We recently connected with Aye Nicole and have shared our conversation below.
Aye , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
So I started my journey at the beginning of the pandemic after loosing two jobs in one week. I felt like it was a sign from God, telling me to get up and go! From day one, I had so much excitement and drive to work. I would create graphics, social media designs, logos, websites, and the list goes on. I quickly found out that I was overworking and underpaying myself. At the time, I did not have the confidence to charge what I deserved. Bills started to pile up so I had to make a change. I increased my fees and started creating contracts with my clients for Social Media Management. This helped me out a lot because each month I would have a better idea on what I would make. The increase resulted in loosing 75% of my clients but I ended up gaining high paying clients shortly after. A friend told me once, that “if you ever feel over worked… you are not charging enough”. This is stuck with me til this day! As a full time creative, there are months that I exceed my goal and there are months that I barely make my goal. But thats the beauty in doing what you love and taking a risk. I wouldn’t change a thing about my process, it’s been 2 years and I feel like I have learned sooo much!
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
I’m Aye Nicole, I’ve been a creative since I was a little girl but I took it more serious as a freshman at Tennessee State University. We had a lot of students on campus that had small businesses or upcoming artists. I would help them create content for their social channels and to promote their brand. After graduating, I was working two part time jobs feeling very unfulfilled. So I tried applying for marketing entry level positions at other companies. I was told “No” due to the lack of experience so I decided to create my own experience. The pandemic came at the perfect time, where I lost both of my jobs. This forced my to fully focus on my business and becoming a full time creative. I currently offer Social Media Management services as well as content creation + creative direction for artists. Every business and individual wants to be unique and professional, I provide quality content as well as creative ideas to help scale the brand or artist. I am most proud of the quality and efficiency of my work. Being creative comes so naturally to me and I love what I do.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Creatives should get paid by the quality of their work and not the amount of time it takes to do so. In this corporate world we live in, a lot of people thinks that time equals your value. This is why a lot of creatives are underpaid.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is so different now, so it really depends on what platform you are using. But being authentic goes a long way! There are so many people coping trends and repeating what other pages do. When trying to scale on social media, you have to know what your goal is. For me, I use social media as a resume. I post things that relate to my personal and business life. I do not have a niche but I am also not trying to “sell” anything on my accounts. My advice would be to not be so repetitive with your content but also be sure to analyze your analytics weekly to see what your audience prefers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mysocialgourmet.com
- Instagram: @Simplynicoleeee
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-jones-029892b2/
Image Credits
Instagram: @krshotit