An Interview With Edward Sylvan
…With the introduction of body acceptance and the IBS conversation last year, I knew I wanted to give back in some small way but I wanted to do it consistently. I partnered with a Midwest female-run graphic designer and screen printing company to produce a quarterly capsule of body positivi-tees. The designs are original and it was a collaboration 100% of the way. I learned a lot. We sell directly to consumers and online. A portion of all proceeds benefits the Renfrew Foundation Center. Proceeds benefit individuals who are seeking treatment for eating disorders but are lacking the health benefits to staying on a continued treatment plan.
As a part of my series about leaders who are using their social media platform to make a significant social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Johanna Grange.
Johanna Grange is the Founder of JohannaGrange.com, a Digital Influencer, and Co-Founder of Oak St. Social based in Chicago, IL, and mom of two daughters. She is a body positivity advocate and champion for women living with gut-health issues, particularly autoimmune diseases and disorders that disrupt their daily lives — she strives to be the brand ambassador of feeling better about yourself. Through her online community, Johanna shares real-life experiences, non-medical advice, and lifestyle solutions as a woman living with IBS — an important shift in transparency that made her brand more relatable to a broader audience.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve worked in the advertising industry my entire career post-college. Twelve years ago I began to crave a creative outlet other than work. I graduated with a double major in Journalism and English. So, I decided to start a blog without having the first clue about how to start one, what to write about, etc. There wasn’t as much pressure to perform back then. It was literally an outlet.
After about five years, it began to grow as did the social media industry. I kept my day job, grew a family with my husband, but hung onto this one little corner of the internet that I could call my own. And while I do not write blog content five days a week any longer, I’ve kept it up for personal and professional reasons.
It served a distinct purpose when my partner and I opened our very own social media agency eight years ago. Oak Street Social is my very full-time job, but the mix of understanding the influencer world, technology and content creation married to service clients in the digital world has provided the ultimate blend of passion meets professionalism. I would love to get back to creating a higher frequency of blog content but agency life and mom life have me running. One day though!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
I had strictly stuck to lifestyle content because it was easier to create for the last 11 years. It was fun, bright and cheery, and completely curated. It was only during the pandemic that I suddenly decided that I wanted to provide more value to my social media family. I wanted to share more substance, help other women in some way and rip off the band-aid of vulnerability. With some outside coaching, I scrapped almost everything and began to open up about my battle with IBS and body acceptance.
Things changed immensely. My engagement went up, my DMs blew up, I created a body positivi-tee capsule, I had tough conversations with my daughters and people began to approach me in public simply to share that they followed me and they loved my new content. It was hard but continues to be gratifying. I am so very grateful but it requires a lot of mental energy.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Oh gosh. So many! Approach brands and PR contacts with a horrible copy and paste job including the wrong brand name. Yes, guilty of that one.
Not crediting people on their intellectual property like photography. Oops. What can I say, it’s an education. Let’s not even begin to discuss my horrible photography and editing skills. Oy.
The learning is that you have to give yourself grace for not knowing what you don’t know. But you also have to commit to the learning process. It requires a ton of research and late nights. If you’re gonna do it, you have to commit and be consistent.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
You just have to go for it and be willing to fail over and over again. I deal with rejection daily. It doesn’t bother me. I shrug my shoulders and move on. You will lose people — let them go. You will also gain people — those people are your people. And most of all, people are going to make assumptions about you and judge you. When you go public with anything, you have to also commit to what you signed up for. It goes with the territory. I have pretty thick skin from my full-time job of new business development but there are some things that still get under my skin. Influencers and bloggers are still human beings. People need to remember that before they spit out words.
Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact?
Social media is what I eat, breathe and sleep 24/7. My agency is my focus and top priority, but I show up on my personal feeds daily. With the introduction of body acceptance and the IBS conversation last year, I knew I wanted to give back in some small way but I wanted to do it consistently. I partnered with a Midwest female-run graphic designer and screen printing company to produce a quarterly capsule of body positivi-tees. The designs are original and it was a collaboration 100% of the way. I learned a lot. We sell directly to consumers and online. A portion of all proceeds benefits the Renfrew Foundation Center. Proceeds benefit individuals who are seeking treatment for eating disorders but are lacking the health benefits to staying on a continued treatment plan.
This is such an important issue for me. Eating disorders are a lifelong hurdle; they never go away completely much like other addictions. I believe all individuals should have the means to seek treatment and get support so that they can live their healthiest, most confident lives.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?
I don’t have one particular individual in mind because it is honestly a 10-month old pivot but I can tell you that dozens and I mean dozens, of mothers and women have messaged my DMs expressing concern for their daughters. Many have messaged simply to say that they deal with body dysmorphia or have struggled with an eating disorder in the past and together we have these really meaningful, cathartic conversations. It’s amazing how strangers can open up on social media without having ever met each other. I suppose that’s one of the pros of having a public platform and I say that because social media gets a real bum rap these days.
Was there a tipping point that made you decide to focus on this particular area? Can you share a story about that?
Absolutely! As a 43-year-old, I just felt I couldn’t compete with the younger influencers and the only way to bring substance to my feeds was to pivot and discuss the things that no one else wants to. I look and feel better than I did when I was 30 but ultimately, I can’t be a fashion girl anymore.
One night in January I was sitting on the couch with my husband and it just came to me…I needed to design a line of t-shirts. Then I could lock in the “give back” factor and sustain it for a long time to come with new designs. After a successful career in new business development, I had a Rolodex of contacts! The rest was history. Once I commit to something, I make it happen. I reached out to an eating disorder clinic followed by an introduction to Renfrew followed by the green light to proceed and bring these designs to life in the form of a t-shirt. And we just launched youth sizes for the tween folk. It starts much earlier. Take it from a girl mom who is literally in the thick of it!
I think the pandemic really encouraged consumers to take stock of what matters, where they put their dollars, how they find balance in their daily lives and how they show up in their daily lives. I mean, what truly matters — our health. 2020 taught us that lesson as well as standing up for the rights of others. I feel this encouraged a lot of change on social media. Consumers want more than a pretty face and a swipe-up link… they want connection. Especially when you have no choice but to quarantine.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Society, socialites, tastemakers, celebrities can show up and share the real. More real; less photoshopping. Our kids are absorbing this and they are confused about what the ideal body is and how theirs measures up. It’s time to give love to the stretch marks, the rolls, the less perky parts of our bodies and appreciate them for what they’ve given us, for what they’ve accomplished.
As a community, I think we parents need to band together and pay attention to the future generation we are raising. Kindness and acceptance need to be top priorities. I want my girls to welcome the new girl, sit with the lonely kid in the cafeteria, etc. It’s our job as parents to wake up and encourage our kiddos to appreciate and love themselves daily. If you can’t love yourself, there is no way to love anybody else. True happiness starts from within. As they say, “Your appearance is the least interesting thing about you.”
What specific strategies have you been using to promote and advance this cause? Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for a social good?
True to my personality, when a new capsule launches, I talk about it constantly. I utilize every platform I have. Marketing takes a lot of repetition, which, I am good at, ask my husband. I create highlight covers of every important topic on IG. And I always hire a professional to take photographs when it comes to this project. I know my way around a camera and editing apps but nothing beats professional photography to capture the fit, the emotion, the purpose.
And if I am wearing my agency hat, I would save up a budget for social advertising to target a very niche audience and actually create a content calendar to map out how you will market said cause. Winning content is not a spontaneous gesture. It is planned, discussed, strategized and revised multiple times.
Ultimately, I am grateful I started my blog work and social media presence over a decade ago. It’s a lot harder now and I say that because it is still hard for me to get my content seen.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Find your “why.” If you don’t know why you’re doing something or what ignites your soul, how can you expect to take others along for the ride? I sell for a living and I promise you no one is buying our social media services if I don’t 100% back up our excellence with enthusiasm. The same goes for my social feeds. Eleven years of posting fun but almost one year of posting my truth and I have a deeper connection with my social family than ever before. Remember why you started.
- Create the same @handle for all social media networks and your website. I have felt the pain of this with every interview I participate in. My blog used to have a different name and my handles lack consistency which makes it uber-difficult for readers to find me. If you have the same URL as your social handles, you just made it easier for people to discover you!
- Your original ideas, experiences and thoughts are far more valuable than stealing someone else’s. Ever steal someone’s idea down to the props and have them call you out publicly? Yep, that’s fun. Be you, there’s no one else like you!
- Everyone hates giveaways. Been there, done that and it’s universally true that no one likes them and no one wants to follow 30+ new bloggers to try and win a Target gift card. Also, please stop with the Pelotons and cars, too. Finally, can we all agree that you are going to spend a lot to simply lose 40% of the followers you gained with these?
- Your authenticity is what will attract the right followers and ultimately your growth. I wish I had opened up a lot sooner with my body struggles. Everything is so heavily edited that I think I could have had a lot of meaningful conversations earlier and in turn, healed myself, too.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Oh, I got this! Every morning, everyone snaps a selfie and shares publicly. Let’s all show up as our authentic selves. Let’s make normal more normal! Let’s talk about our struggles more. Then proceed as you wish whether that’s making curated recipes, fashion, family or travel posts.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately — Unknown
No one prepared me for what it would take to run a successful business. There is no schooling for that. No one told me I would be on my computer every single night plus weekends to get it up and running. No one told me that my business relationships and stress would trickle over to my personal life and sometimes ruin my day. No one told me how to write a business plan or incorporate my business. No one told me what burnout would look like and how you overcome it.
No one told me how to start a blog. No one taught me how to do SEO. No one taught me social media best practices. No one taught me how to shoot a great photo. No one taught me the secret to creating meaningful social media connections. No one told me that the number of followers and likes you have mean absolutely nothing.
All of it takes work. You walk, you stumble, sometimes you crawl and then you pick yourself back up again. This quote embodies that. Ideas are great but without execution…they are nothing but a dream.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
So many. Here’s a list in no apparent order:
- Selma Blair — her battle against multiple sclerosis is really inspiring to me. She is a mother, actress and activist. I love her spirit and her strength.
- Megan Rapinoe — I love the badassery she’s brought to professional women’s soccer and the demand for equal pay. Great role model for my little soccer players.
- Lizzo — her unequivocal, outstanding body confidence and lyrics are beyond inspiring to me. I love her sweetheart and her honesty but I also love that she doesn’t take herself too seriously.
- Ashley Graham — she is such a trailblazer in the body acceptance category. Everyone told her “no” but she said “yes” and she made it happen as a momma, supermodel, businesswoman and wife. She is so much more than beauty.
- Michelle + Barack Obama — probably pretty obvious for most. They really move me as a couple with their dedication to politics, justice and to their marriage. Just a class act if you ask me and I do love that they are Chicagoans!
- Lady Gaga — I love to watch her perform because you can really tell that she feels what she is singing. The way she uses her platform to fight for equality is incredible not to mention her humanitarian efforts towards mental health. And yes, I feel she is beyond talented.
- Coco Rocha — You know I met her at Fashion Week once and I was so struck by her kindness and normalcy. She’s been fun to watch as a supermodel, sure but I love her also in the role of a mother and now as a businesswoman with Coco Rocha Model Camp. Her sense of humor is spot on.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I am the most active on IG — @jogrange www.instagram.com/jogrange
The second would be Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/101thingsilove
My blog — www.johannagrange.com
My company — www.oakstsocial.com and we are @oakstsocial.com on all social channels
About The Interviewer: Growing up in Canada, Edward Sylvan was an unlikely candidate to make a mark on the high-powered film industry based in Hollywood. But as CEO of Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc, (SEGI) Sylvan is among a select group of less than ten Black executives who have founded, own and control a publicly traded company. Now, deeply involved in the movie business, he is providing opportunities for people of color.
In 2020, he was appointed president of the Monaco International Film Festival, and was encouraged to take the festival in a new digital direction.
Raised in Toronto, he attended York University where he studied Economics and Political Science, then went to work in finance on Bay Street, (the city’s equivalent of Wall Street). After years of handling equities trading, film tax credits, options trading and mergers and acquisitions for the film, mining and technology industries, in 2008 he decided to reorient his career fully towards the entertainment business.
With the aim of helping Los Angeles filmmakers of color who were struggling to understand how to raise capital, Sylvan wanted to provide them with ways to finance their creative endeavors.
At Sycamore Entertainment he specializes in print and advertising financing, marketing, acquisition and worldwide distribution of quality feature-length motion pictures, and is concerned with acquiring, producing and promoting films about equality, diversity and other thought provoking subject matter which will also include nonviolent storytelling.
Sylvan has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and has been seen on Fox Business News, CBS and NBC. Sycamore Entertainment Group Inc is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Social Media Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Johanna Grange Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.