Niké Ojekunle calls herself one of many “OG influencers,” and since becoming a member of TikTok, the Nigeria-born, Los Angeles-based blogger’s “prepare with me” movies and skincare suggestions have helped her amass over half 1,000,000 followers. As her follower rely grew, she additionally negotiated increasingly more sponsorship offers for herself, utilizing her enterprise savvy and entrepreneurial mindset to ink offers with style and sweetness manufacturers. 

“I’ve all the time been self-managed,” Ojekunle says. “I’m good at it myself. It simply doesn’t make sense for me to have a supervisor.”

However when a bunch referred to as the Carter Company reached out, the supply was one. They understood that Ojekunle most well-liked to work alone, and so they have been fantastic with that. As a substitute, they needed to assist her land occasional one-off campaigns with big-name shoppers. Ojekunle’s mother had simply been identified with stage 4 breast most cancers, and Ojekunle was flying backwards and forwards from Tampa to Los Angeles to be together with her dad and mom. She needed another person to take the wheel for a bit, and the expertise company’s web site listed Netflix, Amazon and the NFL as “strategic companions.” She stated “sure.”

In November 2022, Ojekunle was one of many first influencers to talk out about her expertise with the Carter Company, which by that time owed her hundreds of {dollars} for numerous branding offers. She wouldn’t be the final—dozens of influencers, a lot of them ladies of coloration, ultimately got here ahead. A number of of them shared their expertise in an article in The New York Instances titled, “New Fame, Age-Previous Exploitation.”

Turning a destructive expertise into a possibility to assist others

The expertise left Ojekunle considerably shaken, however she needed to channel it into one thing that felt productive. “The worst factor you possibly can ever name me is a sufferer,” she says. “I simply don’t ever wish to be seen like that in my life. And so when all that stuff occurred, I stated to myself, ‘I’ll use this to alter the business, to ensure that everybody who comes after me—all of the Black ladies who come after me, won’t ever get scammed once more.’”

She determined she’d begin mentoring different younger influencers who approached her with questions on model offers or the fantastic print of their contracts. It’s not an accident that the Carter Company and different organizations prefer it primarily scammed ladies of coloration. Ojekunle explains that they’d hunt down creators who may not have the expertise or business perception that extra privileged creators did. Influencer advertising and marketing has one of many worst racial pay gaps of any business. She thought she may assist shut that hole.

Ultimately, although, even that work, rewarding because it was, began to really feel draining. “That entire [Carter Agency] factor—I’m nonetheless a little bit traumatized from it,” she says. “And the final yr, I’ve type of stepped away from influencing utterly as a result of… it retains taking place, you understand?” The scams haven’t stopped, and it’s been exhausting to observe different younger creators fall for a similar tips, to simply accept low charges, to say sure to any crumb of promoting cash that got here their method as a result of they felt like they couldn’t say no.”

That’s when the gears began turning. Perhaps she couldn’t cease scammers from being scammy. With the launch of TikTok Store, possibly the issue would handle itself, as manufacturers more and more method creators instantly, quite than going by companies. 

Niké Ojekunle: The journey from homelessness to monetary literacy

However Ojekunle realized she had began from the underside, too, with no following to talk of and no fancy offers with expertise companies. She was homeless as soon as, and he or she purchased a home in Los Angeles final yr. What units her aside—what acquired her to the place she is right this moment, and what helped her understand that the Carter Company was making the most of her and different creators—is that she has monetary literacy. 

“I spotted a whole lot of influencers don’t,” she says. She references a current podcast episode wherein in style content material creator Emma Chamberlain stated she by no means checks her checking account. Followers thought the confession was irresponsible and out of contact. Ojekunle says we’d all be shocked at how widespread Chamberlain’s scenario is, no matter how a lot cash an influencer has coming in from model offers. 

“Quite a lot of influencers don’t go to varsity,” she explains. “So think about, you will have all that fame, plus you didn’t go to highschool, you don’t have any formal schooling, you don’t have any monetary literacy in any respect. You simply don’t perceive cash… That’s after I was like, ‘Oh, I may add this to my mentorship. I may educate influencers how to economize and make investments and never spend frivolously while you  have that small window the place you make good cash.’”

Utilizing one piece of the puzzle to create the large image

Serving to influencers keep away from getting scammed—that was one piece of the puzzle. What Ojekunle is doing now together with her Specs and Blazers model is the entire puzzle: monetary literacy, saving cash and making that cash give you the results you want, all whereas growing an consciousness of what to look out for from shady firms which may not have your finest pursuits in thoughts.

Ojekunle provides that there’s an actual keeping-up-with-the-Joneses sort of factor taking place amongst influencers who wish to appear like they’ve all of it—the most recent merchandise, the first-class flights—however in actuality live on maxed-out bank cards and overdrafted accounts. She remembers a current dialog with one influencer, somebody with a a lot greater following than she has, who requested how she may have probably afforded to purchase a home in Los Angeles. 

Her response was easy: She saves her cash. She’s frugal. In her expertise, many influencers aren’t. It’s not that she judges them although. There’s a sure picture influencers need to painting in the event that they wish to proceed being influencers, and the impulse to spend is one she understands properly. 

“Parasocial relationships are robust; you wish to appear like your favourite influencer, and your favourite influencer desires to appear like her favourite influencer, and he or she desires to appear like her favourite superstar,” Ojekunle quips. And never everybody has been so enamored with the frugality mindset she’s pushing now. “Quite a lot of them are receptive, however there are some who push again and are like… I simply wanna purchase that new bag,” she laughs. “I understand, it’s a microcosm of American tradition. It’s a whole lot of stress on them. After which there’s an added layer to it: being Gen Z, being an influencer, being Black.”

Ojekunle conjures up her followers to avoid wasting as an alternative of spend

Nonetheless, she feels hopeful that this could possibly be the beginning of one thing new. The overwhelming majority of her followers have been excited to listen to her speaking candidly about cash—about saving and investing it, that’s, not simply spending it. 

“After the very first video that I did the place I stated, ‘I’m pivoting my platform towards monetary literacy,’ my DMs have been full of women saying, ‘We’ve been ready for any influencer, and I imply any influencer, to cease pushing merchandise on our web page and inform us to avoid wasting our cash as an alternative,’” Ojekunle says. “Monetary literacy for influencers is what I’m so keen about. I really feel like if I can simply convert 15, 20 influencers to be the largest influencer in their very own life, to advocate for themselves, then I’ve carried out my half within the business.”

Picture by Christina Mumper.

Cassel is a Minneapolis-based author and editor, a co-owner of Racket MN, and a VHS collector.