Rising Stars: Meet Francia Chavez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Francia Chavez.

Hi Francia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Durango, Mexico but was raised in San Antonio, Texas. Some of my earliest memories was of my dad carrying around the big heavy cameras filming my milestones. Like my first day of school and my random silly moments but I can always recall my love of being in front of the camera. My parents are a big inspiration of mine, my dad who was a businessman and my mom with her strong work ethic and loyalty (she has been at her job for 24 years). My passion for beauty goes back to watching my grandmother, mother, and sister getting ready (a good wing liner runs in my family) and I just remember wanting to grow up and being able to play with makeup.

Being a content creator was something that I have always wanted to do but I lacked courage. When the pandemic hit, and we went into lockdown I needed to find an outlet and finally decided to do something I always wanted to do and so I started my Facebook lives. I started by doing makeup lives and then cooking. In the beginning, I had only a handful of viewers, but I was okay with it since it was something that I looked to for fun. I started being consistent with my handful of viewers every day. These viewers were a big help by watching and sharing my videos, before I knew it my handful of followers grew to 50, 100, and continues to grow each month, my relationship and bond grew with #FranciasFriends. About 7 months into doing lives companies started to reach out to work with me, and now I collaborate with several big cosmetic companies and have been blessed with the opportunity of taking something that I love to do as a full-time job. Again, none of this would be possible without the support of my community #FranciasFriends, hard work, and of course consistency.

Facebook live has opened the door to so many opportunities, but will always take consistency, passion, and being transparent to continue my success in social media. Staying true to your energy because it can be felt, spreading joy, and above all loving what I do is what I find is the key to my success.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Let me tell you putting yourself in front of a camera for the whole world to see is not easy. I suffer from extreme anxiety, but I did not let this stop me as a matter of fact I found that #FranciasFriends kept me going through the bad days. I fell in love with the people that watched and supported me. Growing your community is not easy work and it takes consistency, creativity and giving back.

Not knowing anyone else that was a content creator was a struggle for me, there was not an example to follow. I had to learn just by watching other big influencers that did the lives that were similar to what I do.

Of course, there is going to be negative comments and people because I am exposing myself to the world but if you focus on all the positive and the love it makes it all worth it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At this point in time there are so many content creators but what sets me apart is my personality and energy. I focus on finding cooking and make up shortcuts for those of us that are busy but need a delicious meal or a look to slay the town. My content is Spanglish so I am able to mix both languages its part of mi personalidad, it gives me the opportunity to reach different communities. I can guarantee you a smile if you’re having a bad day and you tune into one of my lives you WILL have a laugh. Knowing that I can help you have a laugh or forget your problems for a moment is what will keep me going.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Building a strong bond with your viewers is so important they are the ones that will take you far they will tag companies and other big influencers that they would like to see you collaborate with, I usually seek my viewers input on decisions and let them guide me in the path they would like to see me take.

In the content creator world, it is always important to support other content creators as much as possible, that’s how you network I buy my favorite influencers merchandise or make up and show it on live and my #franciasfriends will tag that influencer in the comments and sometimes they will show up and show support back, you begin to form friendships and bond with them.

Contact Info:

• Email: Franciachavez81@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francia_makeupandspice/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Franciachavez81/
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdVNp75R/