In order to help the next generation of fashion moguls kick start their careers, theFashionSpot Australia is teaming up with AustralianSuper and a handful of industry figures to bring you informed advice and insight into the industry. First up is lifestyle and fashion blogger/influencer Lisa Clark who in today’s entry, discusses how she turned the often tumultuous post-reality show experience, into a successful and unique personal brand and career.
Its time to go……….. Lisa!
Those words will forever be imprinted in my mind. I spent 6 weeks in the Big Brother house and it was one of the most surreal and life altering experiences of my life. It isn’t all glitz and glamour after you leave the house. You are now a marketable commodity, brands want to work with you, companies want to manage you, paparazzi follow you and there is a constant flow of events and PR showings. Fast forward 8 weeks and your new “reality” begins to wear off.
This is when you hit fight or flight – I chose to fight. I was grateful for the opportunity reality TV gave me and took it head on. I concentrated on networking, pitching my content to brands, blogging, building my social channels and working with brands that aligned with my beliefs and journey.
I quit my 9-5 office job to instead work 6am – 9pm on something that I loved and believed in. I took the time to reply to comments on my Instagram, met with designers and brands, pulled clothes from PR agencies and shot them. I made excel spreadsheets of brands I wanted to work with, pitched to them, followed them up and had some amazing opportunities along the way.
I taught myself social selling. I learned about my follower’s habits, the times to post, the way to edit my pictures and what they wanted to see. I listened to feedback and learned from criticism. The end result; my content improved and I grew as a person.
It was fascinating watching your likes and engagement. I knew if you posted anything related to Big Brother the likes and engagement went through the roof. I then had to tactfully navigate my followers from BB content and to a more mature, lifestyle, fashion and travel style which I think (luckily) I was able to do pretty seamlessly.
Fast forward a year and a half and here I am about to launch a travel series on YouTube, I have shot content and travelled with MTV Australia to Italy, Croatia and Paris, I have guest blogged for some amazing websites and 2016 brings with it some exciting news that I am bursting at the seams to tell you but I can’t yet due to a confidentiality agreement (boo).
So what was the key to my success? I stayed humble. I surrounded myself with the right people. I worked hard. I knew I couldn’t ride on the coat tails of Big Brother fame for the rest of my life, so I was passionate about what I did and didn’t try to become something I wasn’t.
People can spot fakes and phonies and I wasn’t going to compromise who I am or what I believe in in an attempt to stay in the spotlight. I learned to say no and walk away from the things that weren’t right for me or my brand. I am Lisa Clark and I wasn’t changing that for anyone, even if that meant fading from the short lived fame reality TV brings to so many.
These things will put you on the correct path to success and the most important thing happiness. You can never please everyone so know what your brand is worth to companies and be diligent and professional in your approach.
Learn every day – read other blogs, watch YouTube videos of content creators who inspire you, practice your editing skill, buy a professional camera so you aren’t always shooting on your iPhone. Collaborate with likeminded influencers, models and photographers and the most important one, let go of anything that doesn’t fulfil or service your path to world domination!
If you’re just starting out in your career, a few right moves early on can help set you up for life. For more stories in our AustralianSuper KickStart series, click here or go to AustralianSuper.
