by Google
Michaela Dhiman is one of the most prominent Slovak influencers and entrepreneurs, known for her approach to taboo topics like sexuality and education. In our interview, she shared with us how she got started with influencer marketing, why it's important to talk openly about relationships and mental health, and the challenges of her podcast "Sexual Education". Miška also told us behind the scenes about building an authentic community and her plans for expansion abroad.
Hi Miška, how are you?
Quick, but perfect.
Who is Miška? If you had to introduce yourself to someone who doesn't know you, what would you tell them about yourself?
I'm a young, successful, ambitious woman, haha. I'm an entrepreneur and an influencer, I'm on the podcast Sex Education and I like to talk about topics that are taboo, whether in my personal life or on the podcast.
What were your first steps in the world of social networks or in the media?
It probably started more seriously in college. I worked for Bubbleology and as far as media is concerned, during college I was on the university radio, on the university TV and then I also worked as a presenter for Bubbleology on their YouTube channel. There I discovered that I might enjoy marketing more than media. Then, when Snapchat came to Slovakia, I founded Snapchat for Bubbleology and managed it and came up with some marketing activities. At school, I also switched from mass media to marketing and there I started doing some internships at various agencies in various positions.
When did your "Instagramming" turn into influencership? Do you remember your first collaboration?
I think when I reached 10 thousand. I could have already said it. It was definitely after starting Sex Education. My first collaboration was Tatrakon pâtés and I got 50€. It was a long time ago, I had very few followers, I think about 2000.
How did you get to collaborate with so many followers?
I think it was also because I was so active on Instagram and that I was dedicated to those social networks. I also had a Michellegraphy social profile and I did a lot of lectures where I taught about social networks.
How do you choose collaborations? What are your criteria?
Depending on when the deadline is, when I can do it, haha. But it has to be a brand that I use or can imagine using. I don't take something that I don't use. For example, I was approached by a diary now, but I've been using a different diary for several years, so I don't want to promote it completely. So I only promote the things that I actively use.
Is there anything you definitely wouldn't promote?
It's hard to say, but I definitely wouldn't go promote a political party that I don't vote for. I don't have a problem with politics as a promotion, but it has to be someone I vote for. And probably something that wouldn't make sense to me, that wouldn't be believable and wouldn't be in line with my values.
Do you think you've crossed the line of sharing your personal life? If so, would you do it differently?
I said it to myself after every single interview. Before, I had it after every single podcast, every single episode, and now I have it after almost every interview, that I say to myself, Jesus Christ, I've revealed this again. I don't know where that line is, I push it to myself too. I haven't set that line, but so far it's always had good responses. Every time I say to myself that this was too much or I'm ashamed of something, a lot of people always write to me, that finally someone is talking about it.
What surprised you most about working as an influencer?
I guess it's still those clients who simply submit things late, don't give complete briefs, don't know what they want, so it's probably the clients' approach. But I wouldn't say it surprised me, because I worked in agencies before and because we deal with those clients for a longer time at Sexual Education, it doesn't surprise me, I'm more surprised that it's still happening.
What do hate comments do to you? Does it affect you?
Mostly not. It happens that I have a bad day and something gets in the way, but mostly not. Because I've been in the media for a very long time and eight years ago I was in Shopping Maniacs, where I had a million haters, so that also trained me. Even at university I was in our newspaper many times, on the radio, I had some interviews there and so on. I also trained myself by working at Refresher as a community manager, where I was in charge of deleting comments and regulating it. It happens that I am surprised that I say to myself, "You are seriously hating on something like this." I am more affected by some negative reviews for clients for whom I managed social networks than by me personally. But I have had a very nice community from the beginning and even when I have some hate, my community usually stands up for me and writes back to the haters more than I do and that always makes me happy.
Has your marriage affected your career? Did they ever refuse to cooperate with you because of cultural differences?
I think they just want to, because the videos I make with my husband are very funny, with his broken Slovak it is always great and they also have the best results on my profile. Since we are a couple, it has already happened that I have had cooperation just because it was some kind of couple cooperation. So they want, or rather, those who would reject us will not even write to us, so we will not even find out.
Recently, you and the podcast Sex Education gained 2 sponsors on the Jama Levova show, whose idea was it to apply for this show?
We received an invitation, as if a friend recommended us there and we said, of course, we are definitely going to the TV show. But we auditioned there last year and we would have gotten there, we would have passed the audition, but it was a period shortly after Vala left and we had not yet completely resolved the accounting and we were so nervous. We knew that when we went into it, we wanted to do it properly. We had been preparing that app for several months and we needed to be more prepared for it, so we turned it down at the time. I hired Puneet, my husband, instead of us, and he got the investment at that time. And now I don't know if we contacted them or they contacted us, but we knew that we would try again in a year.
What does this mean for the Sex Education podcast? Will anything change?
A lot of work, haha. A lot of accounting and a lot of paperwork. We are currently meeting with investors, deciding what to do, how much it will cost, deciding on our ideas, how fast it will be, how much money we need for it, working out the details of the contract and all the accounting, because we have to hand it over completely, from the beginning of the company. They have to go through the whole thing, it's called Due Diligence, they have to go through it from a legal perspective, whether we have any loans, whether everything is okay with former people and so on. So we clean up all of it from an accounting and legal perspective and we deal with the details of the contract and when we sign it, we get the money and we start working on all the things we agree on.
Are there any negatives, for example, that they say no to something?
It depends on what exact % we agree on, what exact share they will have, but we will try to make sure that's not the case. Of course, there is influence, but more like pressure on performance. There will definitely be influence on some bigger decisions, but I can't judge that yet. So far, we only see positives, because the know-how and the individual meetings are extremely inspiring and move us forward.
What does the Sex Education podcast mean to you personally?
For me personally, it's a complete mission, it's something I found myself in, something I enjoy, it's part of my life and it's not just my job for me, but it's something that really fulfills me. It gives meaning to my life because I see real results and the social impact that the podcast has and I'm really happy that it also has a business impact, but at the same time it also helps a lot of people.
Why do you think it's important to open up taboo topics? Do you think it also stems from your conservative upbringing?
I personally think, but that's just my guess, that I'm like this because I come from such a conservative family. We never talked about such things, so maybe I missed it and that's why I'm talking about it now. To some extent, it can also be a bit of a rebellion against my parents' closedness and inauthenticity. It's very important to talk about it, because it's a natural part of our lives and when we don't talk about it, not only about sex, but also about relationship topics, relationship problems and health problems, there's a lot of shame associated with it and people think they're the only ones and are afraid to ask for help. Yesterday, in an interview, a woman told me that her friend went to the doctor thanks to us because she had a urinary tract infection and that's why we do it, so that people don't feel alone and get answers to their questions.
Did you ever want to quit Sex Education completely?
Never. Really. Even when Vala told me she was quitting the podcast, it never crossed my mind for a second that I would quit too. If Denis hadn't joined me, I would either do it myself or find another presenter, but I definitely wouldn't quit. It's sometimes hard, whether mentally or financially, but I've never thought about quitting.
Do you somehow separate Miška and Miška from Sex Education?
No, it's very, very closely connected. Sex education is really not just my job, but I live by it, I think about it non-stop, I deal with it, so I don't separate it.
What does Miška do when she's not an influencer or doing Sex education?
I have very few hobbies, almost none. My hobby is my job and I realize that it's not entirely right. I started exercising, so sometimes some yoga, gym, Netflix... but most of the time when I'm not working, I spend with my husband.
What activities do you and your husband do together?
We go to the gym together. By doing these collaborations together, we also record, and our businesses are very closely connected, as I am a member of the supervisory board in his business and help him. Puneet helps me with Sex Education, he plays as a DJ at events or is in some videos and so on. We are connected by a common ambition and determination, which is why we really like to talk about our businesses and ideas, where we want to take it, and that is such a bonding activity for us. And Netflix, a classic.
What are your plans for the future? Both in terms of Sex Education and personally.
As for Sex Education, we plan to finalize everything with investors and then we plan to start making content in English and expand abroad. And of course, to finish the app that we presented in Jama Levová. As for me personally, I would like to profile myself a little more as a businesswoman, educate myself more, maybe take more workshops, self-development, mentoring, etc. Especially self-development, I now have a couch and I plan to spend a lot of time with him and achieve my personal goals. I would also like to include sports more in my life, so that it is a natural part of me, and travel more and go to India with my husband.
