Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Dao.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michelle. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I started out blogging freshman year of college, but it was more like a hobby up until last year, when I decided to make a profession out of blogging and influencing. My social media started off as a place to express myself, as well as help others. I wanted to openly talk about sensitive topics, such as mental health, family problems, personal problems, and I wanted to become an influencer who others can seek advice from when they are feeling lonely, or have random spikes of anxiety/ depression.
Growing up with a broken family, there were many times where I felt alone, and it made me a very anxious person. I want to set a reminder that there is always someone there to help and guide you into a brighter light. As my engagement grew, I felt as if I wanted to do something more than just be an “Influencer,” but I wanted to help others as well. As for blogging, it sort of just happened after posting photos that my friends and I took.
When I graduated high school, I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and dye my hair bright pink from black. All throughout high school, I was changing my hair color, but I wanted to go full out pink as TheWickedLady is based after a Pink haired anime girl. It stuck with me for a while, and I haven’t had natural colored hair up until recently.
Fortunately, the hair dyeing brand I used for the pink noticed my photos, who I normally take with my friends who are photographers; they reached out to me, and I became an ambassador for the hair dying brand. I continued to take photos just for fun with my friends.
I started receiving emails every once in a while from brands asking if I was interested in trade work- in exchange for photo content, they would comp a free item. I would never promote an item that I don’t like, so I would always leave openly honest reviews. At first, I decided to reach out to companies in hopes of creating a relationship with these brands and started with doing trade work because I genuinely enjoyed the brand.
Has it been a smooth road?
There are a lot of roller coasters, definitely. There are times where I feel unmotivated, or stagnant. I had times where I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I think the main struggle that I have is personal, where I feel negatively about myself.
It causes me to lose motivation in what I am passionate about, and once my motivation is gone, I get lazy. However, when I am motivated in my work, I feel as if a fire has been fueled and I want to get things done. I try to keep myself constantly busy, so I don’t lose my motivation.
Another struggle would be the constant competition between other influencers or bloggers. It can be a toxic community because we’re unsure of who is a true friend, and who’s just using you as a gain.
I’ve dealt with a lot of negative people, especially those who say that they want you to grow and strive, but they’ll never want you to be better than them. Those are the people who you need to be cautious around. However, within the puddle of people, there will always be an ocean of positive people who will support you, grow with you, and even guide you through bad moments.
I think being cautious but always be kind and positive to others will really benefit you. Building positive and healthy relationships will always be a priority. As well as taking care of yourself and remembering to love yourself.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with TheWickedLady – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My business, or my brand, is influencing and promoting. I enjoy promoting brands that I stand by, as well as being honest and adding humor to my content. You can easily tell when someone is promoting products just for the money, and it’s bland. I like adding comedy to my content, adding funny jokes/puns, and something that can be relatable to my audience.
I enjoy making people laugh and smile, and it makes my day knowing I helped make someone’s day better by cracking a small joke. I’m also known for the YouTube channel that I’m in called the Fine Brothers, where I am a College Kid/Adult reacting to certain videos per episode.
I’m pretty proud of myself being my own brand, and I think what sets me off as different is the fact that I’m very sincere and comedic. I also am very sarcastic with a little bit of dark humor, so I try not to let little things get to me.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I think the bad part about being labeled as an influencer is you get put in this pool of people who do not care about others. Some influencers only care about making money and pushing content, without caring about the product. Some plug their socials as much as they can, without caring about their audience.
People assume that being an influencer is pushing out weight loss products, and teeth whitening, whereas I believe an influencer should make an impact in society and we should openly talk about issues, but also realize that there is a world where people will disagree, and people take it as an attack.
The good part of being an influencer is being able to inspire and help others. While being true to yourself and motivating others to just simply do better.
Contact Info:
- Website: Thewickedlady.net
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Instagram.com/thewickedlady
- Facebook: Facebook.com/TheWickedLady
- Other: Youtube.com/TheWickedLady
Image Credit:
Jennifer Nghiem (Jenn.nghiem), Bryan Miraflor (bryanmiraflor), Nick Ramsay (nickramsayphotography), John Ponce (_johnponce), Rudy (ruudes), Miko Aquino (mikowashere), Tony (Shutterfoo)
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
