even if it's just the first step. I marketed myself by first telling my friends and family about what I do, then I partook in some really great collaborations, posting on my Instagram and Twitter and of course hashtags.
Deborah: I just started posting the pictures from the photoshoots I did and people seemed to like the work that I do. I reached out to so many models so I can keep practice shooting. I also try to use other social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr to showcase my work. If I post a new photo on my Instagram, I will share it on Snapchat and tell my viewers to go like it!
Alexa: Me & my sister got a following from our local community singing together on Youtube for the first time when we were 13 & 16 years old. We always ask our close friends and family to repost things after we post them so we can reach as many people as possible. We have social media pages on Soundcloud, youtube, Facebook, twitter, & instagram so all of our followers can be reached.
BTS of Deborah shooting swimwear in Miami
3.What do you consider to be the pro’s and con’s of being your own brand?
Nicole: It's mostly pros really. I do this for no one else but myself. I love to see myself grow from year to year artistically and I love to challenge myself. Having my own brand gives me a platform to be able to grow in those ways. Another pro is networking. I've met some of the most amazing people on Earth because of my brand. The only con I can really think of is editing videos. I have the oldest program in the world so it takes a while.
Natalia: Hmm. I can definitely say the pros are that feeling of just being so proud of yourself when you see your product on a client, complete control of every aspect of your business and knowing that you are doing exactly what you want to do. The cons, at least to me, is the stress of balancing and the little free time.
Deborah: Creating your own brand is definitely challenging but I think naturally being an extrovert helped me. I’m very down to earth and easy to converse with. I always aim to be the person that people would enjoy working with.
As a photographer, I find that people often expect you to work for free. It’s especially hard when you’re just starting out.. You want paid work but you feel like you don’t have enough experience for people to want to pay you so you work for free to build your portfolio. This is acceptable to some standards but dealing with people who feel like they are the ones giving you the opportunity can be distressing. Some people think the prices for my services are too high but I refuse to get paid less than what I deserve. To be successful, you need to be able to know where you stand and not sell yourself short.
Another important aspect is that you need a lot of patience and a good eye to learn what works. There’s really no special formula or shortcuts to become successful in self branding. Only 2/10 models I reach out to respond back to me and sometimes that can get frustrating. You have to understand that you’re going to get a lot of “no’s” in anything you choose to do and that’s okay. You move on and keep trying.
Alexa: The Pro's to creating our own brand is that we are in complete control of all of our content that is released, & how we want our image to be as a musical duo. The con's of course is that we are funding 100% of all that we have to do to build our brand. We style ourselves, I do both of our makeup before every video or performance or photo shoot, We write our own songs as well as arrange all our harmonies of course. I edit almost all of our videos and vlogs, while both of us are trying to keep up with whats new and whats trending to keep our subscribers interested.
A snapshot of Aurora's Collection line
4.What tips in self branding would you give the readers? What is the most important thing one can do to market themselves?
Nicole: The most important thing is to NEVER stress about your numbers. Your following will grow in time and at its own rate organically. Grow your brand because it's something you love and want to share with the world. Everyone can learn something from everyone else. Use your brand to share what you know and the rest will follow in due time. These major influencers did not grow to success overnight. Everyone is on their own journey.
Natalia: Some tips are to acknowledge that you are only human and that it's okay if you make mistakes, and make sure you are truly enjoy the brand you are trying to make. I think that one most important thing one can go to market themselves are understand their way on social media.
Deborah: Sharing quality content is key but authenticity is just as important. There are so many talented individuals these days so it’s hard to stick out from the rest but you just have to remember that you are your own unique being – you are the only person who sees the world the way you do and thinks the way you do. You need to take that and use it to your advantage. Your personality and reputation, not just in the online world, is also crucial. Be someone others can look up to. I also try to keep my professional photography life separate from my personal life. I keep different Instagram accounts for different content and it’s one of the most important steps I took in personal branding.
Alexa: My tips to self branding would be to always stay true to what you're trying to achieve. Nobody wants YOU to succeed more than YOU want you to succeed. And Although it may take a lot of work & a lot of days feeling like you're literally going nowhere , just be sure to always stay consistent, be yourself in front of the camera and off of it. and though Marketing & promoting can definitely be important in building your brand, the most important thing is to continue to make better and better content. Study those that are best at what you do & take inspiration from them and just BE BETTER.
5. Networking is huge! What is some advice you can tell our introverts out there, to get up and get out there?
Nicole: Oh god I am the biggest extroverted introvert on Earth. You have to remember that your brand is your baby and you want as many people as possible to see your baby! The most important thing on earth is ALWAYS be genuine. People can sense fakeness from a mile away. In a similar sense, people can also tell genuine passion and creativity just by looking in someone's eyes. Never be afraid to say hello or give someone your information. Remember the worst that can happen is they never call which is serious no biggie at all.
Natalia: Hmm. Some advice is that you make your dreams happen, so you have to go get it with everything you got.
Deborah: I think collaborating with different people who share the same goals as you is important. Everyone is trying to accomplish their own dream. You should take advantage of that and work with peers. I had just asked a illustrator in my drawing class if he wants to collaborate on a project together. I asked my friend who is a clothing designer if she wants to style my photo shoots. It always turns out to be a good experience.
You should also always have a target audience. When people visit your Instagram page, you should make it clear who you are and what you do. Keep in mind: Who are you trying to attract? Who would be interested in what you do? You need to make a consistent connection with those kinds of people.
Alexa: Without networking you're only reaching a certain percentile of the people you come in contact with every day on social media & in person. Networking allows you to reach more connects in the industry & broaden your fan base. You never know what opportunities can open up for you until you reach out to those in your community that have the same hustle as you. Your local producer, engineer, drum player from around the corner knows someone you don't know,,make it your business to connect with all of those that are in your field locally. Travel to where you can be most successful in your field. For me & me sister we traveled to miami for a small performance and met lots a great people while we were there.
6. How did you kickstart your career/brand?
Nicole: Social Media! Working in digital marketing is what I do for a living now. I never would've guessed at 16 that it would literally become my life. Have social media outlets is the best thing for a brand. There are so many users on these platforms. It's important to utilize them all- from instagram and facebook all the way to LinkedIn. Use them all.
Natalia: I kicked starting my business by finally realizing that if I wanted success I would have to take the first step. So I went out and bought my first roll of fabric, drew myself an idea and started to sew for the very first time.
Deborah: When I finally discovered that photography was my calling, I went all out and never looked back. I invested in equipment, bought a domain name, made business cards, took photography classes, and even paid professional models to help me build a solid portfolio. I asked all my friends to model for me, posted casting calls online, and reached out to wedding photographers for second shooting opportunities. I really had to put myself out there because I knew it was the only way for people to find me.
Alexa: We started off as solo artists.. i was mainly involved with musical theater. But my junior year of high school i was presented the opportunity to join a girl group with my sister and one other girl. I stopped doing musical theater and pursued my true passion as a recording artist after that. Although the girl group is no longer together and its just me and my sister we still continue doing what we love to do.
A shoot Directed by Nicole Pigott for Femmebot
7. So Nicole, You are a jack of all trades: from styling to youtubing. Not only that but you are skilled in booking gigs. Tell us your secret on how you stay inspired in order to create all these looks?
Nicole: There's one thing I'll never compromise: that's who I am and my beliefs. Being unapologetically myself has gotten me to where I am. I look at the things in my daily life: my family, my friends, my crushes, my heartbreaks, my anxiety- I take it all, the good and the bad- and turn it into something creative. I had the world's best art teacher my senior year of high school who I swear, not only made me a better person, but made me see the world in a more beautiful light. I'm not sure if she knows it but she is a major player in the story of my career. There is art in everything, and that's how I started in makeup. I've been inspired recently by the changing of the seasons as well as some current social situations. I promise you, if you take a step back and look at the world in a different light, you will discover beauty that will supply endless inspiration no matter what it is that you're doing.
Alexa in an interview with her sister Rickie Lane
8. You are a small business that is still growing and I am sure you have rough days, so tell us what drives you to keep pushing and getting better at making your designs?
Natalia: I love this question because I feel like the reality of the hardships are hidden behind social media but your love for what you're doing makes the hardships worth it. I've had many rough days, but what drives me to keep going is to remind myself that a diamond is formed bye extreme temperatures and pressure. I'm still learning and I will make mistakes and that's O.K because I haven't finished yet.
9. Deb, you have become a photo guru in the North Jersey area but you did not start photographing until a couple of years ago. What do you owe your quick success to?
Deborah: I hate to be the girl to credit her boyfriend twice in one interview (lol), but it was John who really helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my career. Before I was a Fine Art major, I studied Nutrition. I wasn’t passionate about it and I was scared to make such a drastic change. He assured me that following my passion is the best idea and turns out he was right. There is nothing else I see myself doing and I’m so happy to say that I’m very excited to see what the future holds!
10. Being a singer, I am sure you get a lot of negative feedback on how one should not revolve their life around music. How do you stay focused on your goal as a musician and what do you do to be heard?
Alexa: The simple answer is that I love what i do & I wouldn't give it up for the world. I've wanted to be a singer since before I can remember. My family definitely supports me 100% of the way & I think that is the most important thing that keeps me motivated.
Get Social:
You like what you read? Follow these girls on their social medias and get to know them!
Nicole Pigott: Insta- @nicolepigott FB- Nicole Pigott Twitter- @nmpigott
Natalia Londono: Insta- @natalia_londono FB- Natalia Londono Twitter- @nat_londono
Deborah Lee: Insta- @Deborahleephoto FB- Deb Lee Twitter- @missdeborahlee_
Alexa Colon: Insta- @lexalay_ FB- Alexa Colon Twitter- @lexalay_
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