Today we’d like to introduce you to Naya Ford
Hi Naya , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started creating content when the pandemic hit in 2020 because a friend of mine kept raving about Tiktok. Once I hopped on the app, I thought to myself “I can definitely do this”. So I started creating videos out of pure boredom like everyone during the pandemic lol. All of sudden I got an email from a brand one day offering to ship me clothes if I created a video and posted it on my Tiktok – don’t ask me how they even got my email. So I made the video for them and it was actually alot of fun, then my FYP started to become flooded with “how to become an influencer” and I got sucked into a rabbit hole. I realized I could geniunely make a career on making short form videos similar to the Youtubers I’d watching growing up. I gave it my all and created content without making any real money for a year. Slowly but surely, brands started to catch wind of my content and now here I am!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Whew- it has never be a smooth road. Even starting to create content can be a bit discouraging because it’s delayed gratification. You’re putting in a bunch of work without any audience and any pay- not necessarily the most motivating factors. Also once you get into the rhythm of content creating, you realize you are a full blown entrepreneur and have to act like it. With content creation, it means ebbs and flows, some months are full of abundance- other times not so much. This has caused me to become more reliant on God as my provider to continue in this line of work.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a full time influencer and I’ve been in the industry for almost 4 years now. I primarily blew up on Tiktok for my “villain era” aka learning how to advocate for myself, exercise self-love and have boundaries after being a people pleaser. I created community with healing and reformed people pleasers, who understood how hard it was to do those things. I believe what sets me apart as an influencer is that I care more about deeper storytelling. Sure – people still ask me what products I use in my curls and what lip combo I’m wearing but people come to my page for the vulnerability and a safe space. I’ve progressed into sharing my faith online as well and that’s never an easy. I’ve shared my wins and my setbacks, what I’m learning and what I’ve unlearned. People know when they come to my page you won’t be judged, you can ask questions and we can grow together.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That I was raised in a domestically abusive household for a majority of my life. I often share with my audience that I’m “First Generation Healed”, the first one in my family to get into therapy and prioritizing my mental health so I can unpack a lot of the survival tactics I developed to navigate that season of my life. So people know that I’m healing but they never really knew in great detail from what. As I continue to grow as a creator, it’s my plan to begin to share that part of my story with my audience, and how that’s impacted my healing journey.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nayaaford/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nayaaford/videos
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nayaaford
Image Credits
Photographer (2nd picture) – @stormzeyeview @thequietstorm
