We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Raven West a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Raven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I have been in the modeling industry for over a decade and a teacher and coach close to two decades. When beginners would ask me for help it would always start small but as I continued working with new models I realized this wasn’t something I could really help them with unless I was willing to spend several hours with each of them. It wasn’t just about how to walk or how to pose for a great photo but it was also adapting many different aspects into your lifestyle.
I had run many dance camps and I thought why not a model camp. How fun to have people who are just getting started and thinking about getting started come stay with me for a week and leave with all tools necessary to be successful in this industry!
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?
I have been in the modeling industry for over 15 years. I have been in commercials, runways all over the PNW, new york and California and have worked with world renowned photographers.
My model bootcamp is a program that builds young peoples self esteem, and gives them the tools necessary to be successful in the modeling industry. Even if an attendee decides they don’t want to model, they will leave with lifelong skills they will use throughout their life.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
One important lesson in business I had to unlearn was one I can’t do everything myself, I need to be able to trust and delegate. Having the correct people working for you is more important then you know. It can make or break your business.
One of the years I hired someone who I thought was a friend and they didn’t show up for what was a very important part of my camp. I quickly realized I needed to be more selective on who I choose to work with and trust and it’s my name and business on the line if it happens or doesn’t happen.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes, I started off by giving small tips to new models back stage. Then people started calling me for help with modeling. Then people started offering to trade services for helpbwith modeling. Then I started teaching one on one classes then I started teaching bigger classes, then camps.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ww.topmodelbootcamo.net
- Instagram: Ravenwest_Seattle topmodelbootcamp
- Facebook: Topmodelbootcamp
Image Credits
FASHIONXT, Jennifer Tai