Seven Hundred and Thirty Days!

It’s crazy to realize that as of today, December 21^st, I have been blogging at Follow My Gut for two years; that’s seven hundred and thirty days. I’m pretty shocked by that because I don’t think I’ve actively and enthusiastically committed to anything for that long. Not a relationship or even an exercise plan. To see that two years ago I set out to combine my passion of modest gluttony, obsessive photography, and loud mouth recommendations to people on my website and through social media is incredibly exciting for me! With the goal of turning what could be considered a hobby into a business, I’ve been on some amazing highs and unfortunate lows. The reality of blogging like a business that no one tells you is that you’ll go through important lessons. Beyond the tips of “create great content” or “blog consistently”, the past two years of blogging like I want an investment on Shark Tank (hey, Robert!) has taught me more than I could have imagined.

I work a 9-5 job, visit 3-5 restaurants a week, workout 3-4 times a week, try to keep up with my friends, and attempt to date decent guys through Tinder. That last part isn’t going so well. With so much to do from the moment I get up at 5:30am to the second I pass out at 1:00am, I have to find a balance. When I first started blogging, I was doing everything that came my way and I was quickly losing my sanity. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I decided I needed to become hyper-organized or something would give. To do that, my personal form of balance came by being disciplined and structured. My busy life has so much more tranquility now that I schedule all my restaurant visits, workouts, and hangouts with friends in advance. It sucks to have to “schedule friends”, but that’s the way it is right now and the friends who love me don’t mind.  For me, keeping as much of my life in order is a bit unrealistic, but if I can be disciplined my life will be as balanced as possible and my business can flourish.

That’s a lie it’s amazing!

I love going out to eat which makes blogging about restaurants the best blessing from Jesus Christ himself. It’s so exciting to meet a restaurant’s staff, photograph their dishes, craft genuine reviews about my experience, take photos with food like we’re in a relationship, and to create friendships with people who are just as fat as I am. The part that isn’t that great is the weight gain, the struggle to breathe while walking up stairs, buttons unbuttoning in public, and the fat sweats. Since I don’t know how to say no to food, I find it hard to resist anything. But I’ve found that if I can eat in moderation and/or balance exercising with eating out I won’t breathe so heavily, fewer buttons will unbutton, and I won’t be the sweaty food blogger in an air conditioned room. That last one is hard to explain to people.

Fake friends, bitches, and users don’t end at high school—it’s a lifetime. Unfortunately, when it comes to blogging where a lot of the industry is based on numbers (followers, likes, comments, etc.), you’ll run into people who want to hang out with you in order to grow themselves. Maybe you have a huge following on Instagram, you’re business savvy, you get into the best restaurants, you have a killer website they want to copy, or all of the above (well lucky you!!). Whatever it is, if you’re the person who worked hard to get where you are there will be people who are too lazy to figure out how to do it themselves and opt to use you to reach their goal. The sad part is once you’re of no use to them, they’ll move on to someone else. Fuck them. This has happened to me a couple of times and it sucked. It was unfortunate to lose what I thought were friends or have people talk about me, but I’d rather be without them than have their ulterior motive energy around me.

[Side Note]
If you’re an LA food blogger/Instagrammer and we used to be really cool but now we don’t communicate at all, you might be wondering “Is Danielle talking about me”?
If that thought crossed your mind, I’m talking about you.
True story.

In spite of all the fake people who I’ve encountered, I’ve met some pretty awesome people! Some were extremely helpful in showing me the ropes of restaurant blogging: Cue the Critic and NJ in LA. Some had the same mouthy and food loving attitude as myself: Gigi Eats Celebrities or The Food Pervert. Others were just consistently great friends who never changed since the day I met them: Tanaya’s Table, Eat Like a Boss Lady, Hungry Hugh, and FoodnVibes. Then there were the people who helped bring Follow My Gut to life. Whether it was TJ helping me come up with my name, Darin who created my logo and took care of my website, or Alexis who designed all my creative materials–they were all pivotal! If I had to go through fake friends to find those great individuals, I’d do it but it wouldn’t be fun whatsoever.

When you start taking photos of food in a restaurant people stare at you. Some are intrigued at the idea that you get to photograph what you eat, while others wince at the sight of you distracting them from the plate that’s in front of them. After a while you’re able to ignore the unpleasant looks from others because you have a job to do. “Who cares about them anyway”, you tell yourself. Over time, the looks from people in a restaurants turn to questions from friends to your parents asking what you’re doing with your life. My mom looks at me talking about food with slight disappointment and I can see her thinking, “You were supposed to be a doctor.” The sad part about doing something entrepreneurial or turning a blog into a business that so many in similar shoes know is that you have to be your biggest fan. You will have to advocate so hard for what you’re doing because some people (even those close to you) won’t be so supportive. When that happens, regardless of how shitty their let down makes you feel, keep going. Stay motivated in spite of it and keep rallying yourself on for what you believe in. They may not get it now and they may not understand why it’s fulfilling to you, but once you reach whatever milestone you hope to accomplish (whether financial or fame) they’ll see it when you make it.

And then you can gloat in their regret. I’m not going to lie, I’m really looking forward to that.

Trying to turn a blog into a business is hard work, especially if you have a lot on your plate already! Running a restaurant blog like an entrepreneur means I’m always driving somewhere, I meet with lawyers to cover my ass, I overeat, I pitch business deals, I’m up late editing photos and writing reviews, and I usually eat very warm (rarely hot) food. It’s a lot of work that can lead to blogger burnout. Even though there are moments that are too much for my body and my mind, my dream is so much greater. When burnout happens, I stop and take time for myself. I sleep in, I do things unrelated to food, or I watch too much reality TV. Whatever I need to do, I decompress and then start again. Making Follow My Gut a profitable business where I can share my love of food in restaurants, being creative, and remaining authentic at the same time is the only thing I want to do. While I may not be able to avoid blogger burnout completely, I can take time away from my schedule and focus on myself. Doing that will help me stay motivated on my dream in order to bring it to life.

With all that I’ve learned in the past two years in trying to develop Follow My Gut into a brand and keep the title as Chief Eating Officer, I have to admit that I am extremely elated. Although I may not be as far as other people are, I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’ve learned that the path that I’m on is for me and I’d rather be successful as I stay in my lane then to fail trying to do what is for someone else. The past seven hundred and thirty days have been tough, but they’ve been rewarding. Through it all I’ve been taught a great deal about self-awareness, entrepreneurship, and authentic creativity. With that in my arsenal, I’m excited about where Follow My Gut will go in the months to come and the related projects that I currently have in the works. There are so many new things on the way and even more that will be revealed in the New Year!

I just hope you continue to follow my gut in 2017.