This creator turned her college side hustle into a creative empire

^{Making a living as a creator shouldn’t be some elusive thing. And what’s the best way to learn how creators are making it work? To go behind-the-scenes. These bi-weekly interview issues are like having coffee with your favorite creators. If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about solopreneurship and the creator economy.}

Good morning. It was a treat talking to this week’s creator. She’s built two successful businesses through sheer grit, persistence and what she calls, “her competitive edge.”

Even just speaking with her for 30 minutes made me feel pumped to post. 

She’s the real deal. 

Enjoy the read.

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In 2020, Gigi Robinson was on the fast track to a career in entertainment in Hollywood. She was a senior in college at the University of Southern California and had internships lined up at Warner Brothers and Paramount. 

Then, Covid happened. 

Thankfully, she had already taken her future into her own hands, having spent her time as a student seeking out brand ambassador programs, which became her internship. This was between 2016-2019 when brand ambassador programs held their weight. 

Robinson worked as a field marketing student rep for big-name brands like TikTok, Tinder, Amazon Prime, Abercrombie, Timberland, and Smashbox. She did about 13 while she was in undergrad. Sometimes she was paid in cash, other times in swag. 

Then, she started finding platforms like Influenceher Collective, where she often earned in swag or food, which was fine for a college student. It was more about building her up portfolio than her bank. 

This was also at a time when Robinson was living with chronic illness, so she couldn’t work a full-time job. Her illness – which she later discovered was Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and endometriosis – and her competitive edge meant she was never going to end up in a 9-5. 

Today, Robinson has 150,000 followers on TikTok, has spoken at the White House, done hundreds of partnerships and press features, got a podcast deal with Spotify, and published a kids book about chronic illness with Penguin Random House. She’s a true multihyphenate – a health advocate, keynote speaker, author, and creator. 

She’s spoken at the Endometriosis Foundation of America’s Annual Patient Symposium, been the MC for Consumer Marketing Summit, led virtual keynotes for Adobe, and at various institutions including New York University, Harvard, and Yale. 

Robinson is a one-woman show, without a team. While she’s previously had up to eight people working for her, now she does it all with just an intern. 

In 2021, Robinson created an Instagram Live series called “Everything you need is within” about Gen Z, digital wellness, and creator mental health. She decided she wanted to pitch it somewhere. 

“I audaciously messaged the head of Podcast Studios, which was a small boutique podcast network that was acquired by Spotify. They connected me to the team that was building Spotify Greenroom (Spotify Live), which was their clubhouse competitor,” she said. 

She used the same strategy to land Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. She pitched herself. She submitted herself to an open casting call. She didn’t leave anything to “luck.” 

Robinson believes you have to be intentional about crafting your story. “Creators can be very self-absorbed and focused on getting what they need.” 

Instead of connecting with journalists and offering yourself up as a source, Robinson reads the last 5 – 10 articles they’ve published, reach out with a hot take that’s applicable to their beat, and highlight why she’s the best source for the story. 

A lot of this comes down to relationship building and playing the long game. 

Robinson has two businesses:

It’s Gigi Robinson is focused on brand partnerships, speaking engagements, book sales, and affiliates – in order of income percentage. 

Hosts of Influence sells digital products, private coaching (which she’s phasing out), membership, and social media management and content creation for brands. HOI helps people build their personal brands so they too can get press, speaking opportunities, and write a book someday. 

Robinson’s content is a masterclass in marketing. 

The things you get paid to do can become content creation inspiration. For example, Robinson made these custom cards for her speaking gig with Adobe. She filmed a video showing how she created them using Copilot and Adobe Express.

As always, hit reply if something in here hits home.
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Speak soon,
Amanda

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