Reading time: 5 minutes
Hello friends,
A few weeks ago I reached out to Voni…“I know we’ve bonded over work bits in the past, but aside from that, I love how you’ve taken the bull by the horns in navigating your career and life, moving cities multiple times and taking it in your stride each time”.
When I wrote to Voni I didn’t know she’d been offered a career-defining opportunity and would be moving back to London from Copenhagen in the next few months - it felt fitting and the perfect timing to chat.
Australian-born, Voni’s career has seen her dive into the fashion industry from Naked Copenhagen to The Face, Metallic Inc and Superimpose, she’s passionate about community building, authentic relationships, and meaningful partnerships.
We caught up over sourdough and a zoom call and had a chat that left me with 5 learnings I’m sure you’ll find useful.
Grateful to have you here,
Tish x
1. On moving cities multiple times
I’ve moved to Copenhagen twice, London once, and I’m moving back to London in November! I was lucky when I first moved to Copenhagen as I knew a few people already from a Europe trip a year earlier. It helped as moving to a non-English speaking country has its challenges. For example, my lease was in Danish, so I used google translate a lot to translate documents and my network and community became my Google. Asking people for help and leaning on those who are already settled is a game changer.
2. On finding a job
I moved to London without a job so I understand how scary that can be. To find work, I went deep into researching brands and agencies I liked. I followed them on social to see what they were up to and if they were throwing any events. I reached out to my network and let them know I was looking for work. When you want something badly, you have to be persistent, and as long as you’re yourself, you’ll attract the right people and opportunities. At an agency event, I ended up meeting someone who later became my boss.
3. On social media and marketing
While the word authenticity can be overused, it’s true when we’re talking about social and marketing. Having a genuine connection with your community is a pillar of a successful brand. This means asking questions, listening, and serving your community with content that builds connection and a following.
It also means brands need to invest and listen to those that look after, nurture and interact with those audiences, ie: social media managers. These people sit between the brand and an audience, and need to be respected, listened to, and understood.
Getting these things right helps to build trust, encourage connection and make content that’s rooted in truths.
4. On financial planning
Save your money. I was financially independent when I first moved overseas so I saved for a year before I was able to leave.
Copenhagen and London are expensive cities, especially when you’re on a graduate salary, so to make it work you have to budget and be more mindful of your spending.
I’m now in a place where I want to learn about investing to understand how I can make my money work for me. Things like stocks and funds. To be honest, we aren’t taught these things so I don’t really know where to start but I’m reading and listening to a few things to get the ball rolling.
5. On being a woman of colour
Looking back, I see the micro-aggressions I’ve experienced throughout my life. They became pretty apparent when I moved to Europe and the UK when I started working in professional environments. I wasn’t prepared for some things that happened, like not getting or being considered for certain opportunities because of my background.
I would get upset at work but I didn’t know how to articulate how I was feeling. I didn’t know how to express myself. It was really hard and frustrating. A book that particularly helped me to navigate the workplace as a black woman was “Slay in Your Lane” which resonated hard. I started to find the language for the feelings I was having. I felt so validated and felt like my feelings were finally understood.
I know I can’t change people but I can change myself and how I react. These days I’ve learned not to give people the energy and have taken the emotion away from situations. Microaggressions are everywhere but these days I’m better equipped to deal with them.