Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Lockhart.
Hi Catherine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After graduating with a finance degree, I immediately went into consulting at Deloitte. A few years later, I moved to Austin and changed jobs. My new job was far less demanding, and I suddenly found myself with a ton of free time and very few hobbies to keep me busy. I had a few friends who were social media creators, and one of them showed me how to edit a video in the app. That day, I created a TikTok account and started my journey. I started primarily on TikTok because I (mistakenly) thought no one from my real life would see my videos, and I began mainly talking about Austin and recommendations in the city. Eventually, I ran out of content and thought, “What is something I could talk about forever?” As a former Sephora employee and avid beauty lover, I retargeted my content towards makeup and am still talking about it almost two years later! I was able to grow enough on TikTok to get a manager and was able to leave my corporate job to pursue content full-time after about 7 months. Now, I am active on both Instagram and TikTok, and my content covers makeup, skincare, hormone health, wellness, fashion, and pretty much whatever else I feel like talking about! I started Lone Star Locals, an Austin-based apparel company, and will be launching Suede Skin, a grass-fed beef tallow-based skincare company, this summer. There are always ups and downs with social media, and it is unlike any job I have ever had, but I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do this as my job and work with things I love for brands I believe in.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. When creating content, there’s always a “cringe” period that every creator feels and has to get past in the beginning. You are always at the will of the algorithm and need to learn what it wants. There’s no positive feedback loop, so sometimes it takes effort to stay motivated. There will always be creators who are seemingly more successful than you, and comparison is the thief of joy. Sprinkle in the fact that people can be pretty cruel on the internet, and you’ve got a very mentally taxing job on your hands. However, I feel so fortunate to wake up every day and decide what content I want to make and what I want to do. With this job, you really get out of it what you are willing to put in – hard work and consistency are rewarded. It’s an exciting space to work in, and being creative daily is all you can ask for. Not having to join all-hands calls is also a plus.
What’s next?
The scariest part of content creation is strategically positioning yourself to make this career sustainable – it’s not a linear career path, and you never know if social platforms will change or what will happen in the industry! I thought about this from the beginning, so I’ve constantly wondered, “What can I do to leverage my influence and community and make this career more sustainable?” I love retail strategy, so developing a product in the beauty space made the most sense. It took me almost a year and a half to figure out what that product would be, but through my content and community suggestions, I settled on Suede Skin.
Suede Skin is a grass-fed beef tallow-based skincare company that uses non-toxic natural ingredients and synthetic fragrances and is safe for hormones! I have struggled with hormone imbalance personally, and I was becoming frustrated by how hard it is to find beautiful skincare products that don’t contain endocrine disruptors. I started making my lotion and shared the recipe with my followers, and all of them said, “You should sell this!” After almost a year of formulating, branding, and packaging design, Suede Skin is nearly ready to share with the world. Our first product will be a naturally fragranced vanilla body butter, with two other products planned for release later in the year.
Contact Info:
- Website: suedeskin.com , lonestarlocalsclothing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherine.lockhart/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherine_lockhart
Image Credits
Photo in mirror: Grace Dupuy, @thelettergrace, Stacked hats photo: Eleanor Lee, Meraki Narrative
