1. Tell us about your background and journey.
My early years were spent in a boarding school called Welham Girls in Dehradun — my family is from a small town, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and, because there was a limited choice of good educational institutions, I studied away from home. Thereafter, I went on to do my under graduation in Economics from St. Xavier’s College in Bombay. I’ve always been interested in everything digital, fashion, and styling and when I was in college I dabbled in a lot of things — modeling as well as auditioning for a few advertisements. I completed my post-graduation in Msc. Financial Economics from Pune after which I prepared full-time for the UPSC examination for over 2.5 years before taking the leap to do my own thing.
While I am inherently academic, I have always been driven by my interest in creative direction, filmmaking, editing, and digital media since my early years in school. My mother is an artist, and that definitely had an influence on my tastes and what I liked creatively as an adult. I have also been deeply inspired by my father’s journey as a businessman and I think that’s pushed me to lead my own entrepreneurial journey as an independent creatorpreneur. They’ve both been nothing less than unflinchingly supportive of my journey.
2. When did you first decide that you wanted to create content and how did you start?
A variety of career paths/ backgrounds can bring you down the road of digital content creation, as was the case with me. Sometime in 2018, I started freelancing across social media managerial and content writing roles and it was around this time that I started working for a food blog. While creating videos for the blog, I revisited my interest in creative direction and filmmaking and decided to start my own YouTube account. Soon after starting the channel, I realized that the content I was creating — which was on fashion, styling, and lifestyle — touched a chord with my audiences and within three months of taking this up full-time I gained an audience of over 100K YouTube subscribers.
In the time since, I have tried to create my own lane in the world of lifestyle and fashion digital content creation, traveling across India and the world, and working with brands I love and feel a connection with. I believe in unleashing the power of my visual language, creativity, and marketing to connect with audiences, garner interest and increase visibility not just for the content I create but also for the brands that I represent.
3. Is vlogging and YouTube content creation a financially sustainable career?
Definitely, the creator economy — including YouTube content creation, innovations in content creation, and opportunities for creators has exploded over the past couple of years. Over the years, brand entertainment has had a significant impact on modern culture with creators attracting and engaging audiences, driving business for brands, and also driving their own ROI. This approach has upended the shackles of traditional marketing and advertising roles and opened up business models enabling creators to leverage initiatives with the brands they represent.
There’s a host of ways content creators can build a financially sustainable career — either through advertisements, brand sponsorships, brand partnerships, selling merchandise, product placements, affiliates, consulting, workshops, or courses — you can be as creative as you want, and build on everything you have been working towards your entire career. The creator economy is only maturing day by day, and that means better pay for creators. Having said that, the worlds of brands and creators are in flux and constantly evolving. It’s important to know how to find the right partnerships most suited to the content one creates, look for deeper involvement and accelerate growth not just as a full-time digital content creator on a reasonable living wage, but as a more sustainable career path.
4. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?
Fashion, getting dressed, my travels, seeing friends, magazine archives, movies, and the future. I take inspiration from wherever it comes really. I also draw a lot of inspiration from women around me; many turn to fashion and styling to feel more confident about themselves and/or express themselves. For me, the most fulfilling part of being a creator is when I receive messages from women who tell me that they resonated with something I posted — be it knowledge/ resources on what might work best for them and their body types, or how they could feel more confident in what they’re wearing, or what they could buy to feel their best selves. Suddenly, all those hundreds of hours of creating content, and moments you wished to hurl your phone out of the window, seem worth it. I am also deeply inspired and driven by the latest developments in technology to create content. For instance, I use immersive shopping to create a more engaging and interactive shopping experience for audiences.
5. What does your typical day look like?
A cup of coffee and spending quality time with my dogs is a prerequisite to kick start my day which is typically followed by a group call with the team to discuss the various ongoings and what we’re tackling on the priority that day. I also spend time in meetings and calls with agencies and brands, ideating/scripting for future content, shooting, editing, and engaging with audiences. I work independently; either from a cafe, home, or a studio if I’m shooting.
6. Which is your favorite book and why?
This changes depending on when I’m asked this question, for the moment though The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson is packed with valuable nuggets of wisdom, practical guidance, and anecdotes that provoke thoughtful reflections and inspire you. I also like to listen to podcasts once in a while — ‘Call Her Daddy’ by Alex Cooper is my current favorite.
7. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring creators?
I think it’s so important to remember that success doesn’t happen overnight — you have to stay persistent, patient, and resilient. Also, don’t be afraid to showcase your true self and create content that resonates with you.
As a content creator, you have to start your journey by being multi-hyphenated; you have to be your own editor-director-account manager. So be prepared to do that, at least in the early years. But also, eventually, build a team of like-minded people with the authority to make a difference — you are nothing without a great team in place.
Brief Bio:
Ishita Khanna started her journey as a full-time digital content creator in 2020 and in the time since, she has created her own lane in the world of lifestyle and fashion digital content creation, traveling across India and the world, and working with bucket-list-worthy brands. She gained an audience of over 100K subscribers on her Youtube channel within the first three months of making YouTube her full-time career, proving that her content had a niche in the market. One of her big breaks came when she was featured in the widely popular Myntra Fashion Superstar show — India’s first digital reality show for content creators.
Today, she uses her Youtube — which has over 330K subscribers and Instagram — with over 117K followers to engage with her audience via content that is laser-focused on relatable fashion, lifestyle, and styling tips and trends.
Interviewed By - Aarya Gode
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