Meet Mariana McDonald | Influencer & E-commerce business owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mariana McDonald and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mariana, how do you think about risk?
I am a firm believer that risk-taking is not only important but necessary both in life and in your career. I always say that if it scares you, it’s probably a good thing. Getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new, or unknown, is definitely hard, but I do believe that is one of the things that leads you to both success and personal growth. Taking risks, to me, comes with a reward no matter the outcome. You take risks, try new things, and even if you fail, you ALWAYS learn something, always. So I see it as a win-win. I feel like I’ve been taking risks in so many aspects of my life and career, and I don’t regret it a single time. I’ve moved to a different country at 20 years old, I took a 20 day solo trip in Europe when traveling alone was one of my biggest fears, I became an Influencer on Instagram just by deciding to do it one day and doing research on my own, I started an e-commerce business knowing nothing about how any of it works and had to learn everything from scratch.

All these experiences were so scary at first. You always doubt yourself, you always think what if I fail, what if it doesn’t work out, but you have to take the risk! Because what if it does work out?? You’ll never know how much more you can achieve if you don’t at least try! I’m from Brazil and have a totally different life in the US now, I’m an Influencer on Instagram and own my own business. You have to try new things. You have to take risks. And let me tell you, when you succeed, it’s pretty empowering and kind of addicting!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I remember thinking about being an Influencer back before I started, and thinking that it was almost an impossible thing to do. I used to look at all the influencers and wonder how they did it, until one day I decided I wanted to try. I started researching online, taught myself how to edit my photos by watching YouTube videos and Lightroom tutorials, and here I am now with over 100 thousand followers, finishing up my own blog/website to expand on that.
What was the risk of that you may ask? I risked being judged, exposing my life, and being vulnerable, and failing at it, but it was worth it.

It was definitely not easy, and I will never forget when I had only 1,000 followers and decided to do this, my boyfriend at the time, said it was silly because I’d never get to something like 100 thousand followers. To be honest that made me want it even more. Why could I not do it? There I was, being judged already, and hadn’t even started it!

My photos were starting to look great, I researched some marketing tools, did many giveaways, started to share tips and trips, and places I liked, and I remember that every new follower made me so happy.

Why did I want to be an influencer? I changed my major in college 4 times. Advertising, Tourism, Interior Design, and then finally finished it with a Bachelor’s in Fashion Marketing and Management, and on Instagram, I found it was a place I could combine all these 4 things that interested me. I am kind of advertising myself as a “brand,” it’s a place to share all my travels and tips, my lifestyle, and fashion all in one place! Oh, and I always wanted to be a model when I was a kid, so I even get to do that sometimes now!

Travelling and fashion are my passions. Travelling and getting to know new places and different cultures feeds my soul and I love sharing that with my followers. I love taking photos and capturing the beauty of the places I’m at and like I said being the model in them is also not bad hahaha. My style and some tips and fashion hacks, or good sales is also something I share. Living a healthy lifestyle and working out every day, going on hikes, exploring national parks, and eating healthy is also very important to me, so you will find a combination of all these things on my Instagram.

I get to share and work with all the things that I love, and make money doing it!
I also currently have my own e-commerce business doing the Amazon FBA program, which was something that my mom wanted to start and asked if I was interested in partnering with her. Something I also knew nothing about and learned from scratch literally all aspects of the business. How to start an LLC, how to find the right product to sell, then how to find the right supplier, how to calculate budgets and profits, how to create an Amazon seller account, how to use that seller account, Amazon regulations, how to create a listing, design a logo, create product photos, how to advertise your listing, and so on… It was so frustrating at first. My mom isn’t really computer savvy, so I had to do and take care of pretty much everything. Until the business was profitable, we thought of giving up many times. The first product flunked, we lost money, which we knew was a risk, but we learned from it and the next one was a success.

We sell home décor products and other fashion items, so here I am again getting to work with things I like. But I had to take risks, I had to learn a lot to be able to do it right.

To be able to have something that is my own, and to be my own boss is something I’ve always wanted, so even though it was really hard and frustrating at first, just like Instagram, and the risk of failure was high, that’s when you have to keep going. Your desire of achieving something you want has to be bigger than your fear of failure. We took risks, we made mistakes, we learned from them, and did it better the next time and the business is up and running!

So I encourage you, take the risk!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love San Francisco, I’ve been living in the area for over 15 years now and every time someone visits there are a few must-dos here. Palace of fine arts, golden gate bridge, Marin headlands, twin peaks, pier 39 and The Embarcadero, a Giants baseball game at Oracle Park, Baker Beach, Golden Gate Park, a stroll at Crissy field, a tour of Alcatraz, Lombard Street, Chinatown, Shopping at Union Square, a cable car ride, Ghirardelli chocolate, Irish coffee at Buenavista, cute bars in the Marina and Cow Hollow like The Dorian, Wilder and Outré…. oh and definitely an expresso Martini at Balboa Cafe!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout here goes to my mom, who has always believed in me and supported my dreams and my sometimes crazy ideas when no one else would. Even all the times that I was scared and fearful of taking the risk, she trusted me enough to know, that even if I failed, I would still always be ok in the end. My mom is the one who taught me to look at every situation, good or bad, and be grateful for it. Because as I mentioned here before, even if you fail, you will always learn something. And learning is something to be grateful for.

Although she always tries to tell me how to do things, or says that her way is the right way (and what mom doesn’t do that?! haha), by allowing me to make mistakes, to take risks, she made me learn to have courage, to never give up, to believe in myself, and to believe that I will always be ok. She would always repeat to me growing up (in her Portuguese version of this) “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

Failure doesn’t define you, what you do with it, how you look at it, and what you learn from it, does. And I can’t be grateful enough for that lesson.

Instagram: @marianamcdonald

Website: www.mariana-mcdonald.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariana-mcdonald-95817644/

Image Credits
Photo wearing a hat and a red dress – Photographer Carol Delagnelo