Victoria Magrath talks business investments and building a successful personal brand

In 2023 Victoria Magrath received the bCreator™ Special Recognition award which recognises a creator who has made a significant and lasting impact on the industry and has contributed to its growth and success.

It’s clear Victoria has a played a big part of the professionalisation of the creator industry. Each business move, brand deal and collaboration has been given careful consideration with respect to her audience, which has flourished to over 1 million on Instagram alone.

We’ve followed Victoria’s rise over the years, in 2016 she graced the milestone 10th cover of our magazine, in 2018 she featured in Serious 1 of our podcast (one of our most listened to episodes) and in 2023 Victoria became the first recipient of our new Special Recognition Award and joined the bCreator™ Awards Committee.

Following the Awards we asked Victoria about her career journey and what her plans are for future…

You’ve paved the way for many creators to build their own personal brands, what have been the biggest lessons you’ve learnt along the way?

Be open to collaborative thinking, find comfort in saying no and indulge in time away from your screen. When your business is centred around your life, it is easy to find the commercial aspect in every opportunity. Whilst this is critical to the success of your business, it’s equally important to know when to say no. Your audience is a curated community of likeminded folk and they do not want to be sold to every time they open their apps. Take time to get to know your audience, communicate with them and allow them to get to know you. Whilst your content may get them to press the follow button, your personality and spirit will build trust and encourage them to stay.

You made the move from ‘Inthefrow’ to eponymous ‘Victoria’, when did you realise the time was right – and how did you manage to acquire just your name on social media?

Inthefrow is still a huge part of my brand, however it is only one arm of our offering. As I work to develop Frow Studios and other exciting ventures (to be announced soon!), it was important to me to position myself as the CEO of a multifaceted business…which I am. Keeping the Inthefrow handle no longer made business sense, especially as my business continues to grow. Acquiring the name on social media didn’t happen overnight, it was a long and often frustrating journey. An account can be acquired if there has been no activity on that account for a period of three months (this means that the account could not be logged into, uploaded to nor used to like or comment on third party posts). When I finally got the green light from my contact at Instagram, I was thrilled and moved my profile to the handle with their assistance. 

Issue 10 featuring Victoria ‘Inthefrow’

What would you say is your proudest moment from your content creator journey so far?

I have had many proud moments; from being the face of Viktor & Rolf perfume and reaching 1 million on Instagram, to launching multiple licensing lines with Holland Cooper and Edge of Ember – it’s hard to pin point just one! One of my proudest achievements in the last year though has been purchasing our apartment in Manchester. Manchester has a huge piece of my heart as it’s where I spent my formative years, studied and eventually worked as a lecturer in Fashion Marketing at the University of Manchester. Being able to spend time and shoot campaigns in our own apartment has been a real full circle moment for me.

Have you ever suffered from burnout? Do you have any tips for creators feeling that way?

Absolutely! When your life is the foundation of your business, it’s very hard to accept that down time is a necessity and should be equally prioritised. Taking a moment to reset is critical for creative minds too, it allows you the time to let your thoughts flow more freely which often leads to more innovative ideas. If you struggle taking time for yourself, my best advice is to book yourself in to a meditation class (or alike), where devices aren’t permitted. You’ll soon see how important time away can be and find yourself booking a two week retreat in the middle of nowhere to kick start your creativity. 

Besides content creation, are there any other projects you’d like to do more of or try in the future?

As creators, we rely on third party platforms for a substantial part of our income, so it’s crucial you keep this in mind as your business evolves. I’ve recently enjoyed completing my first business investments; one of which is Greenpixie, a cloud emissions tracking tool that’s making huge strides. I’m so keen to develop further arms to my business, so stay tuned for what that entails. 

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