We recently connected with Cara West and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Starting a business as a content creator and influencer is not as easy as it may seem on social media. There are so many hats a creator wears in a day from planning content, to managing and negotiating brand sponsorships, to communicating in a timely manner with their followers, building their community, and of course most importantly creating quality content for their audience. It can seem that some influencers and content creators have had overnight success but the reality is it takes years of to build a successful following and sustainable business.

If I were starting over today, the advice I would give myself would be to start. I think for so long I was afraid to become and influencer and content creator because I didn’t think I was interesting enough or could produce high quality content. But over the years I have been able to invest in my skills and equipment to create better content. I purchased so much equipment in the beginning I wasn’t sure how to use instead of using one of the most powerful tools many of us have right in our back pockets…our phones! When I started creating content back in 2017 Instagram was flooded with highly produced content on fancy camera gear but with the rise of short form content thanks to platforms like TikTok, social media has now taken a turn and is pivoting to being less produced, more organic and genuine. People are truly resonating with the the content of every day people vs. the heavily produced content from Macro influencers. My advice would be start today with what you have in a niche where you can provide a lot of helpful and useful information to reach a group of likeminded individuals to start building a solid community of followers.

Cara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a content creator and influencer focused on sharing content around plant-based family living and traveling. When I first began my journey as a content creator I had just recently moved to Austin from Houston and started a blog with one of my best friends at the time centered around the Austin food scene. When I became vegan, I decided to pivot and start my own blog, sharing my vegan recipes and resources to help and encourage others to incorporate more plant based foods into their diet.

When I first started my blog and my Instagram page I had no idea what I was doing. Even though my content wasn’t the best and I wasn’t as polished as I wanted to be, I’m so glad that didn’t stop me from doing what I loved and that I kept pursuing this career. Over the past four years I’ve found success as being a content creator and influencer from teaching myself photography, videography, and taking courses that helped me to not only create better quality content but aided me to build the foundations of my business such as how to pay taxes, register my business, as well as learning how to negotiate and decipher contracts when partnering with brands for sponsored content.

There are so many facets to learn when you are starting your business as a content creator and it can feel so overwhelming but my biggest advice for someone starting out is to just start creating content. You will figure out and learn the rest as you go. Don’t let being perfect be a barrier to following your passions and your purpose.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Back in 2020, I finally landed a job that gave me the flexibility to be remote and the income to start traveling more. My dream has always been to not only be a plant based lifestyle content creator but to also be a resource for vegan travel as well. At the time, I wasn’t making any money from content creation but I was determined to start working with brands that year, hoping that with the content I would start making through travel would allow me to gain the attention of travel and plant based companies. As soon as I had the opportunity to start traveling, the pandemic shut the world down and I felt incredibly defeated. All I could do was quarantine at home and I remember feeling like I wanted to completely give up on my dreams of being a content creator. Then a shift happened. I realized that with the world shut down connecting with one another virtually was even more important than ever before. I took that time in quarantine and took a risk to purchase my first really expensive camera and lens and taught myself photography and videography. Shortly after making that investment, I landed my first brand deal with a local grocery chain to promote their new vegan options and made $150. It wasn’t much but I was so proud of myself. After that first brand deal I started receiving more inquiries for paid work with brands and last year I was able to bring in over $30,000 from my business as a content creator. I look back at the year of 2020 as the year I almost gave up and I’m so glad I kept going because in just a few short months my family and I will be embarking on a trip of a lifetime to live in Portugal for 3 months to create content for an incredible travel company. Sometimes it’s truly about not giving up and honoring that timing is everything.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am so grateful to have an incredibly supportive and loyal audience who has been with me for years now. They mean everything to me! It may be cliche, but authenticity is the key to growing an audience on social media. What is also important in building your community is consistency and patience. It is so important to be consistent in responding to your messages, your comments, to engage with your community just as much as they engage with you. Social media content creators and influencers have risen in popularity not just because of the content they create but because they are accessible unlike celebrities and people really appreciate that. It’s also important to be patient when you are building your community. So many content creators and influencers are concerned with their growth they forget how important their current community is no matter how big or small. Building a community is about being intentional and just like friendships take time to cultivate so does building your audience online.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.caracelestewest.com
• Instagram: caracelestewest
• Facebook: Cara Celeste West
• Youtube: Cara Celeste West
• Other: Tik Tok: @caracelestewest

Image Credits
Sweet B Photography