Work for Agencies That Respect You!

My friends have been posting amazing things to blog about this week! Thank you! A friend posted this article yesterday and I have seen it before and have the same thoughts about it. I feel like this article is based on common sense but I see how others will disagree. There are different types of people and some of us are nice, empathetic to others and want to treat people with respect. Sometimes money gets involved, egos get big, and priorities change. Even though the audience of this blog is catered to promotional models working events and trade shows it still applies. I have worked with well over 50 promotional modeling agencies in the past and I learned a lot of them are awful. They don't pay on time, they don't communicate unless they need something, they ignore your emails/texts and they disrespect you because they feel like you are beneath them. I can say from experience that I made more as a model than anyone made working a 40 hour week in a marketing/promotional agency. This article basically says that people leave because they feel that they aren't treated properly. Why would you work for someone that over works you, doesn't appreciate your work and doesn't respect you. The worst type of leader is the type that dictates orders and doesn't participate. I want to learn from my boss not be bossed around. Know that you should be treated with respect in your work place and you should enjoy going to work most days. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-quit-their-jobs-2015-7 Team Pink Avenue    

It's Tax Time! Here is What You Can Expense.

Tax time is an extremely confusing time for anyone in the promotional modeling/acting industry. When I first started I didn't know that I could expense anything. Then another promotional model shared her secrets with me and I have saved every receipt since. There is still time to pull together all of your receipts and submit them to your accountant. Make sure you find someone that understands what your job is. It can be expensive working trade shows and events, make sure you expense what you can. Here is an article that will help you with those deductions. https://motivatedmodels.com/2012/02/tax-deductions-for-models/ Team Pink Avenue

The Truth Behind The Modeling Industry

A friend posted this on her Facebook yesterday and most of it wasn't shocking. I started in the modeling industry at a young age and luckily I knew that I wouldn't make a lot of money and that this career would be short lived. I went to college, earned two degrees and now do modeling as a hobby and a way to be creative. Can you imagine working all day on set and getting 10 - 20% of your day rate? How do you live off of that? You don't, you are forced to borrow from your agency which gives them the power. As the article says, they know the models won't do anything about it. This article is sad and I would think it's going to discourage people from getting into the industry. The team at Pink Avenue Models receives a lot of calls from potential models and the first question is about how much we will charge them. Stick to trade shows and events, at least you know you are getting the pay you earned! http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/09/news/runway-injustice-model-expenses/ Team Pink Avenue

Flashback Friday! Wrigleyville Promotions!

We are days away from opening day and it's 70 degrees in Chicago today so this picture just makes sense. Last year the Chicago Cubs won the World Series and the city celebrated for weeks, the events never stopped. Can they win again this year? Hopefully! Team Pink Avenue

Best Clothes for Your Next Photoshoot

I love the color white, it is my first choice when getting dressed. My favorite outfit is a white t shirt, jeans and flip flops or a cute sandal, it fits my personality I guess. Back in the day when I did a ton of photo shoots I would want to wear white and every photographer would tell me how bad it is on camera. It's true, it made me look even more pale and just doesn't look good in pictures. As a promotional model you are expected to have professional and candid photos that are used to book trade shows and events. Here are a couple tips for your next photo session! http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/types-clothes-photograph-best/1807331/ Team Pink Avenue

How Pictures Can Come Back to Haunt You

I can relate to this article and I know a lot of other promotional models probably can to. When I was in college I bartended on the weekends, then was recruited as a promotional model which led to events, trade shows, photo shoots and print modeling. At the time I was so excited about all of the opportunity because I was 20 and not thinking of how it would make finding a career challenging. I posed for every mens magazine out there, Maxim, Stuff, FHM and even placed in the top 100 out of 1 million in a Playboy competition. At the time I was proud and it is still fun to think that I did all of those things but finding a career was impossible. I studied Marketing in college. I thought that it would be a career path that would allow me to use my personality, creativity, challenge me and would always be changing. That is all true. What I didn't think about was that most of the hiring teams would consist of women, women that google your name and find out everything about you. With so many social media outlets now this has to be even easier to find dirt. I'll never understand what posing for magazines has to do with my education or ability to work but it definitely has made things difficult. After college I moved to Chicago and landed an internship at a promotional modeling agency, moved up to the position of Director, quit and started Pink Avenue Models. I applied for numerous jobs with lots of companies and didn't even get a reply. This wasn't because my lack of education, I had a 3.96 GPA from a great school, have social skills, great work ethic and like to be the best at what I do. These companies will never know that because they didn't give me a chance to show them. When I saw this article today I could relate to her story and the constant fear of those pictures being leaked. It isn't anything that I would ever deny and I'm not ashamed but it's not something that I want determining my future. It is actually something to be proud of, not everyone is published in magazines. The topic is something that I talk to the younger generation of promotional models about, I want them to know what they are getting into. I hate how women are treated in the work place. If they are pretty they are judged and harassed, if they are overweight they are talked about, if they don't wear make up they are sloppy and lazy. Can't women just be women? Is it okay for women to be smart AND pretty? What would happen if men were judged EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. What if we brought up their past? Here we are again with the double standard. http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9141665/alejandra-campoverdi-congress-maxim-sexism/ Team Pink Avenue

Pick Your Promotional Modeling Agencies Wisely

The promotional models are at it again on social media. Today I saw a post on the Brand Ambassadors of San Francisco that talked about all of the new companies popping up. It's true, I have seen so many new companies the past couple of years but most of them don't last. You can only get away with screwing over the talent for so long. With new companies comes trust issues and of course payment issues. It is relatively easy and very affordable to start a promotional modeling agency. I think some are more trustworthy than others and that is what makes an agency great and long lasting or unfair and temporary. The main priority when it comes to a promotional modeling agency should be the promotional models, you can't run an agency without them. The post today was about working with unknown companies and having to fight for payment. We all know that you can make great money in this industry but sometimes you don't get that money for 90 days, and sometimes you don't get that money at all. Fighting for your money is annoying and happens way too often in this industry. What is happening is these agencies are booking clients, then booking models and not paying them, they are keeping the money and sadly get away with it. I wish there was a simple situation to this problem but there isn't. Promotional models want to work events and trade shows and they want to work a lot. My only advice is to stick to agencies that you know and have worked with in the past. Do your research! Ask other people in the industry if they know of the agency offering work, google them, the more you know the better. Be smart! Good Luck! Team Pink Avenue