Business Class
Welcome to Business Class — the empowering new podcast hosted by social media strategist and entrepreneur Vicky Owens.
In this bold and inspiring series, Vicky dives into the real-life challenges and triumphs of being a young female business owner in today’s fast-paced digital world. From debunking the stereotypes about young, ambitious women to sharing game-changing business tips, Business Class is your go-to resource for authentic advice, social media strategies, and unfiltered conversations about entrepreneurship.
Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, a content creator, or just love a good mix of motivation, humor, and insight, this podcast delivers the tools and real talk you need to level up.
Hit follow and get ready for weekly episodes filled with actionable tips, personal stories, and behind-the-scenes social media secrets that will help you grow your brand and your mindset.
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Business Class
Mia McGrath : The blueprint to building a SUCCESSFUL personal brand
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In this week's episode of Business Class, Vicky Owens sits down with creator, investor and personal finance educator Mia McGrath live from SXSW for an honest conversation about building a personal brand in the modern creator economy.
After growing her audience to nearly one million followers in under a year, Mia shares the reality behind rapid growth, content creation, personal branding, social media strategy and turning a passion project into a full-time business.
Together, Vicky and Mia discuss:
• How Mia grew her audience from zero to almost one million followers
• The content strategy behind consistent growth
• Finding your niche in a crowded market
• Building a personal brand people actually remember
• Handling criticism, scrutiny and online hate
• Balancing authenticity with privacy online
• Creator burnout, social media breaks and staying creative
• Working with brands and monetising content effectively
• Why storytelling matters more than information alone
• Outsourcing, scaling and running a creator-led business
Whether you're a founder, creator, freelancer or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is packed with practical insights on growing an audience, building authority and creating content that converts.
Subscribe to Business Class with Vicky Owens for weekly conversations with founders, creators and business leaders sharing the lessons behind their success.
This episode of Business Class is sponsored by Plannerly, the all-in-one social media planning and content management platform trusted by creators and business owners. If you're looking to stay consistent on social media, organise your content calendar and grow your online presence, use code VICKY10 for 10% off your Plannerly plan.
Produced by TAEPodcast www.taepodcast.co.uk
So take a seat and jump in and welcome to business class with me, Vicky Emmons.
SPEAKER_02Hello, and welcome back to a really, really special episode of business class. So today I'm actually on the floor at South by Southwest with the amazing Mia McGrath.
SPEAKER_01Hi Mia. Hi. Excited to meet you.
SPEAKER_02It's like overwhelming. We're literally sat on a floor with people around us and conversation. So we're going to try and stick to the conversation and not get too distracted. But today I wanted to get Mia on to speak about growing your personal brand. Like you have grown it so fast. Isn't it nearly a million and you start? Is it like a year, like a year you've been doing this now for?
SPEAKER_00Started June 2024.
SPEAKER_02That's incredible. How does it feel?
SPEAKER_00A bit surreal. Yeah, like a whirlwind.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, things happen quite quickly. Yeah. And I really wanted to dive into how you've done that today because I know that the internet knows you for investing and finances. But I was like, what angle can we go at that you've not hit hard on? That I really I'm actually, from a social media perspective, so nosy and want to know exactly how you've done it. So what I would like to know is what does a typical week look like for you at the minute? Like balancing uh the collabs and posting and meetings, like how do you structure in what content needs to be filmed and when have you got a usual routine?
SPEAKER_00So I can tell you a bit about the daily routine because it's usually the same every day of the week, but I usually start with writing at the start of the day. So that could be um I'm currently writing a book, but also that's incredible! Thank you. But also like my Substack or LinkedIn, anything that because I find writing requires a lot of concentration, so it needs to be done at the start of the day first thing when I'm fresh, and then I do filming like 10 to 12 pm, like that's probably when the lighting's best for me. Yeah, um, and I like to do that before I do anything else, and then I usually spent the afternoons editing and lots of admin, but I've started to gradually outsource some of my editing, so that frees up a bit of time, but I tend to go to the gym then. Yeah, um, but usually like in my week, I will try to have like one day where I fit all of my meetings and events into that day because I'd rather that than it be spread out because otherwise it's a bit like it it feels the day feels disjointed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and how important do you think it is to have you know like the gym in there and doing things outside of work? Like, is that really important for your mindset?
SPEAKER_00It's very important, but unfortunately, sometimes it gets sacrificed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_00If it's if I'm deep into something, yeah, it can it's kind of low priority, but when I do go, I feel the difference because I try not to like scroll on my phone or anything when I'm there. It's like a time when I have a digital detox almost, so that's important.
SPEAKER_02And you're like me where you post multiple times a day every day, right? Like people think we're crazy for doing that, but it does work, doesn't it? It's incredible. What do you do when you hit a bit of a block or you run out of ideas and actually what to speak about? What's your process there?
SPEAKER_00That's a good question. I my problem more is how do I act on all of the ideas I have. I kind of have too many ideas, but there have been obviously times where I have creative block. But I think the creative block doesn't come from not knowing what to post, it's more like fear of perfectionism, like just not wanting to get under scrutiny or anything. Times like that. But if I'm struggling, I do think like what have I been going through lately in life, like what problems have I been facing. Um, because you know, we always talk about selfish versus unselfish content, but I think a bit of selfish content is important. You have to like the more you speak about what you're going through from an emotional lens or like just what's happening in your day to day, the more people resonate with your story. So I I try to just think, for example, like if I'm consolidating my pensions, I might talk about that. Anything that's just I wouldn't think is interesting, but I am actually going through.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's so funny, isn't it? Because you're in it day to day. So to you, like with me with social media, I think, oh, everyone knows this, and then you have a conversation and they're like blown away by it, and you're like, Oh, I should probably do a video on that. And how do you manage as well? I feel like a big conversation I love to have with founders at the minute is how do we know what to share and what not to share, and dealing with scrutiny and being a young woman in the UK, when you are successful, people just want to tear you down. Unfortunately, I don't we don't know why we're like this in the UK. How do you deal with things like that, like hate comments or people trying to pick flaws in what you're saying? Like, has that been something you've had to deal with yet?
SPEAKER_00It was something that scared me at the start because I mean I've always been transparent about the fact that I don't have a finance background as a career, or also that I'm not an accountant, etc. Yeah. And so when I was first starting out, I'd get really scary comments being like, Oh, you're gonna get sued for posting stuff like this. Yeah. But I think gradually over time I learnt that I can talk about finance as long as it's compliant, I'm using the right disclaimers, and I'm being balanced and nuanced. That was fine. But when it comes to like transparency, that's been another area where I've been under scrutiny. But I think it's more people just coming across my content and not knowing the full story because if they knew the full story, they would know I've worked very hard and haven't I've obviously had certain privileges, but like I'm a very average person, yeah. So I think it's just them finding the content and not maybe choosing not to see the bigger picture because perhaps like it hits hard for them or something, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, does it get to you often? Like, are you like does it feel because I feel like I've not got as big of a platform as you've got, but I've got a platform where I have to think twice about what I say and can this be misconstrued or taken in the wrong way? How do you deal with that? Do you just sort of know that that just comes with the job sort of thing, or has it just made you think really strategically about what you do and don't share?
SPEAKER_00There was a time where I was very much in my head about it and it was unhealthy to the point where the camera wouldn't be rolling, I wouldn't be doing a day in the life, but I'd be picking up something from the shelf and thinking, well, that's not on brand. And it's almost like I was policing myself, but the voice wasn't coming from me, it was coming from the comments that I was subconsciously taking on, and that's not a good way to be. So I kind of realised that over time people were criticizing me for being too frugal or for being too frivolous in different areas, and that's when I realised you can't win either way, because sometimes it can feel like you have to stick to a narrative, especially content creators that have quit their nine to five in corporate, and then they people hate on that. And it's important to keep a certain narrative going, but at the same time, you can't you have to be authentic to how you feel, yeah, and people are gonna criticize both sides.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's like a double-edged sword, isn't it? It's impossible to get right, and I think as well, one thing that I really admire that you've done that I always preach about social media is repetition, like your filming setup is down to a T, your editing style, and people know what to expect from you. How long do you think it took you to figure out that that is what works and like to find your unique style?
SPEAKER_00In a way, talking head was the only thing that I could do sustainably alongside a nine to five and doing different things like modeling, etc. Like, I didn't have much balance in that time of my life, and I think the talking heads felt low effort because I could just sit down for minimal edits, like when I first started out, it's super bad lighting as well. So I think in a way, I unintentionally created that style for myself because that's what felt low effort. So I'd advise anyone if they're starting out, like that doesn't have to look the same for everyone because their their easiest mode of creating might be a day in their life, just taking snippets throughout the day might feel easier than sitting down to talk. Yeah, but whatever you can do to get the reps in as much as possible, stick to the path of uh stick to the path of least resistance.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, if it works, it works exactly. And how did it help? Because you recently took a bit of like a social media break, didn't you? How long was that for? Was it for long, even or not?
SPEAKER_00Well, technically I was on holiday for like 19 days, but I'd say there was probably a solid week where I didn't look at comments, post, interact, do any work-related things. Yeah, obviously anything urgent I did, but that felt odd because as a content creative, what is annual leave? Like, there's no such thing, does it? Um but yeah, that that felt quite freeing, but at the same time, I think people don't realise about this job, it has so many pros, but there are trade-offs, yeah. So I couldn't fully switch off. I was constantly thinking, well, how about you know, I was vlogging, I wasn't working, but I was vlogging, which is technically working. Yeah, so I you know, even now when I come to edit the content, I realise there wasn't enough of it, so I kind of wish I'd just not done it in the first place. I wish I'd just taken a proper break.
SPEAKER_02And do you think when you came back that that break helped? Like you felt full of creativity, and how did it benefit you from taking a break?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, sometimes you don't actually realise you're in a rut, you don't realise it at the time because when you can tell when my content's in a rut, because I will only film with front camera, it'll be a bit like lackluster. And then when I came back, I was filming with back camera and I was focusing very hard on the editing. People are like, Have you got a new editor? What's the camera? What's this? Like you look you're glowing, yeah. And I think that's the point. You you do need to take times where you completely don't post, and it's also scrolling as well, because as creators, we use that to get inspiration, but feeding your mind, you know, as a consumer enough, it's just yeah, it's full-on enough. But I think taking time away from socials.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I definitely need to do more of that, but you do just feel guilty, and even when you do take a break, like even recently, I took one day off for my birthday, and I was like in a hot tub enjoying it, and I was still having messages from you know, brands like this needs to be approved today. I didn't know that from the creator side, how fast turnover needs to be for brands sometimes and like how last minute things are. Like, how do you manage the deadlines with brands along with your organic and also choosing brands that feel like the right fit for you as well?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, in terms of managing posting times, like the shortest lead time I've had is on the same day. But that was quite fun. In a way, I like the rush of it. Yeah. What I actually find it harder to have a longer deadline because I might put it as lower priority, not intentionally, but just it happens. But in terms of managing it around organic, I find that a problem most creators have that they don't realize is when you take on, let's say, five brand deals, if you're like us and you post three organics a day or you try to you are you're essentially like um 5x in your workload because you have to compensate, you have to like sandwich the ads with organic. Yeah, so you're you think oh, it's only five ads that'll take me X amount of hours, but no, you you're actually adding a whole 20 hours to your play without realizing it. So that's something that I try to juggle, but it it's it's definitely when you're in a role and you've got a lot of brand deals, it becomes easier, especially when you've done more of them. In the finance niche, I find it actually quite helpful the fact that there's so much compliance around it because then you know what you can and can't say.
SPEAKER_02I am so excited to say that this episode is sponsored by Planally. Now I've been using Planily since I was about 16 years old in my very first marketing job, and I use it or use it to basically plan out content for the feed, get it looking organizer, but now it does so much more. It's basically a full creative toolkit all in one place where you get your social media planning, but you also get a free linking bio tool and a built-in customizable storefront with checkout. So you can schedule your post, preview your feed, drive people to the linking your bio, and actually sell your product or services, digital downloads, and even one-on-one coaching without juggling five different tools or paying transaction fees on top. As a business owner, I know how easy it is to batch your content and then just forget to post it or how hard it is to stay consistent on social media. I've used so many tools, but Planerly is the one that makes my workflow feel so seamless. And it has everything I need to manage my clients' content and my own. So if you're looking to take your social media growth seriously this year, start with Plannerly and you can use code Vicky10 for 10% off your Planel E plan. Yeah, and how do you like dealt with so did you predict that the platforms would grow this much? Like, did you have when you started a vision of I want to aim for a hundred K or I want to aim for a million? Like, has it been how orchestrated has this been basically?
SPEAKER_00Completely not. I I something that I will say about me, and I I'm not trying to virtue signal, but I've never wanted a certain amount of followers. Yeah, I've never wanted money from this or followers. I simply just enjoyed the process of creating. I got obsessed with what hooks to use and like the craft of it I find interesting. Very um, it's obviously great, I'm able to do it for a living, but I think starting out I saw it as a hobby, and then it was just something that I own like not owned, but like I had separate to my work. It felt fulfilling. It's not even a side hustle, it was just like something that I was creating, yeah, which I like.
SPEAKER_02Because it is all consuming, isn't it? But it's so satisfying thinking of the idea and editing it, seeing how it performs as well. What's it been like for your family and friends to see this process? Like, how did that do they understand it? Like, what's their reaction been to it?
SPEAKER_00I think at the start, like I'm really lucky to I've heard so many horror stories of people like losing friendships and stuff over content. I've I've always had supportive friends, but it was more like I think at the start, maybe my parents didn't understand what it was. You know, they'd I was living at my family home, they'd hear me like filming videos after work and be a bit like, oh, that's kind of funny. But I think no one could have predicted what happened. Like I think some of my friends thought it was cool, but they never thought, I never thought I'd do it as a for a living, so it all happened very quickly, but thankfully I've got a support, a good support network, and they keep me very grounded.
SPEAKER_02I feel like it's the same with my family where you'll say something big and they'll just be like, Yeah, well, you still need to be doing this tomorrow, you still need to be washing off, or like you go to these crazy events like this, and then you get home and you're still just the same person at home, which is crazy. And I've even had in real life things, you know, where people have noticed you out and about. Does that happen often now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it does. It it happens like a fair bit, and it's always really nice. I always make the time to like just stop and chat, and like, yeah, it's it's it's just nice. This feels surreal. It feels weird because I don't understand, I don't like people giving me so much like recognition, it feels odd, yeah, but it's it's nice, it makes it feel worth it. Yeah, like especially someone telling me like once I was in a shop and the cashier was showing me like how she'd screenshotted my investment portfolio to help her. I was like, that's crazy because if I had I'm not saying people should copy my investment portfolio, but like at the start, if I'd had that rather than all this fragmented bits of advice or books and stuff, yeah, it just would have been a lot clearer.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's so overwhelming. Like, even I've I've just dipping my toes into the world of investing, it's such a male-heavy industry, and it's very overwhelming and scary. And that's how I found your videos because they were just simple and to the point, which is what I needed.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02What would you say is almost your blueprint, if you like, for growing? Like, how have you been able to grow so fast? What things have you found have worked, have a world? Like, have you got any top tips that you can share in terms of that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would say, you know, a lot of people talk about content creation advice, but we kind of forget that it's not necessarily an unequal playing ground because of, well, because of privilege and different things, but it's also because some people, like if you're 18, for example, you're just starting to make content. I'm not saying that 18-year-olds don't have a lot of life experience, but for you may not have like a niche interest yet, like you may have not gone deep on something as opposed to someone that's working in a field for five years. I was kind of lucky in the fact that I'd I started at age 23, so I'd had like maybe five or seven years of obsessing over a topic, and that's how I was able to find like a niche because I think it is it is finding a niche because everything's quite saturated. So I'd say that is definitely a struggle for most people, is like finding something within themselves that they feel so passionate about that they can rant for hours and hours and hours. Find yeah, find that thing because it's it's like you can say post the content, but but a lot of people just don't know what to post, but you have to have to be something you're passionate about. But also, that being said, have a niche, but don't just become a resource. You know, you can post lots of tips and tricks, but there's a lot of people posting information. People don't people don't want just information, otherwise they'd go to AI or a textbook. They want like a story, yeah. They want to almost be, you have to see yourself as a character almost.
SPEAKER_02I think that's when it becomes a personal brand, isn't it? I think I've definitely had that identity crisis of every day I was just posting social media tips or social media hacks, and then also you have to think smart from the brand perspective of brands won't want to collaborate with you if you're just speaking in your bedroom every day, like they want to see you using other brands and products. But I think you're actually I've never thought about it that way because I always get asked about how do I grow on social media, how do I find my thing to post about? But you're so true in saying, like, I have found my thing because I've done it for so many years. So I can like you, I could speak about it with my eyes shut, walking backwards, anything. But I think you are right in saying not everyone has that privilege of actually figuring out what is that thing I can speak about over and over and over again, and then also finding a niche within that. So it's like you know, mine's like social media, which a lot of people speak about, and a lot of people speak about investing, but you've almost like found niches within that and like made it simple for people, and you've got your recognizable content style as well. What would you say is where do you draw the line at what you can share that's personal and what's your personal brand? Because I think that is a conversation I've really struggled with in the past of you know, some days you do want to be totally honest and just come on and be really authentic, but then authenticity almost performs well, you know, people crying, or it's it's really hard to find the line of what we should be posting and what we shouldn't. How do you what's your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think you've done a great job. I love the way you do that style of content, the storytelling and showing, like, you know, your highs and lows. I think that's done really well. Thank you. For other people, I don't know what it is, but sometimes there's a fine line, isn't there, of like not wanting to reduce your credibility while also being authentic. For me, I've found I've shown authenticity in perhaps a different way. Like my way of doing that is transparency. But the transparency is usually aspirational, but sometimes it's not, sometimes it's saying that, like, oh, I've got this student loan, or I've you know, um, I didn't use a credit card until a few years ago. There's different ways of being vulnerable and authentic without I guess without removing credibility. But I found I I choose one topic that I'm happy to be transparent about, which is finance. Yeah, anything about my past finance the world can see. Yeah, but anything else I like to keep kind of private, like what I do day-to-day hobbies, friends, relationship, family, yeah, like pretty much my life. But I I make it seem like people know a lot about me, but they really don't.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So it's like an iceberg, isn't it? You see the tip of the iceberg, and like there's some days where I've been struggling with something and you are posting an amazing opportunity or a brand collab, and it can sometimes feel like, oh, am I like lying to my audience? But I don't think anyone can actually be a hundred percent authentic online, and I actually think for so many reasons, like safety reasons and mental health reasons, you shouldn't actually share everything online. I think it's really difficult to like find that balance. I loved the conversation you had a couple, I think it was a couple of months ago, where you were sharing what you were making, and then suddenly it was unrelatable because it was a lot of money. So, what like how has that changed you? I feel like you came on, people were rooting for you because it's like, you know, this girl who went from zero to this, and then it's sort of sort of similar to like you know, Isabel Lorna, like she has done so well to like save up, buy that Porsche, and then when she's got it, people are like it's out of touch, and it's this and it's that. So, have you sort of thought twice about how much you should share about how you make, or have you been like, no, I think it's really important people to speak about money because I don't think enough people do speak about it, do they?
SPEAKER_00I think, yeah, with my income breakdown videos, in a way, they've pulled in a different audience because I was only talking about investing in personal finance before that, but almost it's brought in a lot of people interested in the creator economy, which I like because I like to connect with other creators, so that's a positive. Not only that, like I used to watch those videos to gauge okay, how much I should should I be charging. Obviously, I don't go into depth, but it is just helpful to be like, oh, in the future I could make that, it just opens up a realm of possibility for some people, which I think is positive. And in the UK, if we have more examples of people being high earning or starting their own businesses, I think it encourages others to do the same, which I think is positive. Um, I think where I can see the devil's advocate argument is where you know, at some point it which I felt personally, if it reaches over six figures a month, it might be something I definitely have to consider because at that point you have to judge whether it's actually helpful to people or whether I'm doing it selfishly to get views or engagement.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I would have to weigh up, are my followers actually gaining for anything from this? Yeah, or is it because it's helpful to see someone making 5k or 10k a month because if someone really grafted, they could get there, but then if someone's just starting out and they see someone making 100k, that's like, mmm, I don't know how I'm gonna get there.
SPEAKER_02And I feel like it like even though no one means to do it, it like almost subconsciously triggers people because especially in this climate where it's so hard to get a job, there's there's so much competition, people see that and they like instantly make excuses for you and that oh, she's probably come from a really wealthy family, or she's probably blah blah blah, and it's so hard to know that when you are growing, you're gonna have so many different opinions, and it that's the hardest bit. What would you say has been, and maybe it's this, but what has been the hardest bit for you so far of building this all?
SPEAKER_00I think the hardest bit is knowing whether I'm doing something right because there's no playbook, there's no blueprint, there's no senior manager telling you, you know, your end of year report. Of course, I have talent management, they're they're a great support, but you never really know where some whether something's right or wrong. And and actually to answer your earlier point about judging whether a brand deal is appropriate or not, I think at the start I was very much like most people who idealized or glamorised content creation. I was like, oh, my first brand deal, yes, I'll just say yes without thinking about it. I think over time I've had a very good filter of like, okay, I do and don't want to work with these people. Um but I'll give myself the grace to know that what you you don't know what you don't know. And I think you've got to try things out, build up a portfolio, and that leads to more work in different areas. But I think the hardest part would be finding that fine line between what I want to pursue personally, what I know will be good for my brand long term, and also how my followers are going to receive it because they also have a different opinion about what my brand is.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it's really hard on the brand side as well to I suppose sometimes get your voice across with brands. Like when you work with brands, do you feel like they give you the full freedom to make the video your own? Or have you had have you had it yet where you know you've put something out and you've not been 100% happy with it because we're still new to it, you know, and we're still working it out. And I think sometimes when I work with brands, they don't always understand that your audience doesn't want to see a hard ad and just shoving something in their face. So, like, how do you get your point across two brands and I suppose um yeah, like choose the right ones to work with?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, in my I guess in my industry, finance, um, investing, stuff like that, they're very much conversion heavy, and it does sometimes feel like an ad. So I just try to make sure that I partner with brands like that. I like Tide, for example, I use them for my business, like that I already use so that people are used to seeing that. So if it does feel a bit ad-like, they're still like, well, I know she uses that, so it's fine. But it is difficult, and I think other industries or maybe people that do more lifestyle, it's less focused on like certain wording. Yeah, because I found most of mine do probably sound like an ad. But but also there's there's another argument to say that maybe consumers don't want to be tricked into not knowing it is an ad. So then I don't know. I'm like, oh well, it doesn't matter if it feels a bit ad-like because it is an ad. Yeah, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02It's so hard, isn't it? Because it's so true. Like, I love it when I'm watching a creator and I didn't know it was an ad. Yeah, but then also I can see how people think that's not totally authentic, but then you don't want it to be too much like an ad because then people are gonna scroll past it, it's really hard, isn't it? Yeah. Um, and then what would you say? So if someone's starting from zero today and they want to build a really successful personal brand, first of all, like what would you say is the main difference between a successful personal brand and a personal account? Because I feel like people actually get this really wrong and they're sharing, they're not posting strategically. Like, what do you think makes a successful personal brand?
SPEAKER_00You just need to be highlighting your skills and value constantly because that's all it is. To me, it's an advertisement for who you are and what you can offer, but not necessarily like people don't really want to know personal things about you until you're until you're big. But like, I that's the same with me. Like, I people weren't really interested in get to know me until I actually I agree, I agree.
SPEAKER_02Loads of people are like, I'm posting vlogs and they're posting this self, selfish content, and I always just compare it to you know like Hayley Bieber. I'm like, if she she's so famous, she can post whatever she wants and it will get loads of views, but you have to be quite bruisely honest with yourself at the start, thinking people aren't really gonna care. So I agree, I think you have to like build it up, don't you, before people start to care.
SPEAKER_00And I would say having a distinct style, yeah, having clear visuals, certain fonts, good lighting, these are all things that are bare minimum, but also, like you said, um, someone that's starting out, maybe they're more affluent starting out, they're going to have the opportunity to have that aesthetic kitchen and stuff, and that's why they're kind of able to do lifestyle immediately.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I would say in the age we're living in, in the like age of the intellectual influencer and all of that, yeah, you're better off finding, maybe even taking the skills that you have at your day job and amplify if you can like start getting this contract, but like if you can amplify that in your personal brand, I think it's helpful even in a career sense as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because I think now because there's so much competition, almost like you can be a fashion influencer or your stereotypical influencer, but I think you need to have something on top of that rather than just posting outfits every day, which is also really hard to find. Um, what is something that you would say you still struggle with today when it comes to owning a business and a personal brand, like something that you're still trying to figure out you've not quite cracked yet?
SPEAKER_00I think for me it'd definitely be outsourcing, like for the first basically year and a half or very until very recently, I was doing everything, every single thing myself, which is important because with a personal brand, it's your reputation. And I think learning those skills like video editing and stuff that that's very valuable. But at the same time, it got to a point where I was literally at capacity and I couldn't physically do any more, yeah. And then that did allow me to sort of like look into outsourcing, but it's still a skill, it's still a skill to find the right people because there's a lot of skilled people, but you need someone that gets you, yeah, and that cares about your content almost as much as you do. Yeah, um, so that's quite difficult to do. I found it hard to really push control, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then what would you say in terms of career highlight? Like what for you out of the past year has been something where you've really stopped and thought, that's incredible, I can't believe I've achieved that.
SPEAKER_00Probably um the Vogue feature, yeah. And uh I going to Downing Street, yeah, uh working with HMRC because a lot of like marketers picked up on that and commented on it, which I found interesting. Um, but yeah, I think those are the main ones.
SPEAKER_02Brilliant. Well, thank you so much for coming on today, Mia. If people do want to follow you, like if they don't know you for any reason, where can they find you?
SPEAKER_00I'm on uh TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify and Substack. Do I need to be on Substack? Is it good? I I like it.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay, I'll add that to my list of a hundred things to do. Thank you so much, Mia. Yeah, thank you so much, Mickey.