NPR.

Some people are lucky to figure out what they're passionate about when they're really

young.

And for Ronald Michelle, it was dance.

I've been dancing since I was very young because my parents actually see them dance salsa

by chata, all of the different styles and I've introduced the music and kind of fell in

love with that.

And when Ronald aka Ronnie Boy first discovered TikTok, he found a place to share that love

with the world.

For the past couple of years he's been posting videos of these fun, funky dance routines,

sometimes multiple videos a day.

And for Ronnie, all that dancing and posting has started to pay off.

Last year he says he made about $45,000 from video views and brand deals.

So it was really fun about me being influencers, the fact that I get to do what I love every

single day and still at the same time make it a successful thing for me to make it be a living.

From the outside looking in, being a professional social media influencer can seem kind of like

a dream job.

But as we've been talking to influencers for our series this week, we've also learned

that kind of like a regular Schmegular JOP, the influencer life has its downsides.

This is the indicator for planet money, I'm Adrienne Ma.

And I'm Darian Woods.

Today on the show we will hear from a few folks who are deep in the world of influencer

...