Erim Kaur, 26, posts daily on her Instagram page ‘@Erim’, showcasing her newest outfits against chatty, engaging captions. From all things self-love to fashion tips, to family stories, Erim shares her personal thoughts and feelings with all 221K of her followers. In 2017, Erim, who is based in London, hit 5,000 followers on Instagram as a result of posting frequent fashion content.
Following huge success online, Erim launched her haircare brand, ByErim which had a one-million-pound turnover last year. Currently stocking the Luxury Hair & Beard Oil and Luxury Hairbrush, ByErim was founded in response to constant requests from Erim’s followers to share her haircare secrets. An all-around female boss, Erim’s hard work and determination has led to her becoming Pandora’s UK Ambassador. Erim spoke to Asian Voice about women, social media and independence.
“In the post-pandemic world where women are perhaps the most vulnerable gender in terms of financial disparity, opportunities, health, what would be your advice to young women on coping and navigating?
Do the things that ground you, be it going for walks (which has become a lockdown habit that I have carried through to now) and oiling your hair (with ByErim!). Surround yourself with those that understand you; it is important to have trusted people around in times of transition to help ease any burdens that you may have.
Please talk about how women who seek role models must identify the right person to learn from?
Look into what they stand for, do their morals align well with yours, and does the way they communicate resonate with you? My Dadi (Grandma) and Mum were the inspiration for ByErim - I was lucky I didn’t have to look for my role models, and maybe you don’t have to either.
How can women support women in uplifting themselves in our society?
Don’t always view other women as competition, as we are all on our own individual journey. As a sisterhood, to help women progress further, we need always to support one another. You will never know when your time will come, and it is so important to put out the energy you want to receive.
Social media can be brutal for women's mental health, yet it can be very empowering. Please comment on that.
Social media can be difficult for everyone’s mental health; however, I believe that we have the power to choose the content that we consume. If someone or something upsets you, block, mute, or unfollow them from your feed. Many accounts online provide content that is not just educational but entertaining as well; for instance, the ByErim page is not just a platform to sell our haircare products. We aim to educate people about the science behind hair and entertain with the odd meme here or there, hehe.
What do men need to learn in our community to be able to give a better future to our women?
The core principle of Sikhi is equality; often, the Punjabi/Asian culture contradicts this. As culture is such a strong force, it’s often easy to forget how we do not provide women with the same opportunities as men. This applies to all aspects of modern life, including financial, societal, mental, and emotional factors. The second that women are fully enabled and empowered to make full use of the same opportunities as our male counterparts; we would ultimately work towards a better future. A small example of this is my Dad, who always pushed me to go down the same path that he did, which was the entrepreneurial route.
