Meet Mara | Lifestyle Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mara and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mara, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As risk increases, the reward increases. There’s two approaches in life: take the safe choice and you’ll continue to live your life the way it is, maybe even with small improvements as the years go on or adventure into an arcade of success and failure. Nothing is free; we all pay to play. When it comes to any business, there’s initial cost even more expensive than money: time.

I’ve tried content creation before, however I never knew what my “niche” was. I started in July 2021 because the summer opened and time to me cost nothing. I was first discovering what it meant to dress modest in terms of covering everything but my hands, feet, and face. I started with my outfit of the day. I made videos of trends. I even did small business reviews. All these videos were made sitting in my bedroom or balcony. The effort put in was minimal and unskilled.

As I spent more time on TikTok (the platform where I got my start), I slowly gained traction. And then I went back to school. I was a part-time student about to graduate and full-time intern. Time was more valuable. With grades and job responsibilities at risk, I had to weigh out my priorities. I took the risk to invest the time into going out to have content shoot days. I started buying clothes that I could use to make content. I even felt my grades slip.

The first time I got paid $20 for a TikTok video I was ecstatic. I felt like this was it. I was on track.

I took 6 months off work and I moved to Southern California. My husband took on the role of sole provider and I started growing my platform. Without that risk, I wouldn’t have grown to 4,000 to nearly 24,000 followers on Instagram or 20,000 to 65,000 followers on TikTok. Now, brands are reaching out to me.

If you’re looking for success, you’ll most likely make compromises. While you can fail, you can strategically build your success. Risk is scary, but if you have the privilege to take it, do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Content creation focuses on the art of photography and videography. Though I may not produce the most aesthetic content, I produce content to create a community. I’m a strong believer of authenticity and work to make my content representative of my real, every-day life. Even fashion photos are taken at whatever location I’m at for the day. And my vlogs are especially little clips of what I did that day. I’m most proud of the opportunity to give back. I started my social media journey by posting about my modest fashion journey. For this reason, a lot of my audience are also new Muslims who want to learn how to dress more modestly. I now have an opportunity where I’m now fundraising to create gift baskets for people just like me to feel more comfortable and confident in their faith (https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/support_new_muslims_with_gift_baskets_to_strengthen_their_deen?src=1485951).
Only recently have people recognized content creation to be a viable career. Unlike the typical 9-5, content creators constantly think about what’s their next video idea, where they’ll take their next photo, and how they can engage their audience more. The biggest part of getting to where I am today was through trial and error. In the beginning of content creation, quantity > quality. If I didn’t produce as much as I could just to try new things, I wouldn’t have learned that vlogs were what my audience and I both enjoyed. If I didn’t produce as much as I could just to see what happened, I wouldn’t have learned how to edit my photos in a way that was eye-catching.
With this came the challenge of time management. I struggled to keep up with my internship, college, and content creation. I had to make it fit with my schedule. While with my husband, if we went on a date, I’d record little clips to edit into a vlog later on or dress up nice for the date and spend 10 minutes taking photos while we were out. After a while, I was able to learn the separation between creating content about my everyday life versus just living my everyday life. Without any checks, it was easy to let social media take over my life.

If there’s one thing that my viewers took away from my content, it’s live your life in a way that makes you feel whole. I create content about my life because it makes ME happy. Social media is meant to be for YOU. Whether you’re a creator, you should be making content that you would even if you didn’t get paid. Whether you’re a viewer, you should follow influencers who make you feel good about being YOU.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve recently moved to San Diego, but in the few short months I’ve been here, I’ve fallen in love!

Spots To Visit
– Fiesta Island is amazing at night before you can use their firepits (bring your own wood!) and enjoy watching the stars by the bay. On summer weekends, SeaWorld is also across the bay and they do fireworks!
– Children’s Cove allows you to see local wildlife (read: seals). I was shocked when I moved here and saw my first seal in the wild.
– Kate Sessions Park is a beautiful underrated park that allows you to see the view of San Diego on a nice picnic.

Cafes To Sit
– Humble Bean Cafe by Mission Bay has great tasting food and unique coffee drinks. It’s a quaint space where the owner’s daughter bakes the pastries (and she’s talented!). The owners are often working and truly do care about who you are as a person. If you want to become a regular somewhere, this is the place. I love the Kilimanjaro Chai and Soyrizo Breakfast Burrito.
– Lightbulb Coffee is a larger cafe and their London Fog is to die for. There’s plenty of places to sit and they even have a cockatiel named Mango sitting in the back of the cafe (obviously in a cage!).
– Feng Cha is a bubble-tea shop with unique flavors. The kiwi basil seed refresher and taro milk tea have been my favorites. They also sell the cutest dessert cakes as well as have several tables that you can sit at with a laptop.

Places To Eat
– Vallarta’s is my go-to for a fish burrito. The quality is always consistent and it satisfies all my cravings for a fresh, yet savory meal.
– Little Sakana’s All-You-Can-Eat lunch is my ideal date. The variety of sushi and appetizers are filling and tasty. The wait time can be a little long on weekends (only 30-50 minutes) but there’s a Marshall’s nearby to shop at!
– Cali Baguette was a happy discovery when I searched for Banh Mi. I love their shrimp banh-mi as well as their sesame seed balls filled with mung bean.
– Pizza Nova has my favorite crust and pasta. Anything with smoked salmon and goat cheese has my heart, but when you add in garlic knots, I’m on Cloud 9.

Views to Hike
– Potato Chip Rock is in Poway so not too far, but during sunset, it has the most phenomenal view. Be careful of where you park though! The nearby parking lot closes at sunset and I almost got my car locked in.
– I wish this list was a little more full, but I haven’t hiked many popular trails here yet.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
None of this would’ve been possible without my husband. When it comes to encouragement or helping me manage my time, he’s always been there and encouraged to pursue this opportunity that could allow me to grow into a career with freedom and possibility.

Website: https://mara.fyi

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mi.lk

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfuOFxW3PgXzPpZBYHnE3uA

Other: TikTok: @maradrinksmilk