Meet Yuliya Strait of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yuliya Strait.

Yuliya, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started my blog Style As Needed during my last year of pharmacy school as a creative outlet. I’ve always loved anything fashion and beauty related but found that my day to day life did not leave much opportunity for that side of me to be seen, so my blog and Instagram page became a place where I could express that creativity. Ten years later, while I no longer actively blog, the social media side of Style As Needed is still going strong and Instagram serves as my main platform. After becoming a stay at home mom two years ago, it’s also been incredibly rewarding to have a project that’s entirely my own outside of my role as a mom.

When I first started, I would do little photo shoots all over the city, changing outfits in my car and trying to capture as many looks as possible in one afternoon. Today, the focus has shifted almost entirely to video content, which means constantly adapting to new formats, keeping up with ever changing trends, and sometimes even learning entirely new platforms. One of the biggest challenges of being a content creator is that what worked six months ago, may not work today. It can definitely be frustrating at times, but it’s also what keeps the job exciting. You’re always learning, evolving, and finding new ways to create content that resonates with people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge has always been finding the time. While I hope that one day Style As Needed will become my full time career, right now it’s something I do because I genuinely love it. Balancing content creation with family life means there are only so many hours in the day, so finding time to plan, film, edit, and stay active online can be difficult.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While a lot of what I post nowadays revolves around style and general lifestyle content, beauty reviews are where my pharmacy background really sets me apart. As someone with a pharmacy degree, I have a good understanding of active and inactive ingredients, how they work, and what they’re actually designed to do. This is what allows my reviews to be a little more in depth than just sharing whether or not I liked a product.

What I’m most proud of though, is the trust I’ve built with my audience. I’ve always been committed to giving honest reviews, even when a product doesn’t work for me. If I wouldn’t spend my own money on something or recommend it to a friend, I won’t recommend it to my followers either. So, maintaining authenticity has always been important to me.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I think one of the biggest hurdles for anyone starting out in content creation is the fear of putting themselves out there. My advice is simple: don’t let the fear of what other people might think stop you from doing something that genuinely brings you joy. As far as actually feeling ready, I really think content creation is one of those fields where you learn as you go and and no matter how much you prep ahead of time, you never know how something will perform. So with that in mind, if it’s something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, just go for it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/styleasneeded
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/styleprn
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@styleasneeded?_r=1&_t=ZP-97foVPX1bag