11 Mistakes To Avoid As An Influencer

So you want to be an Influencer entrepreneur? Whether it is to share your business, creativity, passions, or advocate for issues you believe in, being an Influencer unfortunately doesn’t come with a guidebook - YET. That is why I am sharing these 11 mistakes to avoid as an influencer.

A lot of us learned from trial and error and putting ourselves and our work out there. When I first embarked on this journey of being my own Boss, taking on Modeling, Influencing to now running my own Social Media Marketing content creation business; I came across many hurdles. I dealt with a lot of uncertainty. Today I would like to share with you some of the mistakes I made and what you can avoid in your own journey of Entrepreneurism and Influencing. Read on for all the juicy deets!

11 Mistakes You Want To Avoid As An Influencer

1. Hygiene on content creation day. Creating content is a mixture of fun, clear intention, and sweat baby! When making content or being on a photo shoot you want to bring all the things you will need to stay looking fresh throughout your creation process. I suggest bringing a toothbrush, floss, body wipes, deodorant, creams for skin, extra shoes, water, and a hair brush. 
2. Know your policies. Before ever agreeing to work with any clients, brands, or other businesses make sure to define and memorize your pricing!  It’s so important to know how to communicate your pricing and standards. Not only does it contribute to being taken seriously but it leaves nothing up in the air. 
3. Ask these questions about payments. Who is paying you? How long until you get your payment? In some cases, you have to wait 30-90 days to get paid or even longer so it's important to know what to expect! 
4. Not having an invoice system. Honey bunny, you need a way of bookkeeping or keeping track of invoices. Google sheets, excel sheets, paper notes, anything! This also is in your benefit come tax time.  
5. Not having invoices. Like what? How are you going to get paid?! How are you going to keep track of who you paid? You have to have your own invoices, preferably the type that can be digitally saved for your records as well. 

Confidence is important as an Influencer

6. Being uncomfortable in front of the camera. As a business owner and especially as an influencer, you will find yourself in front of a camera more often than not! You will most likely be in photos or videos you create to promote yourself or your business. Feeling confident is key to creating quality content. If you don’t embody confidence the camera will pick it up babe.   
7. Not practicing because of lack of focus! (poses, memorizing scripts, choreo, etc) Like all professionals, practice is important and leads to feeling confident. Which means less mistakes, stumbles, and uncertainty.Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it, stay focused and you will see improvement. Not practicing is a big mistake so get in front of a mirror and get at it. 
8. Poorly investigating and managing the nature of your business partnerships.  I had a fellow colleague who found herself a manager that submitted to agencies on her behalf. The manager included himself in the contracts without her knowledge to collect payment and take additional percentages. Incidents like these are not uncommon in the modeling industry. To avoid such things I and my colleague advise submitting yourself directly to agents. 
   
   When it comes to making business deals as an Entrepreneur its important to read the fine print. (yep all of it honey!) If such matters are tedious and overwhelming you might consider hiring an attorney to go over them for you and with you. 

Read on to see more Mistakes to Avoid As An Influencer

9. Not making collaborating a priority. I highly advise working with people for payment and nonpayment. There are some trades and collaborating that can be extremely beneficial to you. This is also true for getting your business out there and seen! Partner with other businesses, nonprofits, and Influencers to help promote your business or products. 
   (Tip: It is always worth investing in a good photoshoot with a good photographer. They often know agents, brands, and businesses and they can recommend you. If you are in Southern California, I suggest contacting PicsByStos)
10. People do not ask enough questions. Asking questions is NEVER a bad thing! Running your own business or being an Influencer full time is a world all its own and every business is different. Make sure you get as many details as you can before committing to any arrangements. (ex. Cost, payment, trade benefits, product promotion, length of project etc…)
11. Not asking your network for references. Ask around for connections. From talking to brands and fellow Influencers to reaching out to other businesses, it’s okay to ask them for references. Whether its recommendations for a photographer, jobs, access to events, it's ok!  As an Influencer it can be very beneficial and as long as you have data to prove and back up that you are successful at what you do people will be happy to support you!

In conclusion

I wish that I had known what mistakes to avoid when first starting out instead of experiencing it firsthand but we live, learn, and grow lol. Plus without these mistakes I wouldn’t have been able to share these helpful tips and know firsthand all the difference it makes to do certain things a certain way. Please feel free to drop a comment below if you found this article helpful and make sure you're signed up to my email list so you don’t miss my next Business Mixxer!!! 

XX Alexa