the bossbabe podcast - 51. “Behind The Highlight Reel” with Fashion and Beauty Influencer Marta Pozzan: How To Become an Influencer, Overcome Imposter Syndrome, and Negotiate Brand Deals

Episode Date: October 30, 2019

Join co-founders Natalie Ellis and Danielle Canty in interviewing fashion and beauty influencer, Marta Pozzan, as they share a full behind-the-highlight-reel conversation of what it really takes to stay balanced as a super driven and ambitious woman. Marta shares actionable tips and practices to help you overcome overwhelm and de-stress, how to get started in the influencer space, provide value, set boundaries and negotiate brand deals. The trio also discuss overcoming imposter syndrome and the fear of judgment no matter how successful you are and how to improve your work performance and grow a successful brand by taking time to be still and present. If you’d love to learn from the BossBabe team about how to grow your audience on Instagram by 10,000 ideal clients in 30 days, register for a free spot in the next training at: https://bossbabe.com/growthatinsta

A lot of influencer girls always portray this image of perfection, but I'm all about giving a message and trying to show them that, yes, we can look great in that outfit and go here human like you do and I think it's okay to talk about that not getting it right it's just part of the whole game and so it's not something that should like hold me back or make me like stop doing what I want to do. Welcome to the Boss Babe podcast a place where we share with you the real behind the scenes of building successful businesses, achieving peak performance and learning how to balance it all. I'm Danielle Kante, co-founder of Boss Babe and along with my life wife and business BFF, Nassi Ellis, we are joined on this awesome episode by fashion and beauty influencer Marta Poza. Now recently named as one of the most influential micro-influencers of Forbes, Marta was a 2018 ambassador for the launch of the new fragrance Flower by Kenzo Parfum.

She also has done huge brand collaborations with Dior Beauty, Estee Lauder, H&M, Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Nike and that's just to name a few. So in this episode it was such a pleasure to really get behind the highlight reel and lift the lid on what it takes to become an influencer from how to get deals to really negotiate with brands we dived into it all and we got you guys actionable tips we also chatted about imposter syndrome too and having suffered it for myself I really really truly believe it's important that we talk about this conversation more so in this episode we shared our tips on how to overcome it and how even though it shows up frequently for us we have some action tips on how to deal with it.

So for this episode the boss bit quote I've chosen is this, behind every successful woman is herself because as powerful as family and friends and others are you really do have to ensure that you are showing up as yourself, you are taking the action steps every single day to be your best self and make sure your dreams are becoming a reality so we hope you love this episode please tag us at bossbabe.ing and at marta ponza with your favorite takeaways and we'd love to share them a boss babe is unapologetically ambitious and paves the way for herself and other women to rise keep going and fighting on she is on a mission to be her best self in all areas. It's just believing in yourself. Confidently stepping outside her comfort zone to create her own version of success. Okay, we are so excited to have you here. And just for everyone listening, before we dived into this,

we really set the intention that this is going to be a full behind the highlight reel kind of conversation and just really talk about what it takes to stay balanced as a super busy ambitious woman so so excited for you to be here and also thank you for being willing to set that intention with us it means a lot thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited as well. So can I just ask for just a brief backstory in how you got started with what you do? So I can say I'm a fashion and beauty influencer. So I work with brands and social media partnerships. Was that my original plan? No, it wasn't. I wanted to be a fashion writer. So that was my like dream when I was 17, 18. And I interned at Vanity Fair in Milan, and I then became a ghostwriter. So I realized, like, soon enough that there's no money in, like, publications and, like, working for a magazine can be so, like, stressful and, like, the pay was so little that after a couple years doing that, I was like, there has to be something better where I can still feel like I'm writing and working in fashion, but I'm making more money.

And that's when social media became such a thing. So I graduated, moved to London for, I was going to take a master in creative writing at the Samortons Academy. And after six months, I'm like, nope, I'm done with school. I need to be like just out there working. So I came to LA and took an acting class for eight months to get a visa. Because, you know, being from Europe, you have to have a visa. So after that, I realized that I wanted to do more modeling and acting as well. Got a work visa eventually and signed with a modeling agency and, like, started getting brand deals.

And now it's, like, my full-time job. And I'm so grateful and lucky to be doing that because it's a dream job. Honestly, you don't have to go to an office and you can make so much more money than working for a magazine or a publication. So, yeah. I love it. And it really is centered around everything you love and what you're going to do in the first place. And I feel you on the whole moving to America, getting a visa. I've been on that journey.

It's so much, right? It is, but it's amazing when it all kind of works out. Yeah, it feels great. So who are some brands that you're really excited to be working with lately and why? Yeah, so I have a list of like dream brands and dream jobs that I want to work on. And one of my favorite brands is Kenzo. So a couple years ago, I was like, I have to be doing like a short film or a commercial with them because they're known for like their creative like video stuff.

And a year ago, I reached out to the brand.'m like hey I really love your brand I want to like come to your fashion shows and just wear your clothes just because I truly love it and they started inviting me to all their events and then eventually they were like we have this project we're like relaunching our fragrance and we're doing like a global campaign and we want to use you like a brand ambassador but also like as an actress in the video. Would you want to do it? And I'm like, wait, I wrote a dot on my list. How did you know that? And they were like, so it just really worked out.

It was like a dream collaboration because it's such a funky, cool, creative brand. And they're super easy to work with. And they're like, we don't care how many followers you have. We just want to connect with you. And I feel like you do like us genuinely. So like for us, that's all that matters. So I was really flattered to be working with them. We shot in San Francisco. It was just so cool. And it's still airing all over France, Europe, and Asia mostly because they don't sell it in here in the States. They only sell their clothes,

but they don't sell their fragrance here. Oh, I didn't know that. They don't have a license in here. Yeah. The fragrance is beautiful. Right? Isn't it yeah and it's I used it as a kid like with my mom used to buy it so I told them that right growing up in Europe it was such a thing so they were like you know I was going to be like a good partnership so that was a dream brand that I worked with and I still work with them so I love the fact you said you have a dream list of brands because on the podcast a couple of months ago I have have also dream lists of different things, people I want to meet, people I want to work with. And I really do believe in the power of writing that down because it taps into your subconscious. And I think without even realizing it, you're doing things that are going to help you get closer.

And then it was such a natural fit for you to then reach out and do it. I feel like a lot of us do that. We don't really share that, but I feel like all the smart girls out there have their strategies and their lists and things and you have to do that to see it. Yeah. I mean, what we do looks easy, but we're very strategic in what we do. This doesn't just happen overnight. It's like, okay, here's where I want to get to. Here's my strategic plan to get there. And I don't think people really always see that. What do you really struggle with behind the scenes I know that's a loaded question can we just dive into that sure well one of the reasons why I decided to do what I do is because

I was very shy as a kid and very like I wouldn't say socially awkward but like you know borderline socially awkward and I was really nervous I'm an only child so like I spent a lot of time on my own as a kid so I felt like I wasn't like this social butterfly kind of person but I wanted to be that that was my dream to be like this like really great girl that everybody wanted to hang out with and like be like or whatever so I just really like got out of my comfort zone and decided to just be like out there and put myself out there. And sometimes I still struggle with that. Like, when I go to certain events or certain dinners, I'm like, who's going to sit next to me? Like, am I going to be okay?

Am I going to, like, feel like talking to all of them? Like, I feel like there's a lot of pressure in, like, the way we have to, like, interact with, like, clients or brands or influencers. And I'm very, like, natural. Like, I'm not, like, this fake persona that I sometimes feel like maybe people expect more of that from me than, like, just Marta, whatever, you know? So I always, like, think about is that going to be okay? Are they going to want something different? So that's my struggle. How am I perceived as a person, not just as Marta, the influencer? Will they care about that?

Will they want to see that? I hope they do, but I just never know. Do you identify with being an extrovert or an introvert? Because I always find that's quite interesting. Because I think traditionally people think, oh yeah, it's really easy for extroverts. They don't suffer from social anxiety. But I personally have found that not to be true.

I used to be very introverted as a kid. Now I'm like more social. So I think I'm a little bit of both. And ambivert. Like, yeah, at heart, I'm introverted. But like, once I turn it on, I'm not shy at all. And what is the process you've gone through to get to that point? Because like you say, if you were quite introverted and quite shy,

like how have you enabled yourself to kind of have those conversations with people you don't know so I did a lot of therapy went to therapy a lot to like you know just feel more confident to like go through like certain issues that I had with my family and I felt like that really did help because I had to learn how to like share personal things and that empowers you makes you feel like less shy about things and more like everybody's dealing with the same problems. And so like, I'm not different than they are, although they don't talk about it. We're the same. So I try to remind myself that at the end of the day, we all are the same. So I

think it helps a lot to feel less shy or worried. Let's take a quick pause to talk about my new favorite all-in-one platform, Kajabi. You know I've been singing their praises lately because they have helped our business run so much smoother and with way less complexity, which I love. Not to mention our team couldn't be happier because now everything is in one place. So it makes collecting data, creating pages, collecting payment, all the things so much simpler. One of our mottos at Boss Babe is simplify to amplify and Kajabi has really helped us do that this year. So of course I needed to share it here with you. It's the perfect time of year to do a bit of spring cleaning in your business, you know, get rid of the complexity and instead really focus on getting organized and

making things as smooth as possible. I definitely recommend Kajabi to all of my clients and students so if you're listening and haven't checked out Kajabi yet now is the perfect time to do so because they are offering Boss Babe listeners a 30-day free trial go to kajabi.com slash boss babe to claim your 30-day free trial that's kajabi.com slash boss babe I can so relate to that especially you never really know what's going on for anyone but behind the scenes no one has a perfect life we're all human beings and for all you might be nervous i think the person beside you could be but for me i can relate a lot to when you say you can just turn it on because i'm also very very introverted and i love

to spend time alone i don't get bored and very funny when I was at university and I had my own company when I was at university and I had a business partner and I used to have a lot of anxiety about being on the phone and I still do to a certain extent I can relate to that actually yeah I used to be like that a little less now but yeah it's terrifying yeah and my business partner used to force me to make phone conversations and I would feel sick like actual nauseated to make the conversation. So then I would do it. And even now, if I can get out of a phone conversation, I will because I just don't

love them. They can be very scary. Yeah. People say you should lean into what makes you uncomfortable. And I think, yes, to a point. But also, I mean, what I do on a daily basis, it's stressful. There's a lot of things going on. So I pick my battles.

If I don't want to have a phone call that day, then I won't. If I don't want to go to a social event that day where I don't know anybody and I feel like staying home is better for my cortisol levels then I'm going to do it that's very true it's so interesting as well though because so Natalie's very much does really kind of lead the Instagram side and is very very comfortable and jumping and doing videos on Instagram whereas I'm not but I'm actually much more like of an even keel with it. It doesn't bother me getting on the phone. It doesn't bother me going places on my own.

Like I recently went to an event on my own. It was all just middle-aged men. But actually I do have like, yeah. But I do have a lot of anxiety around like being on videos on Instagram and stuff. It's because you turn it on. Yeah, and you don't even, it's like second nature. But it takes a while to train and I think for me it did. I still get a little nervous. The worst is like auditioning. Do you find that nerve wracking? Like my arms get so numb and like I have to like shake them for like a good five minutes before I go on and still right now I'm super good. But like, normally when I go to auditions, I like kind of freeze. Only like my arms and like my back and then the rest of my body is kind of fine. So I don't know. It's different for everybody. Can we double tap into

why that is? Because I think that's really interesting. Like, why is it that you get nervous around auditions? Like, is that because this actually stems to a fear of rejection or is it actually, I don't know, I'm just kind of exploring, like, wondering what that is. Yeah, it's so much the rejection. It's more like the judgment.

Like, what are they going to think of me? What are they going to say? Like, it's okay if I don't get it, but like, I always like want to know why and how. I like to know why and I know they won't tell me that. So that kind of bothers me.

Or like they do sometimes if you really ask them. But and it's a lot of people watching and you don't really know who. Because sometimes there's people that are maybe super important and you don't they don't even tell you that. And then they keep the tape. And I don't like that. Yeah, that makes so much sense. And it's so nice to hear you talk about it because you're so successful. And for a lot of people, they might think, well, you don't get nervous or fearful around judgment and different things. But like we're bringing it back. It's so nice to be able to say like, listen, this is where I am and I tell you the same thing. Because the bigger you get, the more stressful things are. So.

I love it. But it's just, like, the more you grow, the more you learn how to, like, keep it together, you know. So, like, you get less nervous, you know. I was helping last week. I was volunteering at this kid's school. And they were, like, preparing for their, like, fashion show at the end of the year. And they had Noah Mills, who was, like, a pretty big male model. He was, like, really big in the 90s.

And he said, like, I still get nervous when i go on stage when i walk a fashion show but it's like so much less because i've done it for so many years that it's like my body like doesn't see it as a scary thing anymore maybe a little bit but like less and less so it grows as you grow as a performer or a talent or an actor or whatever it is i think that can be related to so many different things as well, can't it? Like anything, it's what becomes your new normal. Right. Every time it's like a different level.

Yeah. And I think that's like, you know, whether you're growing a business or working up the career ladder, like getting confident and breaking down those fear barriers, like getting used to doing it, then you get comfortable there and then you're able to go up the next step. And maybe just not looking at, you know, the staircase in front front of you but just taking one step at a time and yeah just keep moving it's pretty amazing how we can like develop as humans and like as yeah what are some kind of tips or strategies you've been able to implement that have helped you get over that kind

of anxiety well I always think to myself that everything is temporary. So if you feel bad, you can feel bad for 10 minutes and then it goes away. So that really does help in the moment when I'm like feeling the pressure or the anxiety to keep thinking that it's already going away on its own. And I think that nothing is really that bad. Yeah. No one's dying. You're not performing heart surgery. Like it's something that I tell my team when they get really anxious. I'm like, wait, is anyone going to die if you do this wrong? No, probably not. It's pretty easy in a way. Yeah.

I always try to think about that. I love that. What's something that you think, well, you would say you're most proud of in your career, I would say? When I wanted to be on Instagram and, like, be a social media influencer, it took me a couple of years to actually do it. I was so scared of starting my own blog or my own Instagram account. I don't know why. I just knew exactly what I needed to do. I knew kind of like, I mean, roughly all the steps and I knew I was following a lot of girls already, but I just didn't have the confidence to do it. That was when I was 22 and I kept doing my research for a couple years.

And it took me, like, to move to LA to find that inspiration, that kind of, like, courage to do it. And then after that, I feel like that was, like, really important to me because it was such an easy step, but also the most important one. So after that, it all felt, like, pretty natural. So overcoming that kind of, like, you know, fear of like starting out. That was my, yeah. I love that you said that because I think getting started is the hardest thing you'll do.

Because once you make that decision and you commit, everything else kind of falls into place. But getting to that point, like you say, you could do all the research, you can have all the plans. But to actually put yourself out there is crazy. So when you decided to put yourself out there and you've kind of studied what it would take and you started doing it how long did it take for you to start seeing traction and what do you think you did really well that helped I think what I did for six months in a row when I started I reached out to all the brands on my list or that the initial list that I had and like ask him to just like loan me clothes to create content and Nasty Girl was one of the first brands to believe in me and to be like I think we see

something really cool here like we want to like hire you for a campaign so that was like after six months in of trying to reach out to brands and then I think overall to be making like really good money and to feel like oh I kind of like I'm doing a really good job it was like three and a half years or so so the first year and a half was like kind of rough and like I kind of like, I'm doing a really good job. It was like three and a half years or so. So the first year and a half was like kind of rough and like a lot of like learning and trying and like making mistakes and learning from that. But after the third year, I felt like I had a proper real job

just doing that full time, which is pretty good. And what kept you going through those years? So I've always known what the end goal was. And I always like, I could see me doing what I wanted to do at my best so I would always think about that visual like image of like Marta be working with all those brands doing all those brand deals and like I just kept motivating myself in a way so I never let go and so do you feel like failure is something that you have addressed throughout that time like whether it's being rejected in auditions or like posting something that doesn't work or maybe even

I know collaborating on something that wasn't necessarily successful as you thought yeah there's been a couple times where I felt like maybe I shouldn't do this maybe I should quit maybe I should change maybe I should do something else but then I've always like known that that was what I'm meant for and what I've always wanted to do. So I learned that it's just, like, not getting it right the way you want it or the way you expected it. It's just part of the whole game. And so it's not something that should, like, you know, hold me back

or make me, like, stop doing what I want to do. I guess you embrace your mistakes and, like, make them, like, part of the journey. And so when I don't get a role or something I'm like yeah it just wasn't meant to be it wasn't for me so now whenever I don't get a job that I thought was a good job for me I just always realize that it wasn't meant to be or it just wasn't like right at that moment and then maybe sometimes it comes back or you know I go back to it so it's all about timing I think, like, the right timing for both parties in a way. And at first when I was younger, I didn't know that.

I just wanted everything. Or, like, I just thought I was going to miss out if I didn't do something. And now I'm like, oh, no, I'm good. I've done that. Or I don't need to do that. Oh, maybe I'll think about it. So I think I take more of my time with things and I don't rush into things, which is something that only comes, like, with, like, years of, like years of like experience I feel like because when you're young and just you want to

do everything and you like tend to like overdoing things I think yeah it can be a bit of a privilege can't it because in the beginning when you're doing anything new you're starting a business you kind of say yes to everything because you're like I really need to make this work I need to bring the money in I need to see this for the long term so you say yes to all these different things but then you get to a certain point where you don't have to say yes to everything and you can't actually space it out and you shouldn't say yes to everything as well for real yeah yeah but in the beginning you don't know any better and you just think that you have to like take in as much as you can but yeah it's a great place to be at like you know oh no I'm good thank you yeah and I totally took so many things in the beginning that

I wouldn't now but at the time it was the right decision because I was like okay this is going to get me to next month and you see things in like lots of little steps and you get there through doing all those little steps and I feel like for brands it's also important to like set boundaries and because brands will always try to take as much as they can. And in the beginning I used to let them

like do that more because I needed that as well the exposure and everything and now I'm so much better at setting boundaries and like cutting better deals and it's a good feeling. How do you feel

about negotiating for brand deals? So I've been with like two different agencies in the last four years and it's been like not the best experience honestly because I feel like the agents aren't always like you know have your best interest and so I kind of like I thought I needed them because I'm not a business

I mean I am a business person but I'm not supposed to negotiate my own deals but now I do that and it's the best thing ever because I know I know everything that goes behind booking a job. You know, I have friends that do that for a living. And so, like, I learned so many tricks. And so, like, I just feel more comfortable doing that right now. And I think it's wrong when they tell you, oh, a talent should never do that. I feel like a talent could do that as well. And I have a lawyer for contracts and things that I really need help with.

But I think it's good to, like, know what they're asking for and, like, to be involved in that process as well. For me right now, at least. Yeah. If you're doing all of this yourself, how do you balance everything? Because that's a lot to do your own negotiating, you know, and then executing a deal, reporting back to the brand. Like, that's a lot of work.

I know. How do you balance everything? I just don't sleep a lot. I've never been, like, I'm a morning person, so I get a lot of emails done in the morning from Europe because I get a lot of emails from Europe. And then I think I'm done emailing people around 2 p.m. because everybody in New York is kind of done.

In Europe, they're sleeping. So I get a lot done in the morning. So I do a lot of desk work in the morning, and then I just go about my day. And I do more of the creative, strategic stuff in the afternoon when I have less like emails coming in so I think it's just like a scheduling everything it's not that bad no I guess once I mean it's overwhelming mentally but like physically it's fine it's like I have enough hours and in a day to be doing all that it's just the stress that comes with it. I don't love that

part of when I'm talking to brands about money. That's like, I don't love that part. I'm learning to be better about that. That used to give me major anxiety. Negotiating. Yes, because it's like, what if they think it's too high? Like, are they going to drop me? Like, I would always fear, in a way, rejection and also like not being like good at doing that because I've had agents before. But I've been trying being on my own for the last six months. And it's been really great. I've been making so much more money. Like, killing it.

Yeah. I love that. And there's agents coming after me. And I'm like, no, I'm good, you know. That's amazing. Yeah. And I wish more girls knew that. Like, right now, a girlfriend of mine is going through that.

And I'm like, you don't need them. You don't need them. So what are your tips on negotiating? Don't settle for something that's not right. And be ready to say no, I think. So how do you not get fearful around saying no? How do you feel okay with leaving something on the table? If you give them a price and they're like, nope, how do you deal with that?

Well, I always think about the brand. I'm like, is it a brand that I really want to work with? Like, you know, long term, if it's a yes, then I can compromise. But if it's like just an extra brand, an extra job, then I'm like, I think it's okay. Yeah. I just let go of like a yearly deal with a brand that everybody knows about. And I'm like, I know everybody wants to work with them. Everybody works with them.

But like their terms were just not right. And I'm like, why should I be saying yes? Like like I think they'll respect me more if I say no now maybe we can like make it a better yes later on and they are so that's so powerful I know but I cried I'm telling you I had a little bit I'm like oh my god am I like turning down something major and then it just wasn't like for me at that point so yeah it's it's better now what made you cry about it was the fact like making a long decision because there so a friend of mine works for the company and he tried to push for me so hard and I felt like I let him down and I'm like I don't like to let my friends or my close people I like to be great to everybody as

much as I can but I knew that that wasn't about him or about me it was just about the overall deal that wasn't right and he would have done the same if it was about him so I just yeah I talked to my therapist about it and she's like Marta you did the right thing don't always try to be too good to people because you are already you don't need to like overdo it he knows that you care about him regardless and And so it'll work out. I love that. And you mentioned like the overwhelm and the stress can be a lot. And we kind of have the same, like we manage to fit everything in and get it done, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't overwhelm you at times. And you mentioned you have a therapist. Is there any other practices that you have that help you kind of get rid of the overwhelm and de-stress a little bit?

So when I feel like I'm like, you know, really nervous, I just start walking like back and forth. And I do my emails like standing on my phone because I feel like walking kind of distracts your mind from what you're doing. If you're sitting down, you feel more stuck. If you start walking like the, they told me that the thoughts flow, like they start flowing better.

So I do that. I keep walking or sometimes I need to lay down so as a kid I used to get a lot of anxiety as a kid as well and I would lay down on marble floor in the bathroom for like a good 10 minutes and just the feeling of like the marble like being cold on your back kind of like I don't know gave me like a feeling of like peace and like so I lay down on either like on the floor or like on a mattress sometimes mattress sometimes for five minutes and try to close my eyes and just to reset. If I can, if I'm running around, then I can't do that. But that always helps.

I think having those practices to reset is really important. That's something I've really worked on this year. For me, I can be very hyper. My personality is quite bubbly. That's a good thing, though. Yeah, but sometimes it means that I had to really practice on grounding myself because that kind of bubbly side and that excited side is really, really great. But actually, it can lead to me being quite exhausted or my mind like wandering so many different places.

You get tired. Yeah. And so I've really like worked on grounding myself. And what grounding myself means to me is just kind of going, and just doing some breaths outside or just kind of walking away from my computer. Yeah, walking away really helps. Even like painters or like artists, like when they get stuck with their artwork, they just walk away and come back to it with a fresher mind. And it really does help. So we all need to do that, I think. I think we all do it in a way we don't even realize we're doing it, I think.

I agree, but I also think it's the kind of circles that we're in, we all do it. But I don't know if everybody does it. Like I didn't know before I was identified with being an entrepreneur. I have such different conversations now to what I did then. And I wonder if actually people in the corporate world, if they're stuck in these adrenaline cycles and these cortisol cycles, whether they're exposed to these conversations and actually different ways of doing business and whether they're enabling themselves to get out of the office and take that breath or I don't know. I think they should do it. I don't think they all do it. I dated this finance guy and he

was out of his mind, like so stressed out, always like on the go and always like taking calls at one in the morning. Like that's not healthy. So I think as long as you know what's healthy and what's right and you're fine. But some people just go over that line. And I don't think it benefits you because your work doesn't perform as well. If you're prone to like develop addictions that's when it happens I think stress addiction is the thing it really is I would love to circle back to you talking about how you got started and how you're really strategic in a sense of you knew what you needed to do in all of the steps and once you got over the barrier of just kind of getting

there and getting started you really were able to bring success in because you were so driven towards your goals. What do you think about the influencer landscape as it stands? Do you think there's too many influencers? Do you think there's still space? What would you say to someone that's thinking they'd love to get into this kind of space? Yeah. So I've always thought, and I still do think that there's work for everybody where the world is so big, there's so many brands. And so the space is really saturated. But I think if you have a unique voice and a good vision, there's always room for new creatives. Because like every couple of years, I feel like brands want to work with new girls, unfortunately. But I haven't been overused yet. So I think as long as you have a unique voice, as I said, and I think it's important to stand out. Like I always notice that a lot of girls,

they all wear the same things and they all have the same style. and I think it's important to stand out like I always notice that a lot of girls they all wear the same things and they all have the same style and I think brands want to see something that's consistent but I don't necessarily think it's a great strategy I think being a little bit out there and different and not following the trends that helped me be noticed more by brands so one tip that I would say helped me was like to not share my style vision like too many people to not talk too much about what I was planning to do next to keep your content like fresh and like kind of like new every time so I know that a lot of girls are like old friends with each other my friends are like for music or film so I try to like keep my like you know group of friends a little bit diverse because I think it helps you stay more creative in a different way where you can get influenced

by other things and just like the same fashion and beauty trends that are around you for me it's been yeah what do you think you've done differently or interestingly with your content that might have helped you stand out from other people or has really helped you to grow? I feel like I've never, like brands still don't identify me as an influencer per se because I don't do the typical postings that all the other girls do, but I talk about film, I talk about art, like I post about fashion on a daily, but I always try to have that influence by something else. So there's like, you're open to different collaborations that way and that's why I think Kenzo picked me because they're all about art and film and they're like even their clothes are inspired by different cultures and I think keeping it diverse is really important and did

help me a lot. How do you get traction in the beginning say you're just starting out and you've got this great creative vision and you know what's going to differentiate you what do you think the steps are people could take in the beginning to start getting themselves out there I think in the beginning it's important to like feature the brands that you love the most and even like if you can't borrow those clothes to buy them and return them I think it's a good strategy that we've all done that I've done that everybody's done that so like know what your core brands are and even like reaching out to other talents is something that I used to do in the beginning

and like try to like get into photo shoots with them or try to like somehow be featured on different platforms. And again, like can support you. So just like show people what you can do for them and what they could like, how you can benefit from each other type of thing. I think it's a good strategy for the first year to kind of like, you know, get yourself out there. I love that. Yeah, I think the collaboration a good strategy for the first year to kind of like, you know, get yourself out there. I love that.

Yeah, I think the collaboration piece is so important. You can help each other. And we were just talking on a previous podcast about there's a book called How to Win Friends and Influence People. And it's very much about not going into a relationship where you're like, I want this from you. I want this. And instead being like, I think I could add so much value and help you here. Would you be willing to also help me here right and making that work for both sides which I guess as well you have to be so good at when you're negotiating with brands yeah finding the win-win

I know right always like yeah it's a fine line but you can meet it I think you know one thing that I've really learned in business is always trying to put yourself in another person's shoes. Like that ability is so important, whether it is like building a relationship with brands or whether that's like doing a deal or whether that's like building on your relationship with your clients and your readers. Yeah. It's just really important. And I think being kind and understanding that we're all humans is so simple, but so like valuable. And a lot of people forget that part and I don't know why yeah and I just think so interestingly obviously I have quite a lot to do with the customer service

side of Boss Babe and I think everyone needs to accept no one is perfect like sometimes things go wrong like we sent an email out and there was a spelling mistake on it and someone was like getting annoyed I'm like well it's human you know no one's perfect yeah and I think that a lot of you know influencer girls always portrayed as like image of perfection and like luxury and like this and that and I'm like I know that that's a trend and that's what brands ultimately do kind of want and like pay for but I'm all about giving a message and trying to like show them that yes we can look great in that outfit and go here and take photos of that hotel. And it's amazing.

But, like, you know what? I have problems as a human like you do. And I think it's okay to talk about that. And I think it's okay to, like, share, you know, moments that are not so perfect or, like, even things or quotes or, like, whatever. So on my feed, I keep it very kosher, if you see. But on my stories, I try to kosher if you see but on my stories I try to like talk about different things and like readers like that guy that they were talking to as well they really like connect with that and they'll ask me like you know relationship advice and I'm like

I'm not even like a therapist or anything but people do really connect with you at a deeper level and then they'll love your fashion stuff even more so for me it's been really important to keep that honest kind of like you know dialogue with my fans and my readers and my friends in the first place, of course. I love that. Yeah. What do you wish people kind of knew about you that you don't think they do based on maybe seeing you on Instagram? I wish they knew that I'm very unconventional. And that's great. I think they do that. Actually, they know that, that I love reading psychology books. What is it about psychology that interests you? I think it's so important to like know how we function as humans that once you can understand

that a little bit more, you can do anything. I see it as a way to open doors to like job opportunities or like relationships. Like I feel like it's just like a tool that we should all have and just work on more. So yeah, I see it as a way to get to more things. I can totally relate to that. And I credit a lot of my ability to relate with our community so much because of how much I studied psychology. Like, I've always been so interested in human behavior and understanding how we can use that, what we know about human behavior to help people for the better and to help influence their thoughts in a good way

and make them believe in themselves and all these different things. And I think it's so, so valuable for us to be aware of that. Right? It's not that hard, but it's just you have to, like, be aware of it. And I feel like, I don't know, brands should value that more and like should like hire talents that are all about that and just to promote that side of things as well. I love that so much.

Yeah. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you so much. And thank you for being so authentic. I think it's so important and inspirational for listeners to hear when they do see everything so perfect on social, just to hear what really goes on behind the scenes and the fact that we all are human yes i think is so important where can

everybody find you they can find me on instagram at marta pilsen in twitter as well and for anyone listening i would love in the name of us really going behind the scenes if you could screenshot this and share something about yourself behind the scenes and tag us all so that we can see what really resonated with you and we can repost it for you as well we would love that I'll do that for sure that's amazing you guys so much thank you if you loved this episode please subscribe and be sure to leave us a review we want to hear what you enjoyed what your main takeaways were and also really want to know who you want to see on the show. And speaking of reviews, I've also got a little something on my sleeve for you. So I want to send you a copy of the Boss Babe 25. This is a brand new resource that we've created,

and trust me, you are going to love it. So the Boss Babe 25 is the 25 essential resources you need for personal and professional growth. Seriously, this little resource is like a little Boss Babe holy grail. You are going to love it. It covers everything from must-have products, you need for personal and professional growth. Seriously, this little resource is like a little Boss Babe holy grail. You are going to love it. It covers everything from must-have products, our favorite books, rituals that we do daily, and little hacks to help you grow. So if you want a copy, it's really easy. Just leave us a review, screenshot that review, and email it to podcast at bossbabe.com. That is podcast at bossbabe.com. And we'll send you a free copy over within 24 hours. We love bringing you experts and interviews from other successful

business owners so they can talk about their experiences and share information, tips, and what has worked for them. However, remember that the opinions or advice of our guests and as the hosts should not be taken as personal or actionable advice and is given as general information and education only please always remember to consult a qualified professional before implementing any medical financial legal or other business advice to ensure it will work for you or your business boss babe is not responsible nor liable for your decision to implement anything you hear on the podcast please listen and act responsibly the opinions of our guests do not represent the opinions or views of boss babe daniel canty or natalie ennis personally and are meant as information

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