148 | Building a Brand, Financial Transparency and Going full Time as a Content Creator with Kaya Marriott of Comfy Girl Curls

Kaya as a panelist for the full day “Dream Big Conference” hosted by Vancity Business Babes, March 2023 📸 @hannershannahphoto

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

This episode is a fun and insightful conversation with Kaya Marriott, a Vancouver-based content creator who began her journey in 2016 with a natural hair blog. She has since expanded her platform to include lifestyle and beauty content, which enabled her to partner with renowned brands and take content creation full-time. In 2022, Kaya launched her second online presence, Creating with Kaya, to help educate and empower aspiring content creators in an industry where transparency can be hard to come by.

Connect with Kaya:

@Comfygirlcurls (instagram.com/comfygirlcurls)

Blog is comfygirlwithcurls.com

@CreatingWithKaya

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@CreatingwithKaya)

TikTok (https://tiktok.com/@creatingwithkaya)

creatingwithkaya.com

Key Takeaways

Starting from Passion

Kaya's journey began in 2016 with a natural hair blog. Her initial goal was simple: to document her hair journey and help others with similar hair textures.

Expanding Horizons

Over the years, Kaya expanded her platform to include lifestyle and beauty content, attracting partnerships with renowned brands. Her evolution as a content creator showcases the power of diversifying your content.

Going Full-Time

In 2022, Kaya took the leap and transitioned into full-time content creation. This decision required confidence, strategic planning, and financial awareness.

Creating with Kaya

Kaya launched "Creating with Kaya" to empower aspiring content creators. She aims to demystify the industry, debunking misconceptions about glamor and million-dollar earnings.

Community and Collaboration

Building a supportive community of fellow creators has been vital in Kaya's journey. Collaborations, networking, and mutual support within the creator space have played pivotal roles.

Financial Transparency

Kaya emphasizes the importance of financial transparency. She openly shares her income and rates to educate others, breaking down taboos surrounding money discussions.

Email Outreach

Brands looking to collaborate should use email for initial contact. Personalized emails that demonstrate an understanding of the creator's content and audience stand out.

Mutually Beneficial Collaborations

For smaller brands with limited budgets, focus on creating mutually beneficial collaborations. Gift products without strings attached and encourage creators to provide honest feedback.

Avoiding Generic Approaches

Brands should avoid generic, impersonal messages when reaching out to creators. Show genuine interest in the creator's work and explain why collaboration makes sense.

Emphasizing Value

Understand the value creators bring to partnerships. Acknowledge the time and effort required to create content and offer fair compensation or meaningful incentives.

By following Kaya's journey and insights, aspiring content creators and small brands can gain valuable perspectives on building authentic collaborations and navigating the content creation landscape.



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transcript

[00:00:00] Danielle: Welcome back to the podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. I am so excited for my conversation today with Kaya, who is a Vancouver based content creator who began her journey back in 2016 with a natural hair blog, and she has since been able to expand her platform to include lifestyle and beauty content, which which has enabled her to partner with renowned.

[00:00:26] Danielle: and take her content creation full-time. In 2022, Kaya launched her second online presence creating with Kaya to help educate and empower aspiring content creators in an industry where transparency can be hard to come by. I absolutely love my conversation with Kaya. . Not only is she super fun, super down to earth, but I love her perspective on sharing what she's charging, sharing what's she's making, especially in the content creation space.

[00:00:56] Danielle: I think that is so important because it often [00:01:00] feels like the wild, wild west, right? You have no idea. What people are charging or what are normal rates, and this is something that Kaya is actually really passionate about, and I love our conversation. We talk about a lot of different things. We talk about community, we talk about building a brand, we talk about financial transparency.

[00:01:18] Danielle: We talk about her journey in going f. Full-time as a content creator. There are so many different points of this conversation that are gonna be really inspiring to you. So I can't wait for you to dive in, whether you are a business owner or you're a content creator, or maybe you're looking to work with content creators and you're curious to hear their perspective on the content creations.

[00:01:38] Danielle: Piece. I think this is gonna be such a valuable conversation for you. I'm also super excited to share that Kia is going to be one of our guest speakers at our Dream Big conference happening this Friday, March 10th. So if you have not grabbed your ticket yet, honestly run to our website. Grab your ticket.

[00:01:59] Danielle: It [00:02:00] is gonna be such an incredible day. We are gonna have inspiring speakers, panels, workshops throughout the day. We're also gonna. Food and wine and an after party DJ refreshments, it is gonna be such a party, so you do not wanna miss out. I think right now, as of recording this, we're about 80% sold out and we have very, very limited v i p spots left.

[00:02:23] Danielle: I think we maybe have like two tickets left for v I p. So if you want to join us, hurry up, grab your ticket, go to business babes collective.com. You'll see a button right in the middle there. You can go. Also, go to business babes collective.com/events and you'll see all of the information there. All about our amazing speakers, the timeline of the day.

[00:02:45] Danielle: All of those details are there, so go check it out, get your ticket, and I cannot wait to see you in person in just a couple of days. Alright, now let's get started with my conversation with Kaya. Welcome to the Business Babes [00:03:00] Collective Podcast. I'm your host, Danielle. We. In this podcast, you'll learn tangible business tips and strategies on how to grow successfully and sustainably.

[00:03:10] Danielle: We'll also interview seasoned entrepreneurs so you can listen in on their stories and see behind the scenes of what it took to grow and scale their businesses. Let's dive in as we discuss the wild, exciting, crazy challenging rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship. Hi Kia. Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to have you here.

[00:03:32] Kaya: Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to chat.

[00:03:35] Danielle: Awesome. So can you just share a little bit more about you, about your journey? How did you get into doing what you do today?

[00:03:44] Kaya: Absolutely. So I started as a natural hair blogger seven years ago this past January, and that could have started mostly just to document my own hair journey.

[00:03:55] Kaya: I was learning how to take care of and love my texture, and I thought that, you [00:04:00] know what, if I can share this online, maybe I could help. Like one other person. If there's one other person out there that has my hair texture and the my product reviews help them out, et cetera, then I've won . And it just grew over time into this incredible thing where all of a sudden brands started reaching out and they're like, do you wanna review this?

[00:04:22] Kaya: And be like, oh my goodness. And they were admittedly like very small brands at first. I felt really excited about too because as saw somebody wants me to review something, they wanna send me products for free. Like I don't have to spend money on products. What? But also I just really love community, so I loved the opportunity to be able to highlight a small brand and it felt like this just really cool.

[00:04:45] Kaya: Partnership, symbiotic relationship. And as time went on and I started to approach it a little bit more strategically and was like, oh, this could maybe be a business. There's people making a living off of this. I started to implement strategies, started [00:05:00] to talk about new categories and. More brands started reaching out.

[00:05:06] Kaya: People wanted to pay me, started asking my rates and I was like, oh shoot, what are my rates? I dunno. , low balled myself a few times. Learned a lot along the way, and fast forward to May of last year, I left my day job and actually finally had the confidence to take this full-time. And along that journey to not only expand it into like more like lifestyle and beauty skincare products, but.

[00:05:31] Kaya: Created this second brand Creating with Kaya to be able to help my fellow creators or aspiring creators to show them how they can maybe make a living too off of this. And to just really show the realistic side of being a content creator. Cause a lot of people think. Say that it's really glamorous, that it's this flashy job or you're jet setting all over and making millions, like I definitely don't make millions.

[00:05:57] Kaya: I make enough to pay my bills. And people also think [00:06:00] that you need to have hundreds of thousands of followers, if not millions of followers, to be able to make an impact and make a living. And I like to show people that's not the case. So that's how I've got to where I am now with both my. .

[00:06:15] Danielle: That's amazing.

[00:06:15] Danielle: I love that. I love that story because yeah, sometimes it just starts with this small idea of, okay, I wanna share my journey, or I wanna share this or that, and then it creates like, oh, okay, this is the next step and then this is the next step. And I love that you were able to start small with working with these smaller brands and then develop that over time.

[00:06:38] Danielle: And so I would love to hear, what was that? Transition period? Like where you, like before you left your job, did you think it was possible? Were you fo following other people that were doing it and being like, okay, that's gonna be me one day. What was your mindset around that before you jumped in full-time?

[00:06:56] Danielle: Yeah,

[00:06:57] Kaya: so the first, I always say like the first [00:07:00] three to four years I was making nothing. Mostly because I didn't have a very strong strategy and. Yeah, like I wasn't actively pitching brands or anything. I was just, people would reach out to me and be like, do you wanna try this for free? And I'd be like, yeah.

[00:07:14] Kaya: Okay. And as time went on, I remember I got my first ever brand deal and I think I, like I undercharged so much. I got paid $75 for multiple rounds of content that like, Should have been granted I had fewer followers and everything, but like it should have been more and yeah, they got a really good being like

[00:07:33] Kaya: Yeah, they definitely did. And I remember sitting there, I don't understand how people do it. There's no way possible this could be a full-time job like I would have to do and I would sit there and do the math and I was like, at this many gigs or deals at $75, I would have to do like thousands to be able.

[00:07:55] Kaya: Make my rent like tens of thousands. It just wasn't [00:08:00] feasible and it, I knew that there were people out there doing it, but I was just like, it's not even in the cards for me. And then I remember in 2020 I started to get some bigger brand deals. I started to, that's when I really started pivoting and saying, okay, this is a business.

[00:08:16] Kaya: It's going to make me money. At the very least, it's going to offset my business expenses because I pay for website hosting and all these software and everyth. So that's when I really. Shifted my mindset, and I give a lot of credit to that shift where I was like, is this gonna be a business? We're gonna make money somehow.

[00:08:34] Kaya: We're taking this into our own hands. We're gonna pitch brands, we're gonna make a media kit and all of that. And then from there it was really just learning how to negotiate, learning more about rates, learning how to get myself in front of more brands and. when it started to make more money, I was like, I kept doing those calculations, right?

[00:08:53] Kaya: Once I was charging a couple hundred for a gig, I was like, okay, now I need to do [00:09:00] only a few thousand. Like I kept trying to think like, how many brand deals would I have to do in a year to make this possible? And as I got better at all of those things, like all the negotiating and improving my content, growing my community, like that number got fewer and fewer and it was like, okay, maybe.

[00:09:17] Kaya: Maybe this could be a thing. , and I remember actually I had a pretty pivotal moment, I would say in 2021 where I got my first, I'm always so bad at numbers, but my first five figure deal for like several rounds of content. And I was like, who if I just. A few of these , like I cracked the code . Yeah, I think we did it.

[00:09:39] Kaya: And I remember it was like a September and I started actually talking to my husband and it was like we could, I could do this. I could replace my income and like we could maybe, yeah. Take this full-time. And by that point, by the end of 2021, I had made the equivalent of my day job in all the brand deals and.

[00:09:59] Kaya: Yeah, I [00:10:00] actually gave my boss like a six month notice, and so it was, yeah, the end of 2021 that I started having those conversations with work because I had a job, quite a lot of responsibility and I felt like I needed to give them time to ease them into my absence. But yeah, so that was the buildup to, to making that decision.

[00:10:20] Kaya: But it was lots of little calculations. But yeah, at first I did not think it was even

[00:10:25] Danielle: possible for me. Yeah. Isn't that interesting how sometimes when we start our businesses, when it comes to different, like pricing or whatever that looks like, we, we tend to think really small cuz that's all we can really imagine charging or we really have this.

[00:10:43] Danielle: Imposter syndrome of, oh, who am I? It'll charge these rates, or whatever that is. And then like you said, as you start to gradually understand your value and what you're bringing to the table, then you can start to actually figure out those numbers. And I, it's. So [00:11:00] funny that you say that cuz I, I feel like my brain is so similar where I have to, I have to get out a spreadsheet, I have to look at the numbers and be like, Hey, this is what I need to make this.

[00:11:09] Danielle: And I find it really fun actually to like work with the numbers and figure out what my goals are and actually break them down. And it's interesting because I feel like not. , everyone does that. It's just like they create a revenue goal, but they don't actually break it down to be like, okay, this is actually what I would need to do to make this happen.

[00:11:29] Danielle: So how important do you think that has been as far as, because you said at the beginning, like treating it like a business, and I am obviously not in that creator space, but do you find that a lot of people that follow you or you know, are consuming your content? Do they just assume that opportunities are gonna come their way and it's just gonna grow organically?

[00:11:54] Danielle: What do you find is Yeah, common in that space?

[00:11:59] Kaya: I definitely [00:12:00] think that's a common belief, and it's hard because I think it is also true to some extent. Like I feel really grateful where at the start of my journey, I was taking it into my own hands. I'm like, we're gonna start pitching, we're gonna start doing all these things.

[00:12:12] Kaya: But in that mindset, Shift and changing, like my work ethic and how I was showing up online opportunities should just start coming to me. And I'm now at the point where I haven't pitched in years, like all of my gigs have been inbound. And yeah, I don't have to think too much, and I actually do just trust that if something's getting a little tight, I'll just make sure I'm more consistent online and just laying down my foundation strongly.

[00:12:39] Kaya: But I'm just trusting. It's gonna work out, it's gonna PE people have my info, like it's out there, it's gonna come in. But the irony of that is that when you're starting, you can't really have that mindset. And I definitely see that a lot. Like a lot of the messages I get and when I do one-on-ones, the conversation is really [00:13:00] around how.

[00:13:01] Kaya: Like, how can I get those brand deals? Like what, they're not finding me like what's going on? And they're just, I'm here, so why aren't they coming to me? And I think it's because it's missing that extra piece of the laying of the foundation and all of the work so that. The brands can find you and really making sure that you have, that your page is a portfolio of all that you can do, that you're maybe creating content organically so that the brands can actually find you and see examples of what you can do.

[00:13:32] Kaya: And yeah, so I definitely. Think that people can get trapped in that, oh, it's just gonna come to me too early, . But if you lay the groundwork and do the work upfront and start pitching people in, especially in those early days, that's how you get on brands radars, so that in the future it will just come to you.

[00:13:52] Kaya: But yeah, I think people definitely

[00:13:54] Danielle: missed that first. I love that, and I think, I love what you said about it because I. . [00:14:00] I'm really passionate about really going for what you want. Mm-hmm. , I think a lot of people. Just hold themselves back because they are waiting for opportunities to come to them. And like you said, there will come a point where that will happen if you are consistent and if you are building a brand.

[00:14:17] Danielle: Right. But like you said at the ear on in those early days, or even if you're just like looking to get to that next level, sometimes you just have to put yourself out there. Like sometimes you just have to. Pitch and or make those connections or network and create those relationships because you never know where those can lead.

[00:14:35] Danielle: And I think an important thing of what you said, I, I always think of building momentum in your business and then you start to really track those right opportunities by putting yourself in the right, you know, positioning, but then also, yeah, pitching yourself, creating those relationships. And then as you start to do that, it becomes this.

[00:14:57] Danielle: This mo momentum and this [00:15:00] snowball effect where just more opportunities start to come to you without you even trying for them. So I really love what you said about that. Exactly. Yeah. Cause I think it's it like the beginning phases or even if maybe you have created that momentum in the past and then.

[00:15:15] Danielle: and then maybe that momentum has gone. And I think it's like getting yourself back into that place because it's so much easier when you do have that momentum to be able to make things happen because people start seeing you in places and PE people start referring you, and I'm sure like you, I know you have relationships with other creators that have.

[00:15:35] Danielle: Supported your brand as well and networking and all of that. So I would love for you to speak to that a little bit. What has been the value of connection, community building relationships in your space?

[00:15:46] Kaya: Everything I actually , this is like one of my favorite things to talk about because. A, I think social media people quickly forget that it's social still.

[00:15:57] Kaya: And I think people show up online and they're like, [00:16:00] nobody's following me. The brands aren't coming. But it's, have you been engaging with other people and seeking out your community? But I credit a lot to. Community both in the digital space and now I feel really grateful to have connected with other creators in person.

[00:16:15] Kaya: But I always like to talk about how I started as a natural hair blogger. So my audience was primarily black women, which especially when I started seven years ago, there were not many of in Vancouver. So a lot of my connections were out east or in the states and. Those relationships saved me and supported me, and I was able to befriend people on Instagram like very organically through supporting each other's content to the point where if I needed to bounce a contract off somebody or my rates off somebody, I had that community to go to.

[00:16:53] Kaya: And we, honestly, I, most of the times that I made significant jumps in my rates were, because my friends were [00:17:00] like, girl, no. You need, you're charging too low. Stick with the times. No, you're worth. And that is what helped elevate me. And I try my best to do that for others in my community as well. So that was incredible.

[00:17:12] Kaya: And I've had speaking opportunities, panel opportunities, all sorts of things because I have friends that have thought of me and have put my name forward. or they've been working on a really cool project and their boss needs something for somebody. And I fit the description of what they needed. And yeah, like I try absolutely to pay that forward, any back and forward anytime I possibly can.

[00:17:37] Kaya: And it's probably only in the past couple years that I feel like I've really found my community here. And I think that's been also because I've branched out in. Topics and my niches, and I have friends in the creator space that don't create the same type of content I do, but we click and we're in the same industry.

[00:17:58] Kaya: And we [00:18:00] understand. And I think that's also another power of networking. I think a lot of people are like, oh, I gotta connect with either the people who I know are gonna hire me or the people who are in my niche and industry. But that's not it. It's in a, in expanding your web of connections where it's like you.

[00:18:18] Kaya: Be friends with somebody or network with somebody, connect with somebody in a completely different niche, like maybe adjacent to your industry and you never know what will come up from it down the line, or what kind of like moral support or insights they can give you into your business. Like it's all in the community and I'm so grateful for mine.

[00:18:35] Danielle: Yeah, that's so important and I just wanna pause there for a second because I agree so much. I think that you just never know who. who you meet, who they know , and like what opportunities can come from just being a good person, which is like being kind. Yes. Being, being warm, having conversations, getting to know [00:19:00] people.

[00:19:00] Danielle: You just never know what opportunities can spark from that. And I think it's just so important to just keep. because I think there's, I always like to talk about how there's the strategy of things of, okay, this is like the strategy of what we're doing and everything like that. But then at the same time, it's okay holding onto those values that you have as a person, as a human being, being easy to talk to and like friendly and all of those things.

[00:19:25] Danielle: Cuz those things go really hand in hand. And I think sometimes people can forget one or the other so they can forget like the strategy of, okay. I need to be doing these specific things in order to move my business forward. They just, like we were talking about at the beginning, they just assume that everything's gonna come to them, but then there's the other side of it of just showing up and.

[00:19:46] Danielle: Putting yourself out there going, maybe going to events or going, putting yourself in opportunities where you're gonna meet people and then just make friends and build connections and network. And I think that's so key. And I love that you said [00:20:00] that the times where you've been able to like make big jumps in your business have been when other people have said, oh you need to raise your rates.

[00:20:07] Danielle: Or like encouraging you in that way, , and that's what community is for really. And it's, Hey, how can we support each other? How can. Help each other up level so that we're all winning together. And I love that collaboration piece. And I would love for to hear your perspective because I'm super passionate about community and connection, like over.

[00:20:31] Danielle: Thinking of other people as competition or, oh, if she gets that opportunity, then it, there's not gonna be enough for me. And there, I think that's a really limited mindset. How have you been able to walk through that in, in your journey? Yeah.

[00:20:42] Kaya: On the comparison front, I, that's something that I feel like I struggle to with, to this day and I've tried to be very open with that online.

[00:20:50] Kaya: And I, a lot of that comparison definitely comes from what you say, where it's. They're further along in their journey or they maybe have more [00:21:00] opportunities or they're growing fast or whatever it may be. And that comparison definitely sets in. And I often say I that it. The comparison gets harder to manage the longer you've been in it because now you have more things in common with people, like when you're just starting, I feel like it's just all inspiration and as you continue, you're like, well, I've been added a year and they've been added a year, and they are further along, or I have this many followers and they have this many followers and.

[00:21:28] Kaya: They're getting way more opportunities or whatever it may be. And I think it, it's a very hard thing to, to navigate. Like totally. I feel like I'm still navigating it. Signing off of social media and not like doom scrolling is definitely helpful. But all that being said, I've still always maintained that community aspect and that uplifting of other people and I feel really, Grateful, which I say a lot, I'm just so grateful for so much.

[00:21:55] Kaya: But all through my life and all through my journey, whether it was in this content creation space or [00:22:00] not, I've had a lot of people who have supported me poured into me and so I've always really maintained that like I need to do that for others. Like it's just been a no-brainer. And that's why it's funny because I talk a lot about like my income.

[00:22:14] Kaya: I'm very transparent with my income online. I am very transparent with like how this world works. I'm. Transparent with helping other people. And it's funny cuz I, it's something that just makes sense to me. It's of course like why would I not share this information to help other people? And or I'll get featured in like articles where it's like, Kia's radical transparency is changing the game.

[00:22:36] Kaya: Or like, I'm like, I'm what? Radical transparency. Like I wasn't trying to start a movement, I'm just being honest here. . Yeah, exactly. And I also believe, especially as a woman of color, like it's that. I believe that in like walking through a door and like doing a really good job and showing that like I can make it, I [00:23:00] can pull the door open for more people to come through.

[00:23:02] Kaya: And I truly believe that if we are very protective of this space and competitive, we're actually holding everyone back. , like on the topic of pay transparency, if nobody's talking about money, then we are allowing like these. Pay divides to continue and people can get low balled because nobody's actually talking about how much they make, especially if they're not talking about how much they make.

[00:23:29] Kaya: Cause they're afraid other people are gonna make money too. So it just keeps everybody down and yeah, I think like it, it's just so important, even from the, if you wanna be selfish about it, it's still important because if. So if fewer people are getting opportunities and fewer people are like succeeding in this space, then it's actually going to be harder for you as an individual in the long run.

[00:23:53] Kaya: So yeah, I think we

[00:23:54] Danielle: just got, that's such a good point. Oh yeah. For everybody. I love that. I love that so much. I think that's so key. [00:24:00] And I think too, it's. Not being afraid to talk about money too. I think there's just such a weird thing, and I don't know if it's, I feel like it is with a lot with women.

[00:24:11] Danielle: People just feel so uncomfortable talking about money. Mm-hmm. , or talking about what they charge or, and comes from a lot of different things. Maybe it's like the way we grew up or maybe it is. , honestly, like I, I think about just like small comments maybe people have made in the past that just need to be in your brain, and it's just this thought of, is it okay for me to charge this?

[00:24:34] Danielle: It's like this question that comes up. Yeah. Again and again. And I think it really is like a mindset thing, and the transparency is super helpful because then it just becomes something that we can openly share about and openly talk about as, it's funny how people still don't understand, like in order to run a business, You need to make money, like you need to charge

[00:24:56] Danielle: It's okay how, like how does this not [00:25:00] make sense to people? But for some reason there's still that gap. And so yeah. I would love to also ask you, because I know there's a lot of people. Who have smaller brands who are interested in working with content creators and interested in partnering. And so I would love to hear your perspective on what does that look like, and also if a brand, especially if it's a new brand, because I know like a lot of content creators, obviously they wanna work with those bigger brands, which totally under makes sense.

[00:25:31] Danielle: They have the bigger budgets, all of that. But if it's a smaller brand, how do they stand out so that it's, Hey, we're a smaller brand, but we love what you're doing. Like how do they stand out if it, whether it be pitching you in an email, like what is your preferred method? First of all, I would love to hear that.

[00:25:46] Danielle: But then also, how would they grab your attention to even start that conversation with. Absolutely.

[00:25:52] Kaya: So email first and foremost, like I feel really bad because I know a lot of people slide into the dms and. [00:26:00] A, if I, if you're not already on my radar, you end up like the way Instagram works is you end up in that requested folder, which is full of a lot of scams and just it's crazy in there so it doesn't get checked too often and like best.

[00:26:15] Kaya: Case scenario, if it's going to the main part of the dms, it's still chaos. So I always say if you want to start a conversation, like definitely email and myself and like most creators who do this as a business, even if it's part-time or even if they're just getting started, like it's very common to have our emails and our bio because we know that's we're brands are gonna head to find more information about us.

[00:26:38] Kaya: And I think the, like the emails that really stand out, because I. There's an interesting camp of conversation around this because yes, content creators, were trying to make money, we have bills to pay, and I also recognize like small businesses might not have a big marketing budget, so there's a lot of this conversation of you should still be trying to pay content creators cuz that's technically paying for marketing.

[00:26:58] Kaya: Can you gift like, [00:27:00] there's definitely a whole conversation around that. But I would say the emails that Gab grab my attention are definitely ones where it shows they've done their research on me. So whether that's including. Tidbits of what they think my in, or, sorry, what they think my audience would be interested in, why they think I would like their products, like where they think we align, whether it's in values or like the topics we talk about.

[00:27:26] Kaya: If, it's usually an email that's just, Hey, comfy girl curls, like doesn't even use my name. And it's, we love what you do. Would you like to promote our product? That's gonna

[00:27:35] Danielle: get, we're exhausted, totally delete

[00:27:36] Kaya: really quick. And it does, I feel really bad. It's just, sorry, I, you didn't take the time. Find my name.

[00:27:43] Kaya: Like I, I just think you're a scam. Cause a lot of people do. Yeah. Like those automated like batch. Mass email. So it's, if it's not personalized, first and foremost, it's a no. And then I would really look again, depending how early you are and you're starting out, do you have a budget for marketing? And if you don't, [00:28:00] I think the best way is to just try to make it as mutually beneficial as possible.

[00:28:04] Kaya: And be honest too, with the value you're providing, because it takes, again, creator time and energy to create their content. But if you're like, oh, we're gonna give you this one product that's worth like 20. Like it's not, it doesn't really make sense. I always advise small businesses to really look at the gifting without strengths attached and just say, Hey, we would really just love for you to try this, and if you have time, give us feedback on it.

[00:28:29] Kaya: And very often, creators, at the very least, will do an unboxing on their stories. And if it's a product that they end up falling in love with and is in their routine, they'll be using it. They'll wanna share it with your, their audience. We're not dumb either. We know that you're sending it to us because you're hoping for promot.

[00:28:45] Kaya: And if you do your research or find a creator that you feel like really aligns with your values and your ethics and everything, it's very likely that they will post about it eventually because we have guilt that weighs on us when we accept things for free and like we get it, we [00:29:00] get it. So I definitely advise people take that avenue if they don't have a large budget, but they do have some budget.

[00:29:05] Kaya: Definitely. Look at how. Compensate that creator or maybe send them more things or like whatever that may might look like and just recognize that they're a business as well.

[00:29:16] Danielle: Yeah, and I think it's like valuing other people's time, right? Mm-hmm. , I think if you can also, like you said, be honest and say, Hey, this is, this is what we're doing, or this is what I'm tr we're trying to create.

[00:29:28] Danielle: Would love to, and I love that you said no strings attached. If you promote it, great. If you. That's okay too. And just know that, I think it's also like realizing, okay, maybe if you send it to, let's say you send it to 10 creators, maybe six of them will promote it on their stories and then four of them won't.

[00:29:48] Danielle: And that's just your marketing bu like that is your marketing budget, right? Yeah, exactly. And so I think it's like looking at. Looking at that as not looking for something just totally for free, but what can you cre? How can you create [00:30:00] value? How can you create relationships and connections with someone as well?

[00:30:04] Danielle: Because that's also gonna give you a warmer intro to them later on if you've already gifted them to maybe when you do either do have the budget or have something that. You think that they would be a perfect fit for in the future? So I love that you shared that. Thank you so much. Because I think there's a lot of businesses who are like, how do I go about this?

[00:30:21] Danielle: And it's so funny that you say that because that's what I hear the most when I ask people about pitching. It's could you just have taken three seconds to look at my name , like just three seconds. And then also, yeah, research if you're pit, if you are going. The time and effort to pitch someone, make sure you're following them.

[00:30:41] Danielle: Make sure you've actually consumed some of their content and engage with them. And it's like meeting someone in real life. You wouldn't just go up to someone and address you as your handle and say, Hey, can you promote my product? Sound

[00:30:56] Kaya: be totally weird. . So it's the [00:31:00] human.

[00:31:00] Danielle: Be kind, be generous. I love, I love that.

[00:31:03] Danielle: That's so great. Okay. This has been such a great conversation and I am super excited to continue the conversation. We are so excited to have Kaya a part of our dream big conference this Friday, which is so exciting. So we can't wait. It's gonna be such a fun event. So if you have not grabbed your ticket yet, would love to have you join us and can you share with.

[00:31:25] Danielle: like you've been able to accomplish a lot and you've been able to leave your job. It's so exciting. What are you most proud of your journey, your entrepreneurial journey so far?

[00:31:36] Kaya: Ooh. I feel like I just got like goosebumps cause I was like, oh no. Okay. . I would say . I honestly, it's so cheesy, but I feel like I am most proud of the community I've built and also to have been able to do things exactly like this conference.

[00:31:55] Kaya: Where I get to actually take it out of the digital and [00:32:00] into the real world. And yeah, every time I get invited to a podcast or speaking events, I just glow inside. And I would say that's probably like what I've been most proud of, where people for some crazy reason actually want to hear what I have to say.

[00:32:15] Kaya: And it's not just like a mindless follow on social media, it's people actually wanting to connect in real life and. I would not trade that part of it for the. Oh, thank

[00:32:27] Danielle: you so much for sharing that. That's so beautiful. Where can people find you? Where can people connect with you, follow you? Start that conversation maybe to partner with you?

[00:32:37] Danielle: What does that look like? So tell us all the places that we can find you.

[00:32:41] Kaya: Absolutely. I am way too many places on the internet , but if you want to find me for my hair, beauty, lifestyle, see what I'm up to there, or partner with me in that capacity, find me at Comfy Girl Curls. Literally any platform. Choose it.

[00:32:57] Kaya: I have a a blog and if you wanna hear more [00:33:00] about the content creating side, Behind the business talking about rate setting and I feel like it's also very valuable for business owners to see the behind the scenes creating with Kia on TikTok and YouTube and my blog creating with kia.com. So

[00:33:15] Danielle: good. Thank you for being here.

[00:33:16] Danielle: Thank you so much for your time and I'm super excited to see you in person

[00:33:21] Kaya: this Friday. Thank you for having me. So. Gonna be a great time.

[00:33:28] Danielle: If you love this episode, make sure you screenshot, post and tag us on Instagram at business babes co. Want to know when the next episode goes live? Subscribe on your podcast app and while you're there, leave us a review. Until next time, keep dreaming big, setting goals and taking

[00:33:45] Kaya: action.

Danielle Wiebe