We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sophia Claire a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sophia , 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?

It’s actually something I stumbled into! I started my instagram as a mental health project during grad school. Writing my dissertation was really mentally taxing, and I wanted something fun and much less serious to mitigate that labor. Makeup had always been an important creative outlet for me and after a few months brands started reaching out to me, first to send me product and later to work with me. It’s definitely not a career path I had ever envisioned for myself, but it’s been a really gratifying experience and I really enjoy working in the beauty industry.

Sophia , 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 am situated somewhere between beauty content creator and influencer (closer to the former than the latter). Most of my work is modeling makeup products and creating photos and videos for brands to use on their social media platforms and websites. My specialty is lip swatches, and these days I easily test out a dozen new lipsticks each week.

Working in the social media landscape, or even the beauty industry, was never on my radar, as I went to school to study philosophy, but it has become one of my two career tracks (the other being teaching). I’m also a pretty private person, so being a “public figure” – insofar as influencers are public figures – can be quite challenging. That being said, I’ve gained so much from my foray into the industry. I’ve developed great relationships with both individuals and brands, cultivated new skills, both technical photography and editing skills, but also how to pitch to brands, how to negotiate rates, and the other skills involved with being a free-lance artist.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

One of the main issues is a lack of recognition of how essential art is in everybody’s daily life. Rare is the person who does not consume some kind of art – be in music, movies, tv, literature – shortly after waking up. Our actions and daily rituals show just how valuable art is to us as individuals and a society, and yet there continues to be such a stigma against the pursuit of art as a career. Validating the importance of art in our lives and our relationships, and making it a reasonable career objective would go a long way to establishing more equitable practices and standards.

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

The formula is simple: consistency, high quality product, and engagement (both with brands and with your audience). And of course, a little luck never hurts. In fact, I think we underplay the importance of luck in success – it’s a key difference maker and acknowledging its role doesn’t diminish a person’s effort and persistence. For example, I had very slow and steady growth for the first 5-6 years, up until a video of mine went viral and my follower count more than quadrupled within a matter of weeks. Even though I’ve consistently improved the quality of my work over time, there was definitely an element of chance that enabled that type of growth. Being patient and dedicated really served me, and recognizing that I could find financial success without the numbers was also an important lesson. If you make high quality content, it’s valuable regardless of how large your audience is.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sosodoesmakeup/

Image Credits
Soso Studios