Editorial by Juan Carlos Lopez

October was a very fast month and it did have many shows all over the USA. Now November is looming with a few more shows and the huge Nationals that may have around 500 competitors!

Who to listen to

This is not about what kind of music to listen or any personal recommendations. If I could suggest what music to listen it would be based on my opinion. I could suggest Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico Concerto RV 356 and RV 522 or progressive rock legends King Crimson's album in the Court of the Crimson King. But most readers would not be familiar with such but if you are kudos to you.

In this industry everyone is making money except the competitors. For females it is even worse as not only prize money is smaller but also the amount of exposure is limited. But what happens to most competitors? They come and go. The lifetime of a competitor is about 2-3 years. There are those that will last many years or translate into being involved within the industry from competitors to suit makers, make up artists, promoters, judges, etc...

But once you are in the industry the best person you can listen to is yourself. There are clicks and groups in the industry that are formed and they will have an opinion about something. It will be up to you if you want to follow them. They will give you reasons and again they may be true or not. It could be what they say is good for you in this industry but that may not be the case. That can be what they think is good for them if you involve yourself with them.

Lets give a simple example. A trainer owns a supplement company and he gives a competitor a deal that all her training and diet plan will be free if she uses his supplement line, wears its clothing and advertises it among her group of friends and at shows. The condition is that she doesn't get involved herself with other supplement companies in any business way. This is a great deal and perfectly professional. Now if the trainer tells someone he trains and he is not a close personal friend of the client that supplement company A, B, C are unprofessional because they did this and that to other clients of his and they have heard this and that bad about them then that would be unprofessional. And as a competitor you should not listen to it as it may not be true. Even if that trainer had a personal problem with someone they need to prove it to you. For example if the trainer has an email from supplement company A that clearly shows inappropriate comments and its not forged then there you have proof.

So remember people will try to tell you what to do but the best reason to know what to do is by seeing if there is a business level behind it. Don't let anyone tell you what to do with your modeling specially if its making you money. No judge, official, trainer, suit maker, photographer, fan can tell you what to do when it comes to your income. If you are making money as a model doing whatever you want outside the shows no one should tell you inside the industry not to do it. We should all be respectful of others' decisions.

Rule of thumb follow and listen to whomever is putting money in your pocket as long as they only tell you what to do on a business/professional level. Beyond that you have to really listen to yourself and make the best decision possible based on facts. Ask a lot of questions and try not to get your head big because guess what you can replaced easily. There are tons of good looking women in this industry.

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