We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maurissa Ashby-Faulkner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maurissa below.

Maurissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am so happy with my job! I love what I do and I love that I get to spend so much time with my family when I’m not working. Sometimes the work involves them—when we’re modeling as a family or creating content together—and that’s fun too! I’ve worked a number of “regular” jobs but have always craved the freedom that a job like this brings.

Maurissa, 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 suppose I could start by saying I’ve always wanted to be a model. I think it’s a lot of young girls’ dream to become a model. As far as being an influencer and content creator, those weren’t even terms that people used until I started watching popular YouTubers about 10 years ago and realizing that people were making money from social media. I was fascinated by their lifestyles and, in the back of my mind, wished I would get there, but didn’t know how.

After having my son, we had a couple requests to do some mom-and-baby photoshoots and we did those but I didn’t really do other modeling jobs until my daughter was born. I did some mom-and-baby shoots with her as well and I contacted photographers to set up other shoots. I started sharing on social media and the jobs started rolling in. I’m currently freelancing as a model and regularly model for a wide variety of brands.

When it comes to me being an influencer and content creator, I think a lot of people are intrigued by what I’m doing right now (going to fun influencer events, getting free products, getting paid to post things on social media, etc.) and I feel very blessed that I’m able to have these opportunities but it didn’t happen overnight. I started off small and experienced impostor syndrome when I did. I feel like I’m starting to sound like one of those super young entrepreneurs that pop up in YouTube ads, telling you how they made a lot of money, but also being super vague about it. I don’t want to gatekeep, but the process can look so different for different people. For me, it’s as simple as posting content regularly. If you post enough, you increase your chances of being seen. If you don’t post, there’s no evidence of you online.

I do want to clarify one thing: I’m a model and an influencer. They’re really two different things. While they can overlap, they are still separate. for example, I can post on social media about a modelling event that I was a part of and not be paid for it, and I can share fashion content on social media as a collab and not be doing so as a model, but as an influencer.

I’m no mega-influencer, but I think I get these opportunities, because I have proven that I am professional, hard-working, and deliver quality work.

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

The most rewarding part of jobs like these is the flexibility that they give you and the time that you have to do the things you enjoy. And if your job is what you enjoy, then you have the best of both worlds! I love when we get asked to model as a family! I get to spend time with my husband and my kids doing something I truly love to do. And of course, if he’s coming to a shoot that means he can help with the kids haha!

There have been shoots that I get so excited about and I that I have so much fun during, that I forget that I’m being paid for it and when I remember, it’s icing on the cake! That’s something that can only happen when you really love what you’re doing.

I also love taking the kids outside when I need to film content. And because they love being outdoors, it works out for all of us! They get to play, I get to spend time with them, and I get beautiful content of them in a natural environment.

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

I started out very small. I shared a lot of my life, but it was still very curated — as Instagram often is — it wasn’t until recently, when I started to focus less on the aesthetics of my feeds, and more on the type of content that I’m sharing and having fun with it, that it started to go the way I’d hoped.

I think it’s more important to focus on the specific content because that is what people will see when the first see you. They will see one video or one picture or one comment and then go to your page where they see your whole feed. If your feed is the very first impression they have of you, they may still follow you just because of that but they will stick around for the great content.

My following on TikTok was a bit faster, but also pretty gradual. I had a couple viral videos when the app had just launched and it was known as musical.ly. I had fun making and watching videos in that unique Vine-like space. Near the end of 2020, I made a sort of prank video with my husband. He was completely clueless, and the video captured his genuine reactions. It went viral, and I gained quite a few followers from that. It’s still pinned at the top of my page!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloitsmaurissa
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helloitsmaurissa

Image Credits
Jaclyn Bott Damon Chamberlain Lindsey Savage Travis Richardson Jackie Cederholm Sara Ann