Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Levy Lesser. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?
I manage my own social media. I’ve definitely thought about hiring someone else to do it but 1.) I actually like doing it and 2.) I think when it comes from me then it tells a more authentic story.
Rachel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I came to writing, podcasting and content creating in probably a non-traditional way. I started out my career working on the marketing side of magazine publishing working for some of my favorite magazines including PEOPLE, InStyle and Real Simple. I left magazine publishing to get my MBA and found myself again drawn to the written word (still on the business side of it) working for a company that created magazine and marketing material for nonprofits, independent schools and universities. I wrote my first book in 2009 and since then have written three more book. I came to writing books through a variety of PR and freelance writing jobs.
In 2019, my book Life’s Accessories: A Memoir (And Fashion Guide) was published. It tells the story of my life through accessories. I went on a book tour and people kept coming up to me and telling me about meaningful accessories, items of clothing etc… from their lives. I thought there was something to this.
I launched the Life’s Accessories Podcast in 2022. On the pod, I interview interesting and introspective people about meaningful items and the conversations take off from there. I have talked to some really fascinating people on the pod – actors, writers, entrepreneurs, designers and more.
People come up to me all of the time and tell me about their life’s accessory or how they related to one of the episodes. I love this. I think story telling is so important and accessories/items are great lenses to tell these stories and get them out into the world,
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was in the middle of a very busy book tour in early 2020 when COVID hit and my book tour was canceled. I pivoted to doing virtual book events and quickly got into a good rhythm with those.
And then I was connected with a group of writers who wanted to support their author friends whose book tours were all being canceled. I joined this team and started my own online show where I interviewed authors as we baked sweet treats together. Sounds kind of random I know, but also during the pandemic I started doing online baking classes for friends because I love to bake and people were interested in learning how to make some of my “famous” recipes.
I interviewed all kinds of authors (cookbook authors, novelists, memoirists etc..) online for two years as we baked together and I developed a loyal following. This connected me to a baker and writer who I launched the Life’s Accessories podcast with. She has been a wonderful partner. She has been so inspiring to me and has taught me so much.
You never know when you will have to pivot and also what is waiting around the corner.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I have been connected to a great group of writers, podcasters, bakers and other creative types online. It took me some time to find these people but that have been so enormously helpful in helping me grow my brand.
I wish there were more organized ways to connect to like minded people – people doing things in my lane perhaps earlier on as this would have been so helpful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://substack.com/@rachellevylesser
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachellevylesser/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.l.lesser/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachellevylesser/