Back in our very first post we outlined some tips for surviving in the modelling industry. In this post I’ll discuss some of the mistakes I made as a young model that could have been avoided if I’d followed some of those tips:
1) I never kept track of my jobs and agency expenses.
After my contract was done in South Korea I came home with way less money than I should have. The agency ended up charging me for a bunch of extras, including the rent on my apartment after they had told the group of us to move into a bigger and more expensive place. When I went there, they had a set amount (flat rate) that they paid out for the type of jobs that they were offering and they pocketed the rest. At the time I didn’t want to be a pain but in retrospect I should have asked to see the receipts and demanded fair payment. If I’d been smart, I would have insisted on altering the contract to state that I would be paid the full amount that the client paid the agency, minus the 20% agency fee and minor expenses. Instead, I let the people who had the most to gain from ripping me off control my finances.
In general, I should have tracked all my jobs so when payment came up I knew exactly what I was owed. I should have budgeted expenses before even stepping foot in the city I was working in, just to know how much I needed to leave available for emergencies. I trusted my mother agency to have my back and while they were my rock, on the road it’s important to be your own accountant and always watch every dollar that comes in and goes out. Models are in a difficult spot - forced to put so much trust in other people in such an untrustworthy industry.2) I partied too much, and didn’t focus enough on the jobs, castings or career in general.
Sometimes while I was getting my makeup done for a job and I had to shut my eyelids while they put on eye shadow, I would literally fall asleep in the chair. The makeup artists were very nice about it and never made it seem like a problem - they were probably used to it - but I shouldn’t have been doing that. I should have enjoyed being there and not rushed everything. I should have had more respect and appreciation for the job and the career.
I think if I'd been more lively throughout the shoots and clients had seen that I loved my job and took it seriously, then maybe they would have been more inclined to ask me back or use me more than once or twice. Instead, I was tired all the time and just waiting for the shoots to be over. Constantly doing that comes across to the client and is pretty unprofessional.
I was more concerned with socializing than getting tons of sleep and being 100% every job. It seemed like no one really noticed but looking back I feel like I could have been a lot better and more present. I’m sure I lost out on jobs and opportunities just because I was zombie-walking through castings and life. Plus I would use the castings to visit friends and see what was going on that evening. I would be loud and young and unprofessional. I should have remembered that you're always being watched and it’s not a popularity contest - it’s important if the client likes you. Friends will always come and go but jobs will build your career.
3) I never put a budget together for savings and myself
After I left the industry i didn’t have much financially. I had no education and what looked like no future. If I had saved up and invested smartly I could have potentially had a car and a house in my name and no debt. But no one had ever taught me about those concepts, nor had I taken any time to learn about them. I didn’t know anything about accounting. I should have watched my money more closely.
Basically, the money I made would keep me afloat for a few months while I went home and did nothing and then when I was getting close to running out I would book my next trip. But I should have kept working as a model and then just constantly saved up while traveling. If I’d saved instead of just hanging out, buying whatever, and watching the money disappear, I think I could have put some money into property as an investment by the time I got out of the industry. There was also no reason for me to carry any debt but as it built up I would always just shrug and figure since I was doing well I could pay the money off later. But, as I learned, modeling doesn't last forever, and neither does the money if you're not smart.
I personally believe that parents should know about things like budgets and savings accounts and teach their kids at a young age. I also think that schools should teach children about managing money in order to set them up well for the future. Had I put a budget together and started saving I would have been more prepared for real life. (I covered this topic more in-depth in a blog post titled “Quitting Modelling.”
4) I didn’t go to cities where I wasn’t guaranteed to make money
I was invited to go to Italy twice and I really should have gone. It would have been beneficial for my career, because having pictures in your portfolio from Europe will book you jobs almost anywhere.The handlers will think, “Okay, this girl is going somewhere, she’s got pictures from Europe.” But I was afraid to take that leap because I knew that if I went to Milan or London I’d be starting on the ground floor competing for jobs I wasn’t guaranteed to get. So instead, I took the guaranteed paycheck in Asia.
I have a lot of admiration for Daria (Werbowy). Now a famous Canadian model, when she was coming up she was told by various handlers that she wouldn’t make it as a model or that she would have to invest a lot of money in it if she truly loved it. But then she went to Italy and blew up and now she’s well-known all over the world. Looking back, I have to wonder if by skipping the risks of Italy I skipped over my chance at true stardom. And to point 3 - if I’d saved the money I’d made in other countries, I could have afforded to take the risks I needed to take.
5) I never built myself into a brand
You are your own business and you need to remember that. So always have your own back and make sure you know exactly what’s going on with your money and career at all times. Educate yourself before starting to travel so you're ready for anything. Educate on the agency, the city, the industry there. Market yourself in a way that is professional and unique to you. Learn everything there is to know about modelling. If you're not great at something work on it, ask people who are great at it for tips or to guide you. Ask what kind of girls or guys do well and make that into your own.
I knew this one girl who came to Tokyo after I did. She was a bit older than me and it kind of showed. But she worked a ton. As soon as she got there she did one normal day of about 5-10 castings, and at the end of the day she figured out what the casting agents were looking for. She noticed that the Japanese liked blondes who were “cute” and “light on the eyes”. So even though she didn't have the greatest body or most beautiful face, she worked well because she found out what did well, saw what type of photos the agency put in the portfolio and molded herself to be a live version of that. During the day while doing castings she would wear these cute innocent schoolgirl dresses and then at night she was her tomboy self.
I messed up because I didn't want to mold myself at all for the industry. I thought if they don't like me for what I chose to look like...then fuck ‘em. But I loved the industry and wanted and needed to work. So in retrospect in order to make more money I should have gotten myself out there more and I should have molded my body to fit with what they wanted. (To a point - I’m not saying I should have given up on all my beliefs and identities. Only that I could have played a role better.) And if I’d been able to work more I could have traveled more to better places like Milan and Europe and expanded my career.
6) I should have kept traveling and not been so concerned about coming home
Modelling was my chance to free myself from the boundaries of home and see the world. But my family was going through a lot during the period I was working and my mother would always tell me to come home after every contract to rest. I think she probably missed me. I did make an effort to come home as much as I could, but I shouldn’t have. While it’s nice to go home a couple times a year, I don’t think I did it for the right reasons. I was so worried about my friends not liking me anymore or me missing out on what was going on with them that I didn't think about myself or my career as much as I should have. And the funny thing is that those friends that I thought were so important are people I don’t even talk to anymore.
At the same time I was worried about my family not liking me, or feeling like I abandoned them and forgot about them. I was almost afraid that if I did well and became “better” than them that they wouldn't accept me anymore. That fear really held me back from striving to be the best model that I could be. I was in the prime of my career and could have done very well for myself had I been focused on myself and my career more rather than taking it for granted the way that I did.
Anyway, in summary, if I had known then what I know now I would have done better for myself. I was very young when I got in with no role models, so I can’t necessarily say I have regrets about doing it the way that I did. But if I can offer a word of advice - be your own role model, be the very best you can be and the future you will only have you to thank!
-Sarah
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