rebranding in the public eye

the not so sexy side of a big social media following

Given this is my very first substack, i’ll kick it off with a wee intro.

I’m Gabby, an Australian living in Scotland for the last 4.5 years who’s built a quarter of a million social media following alongside 3 thriving businesses in the events and photography industry (okay it’s not meant to sound braggy, i’m just super proud!)

When i first relocated to Scotland i had to majorly pivot my successful photography business mid pandemic, and reinvention has unintentionally become a very large part of my life. For my human design folks out there, I’m a manifesting generator who’s only just figured out that my ability to pivot and straddle this multi-passionate life is actually a superpower, and not massive pain in the ass.

In fact, here’s a not so short list of all the jobs i’ve called my own in the last 15 years:

• a bowling alley hostess

• a smoothie maker at Boost Juice

• a pizza maker at dominoes (for 1 shift, couldn’t cut it after i found out what goes on a supreme pizza)

• a receptionist for a promotional sampling company

• a bowling pin mascot AND an Energiser battery mascot

• i’ve ran the website for a mens gift & memorabilia store and called it quits when i realised I was photographing and uploading sex toys on eBay and thought “I can probably do better than this”

• an Uber driver

• a professional pole dancing performer & instructor

• the event manager for Miss Pole Dance Australia

• an event manager for a major insurance company

*Deep breath*
And now we get into the businesses i’ve run…

• a homewares line with photographs from my travels

• a photography company that shot weddings, christenings, formals, 21sts, boudoir, pole dancing, branding - you name it, i shot it

• an online coaching programme for mindset and manifestation called the Cauldron Collective (very proud of this one)

• an online photography school called Ambedo Academy (also very proud of this one)

• not really a business as such, but i’ve been an influencer under the Scotlandmagic brand for the last 3 years

• and FINALLY, we’ve arrived at the Main Character Club, an events and photoshoot company based in Scotland

• Oh wait, we also just launched the Armoury online community as a subsidiary of the Main Character Club

So it’s safe to say my ability to pivot and change trajectories has been nothing short of miraculous. I used to fight against this natural state of being for myself, constantly plagued with “Why can’t i just stick to one career?!” not knowing, that my ability to chop, change, pivot, quit and reinvent has actually been my superpower all along.

Which leads me to my current conundrum or yearning for change.
I’ve been running the Scotlandmagic instagram and tiktok page for the last 3 years and it’s almost exclusively been about (you guessed it!) living in Scotland.
When i first moved abroad nad really struggled to get photography work, i spent a lot of my spare time exploring Scotlands breathtaking landscape with my partner and i took a LOOOTTT of photographs. He encouraged me to share them online and build an account, and before I knew it, we’d hit over 100,000 followers who were also Scotland enthusiasts.

Due to the success of this page, I launched the Main Character Club as a way to connect women across the globe and get them out exploring Scotland too - it’s taken a life of its own and before I knew it, we had 4 photographers offering Main Character sessions on our books, over 50 sold out events (all in under MINUTES, might i add) and now a digital community with 550+ members. It’s all been absolutely incredible and overwhelming but i’m riding the wave and enjoying every single second of it.

But here we are now, 4.5 years into living abroad, 3ish years of running a successful company that’s taken on a life and branding of its own and it’s left me wondering:

“how do i show up as myself online?”

I’ve tangled with the idea of changing my handle to being just my name (a complicated name at that) but feel nervous pulling away from the brand of scotlandmagic thats brought me so much, well, magic over the last 4.5 years!

🥵 Will people still engage with me if i’m no longer centring around scotlandmagic?
😩 What if i lose a tonne of followers that i’ve worked years to accrue over the last few years?
👀 What if people don’t like what i have to share?

All valid questions i ask myself daily.

But my life is so much more than just travelling this magnificent soul home of mine, and i feel the pull to launch into the great unknown and begin sharing more about my business journey, the relocation, mindset work to help others live big, bold, amazing lives - you know, just a plethora of things that bring me joy because the mani-geni in me needs to feel free to share and express anything she wants!

So instead, i’m posing myself with the new set of questions:

💃🏻 What kind of people will I attract when i start showing up as my most authentic self?
✨ What kind of opportunities will present themselves when I’m sharing content that feels effortless?
🌻 How much easier will it be to document my lived reality, than trying to force old ways of being?

I end this first substack by truthfully saying, I’m still shitting myself at the idea of changing the scotlandmagic handle that’s held me for all this time. So for the time being, i’ll be exploring this new vision for my content right here in substack, and i’m really excited to have you along for the journey too. If you have any questions about business / relocation / living abroad / taking big motherf*cking leaps, then please leave them below - your ideas would be much appreciated and will help me continue to thrive in this next phase of my journey too.

Until next time, kind pals,

Gabby x