Alessandra Antonia

Alessandra is a founder and freelancer, working across teams in content and community while simultaneously running her holistic nutrition practice, TakeCare. After beginning her work life in photography, she's built a career in branding, community development, and overall content strategy at companies like Recess, MyHare, and Crown Affair. Alessandra's other interests include her passion for health, which has led her to start her practice, TakeCare Nutrition, out of her belief in improving anyone's relationship with food and body. Otherwise, Alessandra's off-hours are spent with her dog Hudson by the East River.

First question: Do you consider yourself a freelancer or a founder?

To be honest with you, I consider all freelancers a founder in their own right. There’s no real difference. We make our own schedules, we decide our priorities and who we work with, and we set our lives up to reflect how what’s important to us. My only claim to being a founder is that I have my own business, but even prior to launching TakeCare I would’ve considered myself this way. Taking control of your life and being your own boss is a founder mentality.

You have so many creative talents. Can you tell us about your career?

Thank you so much! It’s been a long road, haha. In a nutshell, my career is the result of non-stop action, a zero-hesitation mentality, and consistently displayed the confidence I knew I’d eventually grow into but didn’t necessarily have.

How did you decide to pivot from freelancing as a photographer to marketing in community and content?

My work as a photographer, although short-lived, is the reason for every opportunity I’ve had since. As a photographer, I would talk to anyone who would listen, work for free multiple times a week, beg companies to send me product to photograph, and beg my friends to pose for me. I honestly didn’t know when it would pay off, but I knew I was enjoying it. One of the best times in this job was when I went to Paris and reached out to agencies there about my work, in broken French I should mention, which led to meeting some awesome people to photograph. For every shoot, I would pay for a studio, get my friend to help with styling, ask a friend to model, and sometimes even have a friend assist. It was always so much fun, even if I knew it wouldn’t necessarily lead to anything. One of the brand owners really liked the work I did for her, and we eventually got coffee, which is when I asked if she needed help on the marketing side. For almost a year, I packed boxes, sat in marketing meetings, and planned social grids. That internship gave me enough know-how and confidence to look to other brands for opportunities, which lead me here!

Tell us about a project that’s pushed you creatively?

I’ve been very lucky to be consistently pushed to new levels. When I started with Dianna Cohen at Crown Affair, it was just me and her in her apartment. I wasn’t qualified to be giving my thoughts on brand message and everything else in building a brand, but I was there and I did. In the past few months, I’ve taken on positions that have pushed me to a whole new level. I’ve recently started doing more than just community management, and instead of doing all of the content management and strategy on top of community initiatives. Especially working for MyHare, a recently launched brand, I’ve had to build everything from the bottom up. Meaning, how we interact and our brand mission, along with all of the marketing and creative, has gone through me in a high-level way. That’s been terrifying because I initially didn’t feel qualified. But the truth is, we grow into these roles as we do them.

“But the truth is, we grow into these roles as we do them." –Alessandra Antonia

You have worked for Recess, Crown Affair, and MyHare, to name a few. How do you find and maintain your clients?

I’ve found all of my clients, whether long or short term, through simply reaching out or word of mouth through friends. Crown Affair and MyHare were both because of introductions from friends, but others have sometimes been me saying Hi, hire me, please. The truth is that maintenance is the hardest part because jobs evolve. At one point, I was working for a CBD brand, taking consulting calls, managing community at Crown Affair, managing an influencer, and studying for my holistic nutrition certification. Then recently my bandwidth has really tightened, forcing me to narrow down that client list. I had to let go of a few projects to really focus, which is something I had to forgive myself for. Maintenance is about knowing what needs to be a priority and recognizing what you’re capable of juggling.

Where do you find inspiration when you are stuck creatively?

The best advice I was ever given is that our brains need to be bored to be inspired. When we’re stimulated, we stop soaking up new information. For me, the off-hours are my time to think outside of my everyday box and tap into other areas of my intellect – even if that means watching The Office for an hour. Other times it means reading an article about fabric patterns, and other times it’s a political podcast or a mushroom documentary.

What advice do you have for creative people who want to pursue their passion as a career?

My advice would be that don’t you dare stop trying. Every person you meet, every project you collaborate on, every single thing you touch MATTERS. Remember that what you put your name on is a representation of you, so give it your all. Every day you’re not pushing is a day lost. Pretend that you work a 9-5 even if you don’t, and dress for the part. That’s a lot of advice, but that’s what I do!