1. THE NEW
BURNOUT
TREND WATCH
AWAKE AND
UNAFRAIDTHE POWER ISSUE
HOW TO BE
UNRULY
ISSUE 31
HUB
game changers | thought leaders | rule breakers | style makers
EMMA WATSON // EVAN SPIEGEL
SHERYL SANDBERG // AMAL CLOONEY
MALALA YOUSAFZAI // JAMIE OLIVER
LAUREN BUSH LAUREN // ELON MUSK
PHARRELL WILLIAMS // ELLEN PAO

2. COLLECTIVE HUB 085
She hired her first intern
at 16, has collected
2.5 MILLION SOCIAL
MEDIA FOLLOWERS
and some of the world’s
most prestigious BRANDS
are queuing to collaborate –
and she’s just turned 18.
WORDS AMY MILLS
I
f the Millennials are widely
regarded as the most
narcissistic and entitled
generation in history, Sarah
Ellen epitomises the altruistic,
resourceful and future-focused
Generation Z antidote.
This 18-year-old has spent the past
few years building a global digital
brand, which has seen her collaborate
with the likes of Prada and Dior, take
on ambassadorial roles as an influencer
with YSL Beauty and Topshop, produce
digital advertising
campaigns for
Maybelline and
develop a colossal
following through
her website,
Perks of Her,
with Bieber-
grade screaming
when in front
of fans. Not to
mention fashion
week invites and
a wardrobe to
make any girl
envious. Now
Sarah can officially add actress to
her résumé, having landed a role as
Madison, daughter of Scott and Charlene
Robinson (aka Jason Donovan and Kylie
Minogue) on iconic Aussie TV soap
Neighbours. It’s a career move that
usually unfolds in reverse; making
Sarah one of the select few to cross
over to mainstream entertainment
after building a career online.
Sarah (or @sarah3llen to her followers)
and her friends may have been raised
in the era of iPhones and selfies, where
age seems no barrier to success – but
make no mistake, this tribe of digital
entrepreneurs are not afraid of hard work.
When we meet at designer hotel QT
Sydney, the diminutive teen is offering
me a drink before she even sits down.
“Are you thirsty?” says the former face
of Supré. “Let me get some water!”
After cringing at the ‘social media
sensation’ tag that is often thrown
around, Sarah
puts her success
down to her
quirky approach,
strong opinions
and sense of
humour; her loyal
female mentors;
and a tireless
work ethic that
comes courtesy
of her working-
class upbringing.
“A lot of
people don’t
understand
the behind-the-scenes of what I
do, because I try and make it seem
effortless,” says Sarah, who thinks her
followers are keen to stay on top of
current trends and are attracted to her
upbeat approach to life. “It’s frustrating
when I see people commenting on my
pictures and saying things like, ‘Oh, you
just grew up in a rich family!’ I think to
myself, ‘You have no idea!’ I grew up out
in Campbelltown [in Sydney’s south-
west] and I didn’t come from a privileged
background. I had to buy my own car,
I moved out on my own last year and
I pay my own rent; I do everything
myself. I work hard.”
Her plans are ambitious and focused
far beyond Insta-fame. “I don’t want to
be one of those girls who are famous for
selfies on Instagram. Looks fade and
I have so much more to offer and I have
so many other interests. I am grateful to
have this platform where I can share all
of these things that I’m doing.” >
I DIDN’T COME
from a PRIVILEGED
background. I had to
buy my own car,
I MOVED OUT on my
own last year and
I pay my OWN RENT.
PHOTOGRAPHY:DANIELLECHLOEPOTTS

3. > SECTION
086 COLLECTIVEHUB.COM @COLLECTIVEHUB THE COLLECTIVE 000
Sarah got her first job as soon as she
was legally able, at a confectionery store
near Campbelltown’s railway station.
“I earned AU$10 an hour and I used
to jig school and work all day because I
liked to work,” she says matter-of-factly.
“I liked earning my own money.”
When she was 14, a friend’s brother
posted a hilarious 30-second clip Sarah
had made of her dancing eyebrows on
YouTube. Overnight, the ‘Girl With
A Funny Talent’ video had just over
80,000 views. Two days later it hit three
million and to date, 56 million people
across the world have watched Sarah's
eyebrows
boogie.
Buoyed
by a steely
determination,
Sarah left
school at 15 to
study business
and fashion at
The Fashion
Institute in
Sydney.
“I already
knew what
I wanted to
do – I wanted
to work in the
entertainment
industry – and I love fashion and art,”
says Sarah, who is responsible for the
art direction, styling and production
on all editorial shoots for Perks of Her.
“School wasn’t for me,” she adds.
With hundreds of thousands of social
media followers (935,000+ on Instagram
and 877,000+ on Facebook), Sarah knew
she had the potential for a digital career
with the right strategic planning.
“Everybody was telling me to make
more YouTube videos,” she says. “I
definitely could have gone down the
beauty blogger route or the YouTuber
route, but I am so glad I didn’t. At this
age, I really feel like I have a point of
view and I’ve found things I’ve fallen in
love with. I knew what had happened
[with the YouTube video] had happened
for a reason and I didn’t just want to do
the first thing that would get me more
followers. From a
young age, I’ve been
a perfectionist, so
whatever I put out
there, I wanted it
to be great.”
Sarah has a long-
term view of how
to leverage the loyal
tribe of followers
she has carefully
curated.
“I say no a lot,”
she admits. “There
are brands that
reach out to me
every single day
offering me loads
of money and amazing opportunities to
fly to wherever, but if it is not the right
thing for me and it’s not something that
I stand for then, sorry, but I don’t want
to do it. It’s not an easy thing to say no
all the time. Sometimes I think, ‘But I
want to go to Cuba!’ but I always think
about how certain decisions will affect
my longevity later on.”
I didn’t just want to
do the FIRST THING
that would get me more
FOLLOWERS. From
a young age I’ve been
a PERFECTIONIST,
so whatever I put out
there, I wanted it to
BE GREAT.
As well as producing content for Perks
of Her (for which she is the also CEO),
Sarah has been studying acting for the
past 18 months – and will hit the small
screen as Madison in April.
‘‘Scott and Charlene are such iconic
characters, so it’s an honour to officially
launch my acting career with this dream
role,” says Sarah (who got the obligatory
selfie with her fictional mum, Kylie, on
the 2015 ARIA Awards red carpet) of
her Neighbours role.
“I don’t think the cast and crew
knew who I was when I started and it
was refreshing going into a whole new
industry with people who are so
open-minded.
“It was intimidating because there
are 50 people in a room watching your
every move, but I was lucky enough to
have Stefan Dennis, who plays Paul, in
one of my first scenes and he knew
I was a bit nervous so he made sure
he was cracking jokes in between
takes to loosen me up a bit.”
As we speak, Sarah is planning to head
to LA for pilot season in order to meet
with agents. She’s just starred in a short
film on the addictive relationship young
people have with social media, can sing
(she’s performed on Australia’s Got
Talent) and has modelled – all spiraling
from her growing online presence.
And she spends any spare time she gets
learning something new, practicing yoga
or watching documentaries.
True to the entrepreneurial spirit of
Gen Z, Sarah says her dreams are big –
and exploding by the day – in a bid to
create as large and full a life as possible.
But despite the fuss around her, Sarah is
pragmatic about her life and clear on one
thing: that she’ll be an entrepreneur, not
an Instagram sensation.
SOCIAL MEDIA 101
WITH SARAH ELLEN
BE CLEAR. You need to have a sharp
vision of what your brand is about and
communicate this through your content.
BE UNIQUE. Find your own point of
difference. What makes your brand unique?
What makes you stand out from everyone
else? Once you nail this, your content plan
will flow seamlessly.
BE CONSISTENT. In my experience,
consistency is key when it comes to having
high levels of engagement – you need to be
having a regular, ongoing conversation with
your audience.
BE BUSINESS-MINDED. Treat
your social media like it’s your business.
Remember that businesses take time and
effort to develop, so don't be surprised if you
don't gain thousands of followers overnight.
It’s a process that needs time, and numbers
aren’t always everything.
BE YOURSELF. Authenticity is
everything, and keeping things real
will become increasingly important as
audiences tire of too much ‘fake’ content
on social media.
INFLUENCER
PHOTOGRAPHY:DANIELLECHLOEPOTTS