Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mahalia Jae. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mahalia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I grew up a creative. I was always interested in the arts and aesthetics, it was a vital part of my childhood. I’ve expressed my creative side in many ways throughout my life, from being a professional dancer, a make-up artist, a painter to personalizing random items that I own. As I got older, I realized that nothing in this world made me happier than creating. In January 2021, I discovered influencing and content creating and knew it was my calling. It was everything I loved doing in one. Beauty, fashion, lifestyle and the behind the scenes work of editing. I began my journey and it was so natural for me because it was everything I was already doing, just with intention. It was honestly the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve never been happier.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Mahalia Jae! I am a 22 year old influencer and entrepreneur born and raised in Houston, Texas. I got into what I do now by literally just doing it! I’ve always felt a fire under me to pursue the things I’m interested in, with no holding back. I started by taking pictures in my free time and posting to social media. The more I made content, the better I got at doing so. I also made it my mission to be consistent so people knew I was serious. Over the years, I worked on mastering my craft and process of creating and over time, others began to take notice in my quality of content and consistency. This caused me to get so many questions about nearly everything that I do, which inspired my business Mahalia Jae Co! My company is the one-stop shop for all creatives and entrepreneurs offering products like Tips & Tricks to Instagram Success, The Ultimate Guide to Taking & Editing Quality Pictures, Lightroom presets and more. When I started my influencing journey, I had no clue where to start or where to turn to for answers. Mahalia Jae Co solves that issue. All in all, I am most proud of my ability to remain true to myself and my character no matter what has been thrown at me during this journey. When it comes to influencing, sometimes people get this preconceived notion that all influencers are not authentic. Others do not understand that we are real people with feelings and emotions. Due to this, people will say mean things. Ive seen it happen to other influencers, and it has happened to me as well. It’s so important to be kind to everyone always. I cannot speak for others but as for the topic of authenticity, being creative is my passion. I don’t do what I do for the “free stuff or attention”, I do it because it is what gets me up out of bed in the morning. I do it because it’s what gets me truly excited. I am so grateful for the many other passionate creatives I’ve met and connections I’ve made over the years, it’s enough to fuel me on my hardest days. Even when I might not get the numbers I want on a video I spent all night editing, I’ll still have that push to continue to create because it’s what truly makes me happy.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The best illustration of my resilience would be what I went through mentally when I lost my mother. It’s not directly from my journey but it influenced the start of my entire journey. I lost my mom towards the end of 2019, way before I started my journey. While she was here, she was my absolute biggest supporter, especially when it came to my creativity. She was always in the stands at my many dance competitions and telling everyone to get their makeup done by her daughter. Losing her took a toll on me emotionally and I felt like I lost a big part of me. At that time, I felt like I had nobody to turn to or be excited with like I could with her. I lost myself for a while and didn’t realize until years later. It hit me that she wouldn’t want me to be anything short of who I was. I took that step to start my influencing journey because I knew it was something she would be so excited and proud about. Today, I make it my mission to be myself unapologetically and to continue to persevere through anything in my way, because that is what she would’ve wanted for me. Because I’ve dealt with such a heartbreaking situation, I know that there is nothing that I cannot overcome.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I believe most non-creatives struggle to understand why creatives do certain things. I usually get asked questions like, “why would you do all that just for a picture” or “do you have to record everything”. When creatives create, we usually have visions that need to be brought to life. for example, let’s say I secure a brand collaboration for a brand and they send me a jacket they need content for. Most of the time, when I see a clothing item, clothing pieces that would pair perfectly come to mind. With an outfit in mind comes the perfect location. Lastly would be additions to make this content next level, like camera position or poses. This is how most of my visions for picture content are created. If I need to take pictures in the middle of a staircase or drive 30 minutes to a location for pictures then so be it! as long as the vision is fulfilled. All things considered, my question to non-creatives would be “what would you do for the things you are passionate about”? I believe that could possibly help them understand why creatives do some of the things they do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mahaliajae.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/themahaliajae
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/MahaliaJae
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@themahaliajae