We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Chow. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiffany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Being a content creator/influencer started off as a side project during COVID (2022) when I was working from home and had extra time. From 2022-2023, I worked a full time job as a Strategy and Analytics Manager in ad tech, and did content creation on the side. I earned some extra money from brand deals but it wasn’t significant at all. In mid 2023, I was laid off from my full time job so content creation became my full time job. For the rest of 2023, I focused a lot more time and energy on content creation and was able to grow my following significantly on Tiktok. From there, I was able to get more brand deals (higher paying as well) and I also signed with a management agency. With the agency, I learned that I could charge a lot more for my work. I worked with the agency for about 6 months and after that, I decided that I could do it on my own (while still charging the same rate). For 2024, I was able to make a full-time living from content creation but to be completely honest, it is not enough to sustain my lifestyle living in Manhattan. This year, I am focused on growing my following more so that hopefully, it can be more sustainable in the future.

Besides content creation, I also started a small business in June 2024 selling electric candle lighters (www.lumaflame.com). In just 6 months, we were featured in CNN Underscored, NYT Wirecutter, Real Simple, The New Yorker, and more. Anthropologie also placed a wholesale order with us and we sold out of all the colors on their website!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I became a skincare influencer because of my own struggles with acne. I struggled with acne since I was in high school and continued to have it in my late 20s. I was really frustrated and felt like dermatologists were only offering me band-aid solutions. Their “solutions” only covered up the issue and didn’t address the root cause. So in my late 20s, I decided to stop my prescription medications for acne and went on a journey to figure out and address the root causes of my acne. Through a lot of trial and error, I learned a lot and was able to clear my skin naturally so I wanted to share everything I learned with a bigger audience. My goal was just to help others who were going through something similar. The thing that motivates me the most is seeing comments/DMs from people who say that my tips and videos really helped them. Some people say that it changed their lives and it is just amazing to hear that.

As for my small business- I always wanted to start my own business and the timing was just right. I had been laid off from my full time job and my co-founder felt like I could add value in terms of social media and marketing for the brand so I decided to take the chance and just see where it would go.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I was building my social media, the main thing I had in mind was what kind of content do I want to see? What kind of content makes me stop scrolling? What kind of content did I find helpful? My advice is to make content that adds value. From there, your audience will naturally grow. Other than that, you also have to understand that social media is a tech platform and it is driven by algorithms so having some understanding of that is helpful as well. You have to stay on top of trends/trending sounds, use the right hashtags and keywords, and write helpful captions. Consistency is also really important especially in the beginning. In the beginning, I made sure to post everyday for 30 days. Posting more also gives you more opportunity to see what type of content performs well.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

For most of my life, I followed the status quo — did well in school, went to a good college, got a tech job, but I always knew that I wanted to do something more. Getting laid off was not ideal but I think it really pushed me to do things that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. This past year or so, I experienced the most uncertainty about my life and that is something I’m really not used to but I think it helped me grow a lot. I truly believe that it is through change and uncertainty that you experience the most growth. Currently, I’m still not sure what my next step is. I am spending more time applying for tech jobs again but the market is still not very favorable. In the meantime, I’m going to continue working on my building my social media presence and expanding my small business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@tiffanycglow
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanycglow
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyc819