We asked insiders and experts from various industries to tell us something they think outsiders are unaware of and we’ve shared a few of those responses below.

Claire Hosterman | Singing Coach and Life Coach

I think one thing that many people don’t know about my industry as a singing coach is that it’s far more than scales and warmups. In addition to teaching what I have learned over the past 17 years after studying with world class teachers in Paris, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles, and also creating my own technique–I have learned that singing is actually 90% mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual. And this is what makes me stand out as a top singing coach in Los Angeles, working with singers and actors on tv shows (whose agents and managers send me to them), as well as working with people around the world become the best singers they can be. The best singing coaches out there combine body, mind and spirit in order to achieve transformation. Many may not know this, but I am also a life coach who works with people from all over the world, helping them get the results they want by going to the core issue of why they’re stuck. Read more>>

Grace-Ann Long | GODSGRACE or GAL

The most cosmetics are made at the safe factory. It’s just the name and the branding. Small business will get over look and they use the same manufacture as some larger companies. Read more>>

Kijana Sharif Hudggins-Blanding | Entrepreneur, Small Business owner and Caterer

Most are unaware that the name of my business is not named after myself. The majority automatically assume that Savannah is my name. Only people who know me actually know that Savannah is not my name and only those who are close to me know the complete background behind the name. Read more>>

Tim Realbuto | Actor

People don’t realize how many jobs go into making a film, TV, or stage project. There’s way more than just the actors and the director. There are endless crew members, casting directors, assistants, hair and makeup crew, construction workers, builders, script assistants, stage managers, designers, the list goes and on and on. Also, a lot of people look at the entertainment industry as a hobby. Just because we may love what we do doesn’t make it any less of a real job. Read more>>

Raisa Sendrovich | Celebrity Social Media Manager

When you think about working with a celebrity and managing their social media, you immediately think of all the excitement and glamour that comes with it—which there is a ton of and definitely a major perk of the business. What you don’t think about is the work that goes into it. There’s no such thing as a regular work week with set hours. You’re always on the clock and monitoring the latest trends and sentiments on your clients pages. Whether you’re traveling home for the holidays or attending a wedding, if something goes down there’s no time to lose. As much as you get to travel the world and attend major events, you’re still working—even on the “off days.” And as much as that seems like a lot, when you love your job it never seems like work!. Read more>>

Kate Gaffney | Actor & Podcaster

Without a doubt I wish that people knew that the audience has literally ALL of the power – I mean that – ALL of it. We are absolutely employed by those that choose to view our content, in whatever form that takes. Yes, casting directors, studio execs, directors, etc. have the most power in the bubble that is Hollywood/entertainment (in a traditional sense) but the audiences are who actually decide it all. You know the old adage, “vote with your dollars?” That is absolutely true with entertainment as well. We’ve seen the effects of a viral post on any of the various platforms calling out bad behavior or perceived/actual slights and that has a performative response (if it goes viral enough) but the most effective impact an audience member can have is to not hand over their money. You find an actor’s behavior offensive or the executive in charge of the production is someone that you despise? Don’t watch their current/future projects, don’t pay for the film, don’t buy the merchandise around the project. Read more>>

Moon(Yuezhu) Wang | Animator&illustrator

Many people may probably think it’s easy to make animations, but it’s not, especially when we’re talking about traditional hand-drawn animations. I remember when I first showed my parents a 1-minute 2D animation short I made at school , they were curious if there is more? I can actually understand their doubts, because before I stepped into the field of animation, I also thought it could be done easily with just a few strokes. However, now I realize that it is difficult to maintain the continuity of the characters in animation. How to make moving objects look realistic and exaggerated does require the accumulation of time and skill. Sometimes I can only complete the animation part of 2-3 seconds a day, so you can imagine that if you want to make a 2d animation feature independently, it will take years. And this is why 3d animation movies are the mainstream so far. Read more>>

Stephen Aleczander | Beauty and Glamour Photographer/Creator

It is paramount that you have a great team in place! Each aspect of the team must be perfect in order to create a great image! Think of a picture as a table that has 4 legs. One leg may be the choice in model, the other leg may be the makeup artist/hairstylist, the third leg would be lighting, and the fourth leg post production. All 4 of these legs must come together to create an amazing image! If even one of these is subpar or missing then the table will fail and the image will suffer! It is imperative to have all of these in place to create the perfect image. Read more>>

Kazu Nagahama | Actor / producer

It’s all about the team work. The combination of creativities and business oriented management. Sometime creative people don’t have a business plan but hollywood if you want to make it as a career, you need to know the both side of operations. Read more>>

Sierra Imari | Founder & Creative Multihypenate

One thing about my industry (entertainment) that outsiders are probably unaware of.. hmm.. that’s such a great question. I would have to say that one thing most are unaware of in my industry is that we’re going through a triple revolution right now. Most focus on the digital shifts taking place (rightfully so), but we’re also shifting generationally and economically. The digital revolution reflects how entertainment is created and consumed while the generational revolution reflects who is in leadership and their specific leadership style and the economic revolution reflects what forms of entertainment people are now finding valuable. Read more>>

Daisy Chen Hutton | Female Founder of The Fixx Collective

Most consumers are still blind to the fact that the fashion industry has an enormously negative impact on the environment. Even as someone who worked in corporate fashion for over a decade, I was unaware of these statistics until recently. From the agriculture (including pesticides and excessive water) to grow natural fibers, or petroleum based manmade fibers, to toxic dyes, wastage of materials in production, carcinogenic chemical treatments, energy waste, transportation…. ALL of this adds up even before it gets to the consumer. And as consumers, we treat our clothing like garbage, literally disposing of them into landfills after a few wears, adding to carbon/ methane emissions and polluting our waterways. As an industry, we need to make changes to prioritize the Earth over infinite growth. And as consumers, we need to change how we make our fashion choices. Read more>>

Roshaun Davis | The Spiritual Homie, Owner and Founder of Unseen Heroes

I think the single most important decision that attributed to my success was to listen to my intuition. To trust my intuition more than I trust anyone else and to follow that no matter what. A lot of times people follow everyone but themselves and end up in spaces and places that they don’t want to be. Once I realized that, I had to do the heavy work of trusting that voice inside of me that told me to trust it. Read more>>

Joana Jordao | Founder & lead designer

The wedding industry is huge, and there are many things that brides need to take into consideration. From the dress they are going to wear to the food is going to be served, brides usually get overwhelmed with all the decisions they have to make, and with so much to think about, usually, the invitation is left on the side. Unfortunately, not all the couples give the necessary attention to the item that gives the first impression about the big day to their guests. Wedding invitations not only invite people but also set the tone of the wedding and build expectations for the big day to come. What a lot of people don’t know is how personal and unique a wedding invitation suite can be. When working with couples, I like to know everything about their relationship. How did they met, the proposal, what they like to do together, etc. Everything is taken into consideration when designing an invitation. The options are endless, and my goal is to design a bespoke invitation that not only the couple will cherish forever but also their guests. Read more>>

Brooke Ishibashi | co-founder, Be An #Arts Hero – she/her(s)

As my Be An #ArtsHero co=founder Matthew-Lee Erlbach says often, the Arts & Culture sector (ironically) has a story problem, given the fact that we are the nation’s storytellers. When our nation’s legislators view funding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) or National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as liberal handouts, what’s missing is the fact that these are economic agencies who specialize in creative industries (not merely “arts agencies”). What’s missing is the idea of arts work as “labor.” Instead, there is the common mythology of either the “starving artist” or the “Hollywood elite,” without regard to a labor force that is 5.1 million strong, fueling over 673,000 local businesses, contributing over $919 billion to the country’s economy (over 4.3% of the GDP). Be An #ArtsHero is here to change the conversation and create a new narrative by claiming the title of “Arts Worker” and articulating the reality that our local jobs uplift local economies nationwide, sustaining ancillary sectors like Transportation, Hospitality, Retail, and more. Read more>>

Brendan Doyle | Music Producer/ Songwriter

My business is in songwriting and music production. Four years ago, I began working with another producer/songwriter named Evan, and after a short period of time, we decided to start our own production duo, Late Boomers Club. I think most people aren’t aware that producing music is the same as any other small business. Like any successful endeavor, you need to be organized and diligent, personable and sincere, and you need to be able to execute on a very consistent basis; you need to be the solution to your client’s problems. This is especially true during their first sessions with you. However, unlike a lot of industries, our careers and livelihoods don’t just rest on our network of clients, it rests on the success of their releases. If every song we wrote and produced was released with a good marketing/promotion strategy, our lives would be a lot less stressful. Unfortunately, most songs we write don’t see the light of day, and the ones that do may not always have the right release strategy behind them; this is true even at every level of the music world. Read more>>

Brian Pearson | Franchise Broker, Consultant and Entrepreneur

The one thing that outsiders are unaware of would be just how many franchise opportunities there truly are avail in the US. As I touch and work with hundreds of franchise companies it imperative that I speak in detail to what my clients are truly seeking in a business and show them all the incredible opportunities available beside food franchises. The lifestyle of that the potential franchisee owner must be considered before signing the agreements to operate that business. Read more>>

Jijo Reed | Producer/Owner of Sugar Studios LA

I often find it amusing how outsiders think the film industry is mostly glamorous with red carpet premiers, celebrities and champagn… I would say about 1% are those things and the other 99% is very hard work with a million moving parts. Raising money for films, coordinating producers, directors, investors, actors, editors, composers, distributors and all the details in between are the things that primarily take the time of a film maker. It’s simultaneously glorious and traumatic. So many things can go wrong just to have one thing go right. Read more>>

Gloria Baraquio | Yoga Trainer & Spiritual Coach

I think most people think of yoga as a fitness class. Like if I say I’m a yoga teacher, most assume that I just teach stretchy acrobatics. Once people dig into what I actually do, they find out that I spend hours a day reading scriptures, chanting, meditating, studying nutrition, counseling students, and staying in a deep space of prayer. I also practice asana when my body needs it. When I prepare for the Yoga Teacher Trainings I offer, I have to prepare lesson plans and curriculum that include anatomy, physiology, teaching methodology, history, philosophy, business, community development and social activism. As yogis, we are called to do good/better in the world. So it’s not just all that stretchy arm balance stuff–which can be one gateway to joy and peace! Yoga is just so much more than the body!. Read more>>

Andrew Beckner | Producer, Songwriter & Activist

Having spent the past 17 years recording, producing, performing and songwriting in the music industry, one of the things that continues to stand out to me is the level to which White supremacy continues to influence the decision making and business practices of major labels, executives as well as producers, songwriters and other non-Black creatives within these spaces. I have been blessed to produce and write songs for artists such as DaniLeigh, Iann Dior, and on K-Pop group NCT 127’s #1 selling albums Loveholic and Neo Zone, which is Gaon certified 3x Platinum and the repackage which is Gaon certified 2x Platinum. Time and time again I have seen how systemic racism continues to create obstacles for my Black peers and I believe that if White creatives are not actively fighting against White supremacy, we are choosing to accept and uphold that system. Read more>>

Dan Castle | Filmmaker/Musician

When I read articles and interviews about the film industry and I come across this kind of discussion I’m usually disappointed by the rote answers that put an empty, generic, positive spin on the workings of Hollywood and the independent film industry. I’ve been a filmmaker since the late nineties and before that worked as an assistant at some of the major studios, PR firms and an independent distribution company before starting my own company with a business partner who I had worked for in the past. I’ve made films in Los Angeles, Mexico City, France, and Australia – all independently financed out of the Studio system. I’ve had films at the Telluride, Tribeca, Seattle, Sydney, Outfest, Frameline, Hawaii and many other Int’l Film Festivals and won awards at many of them and even got nominated for Best Short Film (The Visitor) at the Australian Film Awards. Read more>>

Sasha Kerbel | Actress

I would say that people probably do not realize how much hard work goes into acting. It’s not just about being cute enough to be in front of the camera; in fact, it requires a tremendous amount of training and preparation, and most of that work is invisible to the audience. An actor must audition many times each week and usually wins few – if any – parts. So you are constantly busy with this work, yet you do not get paid for it, and you may not experience the fun and energy of being on set. Breaking down one’s part – and the entire script, for that matter, which is the process of analyzing the hidden motives and emotional beats of your character, as well as the morals and social mores of the time period, is a whole art unto itself. It takes a tremendous amount of time and usually requires a lot of research; it’s the equivalent of writing a college thesis every time you get cast. This is a complicated craft which you have to maintain every day throughout your career. Read more>>

Feverfew | Fashion Designers | Valeria Della Pace & Savanah Lavorico

The amount of confidence in wearing an item that is perfectly curated to you is incomparable. Shopping from a made-to-order brand requires patience and understanding but the reward is worth it. Made-to-order works for people with specific requests ie. shorter sleeves, longer legs, tighter fit, looser fit. The garment does not get made until the item has been purchased, this ensures that no fabric is wasted and whatever fabric is leftover can be used for new designs. Knowing where your garment comes from, and who makes it, gives the clothing more meaning; it gives a sense of community and purpose. Shop small, shop smart, shop Feverfew. Read more>>