Sindiya Naik (@sindiyanaik04) is a teacher who also creates content on social media in her free time. What started as a hobby soon turned into a way for her to share her love for fashion while earning extra income. In this interview, she talks about how she began, how she manages her time between teaching and content creation, and what she has learnt along the way.
The start
When I first started posting on Instagram, my account was private, and only people I knew followed me. Later, I made my account public, and I noticed that my followers were increasing whenever I posted. I then began curating my posts to reflect my interest in fashion, and the more I posted, the faster my followers grew.
At that time, I had not thought about brand collaborations or earning from Instagram. But as my followers increased, I started receiving requests for brand collaborations, which became a good source of income while allowing me to follow my passion for fashion.
I realised I needed to learn skills required for this work, so I taught myself how to shoot, edit, script, and plan my content. My brother, who is a professional cinematographer, also helped me learn many things along the way.
Family support
Everyone in my family works in the education field, so they encouraged me to try something different. Since I had an interest in fashion, they supported me in exploring it as a career, which led me to posting on Instagram and gaining recognition.
Expansion
As I gained more followers and brand collaborations, I started covering other types of content like travel, food, and stays, in addition to fashion. I realised these areas link well with fashion and complement the content I already create.
Challenges
There are no specific challenges with content creation itself, but managing time is difficult since I also have a full-time teaching job. I focus on teaching during the week and dedicate weekends to shoots. On weekdays, I spend 2-3 hours after work editing and scripting content. Both my weekdays and weekends are busy, but since I enjoy content creation, I do not mind the effort it takes to balance the two.
Efforts to be unique
I try to explore lesser-known places to showcase to my followers, even for brand collaborations, so they have something new to see. Often, I ask my family for suggestions on unique places I can feature.
Future plans
I plan to continue content creation while balancing it with my teaching job. I may take a break when needed to refresh my mind, but I want to keep creating content.
Advice to newcomersI would like to tell newcomers to always verify the brands or individuals who approach them for collaborations. Sometimes, fake people may contact you, leading to wasted time and effort.
Social media is a great place to share your talents and interests. If you are passionate about something, consider sharing it online to inspire others. However, do not get stressed about numbers or growth on social media. Many people get caught up in gaining more followers and end up ignoring their family and personal life. It is important to maintain a balance between your personal life and social media journey.
