Meet Bre Chiero | Founder & Creative Director, Hungry Hipsters

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bre Chiero and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bre, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As someone who has been a self-employed entrepreneur for the last 6 years, I can’t say that I’ve mastered work-life balance- not even close. Early on in my career, I lived & breathed work. My business was who I was. The pressures I put on myself to achieve milestones monopolized any bit of down time, the ability to take a vacation or pursuing personal hobbies.

Though in recent years, I’ve allowed myself to prioritize rediscovering happiness outside of my work & business’ success. The moment I created a distinction between personal & business growth, the more balanced & at peace I’ve been. I actually find that dedicating time to my personal health, well-being & friendships, is actually what I needed to be a more focused business professional, even with the less time I was spending on my job. Maintaining a reasonable balance is everything!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Prior to starting my own business, I worked for almost 7 years at Macy’s Inc. I was in our fashion office where our team forecasted trends for our buyers, created style guides & visual thematic presentations for our creative departments & led ideas for marketing campaigns, both in-store & digital. I learned so much from my time at Macy’s & attribute everything I know to that experience- the foundation of social media is much like fashion trends, they’re ever changing & always seem to come back around once & again!

Today, my creative content agency (Hungry Hipsters) is located in downtown Los Angeles. I lead my business with a story-centric approach as opposed to bulk asset creation, and I believe that’s what sets me apart. We help small businesses with their story. Folded into that is creative direction, social media strategy planning & branding across photo & video development. I work with a team of freelance photographers, producers & models to help bring campaigns to life.

With social media changing daily (if not hourly) and the pandemic, it hasn’t been the easiest journey but remaining flexible & open to change has made it possible to keep up. I try to look at each challenge as an opportunity for growth- that tends to be one measure of success that I focus on since so much of social media performance can be outside of our control!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The best thing about Los Angeles is being able to spend so much time outside!

As far as activities, I would want to start each morning with a relaxing hike, either walking around Laurel Canyon or some trails off Mulholland. We’d get a post-walk coffee at the Canyon Country Store- they accept venmo, have alternative milk options, and there’s always cute & friendly dogs. Or another small business which is a West Hollywood gem- Farm Cup Coffee. They serve out of a vintage 1964 bright yellow bus, their owners are the sweetest & the coffee / tea is top notch! If you go in summer definitely get a summer special like “The Cool Kid.” After, maybe we’d go to Met Her At A Bar for brunch / lunch and get some vegan or gluten free waffles!

During the day, I think a beach trip with some picnic snacks would be a must. I love driving up the PCH & just pulling over when we find a good spot. You can put a popular beach into your GPS like El Matador Beach in Malibu, but there are so many others with beautiful views. We’d bring a portable Bose speaker to listen to some music 🙂

For dinner, I would choose from my favorite spots depending on the visitor!
– Otus for a casual (but SO delicious) thai cuisine
– Everleigh which is more farm-to-table, the ambiance is so stunning
– Osteria La Buca for Italian cuisine, their gluten free pasta is amazing!
– Cafe Gratitude for a very vegan & LA experience

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely my friend & former colleague, Jim Trzaska. He’s been such a mentor to me in my business journey & has always given the best advice!

Website: www.hungryhipsters.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hungryhipsters/