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Hannah Holland: The Sisterhood
Interview & Words Phadria Prendergast
Hannah Holland has created a sisterhood and is redefining the rules of an industry that usually finds women tearing each other down, instead of unifying together. She leads a female-focused talent management agency, where she manages over 30 influencers, models and media personalities. Not your typical agent and far from corporate, Hannah gets right into the deep end with all of her clients. WOTC sits down to speak with her on the power of unified women and living outside the box.
It’s 3 o’clock on a cloudy Tuesday in London and Hannah is in the office when I call. She tells me not to mind the background noise as she pops in her headphones. It was her second interview with WOTC. We were last here in October 2020, where I’d discovered her roughly about a month or two prior, through her PR, who had emailed in about an incredible woman WOTC should know about - and of course, she was. She was all about women supporting women and really wanted to disrupt the talent management industry. We had stayed in touch since then, so it was just like catching up with an old friend.
Hannah didn’t fit into the stereotypical route of education and she liked it that way.“My grandma was a headteacher. My dad is a P.E teacher. My aunt used to be a teacher. My granddad worked as a teacher later on in life. I think you can see the pattern,” she laughs. The twenty six-year-old girl boss realised university wasn’t for her after studying at Manchester Met University. Today, just two years after starting her all-female talent management agency, she has also added HLD Models, HLD Studios and Levelled Up: The Podcast, to her roster of business ventures. “I think you know if you're meant to be an entrepreneur or freelancer when you don't feel [like] you fit, like you could do something better and it's not in a disrespectful way. It's genuinely that your mind has a different kind of creative thought process,” she explains. “I think a lot of what business is about, is being free to experiment and if it's wrong, it's wrong, you learn the lessons and utilise a different strategy. I don't think there's a right way of doing business, ever!”
Hannah juggled HLD and her role at Sixty6 Magazine for six months when she first founded the agency, aged twenty four years old. Originally a marketing company, she quickly realised how much she didn't want to go down the marketing route and instead decided to rebrand into a management company, after three months - advice given to her by a friend, who reminded Hannah of just how much women trusted her. “I always thought my age was a real issue, like people wouldn't trust me because I'm young and I don't have ten years of experience under my belt,” she admits.
I don't think there's a right way of doing business, ever!”
During her first year of her business, Hannah worked from her living room - the story of many of the greatest global business women. She hired her first member of staff Joe, after three months of leaving her full-time position, and he worked three days a week alongside her from her living room and kitchen. “I couldn't pay him a lot of money at the time, so I'd make him eggs and toast for breakfast, she laughs.” She also credits Harley for taking a chance on her. “I really thank her for that because, if there was no Harley or Demi, there would be no HLD,” she states.
Today, her office lies in the heart of Covent Garden, London. She reminisces on the virtual office address that allowed her company to look a lot bigger than it was before she could afford an office. The best advice Hannah would offer to women starting a business, is for them to fake it until they make it.
“I feel like no matter how much you tell your story, it always sounds easier than it was. I spent a lot of money branding and on shoots, trying to really find our place in the market and really stand out. And I think people don't ever see that side. Even though we're a management [company] and we don't actually sell a product, we still have to have excellent marketing skills, cause we're marketing talent.”
For Hannah, the goal was always to redefine what a management company does for their clients. “There's a very old school way of doing things, where you're kind of at arm's length. You give them jobs and if they take it, you take your percent. I think it’s about having a genuine bond.” Hannah is there through everything with her clients from relationships to family deaths. “It's a really special thing to have because when you describe it, you can't say, ‘oh, they're my colleagues,’ they're not! But then they're also friends in a way that aren't friends, more like family.”
I was curious to know how she was able to unify all the different personalities and young women that she managed. She reveals that it was always intentional for her. “Harley and Demi; they're very different types of talent and I had them go to events together and they really got on. Harley looks after Demi's dog in the UK all the time for her.” Hannah realised that it didn’t matter what backgrounds any of the girls came from, or whether they were global or national, they were all young and going through the very same experiences.
“I feel like no matter how much you tell your story, it always sounds easier than it was.
“Something that we really preach to the girls is, there's a friendship here and we start by having everyone in the same group chat so everyone could speak. When the algorithms are down, they talk about it. We all like each other's pictures; comment; we all know who is in the agency, we all speak together, we do events together.” Media alone is a very isolated place and ultimately what Hannah has created is a family, a group of young women who are all at different levels and from different backgrounds, yet get on so well. Hannah has also created a safe space for all of her clients to voice what they are going through and when they are stressed.
Describing her leadership as quirky, Hannah isn’t your average manager. There’s no such thing as ‘office hours’ at HLD. She makes herself available at all times - even if it is the weekend. “I think to get the best out of your clients, you need to always be on call. It’s almost like an emergency service to the girls in a sense. There’s been so many times where stories come out in the Sunday paper. If I chose to turn my phone off all weekend, how would we address that, if I didn't know about it on the Saturday?
The bottom line for Hannah is that you can be good at your job and still be nice. “The people you meet on the way up are the same people you'll meet on your way back down. The only way to stay up is sometimes, for those people to lift you back up. I think it's a very important cycle to remember and learn.”
MEET SOME OF THE HLD GIRLS
Eve & Jess Gale
21-year-old twins Eve and Jess are reality tv stars and influencers, who have plans to join the world of business. For the duo, choosing to be under the management of Hannah and HLD was a no brainer. “We've only ever been with HLD. Hannah was the first person we signed with, so we've been with her just over a year now and it's funny because after a year, you can choose whether to renew your contract or not. For me and Eve, it wasn't even a decision. It was just inevitable that we [would] stay with her.” For the pair, because each young woman at the agency is so different, they believe it’s the perfect opportunity for them to learn.
GK Barry
21-year-old Grace is an influencer and one of the new additions to the agency. She was originally weary about finding management based on the experience friends and peers have had in the past. However, meeting Hannah and all of the HLD girls was a pleasant surprise for her and she loved that it was an all girl management. “I know a lot of people that have a lot of followers, and it gets to their head a bit, but all of the girls in this management are just so nice.”
Belle Hassan
Makeup artist, educator and influencer Belle Hassan found Hannah at a time she needed guidance most. “I sort of lost my way a little bit. I didn't really know anything about influencing when I first started and she pushed me in the right direction. I think when you find the right fit for you, having management is the best thing in the world because they're so helpful and they've become like my family.”
Sian Owen
Dj, radio presenter, host and fashion student Sian Owen, is also adding modelling to her line up. “She just wants the best out of me,” she states referring to Hannah. “I think her putting me in charge of hosting her podcast really spoke volumes to me because she's invested in her girls and that's what she focuses on.” She describes HLD as a family and finds it refreshing being around a group of women who are always lifting each other up.
Yvonne Victoria
24-year-old Yvonne is an influencer who has been on Instagram since she was 14-years-old, signed with HLD in November 2019. On management, she says “oh my goodness, for me it was a clear, easy decision [..] it was more about, OK, ‘what are my goals’, rather than OK, they just want to make money off of you and lock you into a long contract. Ever since it's just been better and better, because we all have an understanding.” For Yvonne, the sisterhood happened naturally and highlights how important it is for Hannah to have them unite.
Harley Brash
22-year-old Harley Brash is an influencer, who was formerly an estate agent and also the first girl Hannah signed to HLD. “I took a chance on her, she took a chance on me, and we just grew together.” On the sisterhood, she says “whenever anyone's feeling a bit down about themselves, you've always got somewhere there to pick you back up.”