Not Just Money

Content Creator: How I Turned Posting Into a Paycheck | Bony Kar

• Hantec Markets

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0:00 | 1:13:50

Bony Kar is a Dubai-based former cabin crew professional and fast-growing content creator who has built a powerful personal brand at the intersection of travel, lifestyle, and digital influence. 

In this episode, we explore the reality behind content creation as a career, how to position yourself in a crowded digital world, the importance of resilience and responsibility when building an audience, and the money side of working with brands.

Key Learnings:
Consistency does not equal income 
Wrong collabs cost more than no collabs
Habits determine brand value
Positioning beats follower count

0:00 Intro
3:26 Bony's Background
5:12 Flight Attendant Experience
14:01 Content Creation Is a Profession That Can Change Your Life
21:56 How to Position Yourself as a Creator
29:25 Resilience and Responsibility
36:55 Choosing the Right Collaborations
48:07 The Money Side of Content Creation and Working With Brands
57:08 Advice for Aspiring Content Creators
1:00:14 Money Mindset and Management
1:05:48 How Your Previous Experience Shapes Your Success

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Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bony.kar

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Website: https://htrader.hmarkets.com/ 

SPEAKER_00

I've seen 92 countries. Wow. That's awesome. Yeah. So a lot of souvenirs, a lot of memories, a lot of experience, exposure, I would say, to different cultures, people, languages, food. As a flight attendant, again, it was something like I got an opportunity.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I dived into it and um I never questioned it. But yeah, one thing I learned is like packing within a few minutes. So if you tell me about you want to travel somewhere, I would be like, Yeah, let's go. Give me 10 minutes. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_03

When I look at the creator economy, I feel like people are chasing the fame too much rather than looking at how can I make this a business and how can I actually make a living out of this.

SPEAKER_00

Could be, as I said, a pathmaker or a pathbreaker. Once you're doing something which you choose, you don't lose your authenticity. But then again, there comes a sense of responsibility because what you're putting out, everybody's watching it.

SPEAKER_03

I think there's a lot of influencers that have zero influence.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, if this is something you truly want to do it, not just for fame, then go for it. Because it could be life-changing. I knew one thing about money is that you need to have the right source when it comes to you. You know, you need to do the right thing. It's easy to just say it like, you know what, it's a lifestyle. Yes. But you need to have that financial protection as well. If I want it long term, I just can't earn and spend. You know, I have to protect it, I have to multiply it. I have to make sure that, you know, money doesn't manage me. I manage the money.

SPEAKER_03

Bonnie Carr is a Dubai-based former cabin crew professional and fast-growing content creator who has built a powerful personal brand at the intersection of travel, lifestyle, and digital influence. Balancing a structured aviation career with the fast-moving world of social media, her journey brings a unique perspective on what it really takes to turn content into a profession and sustainable income stream. In this episode, we explore the reality behind content creation as a career, how to position yourself in a crowded digital world, the importance of resilience and responsibility when building an audience and the money side of working with brand. Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Not Just Money Podcast. This is for Hantech Trader, not Hantech Markets, which is our prop firm that you can check out through our links that we'll have in the show notes below. Please welcome to the show, everyone, Miss Bonnie Carr. Bonnie, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. So, Bonnie, we were just talking off camera a little bit about your background and your experience. So for the people who don't know, guys, Bonnie uh is a content creator and has amassed, you know, over 600,000 followers on Instagram through lifestyle and travel content. But as we were just talking, that wasn't always your career. You kind of fell into it a couple of years ago with COVID, kind of like myself when I got into the whole podcasting space. So what I wanted to do today, Bonnie, is a lot of people I think nowadays want to become content creators, they want to be influencers, but I don't think people talk enough about the back end of it. Not necessarily about when to post and stuff, but how do you build a following? How do you start charging, you know, brands, what do partnerships look like? So I'd want today to give a background of the creator economy that people don't typically talk about, you know, given your experience and so on. But before we dive into everything, I'd love if you could please give a little give us a little bit of introduction about yourself and background, and we will take it from there.

SPEAKER_00

Alrighty. So uh thank you first of all for having me on the show. And uh I'm Bonnie, I'm from India, and I came to Dubai like 15 years ago in 2011-ish, and uh started as a flight attendant, and it wasn't really easy, you know, it was step by step. So, first was being a flight attendant, it helped me to shape out who I am. You know, I worked hard, I met people from all walks of life, and uh and then there was a part of time when I was just taking pictures while I was traveling, you know. And when I was traveling, and then I was doing a little bit of storytelling through Instagram, and from there on COVID hit, and then I started promoting like small products or maybe a small pizza box, if I would say, to be honest, and yeah, and today we are here, you know, from there to here. So it was every every step was a bit, every step had me to prove a lot, you know, not just to the society, but to myself as well. Okay, and yeah, a lot of consistency, discipline, and that's what built me who I am. So it was a bit of a journey, you know.

SPEAKER_03

For sure.

SPEAKER_00

Years of journey, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It's it's always funny, you know, when you're in the journey, you don't understand what's going on, you know, you're just taking it by day, you just gotta show up, gotta show up. And now when you get to this point, you can look back and be like, that was a lot. It took a lot to do.

SPEAKER_00

It's taking a lot of years. That was uh taking a lot of patience, you know. It's a lot of no's, a lot of rejections, a lot of yeses well, and um a lot of limitations and boundaries you create for yourself. So it's a mix of all.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, absolutely. So I wanted to just come back, start first on the uh your flight attendant experience because I, you know, we never get a chance to sit down and speak to someone who actually has had that experience and what are the pitfalls of it, what are the things that maybe people like a normal traveler like myself would not know. Could you walk us through what that experience was looked like and how you fell into it in the first place?

SPEAKER_00

So I started my journey back in India. My first job was McDonald's. Yeah, I was um more of like studying and working, yeah. And then opportunities came in and I grabbed it.

SPEAKER_05

I wanted to be a chef, but look where I am now, you see, you know, from cooking to posting and creating fun.

SPEAKER_00

Um, well, um, as a flight attendant, again, it was something like I got an opportunity.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I dived into it, and um, I never questioned it because I saw it in a place where I saw people, like I'm speaking to people, I'm dealing with situations, I'm emotionally building up myself as well. Because it in the in situations where you are just talking to someone with a smile, and then suddenly something goes wrong, you switch, you know. So that is a kind of a place which builds you or breaks you. So I build up myself, and as a flight attendant, there's a lot of discipline which came in. There was a lot of traveling which came in, which was the perks, I would say. Uh, but however, the sense of responsibility, the personality building, the communication skills, it all was a merge of it. So I think that profession people looked at it differently, but I saw it like you know what, it's amazing, let's go for it. So I took a chance. I was a flight attendant for like 15 years, and then previously I was also in India. I worked in a low-cost airline, so it was like a total 16 years of being a flight attendant.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

So it's a lot, yeah. It's a lot, and it's a good opportunity, I would say.

SPEAKER_03

So you said one of the things about uh one of the perks obviously uh of being a flight attendant was the traveling aspect. So how does it how does your a typical like week of work look like for you guys? Do they call you like, hey Bonnie, we're gonna fly to this place, to this place on that day, then you're gonna be there for two days and come back. Like, how does that planning and your scheduling of what your your job looks like?

SPEAKER_00

So different airlines have different ways of scheduling. Okay. We had like back in the the old airline which I was working in in India, it was like a whole week, like you get to week by week, or maybe a month by month. And same here, you know, you you get to know your schedules in advance so you can plan it out. Some days you have to be on your toes, you have to be ready. But yeah, one thing I learned is like packing within a few minutes. So if you tell me about you want to travel somewhere, I would be like, Yeah, let's go, give me 10 minutes, I'm ready. So, yeah, that's how it is.

SPEAKER_03

That's how it is. Okay, so different airlines have different schedules, and you know, you did it for 16 years, so you traveled everywhere. I always, from my perspective, was like, I know they you've probably traveled to a lot of places, but did you get the time to actually enjoy the places that you went to? You know what I'm saying? Because it might be there for like a day or two and you flew from here to the States or whatever, you know, like two days, what can how much can you see? You know, so how do you maximize on the ability that you're traveling all over the place? How do I make sure at each place, no matter how much time I have, I can get something, you know, from this place or an experience or a story or someone.

SPEAKER_00

So, as a flight attendant, there's a lot of managing, I would say, you know, a lot of uh discipline when I said the word, it is discipline. So you manage your rest from the beginning of the flight. Like before you step into the flight, you know how much you've rested. You know that okay, you're gonna reach at this destination on a certain time. How are you gonna feel? Again, depends on the day. Sometimes you don't know, it's unpredictable. But sometimes when you manage it well, like you rested well from before the flight. So you can rest a bit and then you go out. I made the most out of it. So I would say, like, in I've seen 92 countries. Wow, that's awesome. Yeah, so a lot of souvenirs, a lot of memories, like uh a lot of experience, exposure, I would say, to different cultures, people, languages, food, you name it, and I think I've made the most out of it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. And so you said a lot of things about the job that people don't take into consideration, the discipline, uh communication, working with people from different cultures, switching, switching, switching, exactly. And you said it can either make you or or break you. Absolutely, absolutely. So, what I guess for you from a mindset perspective, that you went into like, no, no, I'm I'm gonna win at this. Like, and because you did it for six 16 years, and that's 16 years of traveling too. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, yeah. Me, if you put me on an hour flight, I'll cry. I'm useless. I hate I I hate flying. So I always appreciate people who like, yeah, I can go here for travel five hours for two days and come back. That's just not how I work. So I I appreciate people who can do that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, well, once I got used to the lifestyle, you know, and once I got to see like what I'm here for, it helped me to shape who I am, as I told you, you know. Like I learned a lot of communication skills, like the fluency which I am having right now at the moment. I have to give the credit to this job because it was speaking, also is my job, you know, like going on flights, talking to people with understanding their different accents, or like working on my vocabulary because I meet sometimes, I I make some mistakes, and then I realize, oh my god, okay, I have to work it out on this way, or my oh my god, okay, I'm dealing with the elite customers, VIPs, celebrities, things like that. So somewhere down when I saw the lifestyle, I was like, you know what? If I put some work to myself, I put some investment to myself, then I would do it. You know, I used to observe, I used to ask questions, I used to talk to people, and I used to tell them that please give me your feedback, you know, like that's where you learn. A lot of times people don't take feedback in a great form. But once you are in the right place and you give that freedom to the other person, like, you know what, give me that, you know, feedback. Where do you see wrong? Where do you see your observations like? So I think when I got a list of things sorted myself in my brain, like, okay, you know what, I can work on myself, I can see the sides where I need to work more. And I got into it, I deep dived into it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And what sides, I guess, from because you know, you did it for such a long time. I'm guessing throughout that career there was milestones and different points as you progressed and so on. So, what were the things I guess for you that were the I guess the biggest challenges maybe that you had to deal with either mentally or emotionally? Because I can imagine if I woke up, I've had a bad day, there's you know, stuff going on in my life, and I have to get on a plane now and like be of service and put on a good faith. Like that's it's already draining without doing, you know, all that. So I can imagine that would be could be quite challenging sometimes.

SPEAKER_00

It was challenging, as I said, you know, sometimes you have to take life or the job, like it is what it is, you know. There is people who pay so much money to come on board and they pay for the service. I am nobody to go there and you know, like start showing tantrums or showing out my emotions. I had to leave it back home. I have to put my uniform on and I have to go and get there, you know. I'm there for the people, I'm there to look out and I'm there to do the job. So when you go with that mindset, I think it works.

SPEAKER_03

Fair. Okay, I can appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00

It's it's just the professionalism which comes in, you know.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

At times, you know, we we tend to, I wouldn't say I was built up like this. I learned as well. You know, there were times when I'm about to, you know, lose it. I'm about to be like emotionally like showing up how I'm feeling. But then, as you said, like, you know, when you have the experience, it comes with experience. I'm sure it comes with time. So back and forth, I knew what I want in life. I knew my goals, and I wouldn't let anything come in between of that. And that was the discipline I'm talking about. That no matter what, you show up, you do your job, go back home. You make money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, show up, make the money, be consistent, you know, build, of course, you know, as as you go along. So when you so you did the you did the you were a flight attendant for 16 years, and you said that you took you know opportunities, you know, as they as they came up throughout that career. So where does content creation fit into that 16-year journey? Was it towards the end you started getting interested in it or looking at it? I know you mentioned COVID is when it kind of like picked up a lot, but could you walk us through how you even began making this transition into what you're doing right now?

SPEAKER_00

So I think it started with Instagram, I would say, like, you know, in 2015. I still remember like 2015 or in 16 between that time. I started like, you know, everybody started talking about Instagram. Okay, it's getting there. Okay, let's post something. And I used to travel a lot, so I started posting pictures about traveling, and then got featured with a couple of pages. It was a little bit of boom. Then I started posting about the by, like going to places, like spots of places, not like restaurants or something, just like the best spots for sunset or something like that. And then got featured in some main pages in the by. And that's how it boomed. And then COVID happened, and somehow we were all at home stuck, you know, like doing what? So, yeah, like doing what? Like, so again, you know, I like to make the best out of the situation. I look for things. I'm very fidgety as well in my life. Like, if I sit here, I'll start looking for things around. I that's just my personality trait. But however, I realized that okay, you know what? Uh, there were certain brands they reached out, like like a pizza box, I would say. That was the first one. And they they told me, can you post a few stories about it? I was like, okay. And I was like, okay, it was not just about free pizza, it was just like, okay, you know what? I can take some nice pictures, I can post and see the reaction of people. And that's how, from a pizza box to makeup, and there we go.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, because you work with so many big brands now. Come Four, uh, Noon, I believe, and I think it's done Nespresso too.

SPEAKER_00

Mercedes, I worked with Audi, I worked with yeah, a lot of brands.

SPEAKER_03

So it's interesting, you know, a lot of people have a similar story to you who have a master following now. Is it's funny, they didn't set out to do that. Right. A lot of people didn't. They just started like you taking pictures, or started less, you know, like me making a podcast and like producing content, and then with time and consistency, as we we were talking, things start to move, those brands start to come in, those pieces. I think when I look at the creator economy, I feel like people are chasing the the fame too much rather than looking at how can I make this a business and how can I actually make a living out of this? Because if I have a million followers, but I can't convert that into anything that generates income for me, what's the point? Do you get what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I I think it's a mix of whole. I mean, if this is the profession you choose, like entirely, if someone decides, like, okay, I'm just going to do content creation. I understand the pressure where it comes in, you know. But again, once you're doing something which you choose, you don't lose your authenticity. You know what I mean? You don't go into shortcuts, you don't go into quick uh ways to get the fame, you know. You have to put some mind, you have to have that patience when you're doing it. Because it can change your life. It has changed a lot of people's life, it changed my life as well. Like, look, I'm here, I'm talking to you, right? So it is life-changing, but depends like how you do it. It's about making someone feel something. It's not just about okay, looking good. No, it's about what is the approach of people looking at it from a different perspective, right? Like if I show up somewhere and I start doing something unusual, you know, sometimes it can go viral, but do you want to continue doing that? I don't know, right? Yeah, I mean, again, it's it's it's individual choices.

SPEAKER_05

Of course.

SPEAKER_00

But I would just say that if you're responsible, it can change your life. That's what I would say. Like happened to me. I I could have done a lot of things, but I decided no. As I said, you set a boundary, you know, when you make choices in life, when you set a boundary, and when you're looking for a long-term, you know, aspect, be it goals, be it social media, be it content creation, if you want to be in long term, you can't make any decisions. I feel that's that's my personal perspective towards it. And with my experience, I would say that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And one thing you said, a very important word you said there when they talk about content creation, is like if you want to choose this profession, yes, that's the issue. Yeah, people don't look at it as a pro inje unless you're in the space and you know how much work it takes to be putting out the content you're putting out or launching podcasts or whatever. They don't see that part. Yeah, you know, they just see like, oh, it's just put up a camera, say some things, look good, look here, eat at this place, post about here, da da da, and that is the secret or the key to getting to where you want to go. That might give you an uptick in following, but long term, to your point, yeah, what are you gonna if I'm building an audience? What am I trying to serve them? Yeah, that's the I think half to is the question that people forget about. You know, people like, oh, I just want I want a million followers. Okay, fine. But what am I, what are you gonna give me? Like, why should I follow you? You know what I'm saying? I think people forget of part two.

SPEAKER_00

But do you wanna see it in a perspective where you want the audience to take you seriously when you think that way? You know, it's a good point. When you think that, when you have that line, you know, when you have that thought in your mind, that do you want your audience to take you seriously, or do you just want it like, okay, let them just watch and entertain yourself? Like, again, depends, you know, it's it's individual opinion. And in my opinion, I want my audience to take me seriously.

SPEAKER_03

I can tell. Yeah, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I want I want to have that hook, not just doing something like okay, I'm jumping out of the table and that's the three-second hook. I don't want to know it's the dependent thing now. It's a three-second hook, but would I like to do that in every form? Is that my style? You know?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So if you choose your style, if this is your style and you're making money out of it, good for you. Of course, yeah. But I feel like I want my audience to be serious, taking me seriously, and I should have the real influence, just not being an influencer, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03

See, I love that you said that. I think there's a lot of influencers that have zero influence. Yes. You know, and I I think to your point, there's probably no right or wrong answer here. Yes. You know, to your point.

SPEAKER_00

Let's let's keep that as well. You know, that's the first thing. Whatever works for whoever, it's good for them. But then again, there comes a sense of responsibility because what you're putting out, everybody's watching it. Different audience is watching it, different age group is watching it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know, true. It it is not like uh, okay, let's just do whatever. No, you can actually, you know, how do you say this? Like you can actually put someone in trouble, you know.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah. True, true, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Your actions can someone else can just redo it or copy it and puts themselves in trouble. Be it whatever, life, life um like could be a catastrophe for themselves or like could be a situation where they get involved in some sort of a weird situation. But you have to be responsible.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, yeah, and I think to your uh the I think the responsibility part though comes when you're trying to be taken seriously.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

You know, like because if I think about the creators that I follow, there's some that I follow that are just funny. Yeah, they have millions of followers, but they they give me no value besides like, okay, this guy's funny, I like him. You know, that's it. And it works for them and they're making money in that way, that's fine.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But to your point, it's what do you like? So I worked with a communication coach uh the past like Months wow and one of the things the biggest like eye opener for me was like positioning. Right. She's she told me Khalid, what do you want people to know you for? Are you Khalid the podcaster? Are you Khalid the business owner? Are you Khalid the speaker? Like what you can't have it all, you know. So you have you need to pick what you want people to recognize you as or to know you as, and then build to fit or create the content to fit into that narrative. And I think responsibility comes typically when someone's trying to be taken seriously, in my my opinion, but you might have a different perspective.

SPEAKER_00

So see, when you said that when people think you can't have it all, I completely deny that. You can have it all. I I work with I move on in my life with this quote. You can have it all if you want it.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. In in those terms, you don't hurt someone. In those terms, you don't take shortcuts, you don't do something unethical. It might take years. Yeah, it probably will. Take decades. Took me decades. I didn't know. I was making burgers somewhere in Kolkata. There is a small city. Moved from a small town to a city, making burgers and going to college. And then today I'm sitting and talking about money. I'm talking about career. You never know, you know?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So your dream should not be limited. So I would like to stop you there. You can have it all, Khalid. You can be called as a podcaster, you can be called as a business person, you can be called as someone like a preacher. You can have it all.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know, let not the society decide what limits you have to be called upon. Fair.

SPEAKER_03

Then I need to refine my what I said.

SPEAKER_00

Please do that from today, you know?

SPEAKER_03

No, to that's what you said is very true. It is a it is a it is a fair point. When I'm saying when I say you can't have it all, in the sense of it's more from an efficiency perspective.

SPEAKER_05

Right.

SPEAKER_03

You know, like what's gonna move the needle for me the most? Positioning myself as a a business owner or a podcaster, or in your case, a creator for this specific segment, or like another one, and then just focusing on that to build that to be recognized for something, then the all, the extra all that you're talking about can come in on the side, but like, oh, we know uh Bonnie's that you know, she's a travel creator. She is that's what people know you as. And then oh, but she also does I don't know, cookies or baking, or a chef or cooking, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

So yeah, fair enough, fair enough. For me, people always knew me as a flight attendant because I broke a taboo. I started flying, flying, we flight attendants call it flying. We started uh so I got into the profession in 2010. Yeah, that was like 16 years ago. And where I come from, the background I come from, it's a I come from a very small town. And a lot of people, not my parents, they were very supportive, but my other community, they were questioning a lot, you know. So I moved out of, I was the first one to move out of to a country, different country. So my first flight was when I moved to Dubai, like an international flight was when I moved to Dubai. So I broke a lot of taboo, you know, and uh for me I always knew like people know me as okay, she's a flight attendant. Yeah. Now it's a content creator. Now it's a content creator, but again, it's a step-by-step, you know? It's all the accumulation of the experience which helped me today to building who I am, you know. When I am like promoting or like creating a content, I'm showing up, I'm speaking confidently. It's all those work, you know, which was built up, accumulated, piled on earlier stage of my life. So, yeah, I mean, as you said, you know, you reach a point in how you want people to know you, but I want to be recognized with all these platforms. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. I don't want to be like just this, you know. A lot of girls became flighted, and then they chose this profession. They told me we looked upon you and we decided to go for this. And a lot of people, they always used to question us, like, oh, she's just serving food or like cleaning toilets and things like that, you know. Like a lot of pointers come towards you in every profession. Yeah, and in our profession, it was just like serving. But I always looked up in such a high perspective because there's a lot of um responsibility which came in. Like imagine you're going on a flight, there are 400 customers. You are responsible for them and their well-being as well.

SPEAKER_03

And we forget that as travelers probably.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, that could be a whole episode next time. That could be a whole set of episodes. Believe me on that. Yeah, so a lot of girls they chose this profession. So I take a pride in that.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I take a pride in that. I build a career out of it. So yeah, there you go. So there is nothing, nothing I would have to say, like, you know, it was wrong or this didn't happen, and I have to complain about no. Every job, every profession comes with a pro and con. Yeah, mine comes as well. Yeah, you need to choose what you can work on, you can stick stick to it, you can be mentally happy while doing it because mental health is very important to me.

SPEAKER_05

Of course, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00

You know, uh staying away from family. I live here by myself. It took me a lot, and it took me a lot of sacrifices to be where I am, but I chose it. You know, I I look at the pros. I chose it, I made those decisions. I am an adult, you know. I cannot look back and blame, okay, because of this person, this person, this person. No, it was me in the mirror, me who is looking at myself and saying, you know what, you can do it on the days when I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

On the days when I'm literally crying and you know, sobbing, and I'm very sad, or maybe I'm heartbroken. I looked at myself, I said, you know what, Bunny, you can do it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. 100%. And I I resonate with that message a lot. Um, I don't know if I've mentioned it on this podcast, but I had a similar moment in my life where uh I looked in the mirror and I had to take it was the first time I looked in the mirror and I was like, told myself, this is your fault. Maybe it's not fair, but you did something for this to happen. You know, taking accounts responsibility, being accountable. That's what you know changed my life to be sitting right here in front of you right now, that moment, that decision. So I when you said that, I'm like, oh man, I remember that day. Like so clearly, so clearly. It's just you and you, and no one knows, no one's there.

SPEAKER_00

It's a silent battle. This is the silent battle which you are having it with yourself.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

You know, exactly behind all the glamour, behind all the jazz, behind all the makeup, behind all the fancy life, there is a set of silent battles we are all, you know, ruling out.

SPEAKER_03

And I think uh to your point, I because so because the I'm happy you brought that up, because uh a lot of times people from the outside might look at you know your content and be like it's typical social media content, like, wow, there must be yeah, so much killing and so much money and so happy, and the life is perfect. Yeah, so lucky. Oh my god. There's a side to especially I think with the content like your type of content, which is more travel, lifestyle, like glamour, that people don't see. So maybe could you tell us a little bit about behind the behind the the the page? Yes, you know, the people are still going through all the things that you know you struggle with.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, yeah. There's a lot of build-ups, I would say, you know. Again, I I always use this word discipline because I have written it in my vision board in a big Are you a vision board person? Okay, my wife's a big vision board person too. And uh um I don't have those fancy ones like these new Gen Zs, they have it with the butterflies and stuff, but I just have like a couple of writings which has discipline, which has money as well. Let's let's be honest about it. But the first word is discipline, you know? Yeah, because when I moved here, I moved here alone. My family's back in my country, and um I had a freedom of doing whatever I want. But then there is the choice you make. People are responsible, right? Like my I don't want back doing something here, and my family is listening about it. Like, what is she doing? You know, so that sense of responsibility, sense of discipline came through. I started working as a flight attendant. That discipline again built up more and uh a lot of sacrifices, a lot of no's, you know. You do have to say no. I have learned that. Yeah, you know, but that comes with time, that comes with time and maturity.

SPEAKER_03

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Because at at one point in the beginning, you are like, Oh, I'm scared to lose, maybe I won't get it back. But once you build that maturity, you know, and you say no, something better is waiting for me. I'll choose something bigger, or maybe this is not gonna suit me or not suit my personality or whatsoever, then you are like, you won't be regretting that note, you know.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. And I I love the word you said it so many times throughout the conversation, besides the discipline aspect is I chose this.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

That framing is so helpful because it forces you to be like it forces you to take accountability. Yes, which in my opinion, I believe is such a massive superpower. If you can take accountability and move, learn and grow, that is no one will beat you because you just keep going the you're the only one that's gonna keep going while everyone else stops.

SPEAKER_00

Well, uh see, I have to bring something about my background.

SPEAKER_03

Sure.

SPEAKER_00

So where I come from is like uh sons are more responsible to take care of their parents. And my parents had two daughters, yeah. Uh oh. And they they made me, they made me this um, how do you say, like, they put me in a position where they always, you know, like they looked up to us as sons. You know, okay.

SPEAKER_03

They gave you you you took on that responsibility.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, not like responsibility-wise, like the freedom-wise as well.

SPEAKER_03

Got it.

SPEAKER_00

Like, okay, whatever decisions you're making, we are with you. Whatever you want to do, we are with you. If I chose this profession, there were a lot of my aunties and all, they're like, why do you want to why does she want to go out alone? She's so young. What will she do? I don't drink, I don't smoke, yeah? And I've made these choices. And uh everybody's like, oh, she might get into a lifestyle, she might get driven, she might get influenced with all the jazz, then what? Like, what are you gonna do? But my parents were like, no, you know what? She'll be fine. You know, if she has chosen this, she's responsible enough. And that I'm talking about when I was in my 20s, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, with all that background, when you come from, when already people have put, you know, like in a position where they chose your decisions, they were okay with your decisions, they were okay with like whatever moves you made in life, yeah, they stood by, you you do become responsible at a very young age. I became responsible. So I believe when you make a mistake or when you're winning in life, you have to take accountability in both situations.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, for the win and the loss.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, of course, because it's you who made it. Like, unless someone forged you on a gunpoint or someone forced you to do something, that's a different story. Of course. But if you in your conscious mind made that decision, so you should take accountability. It's my mistake. Yes, I went wrong here. Okay, I should have done it in this way, I couldn't do it. I'm sorry, I will work on it and I move on in life, you know?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Instead of like, no, looking for some other sources as they are the ones to make the mistake.

SPEAKER_03

Sure.

SPEAKER_00

No, it doesn't work for lifelong.

SPEAKER_03

Of course, yeah, yeah, yeah. That context actually is very helpful for me to understand you and the conversation we've had so far because you talked about responsibility that uh your your parents didn't put on you, but you kind of took on as being the daughters, and then but with the freedom to go out there and hey, do it. And most importantly, I think this is the area that a lot of people fail or don't have, and that's what makes it difficult to learn is that support regardless. Yeah, you know, so hey, go do whatever you want, no matter what, you know, we're here supporting you. Yes, that's so powerful.

SPEAKER_00

That's so solid. You know, that's so solid. You know, that's what you want. I I have been very blessed that I have never got into a circle where I was influenced for doing wrong stuff, and I I chose it very wisely. I'm very proud of that. You know, I take a credibility, as I said, I take accountability of my uh group of people who I'm meeting, who I'm sitting or hanging out with, because they make a lot of difference as well. You know, what you have a conversation with someone, they can really influence you, of course, especially when you're starting a journey in life. So that way I was always mentally responsible. I came here for a purpose. I knew that I left my entire life back in my country and moved to a complete new place without knowing anyone here. I didn't know anyone then, and I still I I don't know if I should be, you know, like talking good about it or not, or people will look at it like what? But I still have a very chosen people in my life, and I don't have a big group of circle, like, oh okay, you know, if something goes wrong, I can rely on this person or I can ask help from this person. I don't live like that. Okay, so yeah, I think that's where it comes the accountability and credibility as well.

SPEAKER_03

I don't think there's anything wrong though with having it just as a small no, it is not. It is not.

SPEAKER_00

I think if you are selective, yeah, and people call me you're very picky, but I am more selective.

SPEAKER_03

I like to s we like select I like to say selective, which is fair.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, which is which is fair because you your energy is very precious.

SPEAKER_03

And the people around you will dictate so much of that energy.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, absolutely. You sit and you talk to someone, and if they have something good to tell you, you automatically feel good, and if they only nag or complain, you start questioning things around. So this is how it goes, it's that simple as that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. I wanted to come back to the the the beginning of the your content creation stuff. Like you said, you were just traveling, you were just posting, you know, for for yourself, and then uh you get you know the pizza box uh first, you know, a partnership, whatever. So I I'm curious, so because you weren't doing it for the money at the time, you're just doing it, right? But then these money opportunities start popping up, these deals, these sponsorships, and like you said, at the beginning, you know, you probably say yes a lot more than you do probably now. Now you can be a bit more selective and so on. But what I want to understand is like that first that first part partnership when someone reaches out to hey Bonnie, yeah, we'd love for you to post and we'll pay you this much. That first experience of like, oh, you like someone will pay me to take a picture of this and post about it. How did you feel when you realized that is something that could even be a reality?

SPEAKER_00

Uh well, I felt like maybe I'm doing something right.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, yeah, well, that was my first thought, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Like, I didn't look for the money, I didn't look for the fees, I'll be very honest with you. Sure. Because um I knew one thing about money is that you need to have the right source when it comes to you, you know, you need to do the right thing, as I always believe that. So in every prospective in life, I had that. So when it came with the bla brand collaboration, it had to be with the name of the brand, what kind of brand it is, you know.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so you're very selective of who you'd work with as well. Okay, sure.

SPEAKER_00

And that was yes, I was saying a lot of yes initially because you're building something. We all do, yeah, yeah, we all do, yeah. Of course, but again, then something which I don't personally, you know, like for example, I'm I'm I don't eat a lot of I have a food limitation, just for example.

SPEAKER_05

Sure.

SPEAKER_00

I wouldn't go to a restaurant where they asked me to promote a certain food, you know.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

So because I'm not eating it, I'm not comfortable, right? So why would I post about it? I don't even want to have it in my platter because I don't consume it.

SPEAKER_05

Sure.

SPEAKER_00

Right? So those were always the principles from the very beginning. But yes, when it came to someone approaching me about like paying or like, you know, a paid collaboration or a big collaboration for that matter, uh, I looked at okay, what is my best foot forward I can put into? Is it like aligning with my mindset or my lifestyle? Yes, no, how it is going to be out. And then obviously it was a good opportunity. I grabbed it. Yeah. So I didn't go for much negotiations even then. And even today, if it's a good brand, I'm I'm more than happy to work for it, like find a way to work for it.

SPEAKER_03

Do you have, I don't need to know the brand names. Yeah. But do you have any horror collaboration stories? Because I think people in a similar space to you, or like, you know, as creators or stuff, you start getting to your point, just getting opportunities. Oh wow, this is great. Yes, I'll do it, yes, I'll do it, yes, I'll do it. But then you start saying no because you start learning, having different experiences of like, yeah, I wouldn't say yes to that again next time or someone. So do you have any like horror stories? Because people sometimes I think get too caught up with like, oh, but it's this brand, I have to do it. But maybe it's not the right fit.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, but see, this is like the integrity part which comes in, you know, which is a personal choice.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's just a personal choice.

SPEAKER_00

I know that okay, if someone is treating me bad, be it whosoever brand, is doesn't respect me as a creator, or just taking me like, okay, we are giving you this, we are giving you the opportunity, so you have to do what you have to do. No, no, it doesn't work like that. Okay. You have to have that balance of respect which I'm paying towards the brand. They should also have that respect towards me. You know, it is somewhere we are meeting and aligning, and that's how collaborations work. That's the meaning of collaboration, right? If you if you go to the dictionary, if you read the definition, that's what it means. It's it's uh equal, you know, initiative taken by both ends. It cannot be just one person respecting, and that's it. No. So if someone treats me bad, or if they they have a certain way, like an indirect way of looking up to me or my nationality, or that way. It's it's a little bit deeper, I would say.

SPEAKER_03

I I I think so.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's a little bit of deeper, but I feel like the respect part is main, to put it in the simple terms. Gotcha. If you gotta respect me, yes. But that doesn't mean I'll do whatever, as I said. But again, yeah, see, that's a very that's very important you said that. Yeah, it's something like it aligns with my personality, it aligns with my audience, it aligns with the background I come from. If all of that meets it, fair enough. But I wouldn't do something like I don't smoke, right?

SPEAKER_05

Sure.

SPEAKER_00

So I'm not gonna promote something which is related to smoking. Yeah, and that's my principle.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, so for you, it just says for you personally, you would not be comfortable promoting a brand or product that doesn't either align with your values as a person or that you use.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it's responsibility. Okay, yeah. A lot of young, young girls are watching me, you know. I need to also, when I'm on social media, as I said, it's again individual. So it is my perspective. Sure. And I take a pride in it. Yeah, a lot of audience from 15 to 25 years of age is looking at my profile. And you can see the insights, right? Yeah, yeah, of course. So on that basis, I would say, like, you know what? I need to also be responsible what I'm showing out as well. You know? Yes, though I don't consume, uh like I don't smoke. So fair enough, I'm not gonna do that. But also, certain things is personal as well. Like, if I don't do it, I will not do it for the world. Yeah, you know, I'm not here to do things to please someone. I'm here to be authentic. I'm gonna do this. If people like me, great, with somehow they do. So fair enough, it worked for me, and uh I continued. I continued with who I am, how I speak. Yeah, a lot of time when I um started speaking like in my social media, I got a lot of uh backlashes, like, oh, you sound very Indian. I am what do you want me to do about it?

SPEAKER_03

You're like, thanks, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, like this is how I speak, this is my tone, and this is you do you understand me clearly?

SPEAKER_05

Perfectly.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, great. So I always ask people, like, do you understand me? They're like, Yeah, I'm like, okay, so what what is that necessary or what is that urgency for me to just change my accent overnight and start talking in a certain way which doesn't define me, you know? Yeah, so those kind of things always came in, but I I think I chose to do what fits me well. Yeah, you know, and the moment I realized, okay, if you are who you are and you are flawed, and yet you have a certain amount of perfection in your life, you win. People will like you no matter what. You know, but if you're always in that stress or in that um point of mindset that you know, I have to do something to you know, stand out, I have to force myself to do things. I don't know. I never worked for me. And it doesn't work for a lot.

SPEAKER_03

So I've spoken to a lot of content creators over the years who have millions of followers and stuff. And you know, there's the famous question that everyone asks, Oh, how do you go viral? How do you go viral? How do you go viral? What I've learned, unfortunately, is to go viral, you kind of have to act stupid. Like you have to really act against the norm to like get all those eye, like people do, they'll be like, they'll do all this like really dumb stuff, and they get like oh millions of views or whatever, and then later they'll start being like, Alright, now I want to become more serious, more authentic, more whatever. So it what it's so challenging with what you're saying, in the sense that that what the way you're talking about it long term is the right way to do it. You can go research this as well, of your approach, but we still have this inauthentic, hooky, trendy, catchy way that is still drawing most people's eyes. I don't know how if content will ever switch, if the eyes will ever move from being entertained to being educated and getting value. I think this side, in terms of audience size in general, is always gonna be the bigger pie. Just my two cents.

SPEAKER_00

Well, well, as you said, you know, like people do whatever works for them. You know, you you don't really have like me as an individual, I can't really stop it. Like if but if one person decides to, you know, take the content creation or social media platform responsibly, if another person like me tries to do the same with this one by one, we can make a difference, right? But again, it starts from you. Like for me, what works for me is like, okay, I'm responsible. I don't I'm not here to hurt someone's sentiments. I can't go on records. I this is personal. I can't really go on record and start bashing someone like you know online, like, oh, this person did that, or pick up a community and talk about it. That's not me. Yeah, I'm not here to judge anyone, you know. People have a lot of things going on in their lives, be it communities, be it countries, whatsoever, you know. I am nobody to sit here and openly, you know, like disguise something. Sure, sure. So that's me being responsible. I'm not here to hurt anyone's sentiment. I'm here to do something which will light someone's mind, they watch something, they like it. Okay, they don't start questioning, they don't get into the prospective where like things are going too deeper too negative. No. But again, coming to this hook part, like they do just to make themselves happy if it's making money for them, fair enough. You know, who are we to say yes or no? But responsibility is a big word. Yeah, if you if you take that in every prospective of life, and especially when millions of people are watching you, yeah, you just scroll and your video shows up, and if it leaves an impact in a good way, yeah, great. But if it's just like, what the hell is this? I don't know if that is a long-term thing. I really don't know. I I I sit and have these conversations and I see sometimes and I question, and then I stop myself. I'm like, you know what? And maybe it works for them. So they keep doing this, what they are doing. But yes, um, there are people watching, there are youngsters watching. Some of them lost life by watching some sort of a video, trying to copy some sort of an act. I don't know if people can live with that. Yeah, you know. So for me, I feel like if you are responsible because you're using a platform where there is no uh no limit. Who everybody's watching it. You know, you don't know the age, you don't know the community, you don't know the country, you don't know the what they're coming from, what they're looking out to. So yeah, I I don't know. I really I think it's just works for them, so they do it. I feel like that's my only comment on it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, fair enough. I I can I can understand that. So coming uh coming back to the the the brands aspect and how you built like uh we I understand now how you pick the brands that you work with and do they align with you and so on. I I don't need the the specific numbers, but obviously, as with time, what you like the the the way you operate changes. You have a bigger following now, which therefore, like how did you how did you learn how to charge, how to like do camp like how to man manage the the rights and the campaigns and this and that because as you grew you can charge more because you have a bigger audience, which is what you know brands who want to work with you or anyone, you know, want want to do. So how did you learn I guess the partnership side of this whole thing? Because that's basically what it is, isn't it? Like, isn't it from a the the money perspective?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, um to be honest, when you are like for me, I learned everything by myself, you know, like even like content creation, like what are the hooks or how many seconds the engagement rate. I read about it, I studied a lot, and uh at that time I realized that you know what, when it comes to partnerships, it needs to be very clear before you get into something. Okay, you know, and uh if something benefits both ends, which is me and the brand, I mean why not? But the terms uh has to be very clear. Charging comes along with the time, as you said, with the audience about the market. Sometimes you negotiate because you are working with them for a long term, you know, and if you're just doing one campaign, for example, then obviously there is a certain charge, but if they come up with a couple of multiple campaigns, then you have to decide you have to get into negotiations, and then you just for me, like it it just needs to be smooth for me, you know. If it's a good opportunity, I don't sit and like start being snobbish.

SPEAKER_05

No, no.

SPEAKER_00

I I like to take the opportunity respectfully, I like to see that okay, if if this is too much for me, then I have to be honest. I'm very honest about how I speak about it or like what I'm gonna do. This is the limitations. If you push me down, then but obviously when they see that okay, you know, this is what is coming to the table, so far things are fine.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, yeah, okay. So you don't have for you person, like the question I I guess I'm trying to get to is how to evaluate the value of this partnership for you. Yeah, you know, because they'll be like, oh, we want to pay you this much, we want to pay you, let's say 10,000 to do two posts, whatever. But from your perspective, you're like, okay, but this brand is this big, this is how much they typically spend. This is I think I have an idea of what they paid other creators to do the same thing. So, like there's a whole formula of partnership, uh, I guess I would call it evaluation on your side as the as the as the creator, not not on the brand side. So I'm trying to understand a little bit more of how you analyze that.

SPEAKER_00

Alright, so see, generally every brand comes with a campaign and they have a certain budget, you know. And uh I as I said, like it again differs from different brand to brand, you know. So for us, when they come up, they always put up everything out there, like this is what it is, and then obviously you negotiate. So sometimes there is a place of negotiation, sometimes there's a place of freedom. So depending upon the situation, you know, like at times when we don't have a choice, this is what the brand has come up with. You if you want to do it, go about it. If you don't want it, then don't take it. Yeah, true. For it for that moment, yes, you've got to go for it. Like I go for it, but then when there is a place of negotiation, when there's a lot of redo's or there are situations like they have they come up, come back with like you have to reshoot or reshot this or do something else or add something to it, that's when you add on more to it. But for me, it's just like I do have a certain charge. Yep, I do have a certain uh how do you say, like, way of working, and I put it out there. Yeah. And again, if they want to work, great. If they don't, then I understand. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

How did you, I guess, evaluate your the your charge over the as you, you know, over the years? Because what you charge that pizza box is not what you're charging people right now.

SPEAKER_00

We don't say it in the camera. Do we say it in the camera? No, not not the notes. No, no, no, no, no, I know the not the numbers, but evaluation is.

SPEAKER_03

Just on like how how did I like, okay, I've gotten I've done this three times at let's say $500 is like a post. Okay, but now I have I've done it three times.

SPEAKER_00

It depends upon your audience. Like, if my audience is strong from where I am right now, I'm in UAE, my audience is strong. So again, you know, if you're looking out for the UAE audience, you have to decide and you have to put a price accordingly to that, you know. Like, what are you looking out for? You know, you're looking for quality, you're looking for audience, you're looking for uh ad boost, which will be for like a couple of months, right? So it will be showing up, you will be boosting it. So all of those comes under consideration. Okay, I feel. But again, you know, I would say honestly, depending upon brand to brand, and I like to work with similar brands as well. I am very loyal to that. Like I keep working with similar brands, big brands, you know, and they come up with new campaigns. I take a pride to it. And that's when the negotiation comes in that way. Gotcha. Yes. Yeah, yeah. But when it comes to something new, again, what they're looking for, yeah. Yeah, what the audience, what the quality, like I personally feel if you're just going out and shooting whatever on your phone, it's different, right? Yeah, of course. Whether you're taking a professional team and shooting it, it's different, right? Of course, of course. So for you, like for example, you're walking and you're just holding a mic and talking to someone, it's different. But you're setting up all of this.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it's a very different story.

SPEAKER_00

There's a light, there's a camera, there's an editor, everything. Yeah, it's different, right? No, 100%. So it is all what are they looking for.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

And if certain way that we meet in midst without compromising much of each other's requirements, yeah, then it's a go-go.

SPEAKER_03

Otherwise, and is most of the time from your experience and what you've done, has it always been like, oh Bonnie, we're gonna pay you X for whatever the deliverables are, camp long campaign, short campaign. Is it just simply that to that? Or are there some instances where like, okay, it's this, this, and you get like revenue share of like this campaign.

SPEAKER_00

I didn't reach that so far, maybe I will one day.

SPEAKER_03

I was just thinking a lot.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. But that that comes in as well, you know, that comes in with a different set of audience and the campaigns. But at the moment, I think that's my goal as well. Like somewhere down I can reach to that stage where I could ask something like that. But at the moment, no. But we're still working on it.

SPEAKER_03

Have you asked yet though?

SPEAKER_00

Everyone, no, no, no, no. I didn't have the confidence. You need to reach a certain confidence level, you need to reach a certain place where you sit and you can have this conversation. Yes. It's me, it's on me. Yeah, you know, and I didn't reach that. I feel maybe I'm not taking enough credit about myself, but I would like to do some some more great work before I could go and ask that.

SPEAKER_03

Do you have any idea of what's that great work look like?

SPEAKER_00

There's a lot of work. There's a lot of work. I I don't believe, I told you, I don't believe in shortcuts. So for me, I don't I don't know if anything changes overnight. Great. I do believe things change in overnight, yes, but sometimes it takes a few months, sometimes it takes a few years, and sometimes it takes a decade. Yeah.

unknown

True.

SPEAKER_00

Right? True. So for me, I feel like a lot of work is there, and it might just come tomorrow. I never know. Like, you know, I I post something and it just goes like outraged by itself, and then what like we can go and start asking the same, but I don't know. Like for me, it's just that I keep doing my work and the opportunity comes in. Yeah, I'll grab it.

SPEAKER_03

So are you is it is it for you? Are you at a stage now where it's like brands reach out to you, like uh like your lead generation engine is people, brands come to you, and then you pick, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna work with this one, this one, this one, or do you actively go out and speak to brands and be like, hey guys, this is what I've done. I'd love to, I love your brand, would love to work with you.

SPEAKER_00

Um it's a mix of both. Okay. Yeah. You have to be in the market, you have to show interest. Like, if I work with some people, I I just you know, regularly ask them, like, what's happening? How is everything going? Is there new campaigns coming up? Simple, but not like reaching out, reaching out. Yes, camp uh, a lot of brands reach out as well, so it's a mix of both.

SPEAKER_03

It's a mix of both. Fair enough. I wanted to round off our conversation today, Bonnie, with a couple more, just a few more questions for you. So just to round off the social media aspect, if someone came to you now and was like, Bonnie, I'm thinking of becoming a content creator. I think you know there's a there's a path for me there. Given because you started in COVID too.

SPEAKER_05

Right.

SPEAKER_03

I started in COVID too. Yeah, a lot of the big uh creators we know today all started in COVID. But in COVID, attention was underpriced. Right. And you could get you could post a TikTok about anything at the time and get thousands and thousands of views. Yeah, social media is very different now. Yeah, it's like it's uh I look at it as like it's grown up, you know. Now it's not just about oh, you gotta about posting every day, it's about how are you posting then quality, you know. The game is a lot harder to win in the game now than it ever was before. Yes, but you also have a lot of help now that you didn't have before in terms of technology and stuff like that. So if I came to him like Bonnie, um I want to do it, but um, is it too late? Should I what advice would you have to someone like that who's fresh or just considering even going down this path?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, if this is something you truly want to do it, not just for fame, then go for it. Because it could be life-changing. You know, if you put up something just not to to please others or just not to feel yourself important, then you have to go for it. If you're putting out something for the audience where they feel something good or if they they can, you know, like they can compare or they can, you know, uh relate to that, then it's fair enough. But if you're just doing for fame, then I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're going to make an impact, if you have a solid mindset that okay, you know what, this, this, this, I want to show out there, this, this, this, I want to put out there again, responsibly, then go for it. Because this is seriously life-changing, you know. It could be, as I said, a path maker or a pathbreaker.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You can really go and do some wonderful work, or you can actually put yourself in trouble. And and I have seen people having both. So I have learned, I have taken notes, I have observed, and I would just say that you know, go for it if this is what you truly want. Don't listen to others at the moment. If something you wanted from your heart, you think you can make it, go for it. Try.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Losing and winning comes later unless you try it, right? But again, make sure that you know the pros and cons of what you're putting out there.

SPEAKER_03

True.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And I think to just add on to that, you know, we are in the attention/slash creator economy right now. It's the money is going to the people, the individuals, the brands that can capture the most, not just most attention, the most of that the right attention for them.

SPEAKER_05

Right.

SPEAKER_03

It's not just about everyone, it's about, let's say, not a million, but these a hundred thousand who love and live and breathe, you know, what I do and what I say.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And from a money perspective, so I know you mentioned growing up um that you were the first person, one of the first people to leave and you know, to go travel, and you came from a small town and so on. So but now you're now with the you then you did the flight attendance, now you're doing the uh crea uh as a working as a creator. So I believe what I've learned is we all are we all have a money mindset that is ingrained into us from our childhood and from our parents and from the environment you know that we lived in. So what was the how have you had to address the that mindset as you as you grow? Because with time, there might be some bad habits or bad things that are still affecting how you manage your money today that maybe I'm not even aware of, you know, right now. So, how did you manage the money mindset and adjusting and changing as you've grown, you know, over time?

SPEAKER_00

So, for me, when I moved here, before that it was all about like, okay, you need to build a life, it's a survival. You also have to enjoy the comfort or like do things what makes you happy. That was my mindset. But then when I came here, I had to unlearn. And this word also I have to learn unlearn. Is that no, you know, like if you looking for long-term stability, you have to be like multiplying your money, protecting your money, and being being consistent, you know, like there's a lot of discipline again, which comes in here. It's easy to just say it like, you know what, it's a lifestyle, yes, but you need to have that financial protection as well, yeah. And that comes with independence, right? True. So I decided to be independent financially as well. And if I want it long term, I just can't earn and spend. You know, I have to protect it, I have to multiply it. I have to make sure that you know money doesn't manage me, I manage the money. You know, this is how it has to be. Well said, you know, they I mean, this is something like I had to earn learn. Like, okay, just earn and spend, and okay, it's fine. Okay, I'm paying my bills, okay, I'm enjoying my life. No. And and times like COVID, at times like unseen situations, you need to have something like, you know, which is your savings, you know. So those things, those responsible parts I learned after coming here.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

And I had to unlearn certain parts.

SPEAKER_03

What parts did you have to unlearn?

SPEAKER_00

As I said, like, you know, just like money is just like it's the lifestyle. No, it's it's a lot more than that.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, okay. Associating money with lifestyle, not money as a tool. No, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Like, you know, your your financial independence is important, but that comes with a certain perspective. It just doesn't come like, oh, okay, I'm earning a lot, so let's spend a lot. There's a lot of things in between that. Sure. Right?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I I take a pride in that. Like, you know, I have a build of certain things, I've tried to fulfill, achieve few goals in my life, and just by myself, I did it, and there was no support. There was times when I was just losing it, and I was thinking, like, okay, do I need to ask help from someone? Somehow things worked. But that all came with that unlearning. Yeah. That all came with unlearning.

SPEAKER_03

I'm so happy you said that word. It's a word that's been actually popping up in a lot of my conversations recently because you know, we're so focused on the learning. But sometimes it's not about learning, it's about unlearning something.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, absolutely. Because few things was norm, like because you were in a different background, because you were in a different group of people, or maybe you were doing a different kind of a profession. So that became a certain part of a habit of your life.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

But when you move to a different place, when you go completely alone, like, and and honestly, nobody taught me all of this. I did it all by myself because I went through a lot of situations where I was like, I shouldn't have done this. You know? There were a lot of times I was sitting in my room and I'm thinking, this could have been a different situation if I would have acted differently. So again, taking notes on all of that, and then we move on, you know. There are a lot of situations uh I would say that I I did it, I understood by myself. It's always great if someone comes and tells you all of this, if you have someone to, you know, guide you to that.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_00

But what I felt in my own personal opinion is I made mistakes, I learned from them, and I made a paved a better path for myself.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know, and I grew in it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, clearly.

SPEAKER_00

So when you when you make mistakes and you learn from them, you know, it it leaves a deeper impact.

SPEAKER_03

Of course.

SPEAKER_00

But again, you know, it's it's wonderful if you don't get into mistakes as well.

SPEAKER_03

That would be nice. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But if you asked me today, like, do you want to go back and change something? I was like, no.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Let me be where I was, let me be that person who was willing to take the risk, willing to unlearn something, pushed herself, you know, like told in my mind, no, let's not do it. It's fine, it's very tempting, but let's not do it.

SPEAKER_03

Let's not do it. Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, no, I I respect that, and I I resonate with that message a lot. It's how I try to to live as well. And you mentioned that you just so you did a you were a flight, so you were a flight attendant for 15 years just around us off. You moved to Dubai.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Now you're you're working as a content creator.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

The question I have is because you said Dubai is a city that made

SPEAKER_00

you or like ra raised you maybe was the was the was the right term yeah so i'm so curious about looking back over these last 15 years not only not only being in the u but with but also with your work as a uh as a flight attendant what are the lessons or learnings that you've brought in that are impacting and making what you're doing now so successful yeah I think it's a lot of uh you know like um the sense of feeling grounded like yes I have goals yes I have achieved a lot in my life but I am still grounded in a way like there is so much more to do I'm not in that feeling oh wow that's it no I don't have that I never have that it's a very bad thing in me and I think it's a good thing as well because I'm very ambitious you know like for me it's just uh background which I come from a lot of respect a lot of um how do you say like um a lot of mannerism a lot of preaching a lot of culture where I come from so that never let me feel like okay you know wow no about myself I do take a credibility I do take accountability that I've done really well but there is so much more I have to achieve in life and this is for myself there's nothing to prove anybody out there you know it's just that keeping the eye yes I want to make it big I come from a place people look at us in a like who dreams they look at us like what is she talking about you know this was happening to me when I was in my teenager like when I was in my college people used to listen to me and tell me what are you thinking of are you crazy and now they ask me how you do it. Ah there you go yeah so so so that is the background I come from I'm I'm very grounded I'm very grateful yeah as much as I do have moments where I feel like I doubt myself yes I think everybody does that of course but how soon you can come out of it makes the difference and uh where I all of this like how it all started is from where I come from and I still continue being grounded I still continue being grateful I do have a lot of respect for what I do so if someone is questioning that then it's not negotiable. Yeah it's not negotiable because again you know you build up something I would say ask you as well Kali this is my question to you you know like you've come with so much of experience right okay if someone doubts it you would like to answer that but you're not going to explain that right you know the difference between answering and explaining yeah I don't need to justify my position or what I know I know what I've done exactly you know what you've done exactly exactly that's just the way it is yeah so you have to have you should be grounded you should know your limitations of course and you should know how to say no I have I have unlearned the saying of yes to everything and then I've learned how to say no to place it might be very tempting you know like okay no I should let that go no but you know it could be better to keep your integrity than a missed deal.

SPEAKER_03

100% yeah 100% and you know it's your point I on my in my I have the opposite problem so my problem was I I'm so happy to say no I need to learn how to say I need to learn how to say yes that's good though I need to know how to say yes uh more often you know especially when it comes to like any partnership or something I always approach it with a bit of like I'm my my foot's already like out the door I'm ready no bye I'm out but I've learned also I'm trying to unlearn that because sometimes no you need to yeah it's it's it has to be you know there's a flexibility there that you need to have absolutely because um at times you know you just need to know what is going to benefit you for long term exactly you know if you have that like I had this mindset from the very beginning because I was like out there by myself making a decision okay now what? So that's how it all that's how all the puzzles fit in of course and to what you were saying earlier you know like oh people used to tell you you're crazy and why are you thinking this you know it's always so funny you're only crazy in life you're only crazy until you're successful and then oh what a genius a visionary an inspiration I'm telling you still a lot of questions comes in but it's okay it's okay you know I I pray a lot I I have my family very supportive they love me a lot they they if I tell them okay I'm doing this they don't question they will just ask me okay are you sure about this did you give a thought about this you know yeah are you willing to have both the situations if you win if you fail and uh yeah I mean that's that and the rest of the society I respect as well but I also consider my own intuition first before before there so as you and as a woman I'm telling you it's very difficult. Okay I'm saying as a man too it's hard.

SPEAKER_00

It's hard for everybody but you know like how do I say this like you know building something and you know trying to prove or every step I had to prove myself you know coming back to that point just I would like to sum it up like growing wherever you are be it you or me we all had to prove something at every point to reach where we are yeah or maybe we have to prove more to reach where we are going to be yeah and not just proving to the world but proving to ourselves more importantly in the long term. Learning unlearning it will be like a whole uh whole way of you know like it's both the things you have to do at times you have to push yourself and say no you know what let's not do this it's gonna hurt me but it's now do this.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah 100% Bonnie I want to say first of all thank you so much for joining us on the podcast this was such a fun conversation so I'm so privileged and honored that I was that we were the first podcast that you agreed to come on so lucky me. Yes I want to say congratulations on the journey you know that you've had listening to your story listening to how you think about things your mindset your approach thing I'm resonated with so much of what you said you know very different journey and um but came to a lot of the same conclusions that you have. Yes and yeah I just want to say thank you so much congratulations and I appreciate that you from the beginning of this conversation the word that keeps coming up is being authentic and responsible and I think you've clearly showed that today so thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you so much for having me it was my pleasure having this conversation sharing my experiences and I hope and I hope yeah that it it goes out to a lot of people and you know I know a lot of people could relate to this your journey or my journey as well yeah and uh thank you so much for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_03

No it was an absolute pleasure thank you so much bunny thank you so much guys to everyone listening thank you so much and we will see you on the next episode take care yay thank you guys for joining us on another episode of the Not Just Money podcast if you haven't already I'd like to invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on socials to continue watching industry leader talk about the mindset tools strategies and share the money truths that no one teaches you. And remember guys when it comes to money it's not about flex it's about freedom.