Aspiring Women Who Inspire: Kirbie Johnson

As a woman-founded and -led team of all female professionals based in Los Angeles and New York, BLND PR is putting influential women on the rise at the forefront of the digital space with our new blog series, Aspiring Women Who Inspire.

The stats don’t lie – women are becoming more educated, taking on more professional roles, and are starting to have more representation in leadership. In the U.S. alone, women earn more than 57% of undergraduate degrees and 59% of all master’s degrees. Although they hold almost 52% of all management- and professional-level jobs, American women still lag substantially behind men in terms of their representation in leadership positions. We at BLND PR are working to close the gender gap and build women up from Los Angeles to New York.

We’ll be interviewing and featuring women in a variety of leadership positions, sharing their stories of where they began, what motivates them, and how they’re disrupting industries and pushing boundaries in a thoughtful and strategic way.

For our first iteration of the series, we’re honored to showcase Kirbie Johnson and her inspiring story of self-determination, risk-taking, and oh yeah – she’s a big Vanderpump Rules fan! So, without further adieu…

1. Introduce yourself.

Hi! I’m Kirbie Johnson. I’m an on-camera host, producer and reporter. I currently host a podcast called Gloss Angeles with my friend Sara Tan. You might have seen my videos on POPSUGAR and Freeform.

2. You recently left Popsugar after being there for seven years. How did you know it was time?

When you’re at a company that long, it’s hard not to consider what else is out there! I knew I would be in a good place once my contract was up, and I decided to step out in faith and see what I could do when I put all my energy into working for myself. I built a large network of both personal and professional relationships and felt confident that I could go out on my own.

3. What’s an accomplishment you consider to be the most significant in your career so far?

I’m really proud that I was able to marry something I always wanted to do — be on camera — with something I’m passionate about: beauty. I was given an undergraduate and masters in digital content creation from the School of POPSUGAR, and feel everything I learned there has helped me to become the type of entrepreneur I aspire to be.

4. What’s a failure that turned into a blessing?

Too many to say! Failures are inevitable. Failure kept me to doing a lot of things throughout my career, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned is actually do it and not worry about perfection and succeeding.

A failure that comes to mind was when I didn’t get selected for a job at MTV. I was heartbroken — I really, really wanted the job. I thought my career was over before it even started! But I ended up getting a job at an advertising agency and it taught me a lot about social media and promoting my work without me really realizing it. It also made me passionate about what I really wanted to do. I would come home after work and write about things I cared about for my blog, which ultimately helped me get my job at POPSUGAR.

5. Morning routine?

Wake up. Grab my phone and check email immediately. Flag anything I need to follow up on ASAP. Check Twitter for news. Check Instagram and respond to DMs or comments. Then get ready!

6. Who’s an aspiring woman who inspires you?

My friend Juliette Levy. She worked full-time at Benefit Cosmetics for 14 years and went onto her own last year. She has been absolutely killing it with her clients in such a short amount of time. It’s motivated me for sure!

7. What’s one piece of career advice you’d give a young person looking to follow in your footsteps?

Don’t say no to opportunities just because you don’t think they align with the path you want for yourself. You have no idea how a job you might not be super confident in can help your career. And don’t wait for someone to hand you your dream job! Build your experience by starting a website, Youtube channel, blog, etc.

8. When you’re not working on Beauty News and Gloss Angeles, what can we find you doing?

Working out against my will. Just kidding, I actually enjoy working out, but the act of getting to the gym is what bums me out. I go to Orange Theory and Studio MDR and I love both! I write like a fiend or am getting into the swing of filming content for my YouTube channel. Telling people who they are and why they act the way they do because of astrology lolll. I also consume a ton of television because I want to be on TV someday.

Rapid Fire

Three words that describe you?

Bubbly, loyal, tender-hearted.

Dream celebrity BFF?

I think I could be best friends with Adele and Jennifer Lawrence. They like to have fun, right? Weren’t they just at a gay karaoke bar together? Plus, Adele is a Taurus and Jennifer is a Leo. As a Capricorn, I’m always attracted to Tauruses, and I have so many Leos in my life — my best friend and my boyfriend are both Leos. JLaw is also invested in Bravo TV programming so we’d have a ton to discuss.