“Do your job and show that you are good at what you do”

Thaynara OG it’s a girl boss! Owner of a consolidated career on the internet, the digital influencer expanded her horizons and brought a mission to her life: to give visibility to Maranhão. The star, which is the digital cover of Maximum, started her trajectory on the internet and became an entrepreneur. With that, she founded ‘São João da Thay’, a typical party that attracts looks from all over Brazil to her state.

“It was a very organic and natural process. From the moment I appeared on social networks, it was very genuine to start working on this idea of ​​’São João da Thay’, which was born in a different format and became this great event, and I always had that in me to want to take advantage of this visibility to praise Maranhão’s culture, demystify some prejudices and attract attention here. From the moment I saw that it had a commercial format to attract the attention of brands and press vehicles, everything became more professional. There, he deals with the creative economy, with local tourism, with the culture of the region. After this ‘ant work’ we’ve been doing since 2017, we have data that point to the impact of this event on the economy. So, it was natural for the process of this experience to start to become more and more professional and for me to have a more entrepreneurial notion, to be in charge of some things, to be part of the meeting, to devise and punctuate strategies. For me, it was a natural process, because my career took me down this path and when you want to become professional and succeed more and more, you take the lead and strengthen that entrepreneurial streak.”she said.

Being a woman in the business world is not an easy task. Dealing with the structural machismo of a society that requires women to be submissive and not impose themselves is a daily challenge.

“For example, today my right-hand man is Bruno, who is my manager, and we are in charge of several projects, such as ‘São João da Thay’. It has happened in meetings I’ve attended, men always refer to him to validate something, and the two are there to make decisions, point out strategies. It has also happened that I always feel interrupted when a man crosses your speech and always discredits what you are saying. Another thing I observe is when a man is assertive, he is seen as a person with a strong personality. When he is an assertive woman, she is seen as stressed, PMSed, crazy. Especially at times when I have to be assertive about something, many times this is taken to the side of hormones, of alteration, but if the same thing comes from a man, he is seen as a ‘firm pulse’, but we don’t lower your head.” he said.

Thaynara imposes herself and positions herself in front of this scenario:“More and more I take the lead in my projects. With that, I’m maturing because I’ve been in the business for a long time, knowing how the pace is, how things work, what I need to do, I already know ‘the path of the stones’ and I’m imposing myself more. Today, I have a great right-hand man who is my sister, Ludmila, who inspires me a lot! She is my younger sister and we help each other a lot, we listen to each other a lot, I learn a lot from her. We empower each other a lot! We have projects and situations where one empowers the other and that is definitely a strength for me in the business world. The way I try to deal with it is by facing it, ‘slapping it’ and getting used to a maturation process.”.

Being a woman, entrepreneur and from the Northeast makes her have to deal with different types of prejudice. And she faces them head on!

“Absolutely, because you have to prove yourself all the time. Being a woman in the business world is difficult because of the structural machismo that exists. And being a northeastern woman in all this is even more difficult. Often, what I realize is that they underestimate us. It is very common for people to come here, who do not know the project, and when they see the whole structure, they are surprised, something as if we were not able to do big events, to receive this flow of people and make it happen. The fact that you are a woman already has machismo and being from the Northeast makes it even more difficult. You have to prove that you are capable, because they underestimate you.”he said.

She continued: “On facing these challenges, it’s about maturing, imposing yourself and setting limits that people cannot exceed. It is demonstrating everything with actions and results. Showing your success is the main ‘case’ to silence the person who underestimates you. Do your job and show that you are good at what you do.”

SÃO JOÃO DA THY

‘São João da Thay’ is a charity event and she is in charge of all decisions. Sincere and without hiding anything, the influencer told what it’s like to do and lead a project of this size.

“Today I have a wonderful team that I trust a lot and we work on several fronts: food for the event, sound, stage, artistic direction, popular groups from Maranhão culture. We all have groups, each of them has its leader and I communicate with the leaders. I also have my team and we are very aligned and transparent. As much as I am not there every day, because it is impossible to follow my schedule and be there every day, my team is 100% transparent. I have trusted people who are extensions of Thaynara. Each leader gives me everything so that we can make the best decisions of all. Despite being at the forefront of decisions, I listen to everyone, their experiences and experiences to find out what will be best for the project.”he spoke.

About the organization, the star said she has a support network: “An edition ends and we are already starting to think about the next one! I take stock with the leaders of each team to find out what worked in each edition and what we need to improve. I also get feedback from the public, from friends of mine who attend, and I really like to hear it, because when we listen, we improve a lot. From that, we raise possibilities for dates, considering what is best for the city, the place’s agenda, commercial dates, artistic agenda of the singers, so we raise some possibilities and, from that, I get in touch with the artists to assemble the line-up.”.

“I have a whole press and commercial team that does this survey of the impacts generated by ‘São João da Thay’ in relation to brands, public, influencers, social networks. After that, we already set up the project to show it to the brands that have already invested, who generally want to continue in the next edition, and we started to set up the official project to be able to sell to the brands. When this project is more ’rounded’, with the attractions, dates and place, we already have this contact with the brands so that we have possibilities of giving a ‘match’ with our project. Everything has to make sense with the project!”, he said.

She continued: “In addition, we communicate with our partners, who are always with us at the event. ‘São João da Thay’ is not just the day of the event, it also has a whole experience for the guests, such as taking them to Lençóis Maranhenses, publicizing this paradise even more.”.

“I put together the guest list and send it individually to each one, explaining what the project is so that the person does not come just for the sake of coming, and the person has affection, understands that he is different, being able to inspire clothes with the culture from here like Bumba-meu-boi, Cacuriá and Tambor de Crioula. I like to do this part with great care and care and assemble the whole structure.”, finished.

NORTHEAST CULTURE

Thaynara always insists and talks about the importance of honoring Maranhão. The influencer told how she sees this “mission”.

“I think it’s very important to raise regional identity, because Brazil is very plural and we can’t be reduced to a single accent, just ‘São João’. São João do Maranhão is very different from the others in the northeast. We have something very unique, a very rich folklore that goes to Bumba-meu-boi, Cacuriá, Tambor de Crioula, Portuguese dance and square dancing. This, for me, is a mission to awaken in Brazilians that desire and curiosity to get to know their own country. We have such a rich country to be explored that I have this mission of provoking curiosity in people.”, he said.

The businesswoman said that it all came from a painful moment: “This mission came about in a genuine way, which came about out of pain. I always grew up seeing Maranhão in the media being portrayed in a pejorative and negative way. It hurt me a lot. From the moment I reached social networks, it was very natural for me to start demystifying tourism, culture and attracting attention here. My mission comes a lot from this pain of seeing Maranhão being portrayed in this way and, regardless of my career, I would have done something that way, because for me it has always been a mission. Social networks have certainly enhanced this mission of mine.”.

INSPIRATION

The digital influencer is an inspiration to hundreds of women. Thaynara told how she feels to see this.

“I feel honored! Having this recognition and knowing that I am an inspiration to several women makes me have the strength to continue. Even if we already have a consolidated name, many things are still difficult and situations like this motivate us. When we receive recognition and admiration, we recover all the strength and all the ‘gas’ to keep fighting and know that we are in the right place. For me, in addition to being an honor, it is a motivation for me to continue doing my job.”, he said.

Speaking of inspiration, the businesswoman said that it makes her heart beat faster: “My mother inspires me a lot. Her story is very beautiful, she came from a very humble childhood and without many opportunities and she is a very intelligent person, she ‘beats’ on how to captivate people. She has a light and energy that wins people over. Big names in Maranhão culture that represent our history and inspire me a lot. It is an honor to have a connection with these people.”.

About her internet career, she talked about what it’s like to be one of the biggest names on online platforms.

“Every positive recognition of my work is a great motivation and honor. For me, this is very much the result of being aligned with a team that has the same principles as I do. For me, these seven years show that I made the right decisions and never prioritized money, I always put first something that always positioned me in the best way. I am also very happy to have come across very nice people who helped me a lot. I look back and a movie plays in my head and I see that every time I questioned myself, everything that happened was the way it had to happen. Seeing this happening is very cool. It is a prize, an achievement!”he said.

FUTURE

Finally, Thaynara gave ‘spoilers’ of what we can expect from her for 2023 and didn’t skimp on the details.

“’São João da Thay’ comes in a much more daring format, something that the public asked for a lot, with more news. And a film, which we recorded here in Maranhão with Lilia Cabral and Sérgio Malheiros.”concluded the businesswoman.

CREDITS:

Text: Gabriele Salyna (@gabisalyna)

Cover Design: Felipe Fiuza (@felipepontofiuza)

Photos: Brunno Rangel (@brunnorangel) and Marcelo Feitosa (@ma.feitosa)