Women Who Empower – Deepika Joshi | Desicurly Amazon, Instagram
On the occasion of Women’s Day, this year, we kickstarted an initiative featuring some of the wonder-women who have not only managed to shatter glass ceilings with their work but also influenced hundreds of thousands of women out there with their visions, dreams, hard work and authenticity. Being an inspiration to countless people is a laurel in itself and that alone needs to be celebrated every single day. So, we are taking this opportunity to bring your favourite creator and influencer a little closer with a fun heart-to-heart conversation.
An engineer by profession and a content creator by passion, Deepika Joshi balances both jobs tactfully. She started her journey on Instagram in 2018 where she primarily talks about how to style curly hair and curly hair products you can use for the same. Check out the Desicurly Amazon Storefront to know more about what she recommends. With more than 30k followers, Deepika has collaborated with several leading Indian brands. A woman in her mid-twenties, Deepika dreams to become a full-time content creator and churn videos for her beloved audience. Well, we are also hoping that you fulfill your dream, Desi Curly!! Fingers crossed!
A Fun QnA with Deepika
- We will start this with you, obviously, say if someone is watching or reading about you for the very first time how will you introduce yourself in the most fun yet honest way that they can’t help but be smitten by you?
- “Hi, I am Deepika Joshi. I am not just an influencer but also a person who is trying to change one mind at a time or in other words, the mentality of the Indian society. I am an engineer who turned into a content creator trying to influence the world and change their perception about curly hair and its under-appreciated beauty. When it comes to embracing your true self, I believe, you don’t have to pretend to be like someone else in order to be accepted or appreciated by them be it your parents, relatives, or anyone else.”
- If you have to sum up your traits in three words, what would they be?
- “I am stubborn, not a smart worker but a hard worker and I don’t like to be managed by other people. So, I like to manage my own things.”
- Let’s move on to some inspirational stuff without which no interview will be complete. But seriously, I personally have been following you for years and to see you where you are today gives me immense pride and motivation, like nothing is ever unachievable and impossible. It is a source of inspiration. So, why don’t you tell the world about your journey so far and how you started? When exactly did you start?
- “From my childhood, my mother was never able to manage my hair, so the only option was to keep the hair short. As I entered my teens, I decided to grow my hair but it was so difficult for me to manage it or to style it in the way I liked. Therefore, my initial motivation came from an aunt who has her own salon and she had beautiful curly hair. She never straightened them or tried to change them. She told me about some hair serum for curly hair. Then during my college days, I joined a Facebook group back in 2016 where I got to know a lot more about the subject and the similar problem faced by other women in India with curly hair. So, we shared different remedies and DIYs for curly hair. Till 2018, I was very active in the group as a moderator and used to answer queries. During that time, on Instagram, people were talking about products for curly hair but I felt that they are purposely recommending expensive international brands just for their profits when a lot of affordable products did the same job. This thought led to the opening of my page on Instagram, a platform where I can share my knowledge in the hope that it will help people with curly hair. After launching my page, I started seeing the fruits of my labour when some people personally texted me that because of my tips and tricks they have gained back confidence to embrace their natural, curly hair. As a content creator, I think I can ask for nothing more than the support of my audience. Personally, I like to film videos, edit them, so I never get bored of creating content.” Kudos to you, Deepika! Talking about your recommendations, we are sure anyone who is familiar with the Desicurly Amazon Storefront would vouch for them.
- Weren’t you conscious of putting yourself out there in the world? How did you overcome this fear? And how old were you when you put your first video/post as a creator?
- “Actually, I was not conscious to put myself out there because already when I started my page, I was pretty confident in my own skin. But one thing that scared me back then and still does is cyberbullying. People might say that when you entered this industry, you should have known about it or be prepared for it, but no amount of preparation can truly prepare digital creators for hurtful or vulgar comments. At first, I started to post photos, but after some time, I started to post small clips, and from the point of view of a content creator, people liked my video clips more when compared with the pictures.”
- How do you manage two full-time jobs?
- “It was so exhausting to manage two full-time jobs, especially during the lockdown as there was so much work in the office. For some time, I was not at all able to make content for Instagram. When I used to go to the office, I was able to create good content for my audience, but this work from home routine ruined everything. Several things went wrong such as I used to get anxiety attacks, gained so much weight, was not able to help my parents at home, etc. Therefore, it was exhausting to manage two jobs. So yeah, it is my future plan to take up content creating as a full-time job but for now, we hustle!”
- The world of content and Youtube/Instagram, especially, has changed a lot in this time with new algorithms kicking in every day and a lot of people starting in the same niche. How difficult is it to sustain or grow an audience at this time? How did you grow your audience? Were there any strategies that you followed?
- “So when I started, I read a lot of articles on how to maintain or grow your audience, and one of the top things I noticed was consistency. Post regularly even if you don’t have the expected audience. With time, people will slowly start to recognize you and your work. When I started my page, it was something new, and something people needed and wanted to see. So I won’t say that I didn’t have my share of problems but yeah, it was a bit easy to reach people back then, but now it has become so competitive as there are many creators who talk about hair and beauty.So, in 2021, increasing your growth is much more difficult than it was 3 years ago. In my case, there are some days when I don’t get enough likes or views and I start to think that why did I even begin creating content or what is the use of all this, but those difficult times will pass and consider it as a creator’s block and move ahead. So if your motive behind starting a page or channel is to grow more audience to whom you can showcase your creative side and your knowledge, then you have a future in this. However, don’t start it just for free products or for a lot of PR packages or a lot of easy money because you will not be able to survive in this industry.”
- As a content creator, when was it that you started making some money or started getting some brand deals?
- “I started around April 2018 and I got my first brand deal around October – November but it can also take longer for other people as it also depends upon what type of content you are creating. I still remember that I had only 3000-3500 followers back then but still brands contacted me because I was talking about something that isn’t discussed much.”
- On that note, what advice do you have in store for anyone who is starting out on this journey as a content creator?
- “Firstly, you should know what you are talking about. Do not run behind trends that other people follow. Stick to your authenticity. You should have proper knowledge about the products you are talking about. Secondly, be consistent in your work by posting regularly. Thirdly, don’t run behind money, because it will just take you down the hill and will be useless in the long run. You are popular only because of your audience, so be honest with them. One mistake can cause you a lot of trouble and rebuilding that trust is not an easy task at all. So, create content because you have passion for it and not just for earning some quick money.” Well, we completely agree with you Deepika. Following one’s passion is not easy. It takes blood, sweat, and tons of tears. So all the current and future content creators, be gutsy and go for what you love. Be consistent in what you do and soon you will taste success.
- Talking about content creation, I have always noticed the word influencer notoriously being used for creators. Now a lot of creators despise this word defining their work and niche. What are your thoughts on this? Do you mind addressing yourself as an influencer?
- “Though I don’t like this word being used as it is used in a negative manner, which is not respectable for the creators out there. However, at some point, I agree that we kind of influence people to use any product because they trust us and the content we produce. So, whether you like it not, you are influencing people in one way or the other.”
- Now we will brazenly circle this back to Beatnik. Clearly, we have seen your love for jewellery and how gracefully you style them all but if you have to choose only one piece of jewellery for the rest of your life, what would that be and why?
- “It would be a simple chain with a pendant and it will be something which I will be wearing for the rest of my life so the pendant should have some meaning to it.”
- So, I will now take another scenario for you. You have to get ready for a wedding function as a guest with just three jewellery pieces, what would you pick and how would you style them?
- “Okay, so I would go for a simple lehenga and accessorize it with a statement choker, a ring, and a clip-on nose pin.”
- Okay, so let’s have a quick rapid-fire round to end this insightful and very interesting QnA with you. Are you ready? Pick one:
- Saree any day or dress?
- Dress
- Silver jewellery or gold?
- Silver jewellery
- Statement earrings or small dainty earrings?
- Statement earrings
- Bad hair day with full glam or good hair day with no makeup?
- Good hair day with no makeup
- Lipstick on my teeth or a stained dress in an event?
- Stained dress
- What would you choose? Month-long vacation on an island or road trip across India?
- Month-long vacation on an island
Thank you so much Deepika for sharing your journey with utmost honesty and passion with us all, you truly help women embrace their natural true self and that goes beyond hair. The most admiring thing about Deepika’s content is not just her tips and reviews on products but also her quality to educate the audience by forming a transparent relationship, we absolutely adore her for that! Do let us know what you like the best about her and her content, we are sure there would definitely be a lot to mention 😀
If you wish to read more such wondrous stories of inspirational women who are making it big as the leading female Indian YouTubers/creators, go on here. Hope you have enjoyed reading this series as much as we loved curating it for you!
In our last article, we shared Nishitha Mallur’s inspirational journey. Click here to read it. This was the last article in our “Women Who Empower” series. We will come up with a new series soon 🙂
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