Claire Goldsworthy
Claire Goldsworthy is the Founder and Positive Change Maker at The Fashion Advocate and The Moral Manual.
“After working in the fashion industry for over a decade nationally and abroad in various roles from fashion design and manufacturing, sales, management, marketing, public relations and consulting, I culminated my career as an ethical and sustainable business advocate at the helms of The Fashion Advocate.
I am dedicated to changing the fashion industry for the better, working towards an equal future for the millions of women who work in it and I am passionate about reducing the environmental impact of fashion.
I am an advocate for positive social and environmental change, and I believe global standards for fair and ethical fashion industry wages are achievable. How? I can't answer that yet, but I'm working on it!
I've also recently launched another business, The Moral Manual, to help equip ethical and sustainable business founders with the skills and resources they need to increase profit through their purpose-driven businesses. The Moral Manual is a little black book for conscious founders who want to use their businesses as a force for good and change the world. Through The Moral Manual's online resources, I share my strategies to help build social enterprises and purpose-driven businesses to six+ figures.”
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Transcript
Danielle (Scrunch) (00:10):
Claire, thank you so much for being here on the Scrunch Creator Economy Show. It's so lovely to have you.
Claire Goldsworthy (00:17):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.
Danielle (Scrunch) (00:20):
I'm so excited. We said this before we hit record, but we are long overdue a catch, so I was absolutely stoked when you booked in cuz I can't wait to hear everything that's been going on. And maybe that's a good place to start. So let's give some context to everyone dialing in as to how we got here <laugh>. So was there a career, I know you all the way back in the influencer now we're calling them content created days, but now you're a fully fledged business owner. So talk us through that journey.
Claire Goldsworthy (00:55):
Whew. Okay. Going way back so I had my own label, my own fashion label, straight Outta school. I was 18, I launched that. And that was kind of my first foray into the fashion industry. So I was making it myself. I was doing runways, all the product, photography, everything. So I really got to experience every side of the business, the marketing, everything. Influences weren't really a thing back then though. But it was a really interesting experience and I loved it. And so I had my label and then I got a scholarship to travel and work overseas. So I packed up and I went and worked for other fashion brands in Berlin and London. I did one fashion week. It was amazing. Oh
Danielle (Scrunch) (01:38):
My God. Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (01:41):
And I started writing then, so I launched, I launched the fashion advocate under a different name, which I don't know that I wanna share,
Danielle (Scrunch) (01:51):
But oh my God, you have to now
Claire Goldsworthy (01:53):
<Laugh> horrendous now that I think about it. It was called the Sheik Visionaire.
Danielle (Scrunch) (02:00):
I love that so much.
Claire Goldsworthy (02:02):
<Laugh>. cause you know, it was like this, I have this vision for, you know, fashion. And so I changed that quite quickly. But you
Danielle (Scrunch) (02:11):
Know what? If you're not embarrassed by the first thing you put out, you have not put it out soon.
Claire Goldsworthy (02:15):
Yeah. Have you really?
Danielle (Scrunch) (02:16):
That's, that's how the saying goes. Yeah. I love it.
Claire Goldsworthy (02:18):
Yeah, totally. But yeah, so I, I started sort of writing under, under that name and, and launched the Instagram account in 2014. And I was just sort of, you know, blogging and writing and Instagramming my, my travels and everything to do with fashion. And then it came time to move home. So I came home and moved to Melbourne. And I'd also worked out that there was not really a place for ethical and sustainable labels online. So I continued my influencing staff, but I also launched the Fashion Advocate as an online store. And as that grew, I then sort of grew out the blog. So then I guess content creation just became Yeah. A whole thing. So it was Instagram and the blog and running the store. And then fast forward to today it's, yeah, it's a pretty big business. It's one of the biggest in Australia for ethical and sustainable fashion labels, and I'm so proud of it.
Danielle (Scrunch) (03:15):
You should be. It's amazing.
Claire Goldsworthy (03:16):
Thank you. Not without a few gray hairs. I mean, it has been, you know, a love, a labor of love, but such a beautiful community. And I get to work with some incredible brands. I get to work with influencers as well, so I kind of do both sides of the coin, which is a lot of fun. Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (03:35):
And I've just recently launched a second business as well. It's called The Moral Manual, and it's all about mentoring. Oh, cool. Coaching, ethical and sustainable businesses on their growth as well, and how to work with influencers as well.
Danielle (Scrunch) (03:47):
Oh my God, that's incredible. I love that you have both perspectives on things because I feel like sometimes there's a little bit of a divide between influencers or content creators and brands and you know, I think there does need to be at some point a bit of a collision course in terms of, you know, both sides, understanding each other's values and kind of lifting each other up. So I'm super excited to explore that. But yeah, so tell me, how did you, you know, decide to take the leap from, you know, content creator to business extraordinaire, <laugh>? You know, obviously you were super passionate about the ethical fashion space. Was it just seeing the gap in the market or what sparked that?
Claire Goldsworthy (04:33):
Yeah, there was a really big gap in the market. So you know, ethical and sustainable brands were coming to me for content mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, and I was also constantly on the lookout for sustainable brands that I wanted to wear. And it was always trying to, you know, sleuth online. There wasn't, there just wasn't a central place for it all. And that's, I guess that's where the idea came from. I wanted to make it easy for other people like me Yeah. Who put my values and didn't wanna spend a whole ton of time researching and just wanted to be able to find everything in one place. So and I mean, when I launched the shop side of it, I, I, I constantly went back and forth, you know, is it a shop? Am I an influencer? Like, and I sort of, I put so much pressure on myself in the beginning to be one or the other, but at the end of the day, I love doing both. Yeah. And so I've just continued to do both and it just has kind of worked. You know, I, I work with brands who aren't stopped on the store and then I have brands on the store that I don't necessarily do campaigns for, but I don't know what works.
Danielle (Scrunch) (05:40):
That's so good. And I love the idea that you can choose, you can, it's literally you're the boss, right? So you get, you get to choose whether you do a sponsored post, a campaign more ambassador influencer role, or you know, have them in your business. I think that's amazing that you actually get get to design the whole thing.
Claire Goldsworthy (05:59):
Yeah. I think that for me, I've always been really passionate about trying to create the kind of life and create the kind of work that I wanna do. I mean, we all, at the end of the day, there are things we all have to do that we don't like doing. You know, accounting on Mondays and all that kind of stuff. There are, there are
Danielle (Scrunch) (06:17):
<Laugh>,
Claire Goldsworthy (06:17):
Right. But I don't know, I also am a big believer that if you want to shape a certain life, you can. So I just, yeah, I've, I've always been really passionate about yeah. Trying to create that kind of workflow that works for me and that makes me happy because if it doesn't make you happy, why do it?
Danielle (Scrunch) (06:33):
Yeah, exactly. I love that so much. So then talk to me about the difference between the two. So, you know, I think a lot of creators kind of have their heads around a sponsored post, you know, of Brandi either contacts them or they're out there pitching. But I'm super interested in how creators can actually take the leap into their own products and services, because I kind of think that that's the missing link between designing the life that you want to lead. I do feel like it gives you a lot more control over your destiny versus, you know, constantly pitching brands for work. What's the mindset shift that you kind of had to go through to go from sponsored posts to, okay, everything's my, in my control, I need to grow this business, I need to get sales, I need to build it. You know, how did you manage that?
Claire Goldsworthy (07:27):
Yeah, I think it comes down to, maybe there's, for me anyway, maybe it was a, a personal personal worth kind of shift, I guess. Because as a content creator, you are constantly trying to sell yourself and your content to brands or brands are coming to you. And I mean it's, the industry's not regulated, so there's still a lot of chewing and froing about, you know, price point and all that kind of stuff. And I guess you kind of get to a point where it's like, I know what I'm offering is really valuable. I know my position in the industry, I know I'm a great content creator. I know I can write the pants off a newspaper. Like I'm really good at that kind of stuff. It's my turn to now turn that into something that is for me. So I'm not yeah. Negotiating rates. I'm not underselling myself. I'm not, you know, having to give more than the time that's being paid for. So, and, and there's such a massive opportunity there. I mean, you think about like Kim Kardashian who was in that influencing space and then she brings out a brand and that brand goes gangbusters.
Danielle (Scrunch) (08:34):
Exactly, yes.
Claire Goldsworthy (08:35):
It's, it's huge. It's a huge opportunity for, for content creators to, yeah. Like you said before, create their own destiny when they go from just content creation to content creation plus personal brand.
Danielle (Scrunch) (08:47):
Yeah. That's awesome. So I as a business owner, I feel like there's many challenges that we go through <laugh>. Have you had any challenges over, you know, the course of growing your business?
Claire Goldsworthy (09:00):
How long have we got, have we got some
Danielle (Scrunch) (09:02):
Time? We need a bottle of wine. Stop <laugh>
Claire Goldsworthy (09:05):
A bottle. Have you got a case of wine
Danielle (Scrunch) (09:08):
<Laugh>?
Claire Goldsworthy (09:10):
Yeah, man challenges all the time. If we didn't have challenges, you know, like ch challenges a part of it and I think you go through these challenges and they make you stronger. But can I pinpoint any one particular challenge story to share? I don't know, I guess you just learn through it as well. I mean, I did, I learned through it as I went. Again, cuz you know, there was no like, you need to agree or course, but for influencer and content creator, there's a lot of good stuff now. But challenges in, I guess running a bus business, it's just, yeah, it's,
Danielle (Scrunch) (09:45):
It's almost the everything, isn't it? It's everything. <Laugh>. It's really funny that you say that. Well, cuz it's like, I remember when Covid hit, everyone was like, oh my God, this is rah. And I'm like, this is just another day. Like there is always a problem as a business owner. Like literally every day there's a new problem. So it's like you really have to get good at solving problems and being super okay that everything's figure outable <laugh>.
Claire Goldsworthy (10:08):
Yeah, totally. And that's, that's the best attitude to have I think instead of when challenges happen. Actually, here's a really good one. So before Covid I had, I had two shops. I had one in Bo Morrison, one in Hampton. And before we secured the lease for the Hampton shot of shop, I found a shop in Brighton and I was head over heels for this shop. Like I just was wholeheartedly like wanted every part of my being wanted this shop. I fought tooth and nail for it, you know, negotiating with landlords, really hectic stuff. And we'd had that many meetings that I was like, yep, we're there. We're in, this is great, we've got it. And then just outta the blue, I mean he got a better offer from someone else. I get this note, it's not gonna happen anymore. And you know, all that committed everything.
Danielle (Scrunch) (10:58):
Wow.
Claire Goldsworthy (10:59):
And so just like that, I, I, you know, had a shop and then didn't have a shop and I went home and that night I had a bath and took a bottle of wine into the bath.
Danielle (Scrunch) (11:10):
<Laugh>. Yes.
Claire Goldsworthy (11:10):
And put on, yeah. Fixes everything. Not condoning, you know, if you don't drink,
Danielle (Scrunch) (11:17):
No, absolutely respond. Well be responsible please people
Claire Goldsworthy (11:20):
<Laugh>, I could have gone home and done three hours of yoga and I'm sure I would've had the same outcome, but I didn't. I crawled into a bath with a bottle of wine and just like cried and cried and cried and cried. And then I got up the next day and I was like, okay, there's a reason why I didn't get this shot. There's a reason why this didn't work out. It's not flowing. Like we've come to a halt and you just kind of have to reframe the negative things and the challenges in business. And like you said, it's, you've just gotta approach it. Like everything is figure out figure outable because if you let the challenges get you down and you're in business, man you will just be a mess because the challenges are constant. You do, you just have to face everyone and learn ways around it and pick yourself up and dust yourself off and keep going.
Danielle (Scrunch) (12:12):
Yeah, that's so true. That's literally, if you can have that attitude towards, well not only business but life as well, I think that you're just so much better set up to manage the, the rollercoaster of emotions <laugh> that goes with it.
Claire Goldsworthy (12:27):
Yeah, absolutely. So
Danielle (Scrunch) (12:30):
What's your experience been like since you're on both sides on the influencing side and the brand side? What's your experience been like that maybe has been a little bit more eye-opening, working with other influencers? Have you kind of, I don't know, I guess had an approach to the way you handled things and then worked with other people and gone That's interesting. <Laugh>.
Claire Goldsworthy (12:51):
Yeah, absolutely. I won't know na name names, but we recently wanted to go into an influencer campaign actually two years ago with someone who's quite big over a million followers. Probably a name that most people would know. And so just approach them in the normal sense. You know, we've got a product, how do you work? What's the deal? And they were being handled by an agency. So the agency came back, these are the rates this is how it works. And so me being the analytical person, I wanna know that if I'm gonna put $10,000 into one post, that the return is gonna be there. You know, cause you, there's this's two different one, you know, sometimes you can't quantify brand exposure. Yeah. But you also wanna be able to quantify sales.
Danielle (Scrunch) (13:39):
Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (13:40):
Anyway, so I went back to them and said, great, you know, I'm prepared to toy with this idea, but can you show me some past campaign results with similar brands? I wanna know what the sell through rate is. Like what kind of following can you know, I expect blah, blah blah. And they just came back and said, sorry, we can't share those details. And so I was really surprised because as a brand, you wanna be going into these things knowing what you're going into.
Danielle (Scrunch) (14:10):
Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (14:10):
You know, you don't buy a house without doing an inspection. You totally, yeah. You wanna be going into them with a full understanding of what the return on, on investment is and the expectations. And so that really surprised me. So coming from that sort of angle, when people don't or can't give that kind of information, sometimes it's a red flag. Yeah. maybe they are over promising and under-delivering. I don't know, maybe they just don't follow up their campaigns with results. Who knows? But yeah, that
Danielle (Scrunch) (14:44):
Interesting though too. Like when you think of people at that level and the fact that they have essentially a business manager, like that's, that's a loss of 10,000 plus dollars for that influencer because that business manager hasn't then Yeah. Followed up, got case studies and been able to provide that level of information to new brands.
Claire Goldsworthy (15:05):
Absolutely. And so for anyone, if they are a business manager in that situation, you're right. It was a lost opportunity and you would, you'd go away and you go, okay, give me a week. I'm just gonna go gather all that for you and go get it. Because if I've asked for it, I bet someone else has asked for it or someone else will in the future. So having that kind of information on hand is really important.
Danielle (Scrunch) (15:26):
Yeah, absolutely. That's really interesting. Okay, cool. So any so of good experiences that you've had with influencers, have you got any tips for brands running an influencer campaign? So maybe they haven't dipped their toes in the water yet and they're going, oh my God, what do I even do? Where do I even start? Do you have any tips for making a successful influencer campaign?
Claire Goldsworthy (15:53):
Yes. relationship, relationship, relationship. It's all about relationship. I've had a ton of positive experience with influencers. Maybe because I approach it in a particular way, but also I guess I try and build relationships with people first before I just go, Hey, can you flog my product? You know, like there's a bit of, there's a bit of homework and and groundwork you need to do.
Danielle (Scrunch) (16:16):
Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (16:17):
You can throw money at someone and they can do a post, but it's not gonna be authentic and it's probably not gonna land with their audience. Cuz people can see through that now as well. Yeah. That's the thing to remember. But yeah, in terms of approaching these kind of campaigns and projects in a, in a positive way, you just wanna make sure the relationship's there. Mm. so as a, as an example, I recently worked with there's a linen brand called Boomi. They're an Australian brand, dunno if you know them. And or not recently, quite a few months ago. But it was a really successful campaign and a really positive experience for both of us. So it's not just about sales as well. Cause you wanna create long-term relationships with people, right. So that the business is repetitive. And it just, it landed really well and it worked out really well because I had such a personal story to tell with linen mm-hmm. <Affirmative>.
(17:18):
And so it wasn't just about, hey, here's a pretty sheet by these sheets from his brand. Yeah. It was me sharing a personal story about how when we were kids, my mom used to let us choose the duna cover and the linen that we wanted. And it was a really special experience for us getting to, you know, go and choose. And, and she was a linen nut as well. So I had this really personal story to share. And then as an adult, if you work as hard as I do, you know, how valuable sleep is. So like, like getting into bed is an experience. You get into that, you know, that feeling, you know, the feeling of great linen. And so I kind of rolled up this whole personal experience and shared that through the campaign. And they've gone on to sell tens of thousands of dollars worth of linen and they sold out at this colorway and people are asking for it back. And it was really positive because it was a, it was an experience story sharing thing. It wasn't just a, you know, a a meaningless post. And so I think if you're looking for a, a positive experience from both sides as a brand, as the marketer, as the influencer, it's all about being authentic and sharing that personal story.
Danielle (Scrunch) (18:27):
Yeah. And I guess you don't get to that personal story unless you do take the time to build the relationship. Like you started that with, you know, it's like you can absolutely, as you said, send an influencer some money, send them a brief, but if you're not actually invested in understanding why they might be a good fit and taking that time to have a conversation, then you miss out on that really good staff.
Claire Goldsworthy (18:51):
Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. And it's about shared values too. I mean, they're an ethical and sustainable brand and obviously I'm a ethical and sustainable influencer, so there were a lot of shared values in that too. So yeah, just, just that, that relationship building makes and the, and the research like put the effort in, you know, if you want, if you want a good outcome, you gotta do the input.
Danielle (Scrunch) (19:11):
Oh my God. That's just true of everything in life, isn't it?
Claire Goldsworthy (19:15):
<Laugh>. <laugh>.
Danielle (Scrunch) (19:16):
Oh my god. Well, I mean, it's interesting though cuz people like, you know, back in the day kind of poo-pooed influencer marketing a little bit, but I'm like, it's people's full-time job now, <affirmative>. Like, it's not a quick thing, you know, when you consider the research, the relationship building, the stats, gathering, the briefing, the sending of products, the following up, the content creation, the reporting. Like it's not just a quick fix, you know?
Claire Goldsworthy (19:42):
Hmm. Absolutely. And it's funny how it has changed. You'd probably know the, what is it? Billions of dollars. You'd know it more than I do what the, what the industry is worth. It is, it's
Danielle (Scrunch) (19:52):
Like a hundred. So it's currently like a hundred billion dollars and they reckon it's gonna be like a trillion dollars in the coming years. Like it's Wow. Going crazy.
Claire Goldsworthy (20:01):
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And maybe that's because now people on social media are, I don't know, they're still looking. They're looking for that personal, you know, referral of products rather than old school, you know, billboards and they still have a place, but it's, yeah, it's very different now in product marketing. But yeah, it's changed. I remember when I sort of first started out and, and it was, you know, blogger at that point. Yes. <laugh> people, you know, the way that people used to kind of like blogger, you know, like
Danielle (Scrunch) (20:30):
Totally. Yeah. You
Claire Goldsworthy (20:32):
Know, or you, so you get free
Danielle (Scrunch) (20:33):
Aga back in the day and I, you know, look back on those times very fondly,
Claire Goldsworthy (20:38):
<Laugh>. Oh yeah. But the way that sort of people's perception of what, you know, what we did. What
Danielle (Scrunch) (20:43):
You did. Yeah, totally.
Claire Goldsworthy (20:45):
Yeah. And, and now it's not, not as bad now, but I did go to a really, really big media conference in Sydney, I don't know, maybe three or four years ago, and there was a, an entire section on just new age media and they, in front of, you know, the crowd would've been like 500, 600 people. They poo-pooed influences. And I think because there's definitely a handful of influencers who create a negative connotation of the work that we do. Mm-Hmm. But there's that in every industry. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it is. I mean, we bring value to brands, you know, there's, it's, it's important work that influencers do.
Danielle (Scrunch) (21:24):
Totally. And I think that exactly what you said. So a, there are some people that give influences a bad name, but also think the challenge influencer marketing is because of the competition between influencers and the media. The media can kind of write these articles that do put influences down, which just perpetuates the negative story.
Claire Goldsworthy (21:45):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Danielle (Scrunch) (21:47):
Does the industry zero favors
Claire Goldsworthy (21:49):
No good. Yeah. Yeah.
Danielle (Scrunch) (21:51):
I know. Like, it's literally like if media just thought of themselves as influencers and got more on board with the authentic content, there would be far more money going their way and they wouldn't have to write these articles.
Claire Goldsworthy (22:02):
<Laugh> Yeah. Collaboration instead of competition. Right. If they Yes. They just changed the perception then. Yeah.
Danielle (Scrunch) (22:09):
Yeah. It's not going anywhere. So get on board <laugh>, get on board. <Laugh>. So talk to me about the new business. So where did that I mean obviously it's in the same vein as the ethical and sustainability and working with the same kinds of brands, but how did that idea spark and what does that business look like?
Claire Goldsworthy (22:30):
I love this business. It's like me loving the fashion advocate and getting what I do well, getting to do what I do in fashion, but like everything and mm-hmm. So it really, really excites me because I got to a point in fashion where I don't just wanna change the fashion industry anymore. I wanna change the world. I wanna change all kinds of businesses. Amazing. And the idea had, it had kind of just been there in the back of my mind for quite some time, and I just kept putting it down, putting it back. And then obviously covid hit and a lot of things changed, had to shut down the stores and everything was work from home. And it gave me more time to sit with that idea. And I made it happen. I had the time to make it happen. And I don't know how, but I was pregnant and wrote and launched my first course for the new business and built the website myself and set everything up. And it's, it's something that I'm really passionate about. So it's all about teaching brands and businesses how to operate more ethically and more sustainably and to use their purpose as a driver. It's about using business as a force for good. Awesome. So I work one-on-one with brands. I have my impact accelerators open at the moment. So it's a 10 week course for brands to learn how to do more good. And I love it. And I get to work with some incredible brands as well. It really Yeah. Lights me up.
Danielle (Scrunch) (23:59):
So it's not just fashion brands, it's anybody that is interested in bringing that ethical and sustainable element to their business.
Claire Goldsworthy (24:07):
Yeah. Not just fashion. So anything. And then you don't already have to be ethical and sustainable. I'm really passionate about educating people on how they can do that through business as well. That's cool. Cause with people who might already be doing that, you wanna do more of it or make more sales doing that, or you're new to it and you wanna learn about it and you wanna bring it into your business because the end goal is to just have more people operating ethically and sustainably.
Danielle (Scrunch) (24:32):
Oh, that's so cool. And how amazing now that we can do these things from our homes, right? Like I, you know, obviously Covid was such a huge shock to everybody, and I don't wanna discount the things that people went through, but I feel like there was some amazing things that did happen. You know, giving yourself the space to sit with an idea that now lights you up so incredibly, the fact that you could just do it from your laptop. Like that's I what I say to creators as well. I'm like, now is the time. Like you have this amazing opportunity. There's so many resources, so much support out there that if you do have something that's kind of, you know, lit up inside you, we've got the tools to to launch that now.
Claire Goldsworthy (25:13):
Yeah. Honestly, there is no better time than now. We, we are doing this, you know, zoom, I had a call with a brand in New Zealand this morning, you know, like we can do everything and anything from a computer with wifi. Yes. The potential is limitless. So limitless, especially for content creators. I mean, we've got phones, iPhones, you can honestly run a business with a laptop and a phone, an internet now.
Danielle (Scrunch) (25:39):
Yeah. Oh my God, it's so true. I think I really do think there's never been a better time, you know, and I, I kind of, I interchange now the word creator and business owner because I'm like, I really feel like as a creator, if you're not starting to think about what that product or service or thing is that you can do that you do have that control over, you know, you're probably doing yourself a bit of a disservice.
Claire Goldsworthy (26:03):
Yeah, absolutely. It is good to think about yourself even as a, yeah, you're right. As a content creator, if you're not thinking about yourself as a business owner mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, I mean, is it, it's just a hobby really. Yeah. You know, if you, if you're serious about it, you wanna be turning it into a business and you want to be putting those strategies in place to have it, you know, build and pay you a wage and, you know, build the life that you want from it.
Danielle (Scrunch) (26:26):
Yeah. That is incredible. So where do you think it's going? So you've seen the evolution of, you know, back in the blogging days now, the inf the influencing and creating days, and then as a business owner, you've seen both sides. Do you have a view into what's kind of, maybe it's a trend right now, or, or what's kind of coming next for the creator economy?
Claire Goldsworthy (26:52):
I wish I had a crystal ball Yeah. <Laugh> with this, because like, honestly, if I think back, you know, when I was just blogging and doing the Instagram, I had no idea that it was gonna shift the way it has shifted to.
Danielle (Scrunch) (27:06):
Yeah.
Claire Goldsworthy (27:06):
True. Now. So I mean, what it's gonna be in the next five years, I don't know. But I do know that it is, I mean it's, it's just becoming so integral to, to brand vision, to have influencer marketing in place. And I don't know, you know, whether that's something that brands are starting or will be starting to bring in-house. So you have, you know, you have the designer, you have your in-house influencer who's doing all that content creation. And I mean, I think it's just, it's becoming more and more a part of brand vision and brand building. As for the trends and moving forward, I don't know, I also like to take trends with a grain of salt because I'm big on authenticity and so I like being aware of them, but I also like remembering that what works for me doesn't necessarily work for another brand when it comes to a campaign.
(27:58):
So I guess brands and businesses need to be mindful that at the end of the day they have to go back to their purpose and see what works for them. Mm-Hmm. But it, as you said before, it's not going anywhere. It's only gonna get bigger. Mm-Hmm. and yeah, I mean, people are really looking to other people for connection. Like connection is so important. So just that honest, real content. I mean, what, five years ago it was all about the filters and that inspirational, you know, that really polished look and it's just not like that anymore. So I think it's moving in that really honest, authentic direction and just that real stuff.
Danielle (Scrunch) (28:36):
Yeah. And look, and maybe that's the direction that it's moving in is actually like back to the OG days when we posted, just whatever, it makes me laugh just thinking of, you know, how you get Facebook memories and it shows like the photos and I'm like, why did I upload a hundred photos of nothing? Like, you know, I feel like we're going back to those times where it's just do what you feel like it can be organic and and sloppy and you know, that's just life <laugh>. Yeah,
Claire Goldsworthy (29:04):
Totally. Just, just life and that, and that's what people wanna see. Just life and yeah, I get those memories all the time. And some of the things I think, oh my God, like what, what they thinking, what was I, well that's, that's a beautiful tent photo of my coffee this week. Like, just see another
Danielle (Scrunch) (29:20):
One. Like, I'll look at that sky again. Very, very philosophical of
Claire Goldsworthy (29:27):
Me. So philosophical.
Danielle (Scrunch) (29:29):
And what about, okay, so what about then with all of this experience under your belt, thinking about people who want to start now. So maybe they're in a full-time job and they're looking at this world and thinking, I, that's what I want. I wanna be a creator, or I wanna, you know, start a creator business of some type. Any tips for getting started today?
Claire Goldsworthy (29:56):
Just do it.
Danielle (Scrunch) (29:58):
So the best tip,
Claire Goldsworthy (29:59):
Just do it. Don't be held back by fear. If you are already thinking about it. Mm. Just do it. Obviously from a, you know, an analytical financial perspective, maybe you're doing it as a side hustle while you're still working full-time. If, yeah, if you can afford to jump ship and, you know, start doing your influencing or you're content creating full-time, then go for gold. But do it in a way that is sustainable for you. And I don't mean that from an environmental perspective. I mean it from a a personal juggling perspective. If you're gonna do it full-time, you know, make sure you've got the income to support doing it. And just find something that is really meaningful to you. You know? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, there's so many people doing content creation, but there's only one you. So if you can find something that is really authentic to you and it is your deep purpose and your passion, then content creation's gonna be easy and you are going to be successful.
Danielle (Scrunch) (31:00):
Oh my God, that's incredible. Thank you so much, Claire, for spending your time with us here at Scrunch. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences and your honesty. It's absolutely incredible.
Claire Goldsworthy (31:15):
Thank you so much for having me. It's been an absolute joy.
