Interview With Laura Giromini, Founder of VivereNewYork

Laura Giromini is a NYC based travel and lifestyle creator at VivereNewYork.

She moved to the City in 2007 to pursue her acting career there – she was a professional actor and dancer in Italy – where she was born and raised – and in 2009 she started an Italian blog to share all her experiences, tips and discoveries with Italians who were planning their trip to NYC or they were simply in love with the city.

As she started to share photo and video content on FB first, and then on IG, she quickly started to grow her international following (today 21% are from the US, 18% are from Italy and the rest is from all over the world) and today she mainly communicates in English – even if she still also blogs in Italian.

Today she is a full-time influencer and she took the time to share with us a lot of interesting information about her journey and some advice for people who want to succeed like her.

Some background

It’s an honor to speak with you today. We would love to know more about your story and your background. Give us some details about your journey as an influencer and digital entrepreneur.

My pleasure!

I moved to NYC from Italy in 2007 to pursue my acting career here (I worked as professional actor and dancer there) and in 2009 I started to blog – in Italian – to share all my NYC knowledge (from hidden gems to fav restaurants/places: tips on how to get the full experience out of the City) in response to all the email from friends (and friends of friends) who were asking for recs.

Few years later, because I was sharing photo/video content also on social media, I started to attract an international audience and I switched to English.

I started to monetize my influence in 2020, as many NYC restaurants, hotels and experiences started to reach out to me to promote their business among locals (now over 20% of my audience is based in the US), and today I’m a full time influencer. I work with fashion brands as well as travel and hospitality businesses.

What’s your niche and why should someone choose you over your competitors in your field?

My niche is comprised of NYC and travel lovers who are also attracted by Italy and the Italian culture/language/food. Brands choose me because of my authentic bond with my audience. My highly engaged followers trust my opinions and I only partner with brands I authentically love!

What are the three things that mostly helped you succeed?

– Having an authentic community I bonded with over the past 14 years
– Consistency, both in creating valuable content and pitching to brands
– Workflow: planning my work, working on my plan

What are your three biggest accomplishments?

– Having built an amazing community
– Getting brand deals based on the quality of my work
– Never compromised (I said/say no to many brands because they do not fit my brand/core values)

What were your three most important challenges?

– IG algorithm (ugh!)
– Finding the perfect brands to work with: constantly pitching and following up, making sure to sign a contract that makes both parties happy, and getting paid for the work done
– Being overwhelmed by working 24/7: I’m never tired from creating content while being a business owner can be stressful

How did you overcome those challenges?

I ground myself into my WHY. Reminding myself why I started to share in the first place: to create community, provide value, and spread love.

When I stay in my commitment, I let go of all the circumstances. The algorithm keeps changing (I never had such a low reach as now!) and yet, as I focus on my WHY, I feel inspired, empowered, and surrounded by love.

As for brands: practice makes perfect. I have a system in place for brands partnerships (from cold pitching to following up, from content creation to getting paid – I took a course that definitely supported me with that!), and now most on my income comes from longer campaigns I was able to secure with brands I previously worked with.

My 2023 goal is to hire one (or more) assistant/s to support me with different tasks.

What’s your piece of advice for readers who want to achieve wealth and success in life?

NEVER EVER EVER GIVE UP! When you’re passionate about something, educate yourself (learning from others played a crucial role for me) and GO FOR IT.

What do you think is the key to a truly successful online business?

Being authentic and having a strong WHY + training and being in action around what you want, one step at the time

What’s your business model? How does your online business make money?

I work with brands to increase brand awareness as an INFLUENCER and I’ve also been creating content for various clients social media use (UGC). Right now I’m also working with an Italian tour operator: I’m about to launch the very first 7 day trip to NY for Italians designed by Laura @VivereNewYork… wish me luck!

Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?

A team of 10+ people will work full time for VivereNewYork to amplify its blog & social media presence, curate brand partnerships, offer travel experiences (starting with trip to NYC and to Italy), while I’m working on my VivereNewYork TV show.

What’s your piece of advice for people who want to quit their 9-5 job and start a business?

Either work till you have enough money on the side to fully commit to you 24/7 online business or start your online business while working part time (that’s what I did).

How can people find you?

As @viverenewyork, I’m mostly active on Instagram, however I’m also on Facebook.

Do you have any app, digital course, or book you would like our readers to know about?

Not for now.

What was your online business revenue last year (2022)?

I’ll be happy to share my 2023 revenue 🙂

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Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash