(Picture: Instagram @erimstagram)
At the age of 14, having helped out in her dad’s Indian restaurant, to growing her own online brand and becoming a business owner herself, Erim Kaur has recalled the time she was front of house and asked permission from her dad to set up a Facebook page to draw more customers in. She proved even in an earlier era of social media, that she had a natural gift for being able to harness the profitable power of social networking. Now, at age 25, she has continued to use her knowledge since graduating from the University of Manchester with a 1st class honours in business by growing her Instagram account to over 168,000 followers and launching her company, ByErim, in November 2018.
With her expertise lying in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and of course social-media, it was somewhat appropriate she suggested to meet at the renowned Elan Café, one of the most Instagrammable places in the whole of London. Upon my arrival, I came to find Erim and her PA already huddled in a corner glued to their phone screen, they had got there early to work on E-mails, a “24/7 grind” we later joked about.
Although it was something we laughed off, it quickly became apparent that her lifestyle had become her career, and her career is on show to over 150,000 people daily, but this consistency is what Erim prides her success on, and “showing up” for her followers is her motivation.
“I’ve said from the start, if I’m the one-piece consistency that a young girl gets in her day then I want to just show up every single day for her,” she says.
ByErim’s first product has sold out twice, a unique hair oil which was a recipe crafted by her grandmother, and as a result her long, thick and dark hair has become iconic for her image. She is proud that she can represent not only her south-Asian heritage with this but also her mother, who was well known in the playground at school by all the other kids and parents for her luxurious long hair.
(Picture: Instagram @erimstagram)
“We don’t need to hold up to European beauty standards we need to embrace the way we look, this is me identifying with my ethnicity and my culture and looking more like my mum.”
At the age of 8, Erim’s mother passed away, and she opened up about how losing her meant she grew up not knowing how to do things like wash her hair, and that is why it is so important for her to base her brand around. “Doing it for the girls who’ve also grown up without a mum or sisters”, as her Instagram bio reads.
“My mum had really long hair and I was in love with it. After she had chemo it fell out, grew back then fell out again and then she passed away and I was with my dad and he just cut my hair really short like a bob because it was not manageable he didn’t know how to do it, I didn’t know how, so we cut it.”
She says: “I don’t want another girl to go on her own like the way I did.”
When asked if being that role-model figure for young girls comes with a lot of pressure? Erim replies: “Oh my god, yes! I don’t want to portray this wrong idea or that wrong idea and there’s definitely a fine line.”
“But at the same time, I think my audience know me well enough to appreciate that I’m a human being and sometimes I document my mistakes and whilst I very much try and be honest with them that is an unfair amount of pressure for any one human being to have.”
With her father becoming a single parent to her and her brother at such a young age and also inspiring her entrepreneurial manner, when I asked who her role-model was she simply reveals: “My dad. I am very much an advocate for fathers, one day when I’m older I really want to have a charity aimed at fathers for the justice system and supporting them legally, financially and emotionally because I don’t think there’s enough attention paid to single fathers.
“Men are equal counterparts to women when it comes to parenthood.”
It was clear whilst talking to Erim that her relationship with her followers is unique, in the sense of its genuineness and urges that it is a mutually beneficial bond, and that is why it’s so successful.
“I think you’ve got to begin with authenticity. I reject like 10 brand deals a day. They offer money but the thing is if it doesn’t resonate with me, or is not something I would buy with my own money then would I recommend it to my young 12 or 13-year-old girls with their pocket money to buy? No – I’m not posting it.”
She prides herself on consistency, transparency and representing her British Asian identity and encourages more in her community to do the same.
Her Links:
ByErim Shop: https://www.byerim.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erimstagram/?hl=en
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