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

Dahvi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

I really wish I posted on TikTok regularly at the peak of the pandemic. While yes, I know people can go viral in an instant and it’s never too late to start on the app, it was almost impossible not to cultivate a sizable following if you posted consistently during the heyday of quarantine. I’ll encounter people on the app now who update once every few months, and they still have at least 20k followers from those key 2020 months. My life (like so many others) has changed immensely since the pandemic. To already have that built-in following to share everything with that I’m sharing now would elevate things so much. TikTok is so crucial for branding (personal and otherwise) in a post-pandemic world. Even though I know the app inside and out, I feel a little behind from some industry peers who have cultivated engaging communities. That said, I wouldn’t call it a regret, per-se, as I didn’t feel the energetic drive to dive in at the time. If you’re not feeling something in a particular moment, forcing it won’t get you anywhere. At least now I’m committed with passion and purpose, and the rest is yet to come.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Following a Magazine Journalism degree from the University of Oregon, I immediately began my career as a journalist—which has now been more than a decade. I’ve covered an array of genres, but started out doing what most aspiring journalists seemingly wanted to do at the time: cover celebrity news and gossip. It was during the height of gossip blogs. It was during an era when everyone still posted by-the-minute life updates on Facebook (and then Twitter). So basically it was a time when news consumers relied solely on journalists (versus Instagram or TikTok) to give them a peek behind the velvet rope. When I say it was a time to be alive, it really was.

Following a year and a half of very happily working as an editorial assistant for a leading columnist at E! Online, I went on to spend four years at People.com. This was especially rewarding, not only because of the cachet tied to the People brand, but because my editor encouraged me to explore hard-hitting news journalism. My articles were no longer limited to standing on a carpet asking Kim Kardashian about her then-relationship with Kris Humphries (even though I loved the gossipy side of things, too). I was also going to court hearings, covering mysterious deaths and so much more. These early-on skills gave me a sense of many different sides to journalism. It also made me sure of what I did and didn’t want to do in the future.

Following my experience at People, I launched my L.A. lifestyle blog skyelyfe.com and took on a few stepping-stone gigs—including a higher-paying stint at a startup media company. In the moment, I was unsure of my purpose in this situation, as I didn’t feel like I was growing as a journalist or as a hopeful leader at the company. Later into my career, I realized that this was the perfect transitional job, and it served a greater purpose than I could have realized at the time. This job was where I began to venture into the beauty and lifestyle space, moving away from traditional celebrity coverage. I really enjoyed this avenue, but because I was working for a relatively unknown publication, I didn’t feel like my beauty reviews or coverage really had any weight.

Who knew getting laid off amid lockdown in 2020 would be the best thing to happen to me? Almost immediately, I began pushing myself extremely out of my comfort zone. Up to this point, the extent of my beauty coverage existed within sharing what I thought of a particular lipstick, alongside a pixelated image of me demonstrating the product. As much as I hate to admit it, I didn’t take high-quality photos, nor did I know anything about editing or social media/image etiquette. With the help of TikTok (and my own drive), I began pitching ideas to beauty publications. I didn’t realize how much uncharted territory there was at this point. I thought everything I saw on TikTok was already long-glossed over by every editor. Lucky for me, I was wrong. Several leading beauty publications began to accept my investigative industry pitches, TikTok trends, and more—and before I knew it, those days of amateur lipstick reviews were behind me. In fact, my present-day coverage is far less fluff and much more storytelling and educational. I love telling founder stories, sharing industry deep-dives, and offering expert-driven information about the pros and cons of a particular trend. And naturally, as I got more involved in the beauty and lifestyle space, my social media coverage evolved as well. I’m proud of the video content I publish on TikTok and Reels, and even my photo quality has massively improved.

At this point, I’ve covered pretty much every facet of beauty, and have had the absolute pleasure of personally connecting with some of my dream brands and their founders (or at the very least, their PR teams). I’ve also dipped my toes into the world of fashion coverage, general lifestyle and travel—all three of which I’m pursuing much more.

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

It’s interesting that this question comes up as I’ve approached the 10-year mark since getting laid off from my four-year job at People. You may be thinking, ok, it’s been a decade, how is this still affecting you? Well, you’d be surprised.

Up to that point, for the 6.5 years prior (at that job and one previously), I had a steady income, a steady career-driven purpose, a network of colleagues and a sense of comfortability. When I got very unexpectedly laid off (alongside others), I thought I would immediately bounce back. Either with a new job or some other exciting opportunity. What I didn’t know is that it would take me a full DECADE to find my footing again. Between unemployment, working at a startup that no one had heard of, and then trying to break through into the world of beauty, I’ve consistently struggled to find confidence in my career identity. So now, 10 years later, I’m FINALLY feeling like the confident career girlie I used to feel like before—but with a decade’s worth of wisdom, experience and people in my life that I didn’t have before. It was really easy to give up. I felt insecure at events or meetings when I was in a slight slump or when I didn’t have many publications presently under my belt. It really has been an emotional roller coaster, but I’m grateful that I stuck it out, kept pushing, kept putting myself out there and kept following a path that felt right for me.

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

I always say my ideas come to me in the bath. I’ll just think of random tidbits, article ideas or TikToks and email them to myself or add to my Notes app. The great thing about working in a creative space is knowing you can see those concepts play out through words or visuals. I know how to express my thoughts and have a knack for storytelling. It’s a lot of fun, and once you start getting your creative juices flowing, more and more ideas flow from there. Additionally, I find myself connecting with creatives much greater than people who aren’t in a creative space. They understand the off-the-wall ideas and constant thoughts streaming through the mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.skyelyfe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dahvishira/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dahvi/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DahviShira
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dgidahvz

Image Credits

Photos courtesy of Dahvi Shira