Olivia Simone is a Girl in a Million! | In Conversation

In a mundane world, a golden glow seemingly radiates from the very being of Olivia Simone. She is a girl in a million— not only beautiful but someone to be admired for their strength, passion, and intelligence. From running her own businesses to being the co-editor-in-chief for Michigan State University’s VIM Magazine, at just 21 years old Simone proves that there is nothing that she can't do. She is a jack of all trades and a master of most, proving with every new project and venture that she is destined for nothing but greatness. Don’t be fooled though, she’s not all business— she even manages to find time to dance between the lines of her packed schedule. Starmaker Machine came in contact with Simone through VIM, as our co-founder Milan has been working for the magazine since his freshman year of college. While I had no prior experience knowing her, getting to know Simone for this shoot and interview has been nothing short of an inspiring and eye-opening experience.

As we have learned from television shows like Shark Tank, the entrepreneurial world is not for the faint of heart. Though it is a challenge for many, Simone’s stride cannot be broken. Whether it be running her blog, sorting out logistics for her business, or simply fulfilling her duties as the co-editor-in-chief at VIM, Simone proves that she is ready to take a bite at every opportunity.

KITTY QUINN: I understand that you have your own business, could you talk a bit about what you do with that?

OLIVIA SIMONE: Yes, of course! I have two LLCs at the moment. One is Liv in Style, which is my lifestyle and fashion blog. It’s my parent LLC that I am filing my new venture, Soup N’ Sip, under. It’s spoonless soup on the go. I thought of the idea because I was sick of not having a healthier fast food option around campus. Whenever I’d get Panera or McDonald’s, I’d be left using a utensil in a classroom which is not ideal. So, I thought of Soup N’ Sip, which is basically hot, portable, healthy, delicious soup in a coffee-like to-go cup that you could sip on the go, meaning that it is easily disguised in any classroom, distraction-free while driving and easy to take on the go.

QUINN: It’s very impressive that you have two business ventures at your age!

SIMONE: Thanks! The other one, Liv in Style, wasn’t meant to be a business but I used to be a journalism major so I made it in high school. Then, it kind of just became a blog and Instagram page. I don’t post on it often anymore, but I still update every now and then.

QUINN: Was starting a business something you always wanted to do?

SIMONE: Honestly, I feel like I’ve always been very entrepreneurial, but I don’t think I ever thought, “oh, I want a business”. When I was younger I used to have an invention book where I’d write all my invention ideas. I think falling into the entrepreneurial realm was kind of just natural to me, I started making these businesses without the intention. Same with Soup N’ Sip, I just had this random idea one day and decided to join this pitch competition and ended up getting first place. Then after the validation, I decided to proceed with the idea.

QUINN: Do you see yourself having Soup N’ Sip being your main venture in the future or do you have other ideas you’d like to explore?

SIMONE: I have a gazillion ideas, which is so hard. I love the idea of Soup N’ Sip. There are a lot of logistical issues with it but if one day I have enough money and resources, I think it could be great. It’s just cool that I can mess around with the idea and fail now and have no consequences. It’s nice to figure out things while I’m in college and then one day, or maybe postgrad if I pursue it, I’ll have a lot more in my toolbelt than someone starting without resources or people to help them.

Many people feel pressure to know exactly what they want to do with their life at a young age, but such a crucial part of finding your calling is a trial and error stage. I especially enjoy Simone’s transparent outlook on her own business and life goals because it provides a more realistic expectation for herself. One of the biggest favors one can do for themself is to allow room for failure. It’s scary, sure, but there is beauty to failing, then trying again, and eventually succeeding. Simone using the word “toolbelt” as an analogy felt especially fitting because the skills you collect down each path can always be used for future endeavors. It’s all about that initial leap of faith— nobody knows exactly what they’re doing on the first try but it can be especially admirable when they can own up to it.

QUINN: It's a great experience for you. You mentioned your blog before, was writing something that you were always passionate about, or was it purely for school like you were saying?

SIMONE: I’ve always loved writing, that’s why I wanted to be a journalist at first. I was a journalism major at MSU, but there was way too much grammar and I was like, “I can’t do this” [laughs]. It wasn’t a lot of creative writing and that’s what I like. Even if you go to my blog, all of my articles are very conversational and easy to read, which is the type of writing I really enjoy. Then for Liv in Style, I got to be my own production company kind of like Starmaker— I would invite friends to be models, I would find the clothing, I’d write the article, I’d do the makeup and then I’d shoot it. It was super fun. My friends would post it on their Instagrams, then I’d post it and we’d be really proud of how it turned out.

QUINN: Yeah, the one thing we love about doing Starmaker is the collaborative aspect. Even though it’s mainly me and Milan, we love making it a big thing with whoever we’re working with. When did you start your blog and what was your biggest motivator to continue working on it when you were most active?

SIMONE: I think I started it in 2016 or 2018, but it was basically like a portfolio builder for me. Anytime I had an interview, It was something people would bring up. I’ve never wanted to be an influencer, but I’ve always loved being well-known [laughs]. At school, everyone was like “Hey, Liv in Style”, which was so funny. Then I had a yearbook spread all to myself about Liv in Style, and I’ve been interviewed many times for it. I’ve even been approached at the bar in East Lansing and a girl is like, “Oh my god, are you Liv in Style?” and I’ll laugh— things like that. Being the co-editor-in-chief at VIM, Soup N’ Sip stuff, and social media, I have a lot of people coming up to me on the regular– which sounds so conceited– but it really is true. It’s always a nice ego boost [laughs].

It’s important to try multiple opportunities rather than limiting yourself to one area or set of ideas. Something I feel that Simone does so well is putting herself out of her comfort zone. From fashion and lifestyle blog to soup on the go; you simply have to give her credit for the range she possesses. Something so crucial for personal growth is discomfort. Obviously don’t put yourself in entirely foreign situations, but expanding your horizons in healthy ways can be so rewarding. Maybe you come up with a random idea and decide to pursue it— you never know what avenues it will take you down. Simone started Soup N’ Sip with no experience with fast food but merely as a solution to an inconvenience in her life. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that— every good idea starts somewhere.

QUINN: I also wanted to touch on VIM since you talked about your position as co-editor-in-chief. I know you originally started in the creative beauty team, but how did you get to your current point of the editor-in-chief role?

SIMONE: My path was a lot different than a lot of other people. I joined VIM in my freshman year. In the second semester of freshman year, I was assistant director— I got promoted instantly. Then my sophomore and junior year, I was a director. I think I have always been very involved in VIM. With an entrepreneurial mindset comes a leadership role and I feel like I was very good at leading my team. I love mingling, I knew and still do know a lot of the directors. I think it was a natural step for me to take on the post of co-editor-in-chief. It was something I really wanted, and I feel like my interview went really well. I stressed in the interview that I had been doing this for so long; people know me, people are comfortable with me, people know my work, and that I’m dedicated. I think that’s what made it more of a definite answer for me to assume the role.

QUINN: That’s so interesting and very impressive. I understand with VIM that you have to constantly be working with a ton of people, is there anything you feel that you’ve learned about yourself in doing this?

SIMONE: Oh yeah. At our first meeting, we had about 500 people. We have approximately 21 teams and about 60 directors. I manage a lot of people and with every team, there’s about 6-8 team members. Multiply that by twenty-something— that’s a lot of people to be keeping track of. I think what I’ve discovered most about myself is that I really love the position that I’m in. If I could find this one day in a real-life career opportunity, I’d love it. I really like pushing people to be the best they can be. I love bringing people together, I’m very much a collaborator. Seeing people come together on shoots, communicating with people, getting people to meet deadlines— I really love that sort of thing. I also found that this role isn’t all that glamorous. It’s very much like an HR position at times; we have to resolve issues in a timely manner and make sure people’s voices are being heard and respected as well. That can be really difficult sometimes, especially working with 18-21-year-olds. Sometimes it’s hard to include everyone, but we like to think we try our best.

For Simone, it’s evident how much being involved with VIM Magazine has impacted her leadership and communication skills for the better. It’s like a mini-game for practicing real-life operations of the same variety. It’s so inspiring to me that Simone was able to rise in the ranks throughout her years of college and by the end be placed in a position that she can truly see herself fulfilling in real-world contexts. A true mogul at heart, Simone was even able to create a sense of notoriety from her ties to VIM and has only expanded upon that with her passion, drive, and business-savvy mindset.

QUINN: I want to circle back to you talking about wanting to be known but not necessarily being an influencer. You’ve been documenting every day of your senior year on your TikTok, so what led you to this idea?

SIMONE: Great question. This summer I studied abroad in Italy, and every Sunday I did a recap on my Liv in Style blog on what I did that week. People ate it up— they loved it. I did a Monday through Sunday review, each day with photos. When I got to school I was like, “I don’t really wanna give that up”, because I could look back on my blog and see what I did this summer. I have a terrible memory, I’d never remember what I did on a random Tuesday in June if I didn’t write it down. This daily vlog of my senior year is kind of just like a memory thing for me, but if people can watch along the way I feel like that's fun too. I’ve already had people come up to me like, “Are you vlogging today? Can I be in it?”. My little sister’s friends ask me all the time, it’s so funny. People will text me like, “Congratulations on the job you got, how can I get it too?”. I feel like I subtly influence things— like people will try a restaurant I post about, or I did an entrepreneurship opportunity and somebody else wants to be in the club. It’s kind of like those micro-influencer vibes that I like a lot, rather than me being an ambassador for a company trying to make you use my discount code. It’s more natural.

So often is social media portrayed in a negative light yet so rarely are the positives highlighted. Though Simone does her blog and TikTok more for herself, she has seen so many benefits from her consistency. From being interviewed about her blogs to being recognized for her TikToks, her subtle influence is undeniable— and that's just how she likes it. Sometimes it's nice to see your influence on people in your life rather than strangers on the internet. Simone’s take on wanting to be known but not in the typical Instagram influencer sense is a unique approach that I feel is very scarce and original in current times.

QUINN: It was really fun when you were recording while we did the photoshoot. I loved it, it was so cute. I also wanted to ask, when was a time that you felt most proud of yourself within your creative and business ventures?

SIMONE: Thank you! [laughs]. I’m a firm believer in celebrating all mini-victories. I like to say that I’m proud of myself most days, even if it's just for getting out of bed. I think something really cool that I did last year was called the Burgess New Venture challenge. About 30-40 teams applied, but there were only 15 semi-finalists. I got chosen as a semi-finalist, and it was this huge competition in The Graduate, which is a hotel on campus. The Burgess Institute just makes everything feel so official. We had booths, we were all selling things and then there was this board room where we had to pitch our ideas to 8 esteemed judges, who were all MSU alums that became CEOs and founders. It was crazy. Three people got chosen to pitch in front of everyone. I, unfortunately, wasn’t one of those people, but the experience was just so cool. We also each got $500 for participating anyway, too. It just felt like a real-life Shark Tank. It was very much an “I made it” moment.

QUINN: I love your positive outlook on not having something big happen to celebrate your day. I think it's really important to realize that you don’t always have to be doing grand things in order to be proud of yourself and happy about what you’re doing. I was also wondering, with your business, being co-editor-in-chief for VIM, running Liv in Style, and your TikTok, how are you able to properly balance your time, and is it a challenge for you to find free time?

SIMONE: I just spoke on two student panels in the last two weeks and this question was asked both times. I saw a Tiktok and it said that there are 48-30 minute halves in a day. If you think about that, that means you should always have time for something. I have an issue where I say yes to everything, but I also like that I say yes to everything because I can always make time for something. If someone wants to talk or have me speak on a panel or there's lunch, there’s always a half hour or two I can spare. I think that’s how I try to envision my time in a more tangible way. For example— I could give a person four half hours, I can give this assignment one-half hour, I can give my business four half hours today and maybe two tomorrow. I religiously use my google calendar as well, she’s just chalked full of everything. I also write things down and cross them out as a little victory to make myself feel good and productive. I love being social, too. My Saturdays and Fridays are really big for me. It’s my let-go time where I can just go out and dance. In order to do that though, I make sure I can get everything done somewhat for the week, or at least know I can get it done on Sunday. It’s kind of a “work hard, play hard” mindset.

QUINN: That’s such an efficient way of thinking. I never would’ve even thought about it that way.

SIMONE: Yeah, I never would’ve thought I’m a type A person but I really am. [laughs]

QUINN: Do you have a piece of advice you wish you heard when you were starting your entrepreneurial ventures?

SIMONE: I think the best thing I learned was that embarrassment is a mindset. You will never be embarrassed if you never believe what you’re doing is embarrassing. I think a lot of people are scared of failure, or maybe public speaking or putting out a video online because they don't want people to see it. I think If you’re proud of something and you’re not embarrassed, I don’t see why someone else should make you feel that way. I think that’s something I still have to stay true to. I feel like I’ve definitely combatted it by doing my vlogs, doing my Instagram, saying yes to pitch competitions, and things like that.

This piece of advice from Simone feels so specifically important to me. Nobody wants to be embarrassed so there’s no use in letting someone else make you feel that way about anything you do. Though nobody is immune to it, pushing yourself to feel pride instead of embarrassment is the bravest action of all. In the entrepreneurial world, this idea seems to be most important when it comes to starting with a firm foundation. Moreover, this can be reflected in Simone’s idea of celebrating all victories (no matter how small) as well. Being confident and proud of yourself will always reflect in your work. Though much easier said than done, it can prove to be instrumental in not only becoming successful but also feeling successful.

QUINN: It’s great to put yourself out there and do things you wouldn’t normally be doing in order to grow. If you continue doing the same things, then you’ll be stagnant and not really go anywhere. So I have one last question for you, if you could choose any specific piece of media to properly represent your life or the life you want to live, what would that be and why? You don’t have to say one specific thing, it could be multiple if that helps.

SIMONE: Oh my gosh, that’s so hard. I will say this; I am very much a hopeless romantic. I think the reason why I celebrate all these little victories is because I like to make everything romantic. I think romance can be celebrating things, rather than love.

QUINN: Yeah, like romanticizing life.SIMONE: Exactly. I had this series on my TikTok for Valentine's Day last year on how to romanticize the mundane. I think I’d best describe myself as a rom-com with a bit of action. Maybe I’d say The Devil Wears Prada, but in a less catty way [laughs]. Honestly, I’m constantly dreaming. I love fantasy— give me a little Harry Potter.

The entrepreneurial world is cutthroat, and Olivia Simone has proven time and time again that she has what it takes to become a final girl. It's highly inspirational to see a confident, grounded, and hardworking example of a young woman who is entering the business realm. Talking to Simone taught me a lot about time management and seeing the brighter side of situations whilst also keeping things realistic. While I’m no businesswoman, it's fascinating what things I can take from our conversation on my own personal path. With everything, there will always be obstacles, but the way that you approach them is what defines you. I have no doubt in my mind that Simone will go on to do great things with her ambitions and specific skill set. Take Simone’s advice; romanticize your life, celebrate small victories, and don’t feel embarrassed about your work. Who knows, you too could be one in a million.