Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nancy Nywala. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nancy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
As a black content creator, what I found difficult is the constant battle of wanting to heard and valued for your work like your Caucasian counterpart. The growth and the algorithm system I find often doesn’t favour us black content and don’t push our content which hinders our earning potential.
Nancy, 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 started this path after reading a book called the “Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. The book provided me with so much information about self-love and self-acceptance. The book deals with the different stages that women go through from womanhood to motherhood. After reading this book I was inspired to create The Selfish Column, a place to take control of your life and “celebrate you, without apologizing”.
I initially wanted people to come to the website and read my thoughts and at the time Instagram was the best way to promote the site. Through using Instagram, I fell into the content-creating and influencer world.
What I believe set me apart is the ability to separate blog content from my Instagram content. Having freedom show all the different aspect of myself without any limitation. This is the beauty of being a woman, after all, we are not all one dimension.
I am most proud of the fact that I never gave up throughout the ups and down and self-doubt. I never had to compromise my craft or myself to grow in the internet space. I may not have a huge following at the moment but one day when I do, I don’t want to be watching back caused I lied to get there. I always say, can’t place a price tag on your peace of mind.
I would like to tell my followers that if you love, the everyday working woman aesthetic, whether it’s makeup, skincare, work-life balance, and the changes life brings as we hit different milestones, stick with me.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
What I wish I knew earlier as a creative person in the space, is the amount of money brands have for their campaign. I wish I had the tool and or the person to provide these resources to me during my early days of contract negotiation with brands. I used to feel guilty providing my rate to PR companies and asking for a rate in fear they make me think I am not worth that much. This is just one of the many things I had to unlearn.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I grew my audience while living on my own in Calgary Alberta. My follower/ audience base was mainly from the west of Canada. In January 2020, I made the decision to move back to Ontario to be closer to family, not knowing that Covid and the country shutting down was right around the country. My goal was once I move back, I was going to hit the ground running in Toronto to build my network and my audience base. All of this changed, and I had a hard time adjusting to the new normal, I was scared that I would never grow and my dreams of continuing this blog/ and content aspiration were done for.
I had to build my confidence up to want to lift a camera again, be on camera again, and just unblock my creative mind. It was tough with so much happening but I had to keep reminding myself what made me happy, and this really makes me happy every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theselfishcolumn.ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancymeyah/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theselfishcolumn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theselfishcolumn1249/featured