"You can’t be afraid of failure" with Maggie Szabo
Maggie Szabo is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, fitness influencer, and mindset maven who has been winning over audiences worldwide with her stunningly soulful vocals, empowering pop anthems and love over the fear mantra. Hailing from small-town Ontario, Szabo is now an accomplished musician with successes including over 15 million streams on Spotify, extensive press coverage from high profile media outlets (Billboard Magazine, Perez Hilton, Yahoo Music!, PopCrush, Huffington Post) and numerous notable film and TV placements on networks such as Netflix, Disney, ABC, E!, TV Land and NBC. Maggie is also known in the wellness world, securing partnerships with prominent brands such as Nike, and is the creator of the positive affirmations t-shirt company Thread The Love. She uses her music, brand, and impressive social media following to conquer social injustice and spread her message of healthy living and self-love.
Maggie’s new EP will be released in the summer of 2020. Follow her on Spotify and be the first to hear! Keep in touch with her on Instagram and Tik Tok.
https://www.allaboutmaggie.com
What is your background? How did you become an influencer?
I started out singing and writing songs while I was growing up in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I always knew I was going to make music my career. I ended up moving to Los Angeles and the more I continued to share my journey, the more of a following I was able to build. I ended up releasing my own songs, writing for other artists and also having my music placed in major film and TV projects.
Moving to LA also really inspired my journey toward self-love and personal growth, and that’s what motivated me to start a t-shirt line called Thread The Love. All of the t-shirts have self-affirmation quotes that are backward, so when we are looking in the mirror we can read them - and show ourselves a little extra, and much deserved, love. It’s very important for me to use my music as a way to spread this message.
What three things does anyone starting in your industry need to know?
You definitely have to be prepared to work overtime. It takes a very long time to get a business off the ground, but when it’s yours and a mission you believe in, it’s a lot easier to stay motivated to put in the time.
You also can’t be afraid of failure. It can take a lot of trial and error to figure things out and it’s important to find the positives in each situation that may feel like a letdown.
You have to be passionate about what you do. If you aren’t confident about what your business has to offer, your customers won’t be either.
What would you do differently if you were starting in your industry now?
That’s a tough question to answer because I don’t like having any regrets. I’m not sure I would do anything differently because each experience has taught me something new, and I think those little failures are very important when building a successful business.
Which people or resources have had the most influence on your growth and why?
Social media strategy has definitely had the most influence on my growth. When it comes to music and fashion, socials are where discovery happens and your platforms are the closest access you have to find new people who will be a fan of your product or service.
What do you think is the top key to success in your business?
Consistency. Every day you have to chip away at it. It’s really hard to see the progress when you’re grinding it out day by day. But when you look back - even just a few months down the road - it’s amazing to see what progress can be made. Whether it’s posting on social media, working on new designs, or creating, putting in the time consistently is key.
How did you come up with your pricing model?
When it comes to music, the more I continue to build my fan base, the more value my music has. With film and TV, that just means that more offers and higher offers are coming in for my songs to be placed in different projects. And the more of a fan base I build, the more my music streams.
With Thread The Love, it’s important to me to keep the cost of the t-shirts reasonable so they are accessible to everyone. My mission is to positively affect the way people look at themselves and show themselves, love. To do this, the shirts must be sold at a fair price.
Talk about the biggest failure you've had. What did you learn from it?
Wow. I would say making mistakes when it comes to spending money in the wrong places. With any business, it can be a balancing act of figuring out how to spend marketing money and knowing where that money can be most valued. Many times, this is trial and error. So definitely I have made some mistakes as far as just spending money in places that didn’t yield great results. But that’s how you learn!
How do you market your business? What has been the most effective form of marketing?
Social media. For fashion, Instagram has been a great tool to get t-shirts in front of people. With music, it has been a mixture of YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, and having my music placed in tv and film projects.
How do you find brand partnerships? What is your advice to those starting out?
Remember that you need to provide value to any partnership. It’s in business. If you haven’t spent the time to build an amazing product, following or service, it’s difficult for someone else to see the potential in working with you. Figure out what you have to offer and create mutually beneficial relationships with brands that serve both of you.
What does a typical day in your week look like?
Every single day is totally different. As I have a few businesses, it depends on what tasks I need to prioritize. However, the one thing that remains consistent is my ‘me’ time, which is dedicated to working out. Other than that, my days are spent in the studio, at home strategizing with my team, organizing photo shoots, and devoting time to social media.
What keeps you going when things get tough in your business?
Knowing that my business is like my baby is all the motivation I need. Nobody is going to work harder than me for my business, and that always gets me out of bed in the morning.
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