So you want to get into Motorsport?

Lately, I've been receiving numerous messages asking how I got into motorsport. This letter is for those of you who are eager to break into the industry. I wish there were a simple answer or a formulaic process I could share with you, but there isn't. Instead, this is my attempt to answer your question and delve deeper into aspects that might help you on your journey. Here's a bit about my story...

This is a long story but I think it’s the only fair way to show you the process and even still, I cut a lot out. When I was 15, I wanted to be a model very badly. I signed with an agency that wasn’t very good, it was just a place that took your money. I got a job interning there which actually really shaped the course of my life.

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I worked for the owner and because I was 15 and she was 50-something, I did a lot of technology-based tasks for her. Basic stuff, social media, graphics, light picture editing, etc. It’s important to say, I wasn’t skilled at this... but no one really cared because I was free and then eventually paid $12 an hour.

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I wanted more modeling jobs and for that I needed more photos. I was a kid and I had no money to spend on this. I utilized my Instagram page to connect with photographers and find myself modeling jobs, most of which paid very little or I did for free. I switched to online high school and worked for the agency. Then another agency because that one went out of business.

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One day, I shot with a photographer and the next night he asked me if I would model at my local Lamborghini dealership and unveil the new car for $80. I was stoked. I loved it and cars began to pique my interest.

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The woman who hired me at the dealership later became the owner’s assistant. I liked this woman a lot and did free modeling jobs for her. One day she asked me to come into the dealership and I interned there for a week. I thought I could take her job because she was leaving. I was 17 and I did not know that I had 0% chance of taking that job. The dealership told me to come back when I was 18. I was angry and heart-broken.

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When I was 18 I saw they posted on Instagram they needed a receptionist so I went in and got the job. Except, I did not want to be a receptionist. I learned how to make websites and I made one for their parts department within 3 days and they promoted me to an entirely made up role that paid $1 more an hour.

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This was the start of the journey.

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I worked at a restaurant as a hostess and a model still, I worked Monday – Wednesday at the dealer. The same woman from before asked me if I would work a Lamborghini Car Rally one weekend, I said yes. Except my boss at the dealer wanted me there the same weekend. He called the owner of the rally and told him I was working at the dealership and couldn’t work the rally. The dealer wanted me there for a couple hours on one day, I would have made less than $100. The rally wanted me all weekend and offered a lot more. I was furious at my boss from the dealership so I quit. I worked the rally which also changed my life, the next year I was hired to plan it. Years later I started my own rallies and I still plan them for my clients to this day.

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I got this awful feeling in my gut. If I am not working at the dealership… how will I be around the cars?

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I worked parking lot car shows in terrible tacky outfits for tiny amounts of money. I knew in my heart I was much more capable then this and sometimes it made me feel icky. I also knew that this was where I was going to meet people to help me get into car scene. I never spent my personal time with these people and I think that is very important to note. I only went to events to be paid and made it very clear I was a professional. Of course, over the years I made some friends but very few actual friends, everyone was a business acquaintance. I have never dated anyone in automotive or motorsport. It’s pathetic to say this because I think it is ridiculous … ?but if you are a woman, trust me when I say, this makes a big difference. No one grows up past high school and people love to gossip. Having a good reputation does matter. Sadly, this is not just based on your work ethic. ?

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In the meantime, I went to college but didn’t finish. I worked at restaurants. I worked at another dealership. I worked at a marketing agency. I worked at a jewelry store. I went back to the owner of the modeling agency who then ran a medical spa. I started doing auto shows. I did events constantly. I worked and worked, not always doing what I wanted, but I needed to survive.

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I always told everyone around me I could build websites, do graphic design, manage social media, help with events, hire other girls, find photographers or whatever it may be. Eventually people started throwing me work outside of modeling. I continued to share online all of the events I was attending and my passion for cars.

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One day I got an email from a company asking me to work at a race. I had always wanted to work a race! I was so broke. I was living on my own and I didn’t have a lot of money, I was scared about paying rent in my first apartment. I had just been fired from a restaurant for “stealing a pizza” – you can’t make that up. I asked them for a deposit and when I got it months later I was on another work trip, my first in months. I broke down crying in my hotel room, I was so grateful and hopeful.

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I worked their booth as a grid girl and did my best to be helpful in any way I could. They started booking me for more races and eventually they allowed me to do miscellaneous marketing tasks. During this time, I started my business, LINQ Project. I needed a name for my LLC because my new accountant told me to make one and I thought it was a good opportunity to showcase my work separate from just me. I did not want people to know me, I wanted them to know my work. Five years from the start of that relationship my agency took over all of the brand’s social media and produces events + logistics. There’s a lot of things that happened in between there but that’s basically how I got in.

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I think you can probably gather from my story that you can’t copy/paste and apply that to your life. The truth is, most people who got into motorsport have a story with winding roads that led them there. ?So here is my advice…

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I knew I wanted to be around cars so I aligned myself to always be around cars. I did this with working events and you can do this in any capacity even by just attending.

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I networked like crazy but there is a secret to this. I never asked anyone for advice, to help me, or to give me money. I asked people what I could do for them and then offered them my skill set which I was already developing on my own. Google & Youtube University Graduate, literally.

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The people I used to admire and currently admire today are very busy. They barely have time to do the things they want to do for themselves and that means they are very unlikely to put time into you. It’s not personal. We all have a finite amount of time on this planet, we can’t always give it away. People do not like people asking them for things, especially people they don’t know. It is emotionally draining.

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You can ask people for things and for help but only when you’ve established a relationship. That relationship needs to be mutually beneficial. When I ask someone for something, I have done something for them in return in the past or they know I will in the future. Relationships are not one-sided, you do have to bring something to the table. There is the rare instance that someone wants to mentor or help you and that is very special. I have never ever found one of these people right off the bat, those relationships evolve over time as do friendships. I will also warn you that most people who have promised me the world or told me they are going to help me… are so full of it and have always been a waste of my time.

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So, you want to get into Motorsports? You don’t have to know what you are going to do in the end game but you need to pick a place to start. You need a service or skill to offer and then you need to market yourself. You could start off by working in hospitality or volunteering but if you do not have a goal in mind you won’t know where to go and how to grow.

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I will tell you this. A lot of people want to get into motorsport, the number of messages I get actually blows my mind. You do have to ask yourself, why you? What makes you special? If you don’t have an answer you can make one up and then work on becoming it. I learned this in modeling. A lot of girls want to be models. As I got older I learned what it took to be a great model and I realized, I did not want to work that hard for it and I was not born with a lot of the traits to really get there. I originally wanted to own a modeling agency but over time that shifted to a creative agency. You have to realize that you might work your entire life to get to this goal of working in motorsport or working on anything. What are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to be broke? Are you willing to travel 50%+ of the year? Are you willing to work 18 hour days? Are you willing to be underpaid? Are you willing to do things you think are beneath your talent? You don’t necessarily have to do all of these things that I did but you are going to have to work for it. Narrowing down the end goal will help shape your journey.

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I have a peaceful thought for you that I remind myself of a lot. The major companies I work with are often as unorganized as the teeny tiny ones I started with. The richest people I have met are not necessarily smarter than some of my model or server friends. You do not have to be a genius, rich, or experienced to get to the top level of anything. A lot of people at the top level are not very good at their jobs.

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I know for a fact, that I am not the best at everything I do. I am very good at a lot of things but it wasn’t always that way. I look at my past work and I cringe. I work hard. I give things my full effort even when it may not be appreciated. I do what I say I am going to do, when I say I am going to do it. I try to be the best I can be. I want people to enjoy working for me and with me, I like to help. I would be nowhere and nothing without the people I befriended in my career. I never befriended anyone because of where I thought they would take me. I just like to surround myself with like-minded people who make me happy. Luckily, a lot of those people think like me and that helped me get hired and picked for jobs. I am going to sound like a mom here but the best thing I ever did was stay true to myself and my own values. I have been burned badly more times than I can count but I persisted. Doing your best is all you can do.