Getting to know Mimi Konn
Meet Mimi Ikonn, verified business and lifestyle influencer with over 1M+ IG followers and 800k+ YT subscribers. If you are already an avid follower of Mimi’s, you most likely have a strong admiration for her positive attitude, and the ways in which she practices the act of presence and gratitude on a daily basis. Although you may catch glimpses of Mimi’s everyday life on her channels from food, to fashion and of course beauty, her main focus is the energy she exudes on her channel, and ensuring her content is truly impacting others in a positive way.
Mimi Ikonn founded the successful hair extension business, Luxy Hair as well as an all-natural hair care line called Love Hair, alongside her hubby, Alex Ikonn. In addition, Mimi is a current partner at Intelligent Change, the creators of the Five Minute Journal and the Productivity Planner. Being a founder of numerous businesses, Mimi loves taking you on her personal journey showing you every facet of her life, whilst continuing to build and grow these brands. It is because of this, Mimi shows you her most authentic self and it’s so magical.
Curious to know more about Mimi’s journey? Let’s get to it!
When did you first start using social media?
I started using social media a while ago, maybe in 2007 or 2008 because I had a fashion blog called La Mimi, where I was doing a ton of interviews with other fashion bloggers who were just starting out, such as @songofstyle. At the time, she was still in San Francisco and in fashion school, so truly everyone was just starting out, and it was a very exciting time.
Walk me through the step-by-step process that you went through to get to where you are today. What was the first thing you did? Next?
The first thing to do is just post, whether it’s a video, photo or blog post. Regardless of what content you want to put out there, you need to ship. Without that, there’s nothing. Putting the content out the first time is scary, but doing this is what got me to where I am today. If you do something regularly for a few weeks to a month, and it doesn’t resonate with your following and you give up, you aren’t going to get anywhere. Therefore, you need to commit to something for at least a year to see true progress.
I know a few people who worked on their passions and didn’t have their big break until 3 years later. If they had given up, they would have missed out on that opportunity. I think you need to connect to the “why are you doing it?” because if you have a why, you’ll find a way to how you’re going to do it. My “why” is that I know I can make someone’s life better, and it makes me feel good doing it. With this “why,” it makes me care less about the likes or the views because I know if I can help at least one person, I believe it’s worth it. At the end of the day, if you are putting out content that’s important and meaingful to you, that’s all that really matters.
My point is that I believe all of the above is what got me to where I am today. It’s not because I am more talented than others or I got lucky, it’s because I did the work and really cared about the content I put out there and I did it consistently. Some videos went viral, yes, but a lot didn’t, and after all this time, you are bound to end up with a nice, and engaged audience because you’ve been with them for all these years sharing valuable content.
How long was it before your social media platforms became profitable? How did you live through those first few months/years? Did you have any struggles?
We got really lucky. Not with the blog, as I didn’t make any money off of my blog, only pennies from a few of the ads. With Luxy Hair, I think the key ingredient was that we were selling a product, and our viewers were able to invest in us and become a part of our story and the experience. In the first year, we were profitable and made our first million. I think we did something different, and did it at the right time too, and we provided a product that fulfilled the niche of being able to install high quality extensions from the comfort of your own home. There were lots of people copying right away, but we definitely rode this wave for a long time.
Also, we launched the YT channel 2-3 months before we introduced Luxy Hair extensions, but from day one of selling Luxy Hair extensions, we were profitable.
What did you do prior to influencing on social media? If you weren’t an influencer, what would be your dream job?
I did many different things – I was a waitress for many years, and also worked at CIBC bank, and I did these two jobs simultaneously. At one point, I worked as a fashion stylist, and got my certification as an image consultant. In this role, I worked with people on a personal level, and also did fashion styling for commercial shoots, magazines, websites, blogs etc.
Once we launched Luxy Hair, I abandoned all of my previous jobs because I wanted to have a business that sells a product vs. offers a service. The reason being is that when you offer a service, you are still working for somebody, and you don’t have total freedom. I was looking for freedom, which is why Luxy Hair is something that worked for Alex and I.
My dream job would be working with people, I love people and care about people deeply, so I would probably be a psychiatrist. Regardless of the position I took on, it would be a role that helped people, for example, life coach, fitness trainer etc. The thought process behind this is, I love seeing people get better physically and mentally, and truly become better versions of themselves.
What are your thoughts on social media? And what do you think is the most commonly misunderstood thing about social media?
The thing about social media and like anything else in life, it has good and bad. All that matters at the end of the day is how you utilize social media. I love to compare this example to food, it can be bad if you abuse it and eat unhealthy consistently, but if you eat the right foods and an adequate amount, you can be a healthy, energetic and thriving human being.
I think the most misunderstood thing about social media is that people think it’s bad. I believe it is amazing in the way it connects so many people – I’ve made so many friends on social media, and it’s how I’ve found a lot of my colleagues and co-workers. For me, social media is an incredible tool that allowed me to be here and live this lifestyle, so I see a lot of the positives in it obviously, but I am also aware of all the negatives especially when it comes to the younger generations growing up. With children growing up on social media, I believe it’s important for the parents and education system to step in and educate these kids that this is not the real world. Sadly, the reality is that parents are busy and these kids are left to their devices and the process of comparison begins, and they can become very hurt inside.
Overall, I think it’s how you choose to utilize the tool. You can create so much abundance from it including creating relationships, growing a business, learning new information based on the accounts you choose to follow, and all for free.
What negative assumptions, if any, have been made about you via social media?
I’ve gone through so many negative comments. However, I think the most important thing is knowing who you are. I was listening to this book yesterday called, Awareness, and the guy said “you are truly successful when you don’t care what others think about you.” Naturally, I don’t care what others say, but there’s obviously a degree of caring. We all care, but to what degree do you care? As time goes on, I care less and less, but I still care at the end of the day.
As people consume your content, and really get to know you, they feel they can pass on judgemental comments towards you that contain a lot of info about your life. Those are the comments that trigger you, and every action afterward. When I am triggered, I see it as a positive thing because it makes me realize, is there still work to do? And I ask myself, why am I triggered? Is it because there is some truth perhaps to this comment? I reflect on these questions, then I go and do the work. By doing this exercise, I actually grow so much more as a person through these experiences.
Tell us something about yourself that your followers don’t know
As cliche as this may sound, I am just like all of my followers and everyone else in the world. What I mean by this is that most of my audience is super sweet, incredible human beings, so a lot of them look up to me and idolize me, as if I am so different from them. Most of them say “we need more Mimis in the world,” and sometimes it kind of pisses me off haha because no, we don’t need more mimis in the world, you are like me and I am like you.
We just all need to do our best and bring our best selves out every single day and I truly feel this way. I am a regular person with no special talents or skills, I wake up every single day and choose myself – I choose to be the best, I choose to focus on the positive, I choose to put in the work, I choose to believe in myself, and I choose to have the guts to do it because it does take courage to stand up and do something that may fail, and I think this is why most people don’t do it. Moral of the story, everybody is just like me, and I am like everybody.
Of all the gifted packages you receive as an influencer, which product/item excites you the most? What would be your dream brand to collab with?
As you know, I barely ever accept gifts for environmental reasons. However, the ones I do get super excited about are the brands that are creating these incredible, sustainable solutions. Therefore, anyone who is producing natural, cruelty-free products or sustainable fashion, I am always happy to support.
My dream brand to work with and I am so grateful to say I do work with them today is Audible. You have the opportunity to learn something new everyday, and in the end, you are not cutting down any trees to do so.
Who are three of the most important, and influential people in your life? and why?
My family – Alex and Alexa, my two loves. Then of course, my immediate family, and my parents. I am so grateful that everyone is healthy and alive, and I am making the most of every moment.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring influencer if you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip?
Only do this if you really care about the content you are putting out there. Not for the money, not for the status and not for the # of subscribers either because you are going to fail, and even if you succeed, you are not going to feel fulfilled.
Where can you expect to see Mimi in 10 years? In the past year, Mimi has started to do extensive research, in order to make significant changes and live a more sustainable lifestyle i.e. eliminating consumption of household plastic. She believes there are many things in her life that she could improve on, and she is a work in progress, but she’d love to become more involved in society as an environmental advocate. In her words, “to be an advocate, you have to first do it yourself.” To do this, Mimi’s mission is for Love Hair and Intelligent Change to assist in tackling at least one environmental issue in society or to perhaps create tangible solutions for the generations beneath her, who may not have the resources to create solutions for themselves.
As a personal follower of the beautiful Mimi, I’ve always walked away from her content feeling more positive, grateful and inspired to be and do better every single day. If you are not following her yet, I highly recommend you check her out, @mimikonn.
Thank you for reading, your support means the world to me, and I am so excited to continue this journey with you. Let me know your thoughts and feedback in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!
Who are some of Mimi’s biggest inspirations?
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