Interview: Sharm Sil, Editor-in-Chief + Founder of Average Socialite

By Angela Tai

You were an attorney at a premier NY law firm. What propelled you to leave a successful corporate career behind to launch Average Socialite?

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. My sister and I had our own clothing line and lip balm company, I invented and sold a women's accessory and a few other ventures along the way. I started Average Socialite with my Co-Editor 5 years ago and it was really just a hobby and side business during that time. I came to a crossroads in my career and I took the option to go all in on Average Socialite. I wanted to see how far Average Socialite could go if I dedicated 100% to it.

Was there an inflection point when you realized Average Socialite was going to take off?

There were a few moments for us when something would go viral or we would overhear someone casually mention Average Socialite where we realized things were really taking off. In this kind of industry you have to put a lot of time and effort into your site to show you're here to last and to get your google rank up. I think it was the perfect storm of content & timing that made things take off.

Prior to Average Socialite, you had another startup called Bosom Button. How did some of the learnings from Bosom Button apply when you were working on getting Average Socialite off the ground? 

As with every company I've ever started I gained valuable knowledge from Bosom Button. My first company made me learn html. It taught me about wholesale pricing and drop shipping. I took this to Bosom Button and applied that knowledge there. Bosom Button taught me a lot about advertising, google rank, business ethics, money management, social media and more. I took all this knowledge to Average Socialite. There is plenty to gain from both your wins and losses in any entrepreneurial venture. That's why I really don't see any entrepreneurial venture as a failure.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. What are the 3 top questions you’d encourage people to ask themselves before they go out on their own?

Are you willing to put in the time and effort it takes to handle your own business? This is not an easy way out of a full time job. In most cases you will work more hours than a regular job.
Can you handle rejection? You can't take things in business too personally or you will never succeed.
Do you have patience? Sure we all hear about overnight success, but most businesses take years to make it. You have to be able to hang in there and trust your process.

As a woman of color, what’s the one piece of advice you have for a young person who’s also diverse?

Network. Use all the resources available to you as a female and as a minority. But, work with everyone. Don't exclude anyone. Believe in yourself. There is no reason anyone or anything can hold you back.

Who’s your biggest role model in life and how did that person help shape your career?

That is so hard to choose because I have plenty in many different fields. I give a lot of credit to my parents though. As Asian immigrants it's hard not to fall into the pressure of making your kids follow traditional career paths. Although they always wanted that for us, they have always 100% supported our entrepreneurial efforts. My parents invested in all of my companies from money to helping me out with shipping. And when my first one didn't work out as planned they were of the mindset that at least you had the guts to try. 

What do you tell someone who’s thinking about starting their own company, but isn’t ready to give up the financial security of a full-time job? 

Work your full-time job and work your side hustle. Use every hour of the day. In today's age you don't have to use traditional work hours to work on your business. Eventually you will know when the time is right to dedicate yourself to your business. The way I see it traditional roles are going to be a thing of the past. Everything is being taken over by technology. Your job may not exist tomorrow. No company or corporation is going to care about you like yourself. Brand yourself. Create your own path. Find your passion & follow it. I'm rooting for you!