need to know
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Influencer Hannah Krohne, who posts on Instagram and TikTok under the handle @hannahlizzy, quit her full-time corporate job in fashion to become a full-time fashion influencer.
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While she was nervous to make the switch at first, Krohn says she “fell in love with being an entrepreneur”.
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However, when starting any new job, there’s an inevitable learning curve, and she tells People about the top things that surprise her about behind-the-scenes content creation today.
In September, after a year and a few changes working in corporate fashion, influencer Hannah Krohne quit her full-time job and made a leap that’s becoming increasingly common in the ever-changing world of social media.
Krohne, who previously worked in strategy and merchandising for British fashion retailer ASOS, has been posting fashion and lifestyle videos online since her sophomore year of college.
Born out of a desire to share her budding eye for fashion with the world (and maybe a chance to snag some free clothes while doing it), Krohne grew her following throughout her undergraduate career, gaining more followers and revenue from brand deals and affiliate links, until she felt safe cutting her corporate job to part-time hours.
In the back of his mind, however, Crone had already decided he wasn’t long for the corporate life. When she moved to New York for her job at ASOS, she started getting invited to brand events almost immediately and her social media presence grew bigger and bigger.
“It was just getting to the point of my social media — I was falling in love with being an entrepreneur,” she says.
Krohne admits that, when she first cut back on her hours, she was hesitant to tell people she was pursuing a career in content creation.
“Even though it was only 20 hours, when someone asked me about my job – whether I’m on a date, I meet someone random, my third cousin – when they asked me what I did, I always said that I worked at ASOS, because … that was a more acceptable answer,” she says.
“And they can be like, ‘Well, she has a corporate job,’ and move on,” she says.
Eventually, though, Crone knew she had to quit and, in September 2025, took the final leap.
Social media content creation is somewhat of an uncharted territory, and many people may not be aware of the small, specific details that go into making it into a full career—especially when it comes to the financial side of things.
Krohne, who now has over 400,000 followers on her Instagram and TikTok, reveals some surprising things she’s learned about what it takes to support herself as a creator.
An effective brand gift is not always ‘free’
Crone laughs that when her college friends encouraged her to start her effective side hustle first year, the idea of free clothes was a big draw for the sarcastically “obsessed” student.
She shares that, as a content creator, she is sent PR and has access to certain perks through her role. However, she also reveals that there is a bit more to what appears to be a free dress than meets the eye.
She cites an example involving online retailer Revolve, which sends Crone a fixed monetary amount of clothing per month that she can select.
“I was maxing out the Revolve clothing fund,” she says. “This is free clothing from one of my favorite brands.”
However, come April, when Krohne went to pay his taxes, his financial advisor told him he owed Revolve $3,700.
“I didn’t read in the fine print on Revolve Gifting that they were giving it away in exchange for posting,” she says. “So, AKA, the clothes are income instead of my post, so they tax it like income.”
Krohne made a video about his discovery at the time of the incident and was met with mixed reactions from his commenters – some of whom believed that Krohne should have known better and others who were of the same confused mindset as him.
Influencers must set aside a large portion of their income for taxes
Hannah Lizzie
Another learning curve that came with his effective work was getting used to setting aside a significant portion of his income to pay taxes.
Almost all influencers do not work for corporations, they are considered 1099, or contract employees in the eyes of the government. This means that when it comes to paying taxes, influencers should be diligent all year about setting aside money for April trips.
“It was quite a shock,” Crone laughs about paying taxes as an influencer for the first time. “With a corporate job, taxes are taken before you see the money. So the money you pay is really yours.”
When you work for yourself, Crone says, “it’s not like that.”
“To be safe, I’ll take 30% of everything,” she reveals, including Brand Deal Money, affiliate programs like LTK or ShopMy, and money from the TikTok Creator Fund (although Krohne says she’s not part of it).
Effective managers take 20% of effective income
Hannah Lizzie
Many influencers have managers, whose job it is to help them source things like brand deals and partnerships.
According to Crone, who has many influential friends in New York City, where he lives, the standard rate is 20% of the deals and partnerships they help bring.
“My manager doesn’t get 20% of my affiliate income. I’m doing that, but all my brand deals, everything, 20%,” says Krohne.
“It’s the industry standard,” she says. “There are some managers who take more. I’ve never heard of one taking less, but maybe.”
Influencers cannot ‘write off’ purchases to be displayed on videos
Hannah Lizzie
While viewers online may be confident that their favorite influencers are able to “write off” the purchases they make and use them in videos on their taxes, the reality is far less glamorous.
“I think people think I’m just, like, writing down everything I own, but you have to be able to prove it was only used for business,” Crone says.
Other content creators have recently been vocal about this common misconception, including popular influencer Madeleine White, who addressed the topic in a video in October 2025.
“No, influencers can’t write things because they put it in the whole video or they did the unboxing,” White said. She made it clear that she couldn’t buy anything from clothes to shoes or bags, although she said she recognized that “some people are doing it”.
“If they do an audit, they will be asked for the money back,” she said.
Continuing, the content creator, known for his online fashion and lifestyle content, explained that “you have to be able to prove that you’ve never used it for personal use.”
“So you can get away with buying a uniform for a job, but you can’t get away with buying a plain black T-shirt because you can’t prove you’ve never worn that plain black T-shirt on any other day of your life.”
Influencers act as their own employers
Hannah Lizzy/TikTok
In addition to setting aside a certain portion of their income for taxes, influencers and content creators should also set aside money for things like their 401K and insurance.
While the same is true for those who work for corporations, Crone says it’s different for influencers who aren’t matched with employer contributions to their 401K.
“I have to contribute to my own 401 as my employer to fund my retirement,” she shares.
Fortunately, Krohne, 23, is still covered by her parents’ health insurance. But she says she’ll “have to figure that out” when her 26th birthday rolls around and she can’t live with it anymore.
Read the original article on People
