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

Irena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Taking time off is essential to continue feeling motivated, inspired and have enough energy to handle the ups and downs. However, I am at this point of my life where I want to be in control and want to keep the hustle going as that is what truly inspires me and keeps me feeling alive.

Right now I prefer to take a weekend off instead of 1 or 2 weeks for vacation and spend it with my closest ones outside the city. I believe that nature can heal you.
Even couple hours spent at the beach, in the mountains or in the desert can charge my brain and body for the entire week ahead of me.

Irena, 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’m a social media manager and content creator. I recently started my own social media management company and I help other business owners in the beauty industry to grow their business through social media and bring it to the next level.

I think what sets me apart is the fact that there aren’t many other social media companies, focused in the beauty industry, and especially in the hair industry.
Although there are still business owners who don’t believe they need social media to expand their business, over time even they realize that clients mindset have changed significantly in the past 10 years, all because of social media.

Social media is the ideal way to attract new clients from all over the world and design products and services that people are willing to buy.
My goal is to help you create a brand identity that resonates with YOUR audience. This is one of the most essential parts of your business that translate the mission, vision, and values of your company.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started as a young makeup artist, who desperately wanted to attract clients when I was living in Boston, about 8 years ago. It wasn’t easy at all as I didn’t know any other creative people in this industry and didn’t know how to find them.
I started doing makeup on me and posting on my social media, hoping that a potential client or a company will notice me. 8 years ago we didn’t have TikTok, and Instagram was still new. So I was making Youtube videos, looking for freelance models on Facebook groups and in the meantime, I was learning and exploring the beauty industry.

Once I moved to LA, things drastically changed for me. I was able to book makeup and model gigs within a couple weeks of my arrival. I was so motivated to make it happen. I couldn’t fully support myself with these gigs so I continue working in the restaurant industry for a couple more years. What made it different than when I was living in Boston was the fact that the restaurant industry in LA was filled with other creatives – actors, singers, models, writers. That made it so easy to find people just like me. I made some incredible connections.

When Covid hit and I wasn’t able to work in restaurants, I took it as a sign that it’s time for a change. I spent the entire time through lockdown to study digital marketing through online courses, and a few months later, I took an apprenticeship position in a leading digital marketing company. That was the official beginning of my career in this field.
I never stopped learning. I never quit. I wanted more. I was open to learn and connect with anyone who had more experience and knowledge than me. I surrounded myself with people who were successful and were willing to give me a chance. All that hard work and dedication finally started to pay off.

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

My goal was never to build a big following on social media. I’ve always wanted to simply share my story and my passion for makeup. People often forget that is not about who follows you or how many followers you have but who YOU follow.
When you surround yourself with positive, open minded, intelligent and even weird people, you start learning more things about yourself, it becomes easier to get out of your comfort zone and you gain more confidence.

Being authentic is my always number one advice if you want to build a social media presence. Don’t forget there is no one else like you. You might be passionate about the same thing that many others are too but there is something about you that no one else has and you should use it to build your social media presence.
If you are a business owner, use your social media as your portfolio. Don’t count your likes and comments. Truly no one cares about them but you. Create a page that showcase your talent and expertise in best way possible. Try new things. Get out of your head. Be spontaneous, be patient and consistent.
It’s not about posting regularly. It’s about sharing your journey and your experience. Keep doing that and the right audience will find their way to you.

Contact Info:

• Website: still working on it
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irenadimova
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/irenadimovamakeup?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/irenadimova23

Image Credits

Photography by Roberto Santiago