Influencers Entrepreneurs: Beyond Social Media, They Captivate the Business Scene

‘An influential person is a successful person, whether rich or poor,’ said American author Orison Swett Marden, and although he was not speaking about influencers, or to use the Croatian word ‘utjecajnicima’ in today’s sense of the word, the statement is certainly applicable today.

To best connect their passion for creating digital content while also profiting, ‘influencers’ have become a well-known instrument for promotions and marketing campaigns of various Croatian and global brands. While many work solely on contracts with specific brands they promote through their online platforms, some have turned to entrepreneurship and launched their own companies to better position themselves in the market.

This group includes the most famous Croatian influencer Ella Dvornik-Pearce, who has over 544 thousand followers on her Instagram profile, and according to data from Poslovna Hrvatska, her company Manijak achieved a revenue of 1.72 million kuna and profit of nearly half a million kuna last year. The company, registered for many activities, as Dvornik-Pearce claims, was necessary due to numerous business collaborations.

– This year I have dedicated more time to planning some projects and changing the way I work and post because I felt that everything had become predictable and monotonous, so in 2023, I really expect extraordinary things. I will start implementing them by the end of this year. When I go a bit quiet on social media, everyone knows that something big is coming – said the most famous Croatian influencer.

With just over 47 thousand followers on Instagram, Matea Miljan Rafaj has also made her mark in entrepreneurship as the owner of a promotion agency, influencer, and founder of the Rent4Style project. She launched the project last year, which involves renting clothes. The success of this project is confirmed by the fact that the Rent4Style Instagram profile has over 21 thousand followers, and she claims she will soon launch a website.

– Sometimes it is not easy to take care of all the expenses and my own salary, but it is a pleasure to build something from scratch and watch it grow every day – said Miljan Rafaj.

Among the first Croatian beauty influencers is Ivana Blažoti Mijoč, the owner of the company Tester, who, as she says, was frustrated by the sluggishness and time that would pass from idea to realization during the early stages of her professional career in large corporations, and she started writing a blog and creating content for YouTube while still in college, deciding to try her hand at entrepreneurship.

– The first project was Tester Box, a surprise box with beauty novelties that users would receive every month, and it was an interesting new promotional channel for brands because they could distribute samples of their new products to the doorsteps of their target audience through us. We created a really large user base with detailed information about skin type, hair, problems, and preferences regarding cosmetics – said Blažoti Mijoč.

And while each project taught her something, Blažoti Mijoč confirmed that her favorite experience was her first entrepreneurial venture, the portal Šminkerica, which brought together about 15 authors with a passion for the same topic.

– We often met in person, and there was not so much financial pressure then because I was studying and perceived that project more as a hobby than as a business. When you become a private entrepreneur, and also a mother, the pressure is much greater, so you often do jobs that you may not like so much to cover the costs of business and life – said Blažoti Mijoč, also mentioning a future entrepreneurial venture that could combine her love for cosmetics and passion for psychotherapy.

– I would love to combine those two loves of mine, beauty from the outside and inside – she stated.

In entrepreneurship, singer and influencer Lana Jurčević also made her mark when she launched her brand La Piel in 2019. The natural cosmetics manufacturer had its best year in 2020, achieving a revenue of 6.29 million kuna and a profit of 1.29 million kuna. Last year, the company achieved a revenue of 6.79 million kuna and profit of 430 thousand kuna.

In addition to the aforementioned ladies, Sandi Hadžić, better known to the public as Sandi Pego, also made his mark in entrepreneurship, achieving a revenue of nearly 4.8 million kuna with his marketing agency Rinzol last year, or about 645 thousand kuna in gross profit. While he gained fame on the show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and earned the title of the most famous Croatian TikToker, Hadžić is conquering the Croatian market with his company.

Entrepreneurs Sonja Kovač, Lana Klingor Mihić, and Jelena Perić have also ventured into entrepreneurship, achieving business ventures alongside numerous followers on social media. Kovač with her promotion agency, Klingor Mihić in PR and culinary, and Perić in the beauty scene.

Although everyone counts business successes, the fact is that the Croatian influencer scene is not large enough and will never achieve the profits that, for example, are made abroad.

– Of course not, because we are addressing a much smaller audience than influencers in America. It is the same in other industries. It is like asking whether a singer in Croatia will ever earn a fortune with one hit and live off that hit for the rest of their life, which is possible in America – said Ella Dvornik-Pearce.

But regardless of which market they operate in, influencers will always be part of digital marketing due to their loyal audience and entertaining content, which has long been clear to many entrepreneurs, making them indispensable faces of marketing campaigns.