Shelby is one of my favorite Austin influencers and I am so jealous she gets to hang out with my blogger friends on a regular basis. (See what I’m talking about here!) I know the term influencers gets a bad rap but Shelby does it right and is a shining example of authenticity, charm, relatability and her food photography makes me want to throw my camera out the window it’s so good.
Name: Shelby Sorrel
Education: B.A. from Texas State University
Hometown: Austin, Texas
What did you study in college and do you apply any of it in your career? I studied Communication Studies with a minor in Psychology in college — I wanted something general that had to do with interacting with humans. A lot of what I do as a full-time Social Media Strategist and Influencer is working with people, networking, selling my services, forming interpersonal relationships, and communicating with my rad followers. Because of this, I would absolutely say I’ve applied the things I learned in my college courses to how I actively work to build my business and relationships now.
What path led you to your current role? Honestly, after working in corporate America for six years, I was offered a job at a big PR agency in town to do social media, I decided to take the plunge and immediately left my job working in retirement — Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans, to be exact (it’s as exciting as it sounds). I knew I had a huge passion for all things social media and that this was my chance to chase that dream at an agency I respected (I still do, they are incredible and full of talented folks). After a few months, I decided to head out on my own and try and do the dang thing full-time. Here I am now, almost two years later, loving what I do and waking up excited to work each day.
What is the biggest misconception about your role? That it is easy and does not require hustle. This is completely inaccurate, as the influencers and social media professionals I know work so incredibly hard each day on brand deals, engagement, marketing, content creation, and more. Of course I get to make my own schedule, which at times makes it look like I am goofing off during the week, but this job also requires a lot of late nights, tons of time spent networking, hours on end shooting and editing content, and working throughout the weekend. Note: I will be the first to admit that I am very lucky to be able to do this as a career and I definitely acknowledge that corporate America and 9-5 jobs also have rigorous hours at times, all jobs do. I just want to make sure that I do mention that influencers do work very hard at what we do, because we love it, and we love sharing our experiences with the world.
Tell us about your typical work day. My typical work day varies — the morning usually looks like emails and entirely too many cups of coffee. I typically go to at least one coffee shop a day to get out of the house and be around others who are also working diligently (and of course to accidentally spend 30 minutes scrolling through Instagram and freak out that I just wasted time). I will either come home for lunch or meet a friend (or client) for lunch, or an afternoon coffee date. I shoot content during the day when there’s lots of sunshine, and my nights are usually filled with editing photos or attending as many networking/foodie events as possible to make sure I am putting myself out there, to see friends of mine, and to stay up to date on the newest openings in town.
What motivates you in your role? The passion I have for it and the people who enjoy consuming my work! I am inspired daily to keep pressing on in this social media world because of the people who encourage me, find a spot for their anniversary dinner because of a post of mine, and DM me asking questions about faith, Austin, life, food, and the little things in between. It brings me joy to share my life with others, and it brings me even more joy when the content I create inspires others.
What demotivates you in your role? The internet can be a discouraging and wild place at times. I think sometimes I can let people get to me a little more than I should. I have worked at developing a thicker skin towards the opinions of others, but taking it a day at a time and taking a break from Instagram when I need a reset is all I can do to combat that and get myself motivated again.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? Never go to bed angry, always, always apologize when you made a mistake, and watch what you say, because you can’t take words back.
What would you tell yourself at 25? KEEP GOING, GIRL. Work hard and keep working on that side hustle, and you will get to where you want to be.
