The Bossticks - #96: Amanda Cerny - Instagram Fame, Haters, Staying True To Yourself, and Building an Empire

Episode Date: January 9, 2018

Amanda Cerny stops by the show this week and as usual we get into a wide variety of topics. On this episode we discuss how Amanda build her audience, how to create compelling video content, dealing with haters, and how to stay true to your brand. We also discuss what it's like when your personal relationships clash with your business or job and hurdles along the path to success.   To connect with Amanda click HERE To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential Bombshell Body Guide and Meal plan.  tired of combating inflammation & bloat? Want to feel lighter and sexier? Check out lauryn's latest 7 day meal plan. In this simple & super effective plan you'll find: + tsc grocery list with every ingredient you need for the 7 days. + what the f*ck to do when you love carbs guide. + quick and delicious recipes: breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner and dessert. You will also find 28 weeks worth of fat burning, muscle toning, 27 minute long, effective workouts you can do at home with no equipment. USE PROMO CODE: HIMANDHER at Checkout for 20% Off

The following podcast is a Bostic media production. Hey guys. So a lot of you have seen me on Instagram story and Snapchat working out with Kim Kelly, who's been on the podcast two times. And we are relaunching the skinny confidential body guide. I'm hoping February 1st, first week of February. And we're so excited because it is all the workouts that I've been doing with Kim over the last year and a half. And it's basically every single.

one of our secrets, every single one of our tips, every single one of our tricks, all our snacks, everything in one spot. We've been working on it for literally a year, and we're shooting the last part of the content this Friday. So we're going to give you a code if you want early access, and all you have to do is go to members.orgneeconfidential.com and use the code him and her at checkout for 20% off. You will be the first to hear about the launch in February. You'll get access to everything. And you'll also get access to my meal plan, which I have right now, which has so many amazing recipes like cauliflower rice and green spinach muffins. They're actually so good. Michael even likes them. All right. So the workouts are 27 minutes. They're quick. You can do them

while watching Real Housewives and there's tons of intervals in there. There's also a community of women, which is super awesome. And it's really just the ideal health and wellness experience. So go to members.comfittendantial.com and use the check-up.com. And use the check-up. out code him and her for 20% off. All right, let's do this. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her.

Welcome back to the skinny confidential, him and her show. Today we have Amanda Cernie on the Amanda Cernie is an influencer who amassed a massive audience primarily from video content. On this episode, we discuss how to build an audience with video content, struggles and hurdles that come with success, how to deal with haters, managing personal and business relationships, and how to build a brand that's not reliant on a platform. For those of you who are new to this show, I am more in Everett's Bostic and I created the Skinny Confidential seven years ago. I was attending San Diego State University. and I was just real bored.

So I wanted to find a space on the internet that I could connect women everywhere. As you guys know, I was in a sorority for five seconds. And they told me it was $800. And I thought, screw that. I'll start my own online with women everywhere. And then this getting confidential idea came into play. Seven years later, and it's a YouTube channel podcast community book. And I also have my husband.

Michael Bostic here live coming in. hot. I'm an entrepreneur, investor, and business owner. I specialize in business development and direct to consumer sales. Over the last 10 years, I have developed, help develop, and manage businesses in the online space. I got involved in this podcast to hopefully provide information for others to find success wherever they're looking and hopefully we've been successful there. It's a new year, new you. New year, same me. No, not same you because you're doing a sober two month challenge. I am. I'm doing a sober two month challenge. I don't think it's really going to be a challenge for me. I never find these things that challenging. The key to it is that you have to

just kind of become a recluse. I can't say yes to many social events, so you'll see me declining pretty much everything. I'm basically, I'm doing it not for health reasons, though. I'm doing it because I need to really, really focus this first quarter, and I'm trying to do and I'm trying to do things that keep me away from, let's say, like distractions, right? I'm trying to do things that don't get me involved in, you know, willy-nilly, you know, small talks. But you RSVPed to my RSVP, which was Meet Me in Bed on Saturday with popcorn and a movie with the dogs in the Barefoot Dreams blanket. Yeah, but I did work for the first six hours on Saturday.

I mean, you do want a medal? You did RSVP to my event in bed. Yeah. No, I just don't want, I need a break. The holidays, fuck me up. I need a solid three months, two and a half, three months of nothing but work and no distractions. I can't keep doing all these social hymama gauze or whatever the hell they are. What is the himama gau?

I don't know. It's just a word I thought of right now. I just, I can't keep doing all these events and all these. I need to just focus and I feel like if I'm staying sober this month, then nobody's going to want to hang out with me anyway or two months. And so I have like, I'm really, listen, guys, I'm really boring right now. I'm not going to be fun. So just don't invite me and, you know, I just got to focus. So I mean, who cares if you're sober if you have to I've been drinking a lot of Topo Chico. Lauren got me this for, would you give me a subscription? He's been talking about this. You tell every single person that listens, you're literally slurping it on air. It just did the bubbles into the mic. That's pretty cool. That sounds fallic. You were literally telling

the guy that we were talking to in the restaurant the other day about Topo Chico. I mean, I feel like you're spreading the word everywhere. Brad, if you're listening, Brad's Lauren's dad. He's opening a restaurant pretty soon called Alce. and it's a Mexican restaurant. And he needs to put Topo Chico in there for the sparkling water. It will be there. It is so good. There's something about the bottle, too, that's just so amazing. I feel like I'm drinking a beer, but it's just, but it's water.

So it's also going to help me with my sober challenge. Not that I need to help, but. There's something about the sparkling water, I'm telling you. So last week, if you follow along on Instagram story and Snapchat, you know I had my friend, who's a professional makeup artist and soon-to-be blogger. Jules Wick come over from New York and give me the most incredible makeup design space you've ever seen. I cannot wait to reveal it. It's coming February 20th-ish, right, Jules? And she's going to be launching her blog and we're going to be putting it out on YouTube and showing you guys every little thing that she did.

It is probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Michael, would you agree? It's pretty incredible. I mean, listen, it was a lot of work going on there, a lot of construction. It was literally seven days, almost 12 hours every single day. A lot of really late nights. A lot of really late nights. Not for me. Well, for me, not doing any work, but for me being grumpy that I couldn't go to sleep. But, you know, they were working a lot. But it's, I mean, it was pretty crazy. It's like the detail on this thing. And I can't, I mean, if you're into organization, like I know you are, and if you're into organizing like makeup, which I also know you're in, that like this is your this is like the dream it is organization porn times a hundred i've never seen anything like it it is an art space i would give away all our art just to keep this makeup situation you would not give away any of our i would that would be so jules is amazing you guys should follow

her on instagram for all makeup organization makeup everything she's insane it's at jules wick and jules you've told me about your blog twice now that you're going to launch it so she's launching it you have you're not allowed to tell me about it again until it's launched you've told her that a hundred times why she was here so how could she forget looking forward to reading all right so that's what's been at makeup organization topo chico a lot of working out and michael just being boring no i'm just kicking ass is what i'm doing all right okay okay okay we don't need your whole life story what's the hem tip you want to get into the hem tip right away right away okay so three week challenges right three week challenges what does that mean michael you know exactly what it means i was telling you

you and Weston about it the other day. So I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a new habit and unfortunately 66 days to get rid of a bad one. So almost three, more than three times as much to break a bad one as it is to form a good one. I don't remember where I read that and I don't know if it's completely factual, but that's what I'm going with. Okay, that's what I'm sticking to. So I've got a lot of messages lately, a lot of, you know, DMs, let people sliding in. And a lot of them have to do with, like, okay, with all the information that we've been getting on this podcast from all the guests that we've had on and all the books that we read and the different podcasts and blogs and all the information that's just being thrown at your face all day long, seven days a week, how do we decide what to try and what not to try? And how do we decide, like, what works for us and what doesn't work for us? Because it's like, you know, there's, you know, somebody will come on and say, hey, this diet works and then somebody will come and say this one works or this skincare works or this or this business and this.

So it starts to become a lot of information overload. So first, I try to do a little research and come to a conclusion on my own. And after that, if something's piquing my interest and I decide that I want to try it, I decide and I make the decision that I have to try it for at least three weeks. One week, in my opinion, is not enough time to decide if you like something. And two weeks is too short to make it stick. I find three weeks to be the perfect amount of time. and it sticks with my belief that it takes 21 days to form a new habit.

So if it's a good habit and you like it, then you can actually create a habit as you're doing the experiment. Okay. So if after those three weeks, it's not a habit or I have not had my life enhanced in a noticeable way, I move to the next thing. So let's give some examples. You want to read more, commit to a minimum of one hour without fail every day for three weeks. The good thing you didn't move to something after me after three weeks.

Yeah. You passed the three weeks and gave you another three and then here we are. Thanks. For business though, I would give, this is more for like personal, you know, like habits and development. I think like, listen, don't try a business for three weeks and expect it to work. Like that, you're going to need a lot more for time for that. It's more like for small habits.

It's more for small habits, right? So let me give you examples. Back to my examples. So if you want to read one hour day, three weeks without fail and see how you feel after, do you feel better? Do you feel smarter? Do you like it? Did you dislike it?

If you like it, keep doing it. If you don't, move on. You want to get up earlier, set a dedicated time for three weeks, and no matter what, get up at that time. And that means no matter what, if you can't do something for three weeks, you need to ask yourself why you are lacking self-control and discipline. You want to try a new fitness routine. Again, three weeks. New diet, three weeks. One enhanced change or fix a relationship, try something different for three weeks.

People ask me all the time for detailed instructions on routines, productivity tips, diets, et cetera. But I think at the core, it's these three-week experiments that have helped me throughout my life. And I've been doing them now for the last three, four years. He has guys. He really is doing it in reality. No, it's true. And at the end of the three weeks, analyze how you feel. You can even keep a weekly or daily journal along the way.

If you notice a positive difference in your life, keep going. If you don't, scrap it and find something else. I think whenever you want to create positive habits or try new things, you need this amount of time to get your mind and your body used to the change. So that's my tip. Three weeks, three week experiments, write them down. See what's going. I peaked at your journal today.

You did? Again? I always do. That's my decoy journal. All right. How do you like them apples? Your turn. I just watched Goodwill hunting the other day again.

You're actually really going to like my tip. You're probably going to be using this for three days. All right. Let's see. You're talking big game. All right. So my tip is actually on the skinny confidential right now. I did a post on it late last night.

I feel like you need to hear this tip and you also need to see it, which is why I did a post on it. So first off, it's a free printable. So all you have to do is go to the blog, print it out. I printed mine in color because it's pretty. But you're going to want to cut it in half. And here's why. There's like little scissor lines.

You guys will see when you print it out. Anyways, according to Seth Gooden, who wrote Purple Cow, Michael knows him very well. Goden. Okay. How do you say it? Gooden. I think. Keep going. I know it's not Gooden, but good try.

Okay. Okay. According to Seth, Godin, you want to make two lists. Okay. I started my 2018 like this and it's just fucking incredible what his advice is. So what you want to do is you want to go to the skinny confidential, like I said, and print out these cute printables. And then all you do is like he said, you make two lists. The first list, you're going to identify the disrespects and bad breaks. So this is people who don't like you. This is deals that went wrong. This is unfair expectations. This is bad situations, unfortunate outcomes, and unfairness. So that's one list. That's going to be on the left side. You'll see it on the TSC. Then Seth says it's all legitimate. It's all real. Don't hold back here. So you really want to like have at it. On the other list, you're going to write

down the privileges, advantages, and opportunities you have. So this is going to be the places where you get the benefit of the doubt, your leverage, your momentum, the things you see that others don't, like angles, what's working, what's always worked, the resources you can tap, the things you know, the people who you trust. Then Cess says, take one list and put it in the drawer. Take the other list and tape it up on your bathroom mirror. Read the list in the drawer once a month or once a year just to remind yourself that it's safe and sound. Read the other list every single day. The daily list will determine what you notice, how you interpret what you see, and the story you tell yourself about what's happening and what will happen. You get to pick which list goes where. That's the beauty

of it. Did you see, did you guys hear that? You get to pick which list goes where. One in a drawer, one on your bathroom mirror. Picking your list is possibly the most important thing you'll do all day. I think all year. I think we should all do this. We can each pick which list we're going to focus on. and like I always say, and Tony Robbins always says, where focus goes, energy flows. So if you want more of a breakdown, check out today's post and let me know in my DMs or on Twitter or on Instagram how your list situation is going. One in the drawer, one on the mirror. One in the mirror. So you're going to have two lists.

One list is going to be all about me and the other list is going to be all about me. And both of them are going to have great things on it. Those are both going in the drawer. Come on. Maybe I'll try it for three weeks. All right. Okay. Amanda Cerny describes herself in her Instagram bio as an actress CEO, director, queen of my own fantasy,

and your daily dose of happiness. I feel like her Instagram bio is totally fitting because she has 19.1 million followers in counting. I know, no big deal. So it was a pleasure to meet her in person because she's so down to earth and extremely mature for her age. She's also kind, pretty, and charitable. If you're unfamiliar with Amanda's work, let's go back. So first she started as a vine star. She was a big time bind star. Then she went on to Instagram and YouTube and has gained a massive following on both platforms because she is really

funny, guys. No, really, she's real funny. Her sugar bear hair video killed me. You have to see it. Anyway, Amanda is killing the social media game and it's so much fun to watch. So let's give her a very warm welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her show. This is the skinny confidential, him and her. Tell our audience, I mean, I feel like they already all know you, but tell us how you got started. Yeah, well, I was actually at college at Florida State, and I was doing modeling here and there,

and I got an opportunity out in L.A. to do some modeling, so I came out here, and then I would go back to Miami, and then I started doing, and Miami is like all-mus. Like that is what Miami runs off of. It's nightlife and music. So I started doing a live EDM event hosting. So I'd be like the MC at the at the EDM events and I would travel doing that. And then I decided, you know, that's not really, it was kind of limiting for me creatively. So I wanted to do more acting. And I started taking acting classes. And in Miami, like I said, it's not, there weren't many opportunities out there then, especially I don't think even Ballers was out there then. So that was like the one person. production that was in Miami. The show with the rock? Yeah, which is great. And then, um, so I came out to LA and then I had, you know, I was taking my acting classes and then I was looking for management and agency solely for film and TV. And nobody wanted to represent me because I didn't have a reel. And I was like, okay, it's like the chicken and egg thing is like, all right, what comes first? So I was like, all right,

I'll just make my own reel. I'll figure out how to edit. So I was just watching like YouTube videos on how to edit and stuff. And then I started creating my own reel by just making my own content. And then I would just post it online because I didn't know what else to do with it. So I would just start posting it. And I noticed like some of my videos were starting to get, you know, a thousand views, which at the time to me, that was like, whoa. And what year was this? This is like, oh, geez, 2012. Okay. Yeah. This was early. Yeah. And then I was posting then. And then this app came out called Vine and it was six second videos that you can just and I'm always thinking creatively so and I have fun making videos so when Vine came out I was like oh an easy platform just to make little six

second stories on so I started posting on that app and then at that time nobody was really like there was a select group of people that were making storytelling content on the application so it's like comedic skits and then I started doing that and I started doing it consistently along with to build my real so I can get management and agency. And when I was doing that, my profile really started to grow, and I saw people starting to like it. And I was like, okay, I'm going to keep doing this every day. So I made sure every day I posted on that platform and then was still like going out for meetings and trying to find castings. And then eventually my profile was growing so much that I put all my focus into that.

And then I grew to a million to two million to three million to four million on the application within a year. and I'm like, okay, you know, investing my time in this is really great because I noticed a lot of management and agencies all of a sudden we're reaching out to me. And I was like, okay, I'm not going to sign with anybody yet because I still, like, I'm doing this all on my own and they're just hopping on right now and I could benefit from them, but I feel like I can grow so much more and then I'll have so much more attention of theirs once I'm even bigger. So let's go back a little bit. How did you know to get on Vine? Like how did you discover Vine that early? Well, I had friends that do YouTube. One of my friends, Jimmy Taitro, he's a YouTuber.

He actually has his own show on Netflix Vandal, which is great. But I was supposed to shoot a YouTube video with him, and then he was traveling to New Orleans to shoot 22 Drum Street. And then he was like, there's this new app, Vine. Like, I know you're trying to, like, build a reel and stuff, but this is a great, like, beginning, like, app for you to, you know, really, like, gauge in, like, for editing and all that stuff. even on Vine, they didn't let you edit yet. It was like all within the app. You had to do it with inside, right? You couldn't pull it out from somewhere else.

But we had a hack to where you could just use like an iPad or something that was like hacked into the app that you can upload through a third party. So we could edit it on the side and then upload through a friend's iPad. So there was like two friends that had the iPad. So we would all go to them and then have them upload our content. That's crazy. How hard is it to make a video in that short amount of time and make someone laugh? Yeah, that's the biggest challenge.

To make a six-second video is easy, right? But then to be able to make somebody laugh with the content that you're making is the hardest part. So a lot of it was slapstick comedy because that read the... Like somebody falling or breaking something? Yeah, and that's why there's a lot of jokes about buying, like how it's so much slapstick. But, you know, that's what works in the six-second time period that we had. So it's kind of like topical comedy like that. And then you would do some weirder videos.

And a lot of the comedy was relatable content that people could be like, oh, that's me. And then they would share it. And then that's how your videos would go viral? And how important was collaboration when you were doing that? I feel like you guys have all uplifted each other. Yeah, for sure. And it was such a community, too. I mean, for instance, like one of my friends that was on the app too, Logan Paul, he started

on Vine also. And that's how he first got discovered. So he lived in Ohio. And then I knew him through the app because we would all communicate or, re-vine each other's vines and he was like okay I want to come out to LA and I felt like I knew him because I saw him every day and then we all had like this communication between each other so I was like yeah I have an extra room in my apartment you could just stay in my spare room so he came out for a week and we all did clubs with each other and then he stayed there and then he went back to Ohio and then he

hit me up again he's like I really like LA I want to come back and visit I was like okay yeah no problem whenever and then he's like okay I'm can I bring my dad I was like yeah Sure. So he came and stayed with me in my spare bedroom. His dad stayed on my couch and then they just came and visited L.A. that way. So it felt like a family that everybody was just kind of figuring it out together and helping each other grow. Because once we started getting brands offering us money or free product at first for posting, we're like, whoa, this is the best thing ever. We're getting stuff for free for making fun videos. It's so cool. But then we realized the value of what we were doing, of advertising, of reaching 20 million people viewing a piece of content

is a lot. And that's more than... It's more than TV shows. Yeah. How much pressure is that to know that there's that many people watching you guys? I don't, I didn't really see it as pressure. It kind of like, if anything, it motivated and inspired me just to make better content. Because now I'll go back and I'll watch my first fine and I'll like cringe. Like I'll almost gag. I'm like, oh my God, no, turn it off. because like that's me just starting out and me learning like how because I didn't go to film school I didn't learn how to I wasn't a writer like this is me wearing all hats of trying to figure something out and then from doing it consistently every single day for the past like five six years like I've kind of figured it out and now now and I'm still growing and I appreciate that too I take more classes for it

I like study on it more. And I just like grow within every year that I'm doing it. But that's why it's like, you know, I would never want to delete the content that I made in the beginning because it's also a reminder for me of how much I've grown. I love that you have evolved. Like you seem like someone that you're constantly evolving. Like you're never getting too comfortable. Now that you're on Instagram, how has your life changed where you feel, you know,

now you get like a minute and a half, right? Or is it two minutes? One minute. You can do the swipe, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay. I can have endless, but... How is that different from Vine?

I like it way more. I mean, for me, it's... I'm able to explore different levels of comedy, too, so it's not just... Or even just putting out content, like the stuff I did in Puerto Rico, I'm able to show a mini-documentary of, like, you know, the impact that myself and my fans have done together

and how we made a difference over there. And in six seconds, you can't really tell that story. So it's like I'm able to tell longer and more in-depth stories that are way more impactful, whether it be comedy or, you know, charity or, you know, if I'm launching something new and to inspire my audience as well, even, like, created, made subpages now to where I'm, like, having fitness pages, having, so I can kind of narrow down the audience that's interested in fitness. So my main page is mostly comedy, but then they go to the other pages and they can find the niche areas that, of why they truly

follow my content. So let's talk about that a little bit. If you were, Now you're niching down and going into different areas outside of comedy, which I think is great. But when you were first starting, it was strictly comedy. For somebody that's starting out and they want to be a content creator, they want to create YouTube videos or Instagram videos, Snapchat, whatever, podcast, whatever it is. What piece of advice would you give at this point? Don't joke up. His questions get, like, really run on, so, like, he has to take a breath. But it's still a good question.

It's really dry in L.A. too. It is dry. The fires are still burning. Yes. This is true. It's so saturated now. Yeah, yeah. I would say you have to stick to what is true to you because we're advertising things now,

whether it be ourselves or another brand, whatever it is, we're advertising to an audience that has no bullshit. Like they grew up with brands advertising to them. They grew up with content at their reach. So if they feel something that's not authentic or not organic to, the person that's creating it and posting it, they're not going to respond well to it. Because they're not stupid. Like, they see stuff every single day.

They know, you know, whether it be an older generation is now way more educated because of the internet. So, like, if you're producing content, I would say make things that are organic to you, something that you're really passionate about, that you're invested in, that you believe in and you have fun making, and do that. Don't do, it's like me trying to do beauty tutorials on makeup. It's like, no, I'm going to do a collaboration with a makeup artist who loves makeup, and I'm going to get my makeup done because I like that. That's way more organic than me being like, all right, like, I'm the best.

I'm going to tell you how to do this. You're going to read through it and be like, no, you're not. Like, this isn't what you do. No, and it's hard to keep up with that, right? Like, if you're talking about stuff for creating content that you don't care about consistently, you're just trying to like match a mold if I'm trying to be like an Amanda or I'm trying to be a Lauren, you can't consistently keep up with that. And consistency is super important, at least in my opinion here because at some point you're

like, shit, that's not really what I'm about. And so you're struggling and you're stressing all the time. Like, okay, what can I do next? Where if it's natural to you, you're just grading all the time. I want to know about each medium. Do you have a schedule where you're like Mondays that I post on YouTube, Wednesdays, I do Instagram. Is there a time? Is there a method to the madness?

Initially there was. When I was first starting out on social media, I was like, okay, I need to post. And there was different metrics for each platform. Like for Facebook, I would post at 3 a.m. And I would have to wake up at 3 a.m. post because there wasn't a scheduling thing yet. And then same thing with YouTube had a different time. Bine had a different time when it was still alive. I think they're bringing back another version of Vine, but I don't know what's going on with that. But like an Instagram was a certain time.

So I had I had that all scheduled in the beginning just because I was trying to grow so much on those platforms and I didn't have access to a large audience. But now to where I have like these large followings on all these different platforms. I don't stress myself out too much about that now. I just try to make as much content as I can, different content for each of the platforms. So that way it's like people go on Facebook because they know I'm making this content for my demographic on there that relates to them the most and adjust it a little bit for them. For Instagram, make content that's a minute long, a little bit more short form and then gets to the point quicker. Like for YouTube make different content because the audience is, you know,

a little bit different. So then also they want to follow me everywhere because they're getting different things on each platform. So timing, I feel like doesn't matter as much for larger influencers, but if you're just starting now, it's important to know the best time to post for your demographic, which now Facebook and all those platforms give you insights. So if someone's like new to Instagram, they have like 500 followers and they look at someone like you that has so many, would you just tell them to get on a consistent schedule, find their niche? Is there? any other tips that they can use to grow their following? Yeah, study on making video content because video content is how people are going to relate to you the most and whether it be,

whatever your content may be, like they're going to be able to feel like they know you most through video rather than a photo. So I say kind of study up, you know, invest in yourself, whether it be if you suck at video but you have a friend that's good at it, partner up with them and work together as a team, like create your own group, like whether, you know, be fashion beauty, like create a team around you to where everybody is good at what they're doing and that it can all benefit each other because that's what worked with us. I mean, there's certain points like in our careers, like with me and the influencers that I kind of rose with that they're more successful on this platform than I'm like killing

it on Instagram and they're killing it over here. We'll do stuff. I'll do stuff with them over here because they're doing. great and they'll do stuff with me over here because I'm doing great on there and we're all benefiting from it. So it's more of a community kind of vibe and I think if you have that mentality when you're even if you're just starting out like if you think people around you are talented and your content's good, people are going to see it and want to share it. So I mean like as long as you're making quality content and you know taking a smaller piece of a larger pie like you know

why not that's how I would do it. So you guys still all collaborate everyone's really supportive how important is the community that you guys are making videos for like for me i feel like my community is everything do you are you really engaged with them like do you talk to them every day how does that go you have so many followers i feel like it's hard probably to answer you're not going to be able to answer your dms no no i don't even look at them no i don't even read my but they i don't know if i want to but sometimes i'll actually like if i post something on my story that i just want to get immediate feedback from. I'll like browse through and like look at some DMs just to see what people are thinking. But I think that's so important, especially as a creator when you're

looking at your, when you're producing your content and posting it, you're actually reading the comments. And I read every single one of my comments, even if I don't even plan on it. I'll go on there. I'll be like, I'll read one or two. And I'm like going through them all. And then all of a sudden, I'm like picking it apart and just like appreciating like the love comments, of course. But then there's constructive criticism comments and yeah there's haters of saying a certain thing but if you're getting multiple comments of a similar thing then you got to address so how do you differentiate between constructive criticism and people that are just dickheads um well the dickheads you can kind of tell right away because they're usually just like blurting things out like you suck you know

and at that point you can't like you can't please those people no never like but what i've noticed and i think it's like some sort of psychology or something but I'll reply to, and this is what I used to do, like I would get a negative comment that was just purely just out of anger coming from them, nothing to do with my content, but I'd reply, I'm like, I'm so sorry that you had such a hard day. And then they flip. They're like, oh my God, I love you.

I'm your biggest fan. I'm so sorry that I did this, blah, blah, blah. And then you're just like, okay, well, they're just looking for attention or trying to vent. Yeah, because people, I just see it as a way for some people to vent. and if they're super aggressive with it, just block them and they're gone forever. Does it even bother you anymore? When you just look at it and you're just like numb to it because I feel like you've seen every kind of comment you can possibly see.

Yeah, I feel like you don't get completely numb to anything like in life. But I think now I just don't take it to heart by any means. Like I'm just scrolling through it. I'll see one and I'll be like, oh, ouch, like scroll. But it's still like I don't sit and cry about it or doesn't stay in my hands. head if anything I just try to remember like the positive stuff from it and the fact that you know okay this I've been getting negative comments since like 2011 2012 so it's like for me it's nothing new and it's something that will always be there but the fact that the majority of my comments are all

thankful like appreciative like and that's what I've turned my comments into because I've listened to my audience too like even when Vine first started a lot of the comments were super negative like people would cry if they read these like that bad but then I would kind of listen and adjust my content to not focus so much on like sexiness and like blah blah and just focus on the comedy of it and not feel like I had to include that in every piece of content I was making and that's where I started to gain like more respects like as a woman trying to do comedy so when you say sexiness if you were focused like do you think that it was more difficult for you to break out in comedy because you were, I don't want to say leading with that, that's not the right way, but because you

had that appeal. Yeah, I, I misinterpreted it. Like, in the beginning, like, I thought, okay, people look at me because I was used to being a model. So I'm like, okay, I have to be sexy and everything I'm doing, because that's the only way they're going to like me. Tell me about it. Yeah. You know, the struggle. But then I started feeling like I had to include that in my, like, original content. And even though it wasn't necessary in the comedy I was doing, I was like, let me add it in. And people, it's not organic. It's not like I didn't want it in there.

I felt like I had to add it in there. Like, I still make content that is sexy solely for the purpose of being sexy. And I love that. I embrace that. I think that's great for a woman to be sexy. But then when I'm doing comedy, I make sure the main purpose of my video is to be comedic. And then that's when I started to really notice a difference with my fans

appreciating my content and appreciating my work more and really just becoming true fans of what I'm doing. I mean, this is kind of the Wild Wild West. Do you feel like I'm listening to you talk and I feel like there's probably a lot of older people that are in this industry that have tried to put you in a box. And like you just said, like you're not just sexy. You're a lot of different things. How have you kind of tried to get their attention and be like, no, this is like I'm going to do me. Like you do you. Yeah. Like, well, I guess for me, my proof was kind of, in the numbers. Like, there's so many beautiful girls out there that all of them would have a huge following.

Once they're a thousand times hotter than I could ever be. And then would have a massive following just from being hot. Like, that's not the case. Like, if you're growing a following that's that strong and that's with you every single move that you're making, you're doing something outside of just being sexy or just being pretty. Like, you have to have either a personality, I have to have some sort of talent, whether it's like the content that you're producing and comedy and acting, that people want to share with their family and friends that makes your demographic,

like male and women. Like that, I think that's the proof that I needed right there. But now it's like, okay, I'm going to consistently make that content and still make longer form content. Because my goal now is, yeah, I've grown on all these platforms, but the longer, more time I have to produce or direct something or just make longer form content, the more creatively I'm able to put into it and the more stories I'm able to tell.

And that's kind of what I'm focusing on is not just doing social media platforms, but doing movies and TV series and all that stuff now too, which is what I initially my goal was and what I wanted to do. And now I'm able to be a part of it like in the bigger picture. Let me ask you this now though. Your goal obviously and your still goal is to be an actress, producer, director maybe, everything. But now that you have this, aren't you kind of already, now you're doing that?

pretty much. It's just, do you think that it's any different, like you need to be in a feature film or a feature show? Because you're, like we said, you're getting 20 million views or whatever. That's more than a lot of these movies or shows garnish. So do you think that it's like, it's just because it's a goal you've set that you want to get into these things? Or is it? That's a great question because even for, there's some influencers or content creators that want to be actors and that's why they started. But for the ones that have.

started with that that goal they still want to do things that are traditional so initially I wanted to be on networks like I was like all right put me on this show and then later on when I'm doing like on the show or doing something with them like I don't want to name the certain like specific networks but then I would find out like their viewership is like a million people and I'm like nobody's seeing this like but now there are platforms like Netflix Amazon Hulu HBO like that all are on your desktop or on your TV that a lot of people are consuming and binge watching and becomes like, you know, that's just growing me as a brand is taking me outside of just being Amanda Cernie and just creating a whole new world that I can like create fans of.

So it's like no longer they just fans of me, but now like how like stranger things, Game of Thrones, like they have these massive fan bases for the quality of the production. Something outside of the personal brand. Yeah. And speaking of something outside of it, you're doing a management company. Can you tell us about that? Yeah.

So with social media, like organically, I notice whoever I'm doing videos with are around. They're growing, like, there's a girl I was doing videos with that I grew to a million in, you know, less than, you know, four months. So I'm like, okay, like I've noticed this is like a major growth opportunity, whether it be somebody that wants to be an influencer or an artist is trying to get more exposure or grow their fan base for touring or for their music in

general. And even as social media is growing more and more, like, I have record labels hitting me up all the time to help with their artists, like, and big artists too. And it became more relevant to me that, okay, social media is a part of every single brand, every person now. It's necessary. It's like what people are looking for to really grow their brands and their products. So I was like, okay, since I'm organically doing it already and I want to do it on a larger scale where, you know, I had issues finding management. I've had situations with management where they weren't working for me, where I was being promised a lot of things, but they weren't coming through.

And I was like, I want to be able to create a community where I'm helping them grow. I'm helping them reassuring them in a trusted community that their management is working for them every day because I'm behind the scenes of making sure it's happening. And I know my bandwidth, and I'm not going to be the one that's day-to-day managing or working on the traditional stuff. which is still called traditional soon soon it won't be. But just on the back end, everything's just being done. That is what is promised. And then just really helping them grow their careers just social media-wise,

brand-wise, like grow them into an actual business. And one of my main focuses is on women, because I've noticed, especially from living in L.A. for so long, being a woman in L.A. is a lot different than being a man in L.A. And it's just like it can be limiting in a sense of people not taking you seriously or just false promises. But I mean, men experience that here too. But that's why like from my experience as a woman, I know what it's like. And then I kind of want to, you know, have these women that are with me that I'm helping grow,

not have to go through or not have to make the mistakes or not go with people that are untrustworthy in the industry. and that they can really just feel at home here and grow into a large business of super talented women. And men included, like, I'm representing men as well. Like, we already have three different males signed to it also in different in fitness. Like, we're signing a musician now who's super talented. She's a writer also, and she's great. She's worked with a lot of big artists. And just people that are just extremely talented know what they're good at

and just drive them towards that goal. and once they reach that goal, just branch out into everything that social media offers and branding wise. Do you want to do some kind of business and product with what you're doing too eventually? Yeah. So I'm working on that right now. I'm creating, because I'm huge into fitness. I love it.

Just a healthy lifestyle, which is great. I have my guest campaign coming out next year, and it's for their active wear line, which will be everywhere. That is so cool. I love guests. It's amazing. I'm super excited. Thank you.

Congratulations. They really revamped that brand. Yeah. They pulled it up. So have you already like shot it and picked out everything? Yeah. Okay. So we have that coming out with them.

And then on top of that, I'm doing supplements that are, you know, vegan that are super healthy for you, like natural ingredients and just actually work and things that I would use. Because, you know, through my experience of me doing brand deals like beforehand, And I know I only want to work with things that I actually believe in because, like I said, if your audience sees you're not being organic, you're losing the trust of your audience. And they mean the most to me. So anything and anything I'm doing, I want it to be a thousand percent true. So segmenting into that, what do you think the worst piece of advice you hear people giving to new content creators or new influencers?

Where it's like they want to monetize them early. And so they're giving them this advice. It's like, don't do that. You're going to hurt yourself. Yeah, just picking like low-hanging fruit. That's what a lot of these companies do. I mean, a lot of the agencies and they're just like, okay, just grab whatever's easy and then, you know, kind of ring them out and then they're done. Like if you're doing a bunch of deals, a bunch of one-off deals all the time of things that you don't even use or don't even care about, you're just selling out your audience to the point of you, you're going to have an audience that doesn't trust you at all, eventually unfollowes you and just leaves you. and then you have no brand. So if you're just, and that's something that I was smart with in the beginning that I didn't do is that I didn't do a million brand deals.

I would be offered so many brand deals every single day that I could have just cashed out on everything. And if that's your goal, just make your money real quick if you don't want longevity. But if you want a long career, you need to just choose the brands you actually enjoy. Space it out, don't do a million, and then promote it in an organic and fun way for your audience so they appreciate the content that you're creating. Well, I think what both of you have done really well, you and Lauren, is that... I don't have like 400 million followers, though.

But it's not that. What I think you guys have done well is at this point, you guys have the leverage because you have a community that will follow you guys wherever you want to go, right? So it's not reliant on a platform and it's not reliant on a brand or a deal. You can say, like, listen, guys, like, we're going to go here and this is what we're going to do. And so at that point, it flips, right? And a lot of these agencies or brands or whatever, they don't have the power of you.

And I think it's interesting to watch people that have done it right. and people are like, oh, like, you're going to screw yourself over. You know what I mean? How do you pick, like when you get approached by a brand, how do you know that it's a fit for your audience? Well, I see if it's a fit for me. If it's a fit for me, it'll be good for my audience. So how picky are you? I'm sure you're extremely picky.

Yeah, I am. And it's, you know, I recently did an ad with a brand that was like a hair vitamin. I love that video. That was amazing. But it's like a fun. So fun. But you're making the ads that are like super interesting still and like fun content for people to consume. And they appreciate it.

And the fact that you're disclosing it's an ad. They appreciate it like they appreciate Super Bowl commercials. They're like, oh, this is great. That entertained me. Thanks. Yeah. And I'll check out that brand too because they make super cool content. That was amazing.

That video. What has been your most popular video and why do you think it's been your most popular video? I'm, I don't know. There's a lot of them because I've probably. made like over 3,000 videos like in the past. What's like a standout one that maybe stood out for you? Um, probably. So I did this couple's one, um, that has over like 30 million views on on Instagram, which is a lot for Instagram. But I have videos that have more views on Facebook because it's all different platforms. But I think this one did so well because it was relatable content

that, you know, every couple can relate to that I was just poking fun at the same. situation. So the situation was my boyfriend wanted to hook up with me and I'm just like, you know, just kind of sitting there next him and he's just trying to kiss me. I'm like, okay, like not now. But I didn't want to turn him down. So I just like got up and then I put a face mask on, got an onion and apple cider vinegar and then I sat next to him and ate that. That sounds like my night every night. Yeah. So see, it's relatable. Maybe not that part. That's a little creepy. I eat garlic raw, so. Yeah, it was gnarly, though.

Don't ever eat raw onions. Too late. So people like the relatable content. Yeah. That's the most important. I want to know more about your fitness and diet routine. I mean, I feel like you're traveling all the time. How do you keep consistent?

I just, a lot of home workouts that I kind of like created or like I've worked with trainers before, so I kind of just keep them in the back of my head of just different things. Like I love planks. Like I think those are great. That's like a full body workout when you're doing them and you're not just being a crazy person jumping around your hotel room. But a lot of hotels have gyms too. So it's easy just to like run there to the gym real quick, shower and then get on with your day. I try to do it every morning like early in the morning.

Otherwise if I get into my day, like as a girl, once you put makeup on or whatever, you're just like, okay, then I go to a gym, put it back on. I'm going to go to my next meeting. No. So I try to do it in the mornings and then try to keep it consistent. in with every day, take a day off a week, that's fine. And then eating clean, I feel like is the biggest thing because you can do fitness like three times a week, but if you're eating like shitty food, you're going to not see any results. How do you eat so clean when you're so busy? I think it's, I mean, in LA it's super easy. Just here it's like, and I think anywhere it's super

easy now because we have those delivery apps all the time. It's a lot easier than it was before. And even like, you know, there's this app Happy Cow that I use sometimes that helps you, like, find vegan or vegetarian-friendly restaurants that are around you. Like, even when I'm in Europe, I use it. So it's like, and even in Europe, like, the options have gotten way better than what they were when I started traveling like six years ago. I heard you say on a podcast that you, you don't, you used to run a lot or maybe you said really fast and now you do something different. Can you elaborate on that? Yeah. and I hated finding this out.

But, yeah, I would do more high-intensity cardio. So I would just do sprints. I would do, and I loved it because it felt like I was getting a good workout in. But then I started working with different trainers, and then I'm working on the supplement line that I'm doing and kind of discovered that as a woman, it's better to do low-intensity cardio and training just because when you're doing high intensity,

it builds more testosterone in your body. So it actually has an aging effect. So, yeah, you're getting a good workout, but you're also aging yourself drastically at the same time. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to switch to low-intensity cardio to where you're getting, still getting a good workout. Yeah, you have to spend a little bit longer in the gym. But in the long run, too, it's just better for your skin.

It's better for your... Your boobs, too. I feel like your boobs are moving up and down. the movement. Like, no, like everything. I don't want everything moving up and down all the time. Yeah. So when you say low, do you just mean walk?

Like, can you give an example if the audience wanted to go do your workout? What is it? Yeah, it would, I would say beyond the treadmill, changing up your incline, like doing a power walk or a light jog. I would say power walk more just because it's less impact anyway or even the stair master I love. But doing instead of doing the stairmaster at 20% difficulty level, which I was obsessed with, I had to change it to 14, and then sometimes I treated myself by bringing it to 16.

So it's like, you know, just bringing down, just keeping your heart rate, like, low instead of just, like, going to extreme sport mode. It makes sense. How do you shut off? I mean, I feel like you're on social 24-7, it seems like. How do you take a minute for yourself and just close it down? I tried to go to Hawaii and do that, but then I was just like, there's so much content here. So then I started working and making content there. I think I don't really think it's necessary for me to shut off because I'm so passionate about it and I get inspired and it makes me feel good.

And it's something that I love doing. And I think that's why it's doing so well. So for me, if I shut off, I actually get more stressed out. I feel the same way. Yeah. Because you're not doing it. See, Michael? Take notes.

No, but I mean, like we were talking about this today and I was like, I just want it to shut off when we're in the bed. No, I want to have sex and post an Instagram. And he's like, you know, let me do that. Listen, you don't want your man looking over and seeing your chin tucked in with the light illuminating up. You know what I mean? It's like, you're telling a ghost story in the bed. I'm like, you got to go. I got to do Snapchat.

Yeah, and then they try to take your phone and you're like, no. No, no. You got to do. I feel like you need to do a whole video series on that. Good. I'm taking note. No, I wouldn't try to do that. I'll get like an elbow in the face.

Yeah, see? I can't mess this up, the money maker, you know what I mean? So you don't even go near. No, I'm just kidding. And the first question is, I want to know about your process of getting everything on paper to putting it on Instagram and doing a video. I can imagine that's like really elaborate. Yeah. On Instagram, I used to do a video every day as well.

I kind of slowed down just because I've been focusing on this management company and then just a bunch of meetings and the holidays are coming out. So it's like a lot. And I'm going to Aspen for the first time. We just got back from there last week. Really? You're going to love it. I'm going to send you a list. He dissects the whole entire.

city and does a whole itinerary on it. Oh, really? Yeah. I'll give you a list before you go over here. It's the best. Awesome. We just went shotgun shooting out there. No, you don't understand how obsessed with Aspen he is. He wants to name our firstborn Aspen. I feel like it's not going to be good because then you're like people will shorten his name or her name. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it's like maybe it's a middle name. But no, Aspen's the best. Honestly, if the wheels fell off everything and I was just like, oh shit, what I do? I'd probably go out there and be like a ski instructor or something. Okay. You've talked about this like dream that you have a hundred times. You know what, fuck it. I'm quitting. I'm going out there. I'm going out there. I'm going out there. You'll love it. It's fun. So you're going to Aspen. Yeah, for the first time with my family. So I was setting that up as our first ever family vacation.

So I'm going to Aspen all together too for Christmas. So I'm excited. But that's been like something I was working on too. So yeah, I've just been really busy. But the process kind of is I have a list of notes of things that just kind of happen in my everyday life. And this is for Instagram content where I'll just like write it down like, oh, that's funny. And like, oh, that situation is funny. And they'll have, like, a whole list of notes.

And then I'll shoot, like, I'll call a couple different videographers or whoever's available or even shoot it myself. Like, a few of my recent videos I just shot all myself just because I didn't feel like waiting on anybody to get there. And I'm like, I need to get something out because I have my next meeting. But then I'll shoot the video. I'll direct it which angles I need because I kind of think in editing. So when I'm shooting, I'm just like, this shot, this one, this one.

and then I'll get the content done. I'll edit it and then I'll post it to my page. Really what you are is a professional storyteller. Does anyone tell you that? I feel like that's what you're like amazing at is telling stories. Thanks. I mean, I think that's the most important thing you can do when you're an influencer is tell a story.

Yeah, for sure. I want to know one book, resource, podcast, whatever it is that you look to, that you could recommend to the audience that has just really resurgensual. with you. The him and her? Well, I mean, that, shit, I mean, that's... We can't stroke the ego anymore. That's helped a lot of people out here.

We can't stroke the ego. Sorry, sorry, sorry. No, no, no. Aspen, go to Aspen. Go to Aspen. Yeah, for those, just everyone head to Aspen. It's a town typically of 4,000 people, but we can get, maybe we'll get 18 million there. Michael, we get the obsession with Aspen.

I'm telling you. All I've heard about. You're going to be fired up about it. I'm going to eat garlic tonight and lay in bed next deal. Horn onion. I have one last thing. Along the way, there's probably been a lot of hurdles. Like, you don't just go from zero to 18 million without having some issues along the way.

Of those hurdles, what is one like, cruish, I don't want to call it failure because you think you learned something every time, but what is something that was at the time glaring like, oh shit, I'm done, like this is over. I'm so discouraged. That actually ended up being a huge blessing. Yeah, I think just personal relationships, like throughout the process. it becomes more of a business in the beginning it's pure friendships and then once things start to turn into a business that's when you kind of see the light of certain people that you were friends

with so for me that was a big thing um what specifically well like for instance like i had different you know content like being deleted on my page that turned out to be a close friend of mine and i was like he or she was going in and removing yeah and then i thought i was like okay this is like I trusted you with myself. I didn't even know that they had my passwords. But why does that occur? Because jealousy or because competition or because? I think competition.

Okay. Like that's the only reason I could put behind it. But, you know, people have their reasons for doing things, even if they're horrible things. So at the end of the day, it was like it was hurtful to me because it broke my trust. And that made it a little bit difficult for me to trust other people, whether it be in business, whether it be. So I had to like reset myself and just be like, okay, not everybody is out there to hurt you,

even though there's been multiple circumstances with different people that you've helped and that you're genuine too. And then you're working on growing, but maybe they have underlying personal problems that I just don't know about that must have been happening or something or something. I don't, I can't explain it. So imagine it's hard. Like if we were, you know, we're obviously great friends now. But if you're on me, come in and I say, hey, Amanda, I want to be in your video like we're friends.

And it's really their purposes is to use your platform to portray themselves. Yeah. Well, now I see it. I'm sure. The way I kind of saved myself from that, even so recently, is that now I see my platforms as a business. So whoever I'm working with on those platforms, unless they're like in my circle and a long-term friend, like. Like us. Yeah, like us.

then you know i i i'm not open to doing as many collaborations like that and if it's mutually beneficial let's do one like you know but i see it more more as a business or if somebody fits a certain role that i'm looking for it's benefiting me too so why not have them on there like so that's that's how i see it now i don't see it as like it's my best friend and that's why she's in all my videos or this is or he's in my all my videos it's like it's not how i see it anymore like my best friend friends are the ones that I'm calling every single day that I'm texting that have been there for me, like, you know, from the beginning. And that prevents me from getting hurt as well. It's like Will Smith. What does Will Smith say if you're not there for my struggle, don't expect

to be there for my success? Yeah. I feel like that's great quote. Did it like taint the space a little bit? Um, it didn't really, I don't think it tainted it. What do you mean by tainted? Like meaning like you were like in the beginning you're doing this because you love creating content. thing you're passionate about. And then as it turns into a business, because I think content creators struggle with this, especially now you start out to be, to have a creative outlet and to connect with people. And it's fun and light. Yeah, I mean, we get into this too. And then all a sudden it turns into a business and you're like, shit. And it kind of, I don't want to say ruins it, but it kind of takes a little bit of the fun out of it. Well, for me, it didn't really

taint that just because I control all the creatives for my content and I don't have to run it through anybody. So what I started with is wanting to get a message to people and getting a response from people. And I'm still getting that. That didn't change that by any means. It just changed the people that I surrounded myself with. So it kept my content genuine. It kept everything that I was doing, like feeling good and like wanting to do more of it every single day. Like I'm craving to make content and just get people's reactions. Like I love that. I think you're a really good role model. too for because you're doing your management company for bringing other people up instead of like you being the top and having like I love how you're yeah you're you're showing people that it's possible to

be extremely successful and they can also be successful with you so I think that's incredible this is a question I ask everyone at the end but I don't even know why we're asking you this where can everyone find you for the six people listening for my dad who's listening right now where can you find you. Brad's, Brad, Brad, stay out of the DMs. I know. It will not be good. Yeah, it's just add Amanda Cernie on everything. So CERNY. And that's snap everywhere. Yep. Love it. Thank you so much for coming on. That was so cool. Thanks for having. And have fun in Aspen. Yeah, I'm going to have to get that list. Yeah, he has a really good list. Okay, wait. Do you guys want to get a short email from me? Tipsy Thursday is a quick email with lots of value that includes a

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