We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Nicole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor , thanks for joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

As a full-time social media influencer, I chose to personally manage my social media account simply because it is a direct reflection of me. I consider my account as my resume. In my perspective it allows me to grow artistically, create the aesthetic that I envision for myself, and ultimately connect with peers and other influencers. So far, It has been going well navigating marketing, making new connections, gaining skillsets, and expanding in business. I have always been an advocate for myself in all areas of life. As my following and Inquiries increased I focused on being more consistent and committed to free-lance modeling and content creation. It was evident based on the feedback and outreach that variety wins. My account has grown thousands of followers since I started. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs through this process but I never allowed fear to stop me, I continuously reach out to various brands and make genuine connections for myself. My mindset has always been that this is something I want to do with my life at the highest level, so managing my social media account is personal, and with something so close to me I didn’t trust many people. Over time as my brand grows I am certainly open to help, especially on the business side; but at the moment I have found balance managing this myself. The part I find most tedious is managing emails, and being consistent with content. To combat this, I typically choose one day out of the week to focus strictly on these tasks. Consistency is tough with content because this is one of the few aspects where I have to rely on others but I have great support and developed positive relationships with several photographers who have helped me along this process. I truly appreciate each one of them who has helped me on my journey thus far. If I could advise any Entrepreneur, Content Creator, Artist, YouTuber, or anyone managing their social media my advice would be to utilize your calendar, set boundaries, and be humble as you grow in this industry. This has helped me tremendously when managing my account, emails, and DMs. Stay ahead so you don’t sink. This allows you to not feel overwhelmed and gives you a plan to execute everything you want and more.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started modeling at a very young age. Attending a modeling and etiquette studio where we practiced being excellent in everything we do, no matter the occupation, confidence, discipline, and, humility were instilled in us. I still live by those values today and carry myself in that manner. Growing up, I loved to participate in pageants and fashion shows. In addition to having a passion for fashion, I loved dressing up just for fun! As I became older, I realized that my passion had become a career for many women and I knew that it was something I could do too, with my own flare. I wasn’t 100% sure how models started their careers, so I just went for it by reaching out to brands such as Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, Shein, Ego Official, and more on my own. I’ve learned that people can’t ask or offer you a job if they don’t know you offer a similar skillset or have a passion for what they are looking for. So I started by building a social presence to showcase what I love and do best.

Fashion, beauty, and lifestyle are all topics I love to share with other women so they can feel like their best selves. I create various looks by styling wardrobe pieces and accessories from brands, being a muse for hair promotion, creating self-care videos, sharing skincare routines, and promoting new beauty products & gift sets that are for sale. Along with places to go such as restaurants, nail salons, gyms, and daily life vlogs. When promoting products I bring awareness and engagement to brands and sales that my followers may not know about. What sets me apart is my individuality and versatility. I always wear a variety of looks and promote more than just fashion. I think it’s great when one can go to an influencers account and see that their content is visually pleasing, organized, insightful and that the influencer truly cares about their audience.

I am most proud of my professionalism and consistency. I am humble enough to be grateful for where I am, but hungry to keep going and see what’s to come in the future. I have so much work to do, but I acknowledge that where I am right now is a place I prayed to be. I would not have gotten to this point without persistence and consistency. It’s easy to get discouraged in this field when you see people accomplishing goals you want to accomplish but it’s important to know it’s not a race. Everyone unlocks a new level when it’s their turn. So I’ll continue to show up for myself until I can truly say I’m at my peak. If there is anything I’d want my audience to know it is that character goes a long way. Always represent yourself in the best light! Remain authentic to yourself and don’t fall into trends. Don’t allow the media to consume you, it should only be a part of you, not all of you. If you love something let the passion drive you, have fun with it!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I believe the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is the excitement of creating and seeing the result! No matter what challenges come out of the tasks we can choose to be open-minded and innovative problem-solvers. Work doesn’t feel like a chore when you are passionate about it. The ability to network and find community is endless. Being able to grow and learn from like-minded individuals who have similar careers as yourself lets you know you are not alone, including being able to make a living off of your passion. This allows you to choose how you want to navigate life, be free, and go with the flow while still being able to provide for yourself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Before taking content creation to another level, I started with about 5,000 followers and I worked with small boutiques just trying to get started. Then one day my account got deleted, I made another one and that was deleted again, until I was removed a good 6 times, and there was no help in figuring out why this was happening to me… I believed someone was out to get me. I changed my mindset on the situation, I didn’t give up on what I knew I could be and tried one more time. I started small having about 500 followers of genuine supporters privately, and styled myself for fun. Slowly as time went on I opened up my account little by little and I kept styling myself and tagging brands until they started to notice the content I was creating. This process was in no way simple and set me back in creating, but It brought out many lessons. For example, don’t be naive and pay attention to who you’re doing business with. This allowed me to make more of a name for myself. I began using audio on my reels and TikToks, and I started doing reviews/hauls on my accounts this allowed my audience to start having some form of connection to me. Also during this journey, I developed tough skin. When people have an agenda they will do anything to make sure it gets done. Be a trendsetter, stay positive, and don’t give up. If you give up, they win so keep moving forward. Here’s why I don’t take any accomplishment for granted and love the growth that comes with creating. It took a lot to get here.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Thetaynic
• Twitter: @Thetaynic
• Other: Tiktok: @Thetaynic

Image Credits
Instagram Name Credits: @RAWFEEN @CAPTUREDBYNAAI @MIKEDINERRO @DARRYLL.MORGAN