We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Guillen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

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

When it comes to running your social media, I think it really depends on what your needs are as a business. Social media is a full time job and people tend to underestimate the time and energy it takes. If you do not have the true bandwidth and knowledge to successfully run your social media, I would recommend hiring a professional. I personally have always run my own social media accounts. I am someone who has been immersed in the world of social media ever since I learned how to use a phone. Growing up, I always loved being able to foster a sense of community and connect with other like-minded people who share the same passions as I do. In today’s day and age, social media is crucial to the success of a business, no matter what that business may be. It’s a great marketing tool and should be used as such. When I moved to New York City, I had aspirations of being a freelance creative but didn’t know where to start. I also wasn’t really posting my creative work at the time because there was a part of me that feared putting my work out there to be judged. When it comes to my creative work, I’ve always been a perfectionist, and this has held me back many times from pursuing certain opportunities or sharing things I’ve done. Once I was able to let that fear go and stop holding myself back from posting, a whole world of opportunity opened up to me. As someone who moved to New York City knowing no one and having zero connections, I had to start from the ground up. Social media allowed me to find the creative community I was looking for and has fostered so many amazing relationships for me. A lot of people who I have worked with have found me through my social media, specifically Instagram, and this has been a game-changer for my freelancing business! Posting your work is so worth it, and the pros outweigh the cons heavily. Although it may be time-consuming to curate a social media feed and consistently post, I have found that it is so worth it. I wouldn’t be where I am today as a freelancer without it, and I highly encourage everyone to shamelessly post their art and work. You never know who’s going to see it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi! My name is Nicole Guillen and I am a creative based in New York City. I’m originally from Miami, Florida, and I miss the warmth like crazy! But alas, New York City has always been a dream of mine, and so far it’s been one wild ride!

I originally moved to NYC for graduate school in pursuit of a masters in documentary journalism from NYU. NYU had always been a dream of mine, and I was so excited to pursue higher education in the realm of filmmaking. Grad school was hands down the most difficult thing I have ever done, but it was also the most rewarding. I learned more in the year and a half that I was in my program than I could have ever learned anywhere else. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity and support to achieve a masters degree, and I walked away having gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities. My masters thesis is a 35 minute documentary film titled Interrogated, and its about false confessions and the history of police interrogations in the United States. Given my undergraduate educational background in the realm of legal psychology, I knew I wanted to make a film on a topic within wrongful convictions, and I am so proud that I was able to make that happen. The film is currently in its distribution phase as I submit it to festivals and try to find a home for it.

Now that I am done with school, I am a full on working professional in New York City (someone pinch me!). After graduating, I freelanced for a year while working different creative jobs in the industry. I worked as a content creator for the NY Post for a few months, and then at a production company for a few months after that. I learned so much from those experiences, and they really prepared me for where I am at today. Currently, I am working as a video journalist for The Real Deal, a real estate news company. I absolutely love my job and feel creatively fulfilled while also being challenged. Talk about a dream job!

But at my core, I will always be most passionate about photography. Especially concert photography. I’ve been a photographer for 8+ years now, and got my start in the high school yearbook. Since then, it’s been a long journey with a lot of ups and downs. There have been a handful of periods where I wasn’t practicing photography or creative pursuits, and that was tough. I am definitely my happiest when I am creating. Although my true passion is music photography, I do all sorts of photography such as portraiture, fashion, weddings, events, graduation, and more.

When I started my freelancing journey in New York City, I was definitely intimidated. I moved to this city knowing no one and having zero connections. But overtime, I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people and foster such an uplifting community. Every creative individual I meet is so supportive, and there have been many times where I’ve been recommended for jobs after meeting someone briefly, which I am so grateful for! Social media has also been a game changer in terms of showcasing my work and getting my name out there. But it is a hustle and a grind and its not easy. It’s taken me many years to get to where I want to be, and I would encourage anyone who’s on the same journey to not give up because its so worth it!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

If I were to give advice on building an audience on social media, I’d say to not overthink it and stay true to yourself! Social media can obviously be pretty deceiving with how we tend to only share our best moments and have the ability to curate such a specific image. But you will build the most genuine following from being yourself and posting what feels authentic to you. There’s a difference between imitation and drawing inspiration from someone, and your followers will be able to tell. When you are unapologetically yourself, you will draw the right crowd and the right type of support. This advice also applies to “real” life too outside of the realm of social media!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think it’s hard for non-creatives to understand the true hustle and work that goes on behind closed doors. People tend to really misunderstand the time and effort it takes to create something. People tend to assume that a 3 minute video takes 3 minutes to edit, when that is simply not the case! As a creative, it’s really important to price yourself accordingly and know how much work its actually going to take you to complete a job. It’s also helpful to outline this to the client so they understand the scope too. So much of being a creative is client communications/negotiations, so the better you can be at selling yourself and making non-creatives understand the value of your work, the better. This is not something you can learn overnight. The best way to master this is simply through experience. As someone who always doubted my pricing and took wayyyyy too many underpaying jobs in the beginning, I am now in the position where I know my worth and I do not settle for less! It can also feel daunting sometimes because the creative field is real oversaturated, and it may feel like there’s always someone out there willing to do the same job for less. But that’s when confidence is key. I know myself and the true value of my work. That cannot be replicated, and the right client will recognize that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nickygphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickygphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.guillen.773
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-guillen-78a4601a5/
• Twitter: @nickyg1099
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicky.mov

Image Credits
All images are mine.