360: How Eden Westbrook Shifted Her Mindset and Became a Full-Time Food Blogger

This episode is sponsored by our sister site, Clarity. C L A R I T I is how you spell clarity. All different iterations of how people say it, but it's clarity because it helps you to be clear on what it is that you need to be working on and really gives you direction around how you can go around improving and updating and tracking the content on your blog. We built it because we had been managing everything in a spreadsheet. So my guess is there's two people listening to this podcast. One would be you are people who track stuff, then you probably track it in a spreadsheet. Maybe airtable, maybe notion. And my guess is it's a lot of manual work. There's another group of people who just aren't tracking anything. And that's okay, you'll get there eventually. But Clarity is going to be the tool that's going to allow you to do that more easily. It's going to allow you to not spend as much manual time doing the tracking, updating, improving, and just generally understanding the lay of the land with your content. And one of the things that I think is most important a lot of times we talk about hiring on this podcast, but one of the things we don't talk about enough, and I probably should talk about it more, is some of the first positions you should hire for are software. It's not an actual person. You're hiring software to come in and do a lot of the work that you are doing. And that's what clarity is for us. As the pinch of Yum Team Food Blocker Pro team. We use clarity to take manual work away from our day to day tasks and we automate that. It's one of the easiest ways to.

Have your first hire.

So if you're thinking, oh, you know, I hear people talk about hiring a lot, who should my next hire be? My encouragement for you would let your next hire be a tool like Clarity, where you're going to spend 25amonth and you're going to save an incredible amount of time.

That's what it's all about.

So if you want to check it out, if you want to learn a little bit more about what it is and how it works, you can go to clarity.com food and you can deep dive into the ins and outs of Clarity just by signing up for that list. And that's not going to sign you up for the app, it's not going to sign you up and, you know, process any payments or anything like that. It's just, it's just going to allow you to understand the tool better through some onboarding emails that give you a little bit of context around what Clarity does and and why we built it. So again, that's clarity.com food if you.

Want to check that out.

And as a last note here, we're halfway through this 25 forever deal.

So when I say you can, you.

Know, think of hiring clarity at $25.

A month as a little like team member who's in the background working for.

You, that deal's not going to last forever. We're just wanting to get to our first 500 users as we're in the early stages with this.

You'll still get a lot of value out of it.

But the great thing is as the value within Clarity increases, as we build out more features, as we build out more functionality, you will be locked in at that $25 price. As a thank you for signing up early, for getting, for being somebody who's using the tool early on, giving us feedback, but also finding a lot of.

Value out of it. We've actually had two people this week. It was last week actually that followed.

Up and one person said, I love.

It was all L O V E Capital, this service.

And somebody else said the same thing in the Slack channel, which you can.

Join and be a part of that after you sign up for Clarity to.

See how other people are using it and the questions that come up and offer any insider feedback along the way. So thank you to Clarity for sponsoring this episode.

Foreign.

Hey there, this is Bjork. You're listening to the Food Blogger Pro podcast. Today's interview is going to be great. I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you and I'm going to talk about it in a little bit. But before we do, I wanted to talk about an event that we have coming up for Food Blogger Pro members. If you are a Food Blogger Pro member. We're really excited about this. On June 9th, we're having a live Q&A all about TikTok. I know a lot of people are interested in TikTok. They want to figure out how to grow on TikTok, and we're going to talk to somebody who knows how to do that. It's Chelsea White from chelsweets, and we've talked to her on the podcast before. She has over 2 million followers on TikTok. And so this is an exclusive interview for or live Q and A for Food Blogger Pro members who are interested in figuring out how to grow their TikTok following. If you're not A Food Blogger Pro member. You can check it out by going to foodbloggerpro.com learning a little bit more by signing up for the email. Or if you, if you just want to join, you can go to foodbloggerpro.com join let's talk about today's interview. Today's interview is with Eden Westbrook. She is somebody that I was actually on a panel with at Tastemaker Conference and was really inspired by her story, and I think you will be as well. And one of the things that's most inspiring for me about her story is she persevered and continued to grind and hustle and work hard, and in a season where she didn't have resources at her disposal. And I think a lot of times we think about, you know, our situation and we think, you know, if only I had this, or it'd be so much easier if whatever it might be. Which is really true.

Right?

All of those situations are true. But it doesn't mean that that keeps you from working hard, from hustling, from learning and continuing to work towards your goal. And Eden's going to share what that was like for her and her husband as they went forward and did that. So she's going to be talking about.

What that was like.

She's going to be talking about her blog, Sweet Tea and Time, and all of the things that she's learned along the way. It's really inspiring and I'm so excited.

To share it with you.

So let's jump in. Eden, welcome to the podcast.

Hi, Bjork.

Yeah, it'll be fun to chat. We were able to hang out at a conference, Tastemaker Conference, on a panel together, you told your story there, a little bit about your background, your journey, what you're doing now. And I coming out of that, people are like, oh, my gosh, you would make so much sense to have her on the podcast to talk about that stuff. So it's one of the great things about conferences. We haven't really been able to do that for two years, but it's a great way to connect with people and kick off a conversation. So, speaking of journey, want to rewind the tape as we often do with people that we're having conversations with. And you know, from the outset you were now blogging. I know that you have a military background, both you and your husband. So was that kind of first career for you coming out of school or was there something before that?

Yep. I actually joined the United States Navy at the age of 17 while I was still in high School, which is funny because I end up missing a lot of school for it.

And.

I had a top secret security to clearance. So. Yeah. So what would happen is that government people would come while I was at DEP or while I was away at boot camp and come knock on the classroom doors and come pluck my friends out of their classrooms.

Oh, interesting.

Hey, we have some questions.

Yeah. And what were they questioning them about?

Just, you know, my character.

Oh, interesting. Sure.

Yeah. You know, because with that kind of security clearance you do, you know, you end up seeing things like medical backgrounds. You end up seeing things like top secret government stuff, you know, so you don't really want to have somebody that you can't trust and someone with a, I guess, low quality character.

Yeah. And so they were essentially interviewing your friends to say, like, hey, is this somebody you would trust with a secret? Or like, who knows what they would ask? But it was kind of like a background check that they were pulling out and asking what. So what led you to, at 17, say, like, hey, this is something that I'm going to do.

So I'm third generation military, so my dad was in the Navy. My grandfathers, both of them were in the army. And I have an aunt actually who was in the Air Force. So basically grew up in military. But at age 17, I didn't really know what to do with my life, honestly. And so my dad was like, my dad was just like, you don't know what you're going to do with your life. Just join the military.

Yeah, okay, dad, I'll do it.

Yeah. Basically they kind of raised me to just do whatever they said, so I was like, I'm going to the military.

Yeah. So it's heavy influence from your parents and how long was that season for you of being in the military? And also how much are you able to share about, like, what you're actually doing? I know it's top secret, but whenever somebody says top secret, like, the first thing people want to know is like, tell me about it. So how much are you able to share of what you were doing and then how long was that season for you?

It's nothing too interesting. It's just, you know, computer work, so. And learning things about, like how helicopters work, the different types of aircrafts, the different types of, you know, just things that go on. A lot of it is also, like. How do you say this? I don't want to say, like you're.

Spying on people because it's like confidential information about people.

Yeah, yeah. So like, you make sure, hey, go Check and make sure they're not doing something they're not supposed to be doing on this computer. So go ahead and look and see what's going on in there. But I was only in there for a couple of years. I ended up actually fracturing my femur in multiple. Yeah. And I wasn't healing quick enough. And they were just like, you gotta go. They're like, you're way too slow of a healer.

And so what does that look like? So you've straight outta high school. That's what you're doing for work. So it's not like you've gone through college and you know, have that kind of career path. So that you were military and now you're like, great, I can't do this because of an injury. So what's next?

Oh, my husband came and swooped me up. We are high school sweethearts. We've been together Since I was 16 and so he kind of followed me into the military. So he was away at surg tech school just learning basically so he could be a hospital corpsman. Then I basically called him up and I was like, look, I'm being sent home. And what they do is to your home of record, which was my parents house. And my parents were like, we're not keeping you, you know, unless you go ahead. You're going to work for us and I'm like going to be your slave.

Yeah. What did work for you in what capacity?

Oh, so my mother had always dreamed of having a food truck and she did make that dream come true. Just without me.

Sure, got it. And you knew that you didn't want to work for your parents. So then, then what?

I just called up. My husband was like, I don't know what I'm going to do. He's like, I'm going to come marry you. Yeah, we're going to go, we're going to go live together. So that's what happened. Basically I was a housewife. I was dabbling in blogging since 2012. Really just like silly things. I wasn't taking it too seriously. Mostly because I had friends who were like, hey, you know, can you tell me about this recipe that you used to make? Because I cook. When I was in high school, I used to go to all my friends houses to cook. So they were like, hey, you know, we're leaving home. Yeah, you go ahead and show me the recipes that you would make while you were here. I don't know how to cook. So there was a lot of that. And I was just like, let me Post them out there, because there's way too many of y' all asking me recipes. So that was happening for a while, and then my husband ended up injured and he ended up getting out of the military as well.

Sure. So at this point, you're both out of the military, you're kind of dabbling with blogging. Was that was the blogging work that you're doing then under Sweet Tea in Time?

No, no, it was. Oh, God, I don't even remember the name. I think it was the Navy housewife, the Navy wife, something like that.

Yep. So it was kind of a different brand, different focus.

Yeah.

At that point, was it like, hey, this could be a thing, or is it more of like, this is kind of a hobby?

It was really mostly a hobby until he got out the military. Because at that point we were just like, what are we going to do?

Yeah.

The military does not help you in terms of transitioning into civilian life. Military life's completely different.

What do you mean by that?

Oh, God. It's like being with mom and dad still, but living in your own home. Sure. You know, they cover your household. They take. Make sure that you have a home to live in that you have your electricity on. You never have to worry about your electricity ever going off. In the military, they cover, you know, your food, they cover everything. And so. And you're also getting paid. So basically. Sorry, we have a cat.

Yeah. Guest appearance. Cameo. Cat cameo.

Oh, yeah, he's massive. If he becomes a cameo, he's just going to take up the whole screen. Oh, yeah. He's a Norwegian forest cat. Huge. So basically they take care of you and you. You. I lived on base housing. We lived on base housing.

And.

Basically you're surrounded by all of your. It's. It's like if food blogging had a neighborhood.

Sure.

So, like, you know, everybody, you all are working in the same place. You guys all, you know, like, you know each other and your friend, your kids play with each other. It's very, like, community oriented. So then when you get out the military, it's like, bye, you know, and that.

So at that point, you had already been out and your husband also transitions out. And at that point it's like, oh, not only is it transitioning a job or a career, which is a pretty substantial big move, but it's also like any career change, but it's also changing and you're moving away from all of these ways that you were being supported. House, housing, electricity, food, community, like all of that stuff was built in. So not Only are you not having the career and the income that you had from that, but also all of these other things fall out. What was that like, terrifying.

Think of it like this. You lose your home, you don't get to live there anymore. So it's like, where do we go now? You go to your home of residence. And I was like, I'm not going back to my parents. He can't go back to his parents. He ended up staying with his grandmother while he was fighting for his veteran benefits. For being. It was a lot. And basically it was just like in the midst of that, he was like, I have no idea what I'm gonna do. And I'm like, I have no idea what I'm gonna do. You know, we get out of this. So he was like focusing on that and I was like, you know what, why don't I go ahead? Because he had to go back and forth a lot between Maryland, where he was originally based, and then from his grandmother's house in Atlanta. And I was like, I'm gonna take our son down to my parents house because it's a lot more stable. And you know, my parents at the time seemed very genuine about like, oh, yeah, we'll help you. And you know, this and that and the other. And I joined. What. I went to culinary school during that time for a while. And then I also worked a job at Macy's and a job at a restaurant while also taking care of my son.

And this was at the same time, like you're doing all of those things at the same time. Yeah. So working two, three jobs, trying to be a present at home, like juggling all of that. Um. And what was that like?

Hell yeah.

It's exhausting, I would imagine. Yeah.

I wouldn't, I wouldn't come home till like two in the morning from the restaurant. And I was exhausted.

Yeah.

You know, trying to make sure that I would take care of my son and paid these little scraps, like what I would make $500 a month. I was like, what am I supposed to do with this? How am I supposed to, you know, help us get back on our feet.

Yeah.

If this is all I'm getting and I'm working jobs.

Yeah. And so this for you is a season of. For both of you. Sounds like kind of searching, like, where are we going to land? What are we going to do? What are the next steps?

Because honestly, our families were not helpful in that way. They were just kind of like, I don't know what you're going to do. You should have stayed in the military. It's like, we were injured. There's no.

Yeah.

There's no saying when you're injured, they do not care.

Uhhuh. Yeah. A pretty hard line. It's like, hey, if this happens, it's not like we're gonna be like, eh, that's a. We'll find another spot for you. Or it's like, nope, this no longer works. Um, so at what point did you say, you know what? Like, maybe I should start focusing on my blog a little bit more? And did that seem like kind of the most ridiculous idea to you at the time? Or was it like, wait, you saw this kind of light shine through the clouds and be like, here's. Here's what? Here's my calling?

Yeah, actually, that's kind of it. Because I've always loved food. I've always loved cooking. That this is, like, that's where my soul sits. I love feeding people. I love food. I love, like, just. Just teaching. Teaching is the most important thing here is. I love teaching. So I knew I didn't want to work in restaurants. The back of the house is not for me. And my feet. It is not. And it is also. It's very loud. You work very long hours for very little pay, and you're not really being creative unless you're at, like, a really, really fancy restaurant.

Sure.

And you get to be, like, the chef de cuisine or something like that. Then you get to go ahead and be, you know, creative and stuff. Otherwise, you're just following orders. And I was just like, I don't get here. You know, I was like, this sucks. And I was like, I'm not doing this. I'm not going, you know, to go back to a restaurant. So food blogging, like, I was like, okay, there has to be a way for me to go ahead and figure out how to do this, because I was taking it. I wasn't taking it seriously until I really saw income reports, which came really popular back in 2015.

Sure.

And I was just like, okay, I'm looking through income reports. I saw your income report, And I was just like, you know what? I can make that work. I can do. I can do this. This sounds great. I get to stay home and raise my son. And my husband. At the time, he was working two jobs. He was working, like, what was it you were working? Construction with your father. Security. Security. And you were building stuff.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is, like. This is nice, because you can kind of do, like, a producer question. You can call out to him when he's in the same room. That's awesome.

Yeah.

My husband and I are just always. We're together.

Yeah.

Yeah. Like when people said, oh, the pandemic. My. My spouse, I can't. How would they. You know, people say we do it every day. I was like, this is us all the time. We like this.

That's awesome. So you, you. It sounds like you're in this season of kind of circling a little bit. Like, I know this. I know what I'm doing isn't what I always want to do. I feel like I'm working a lot. I'm getting burnt out. I'm not getting the benefit of what I should be getting for how hard I'm working. And you kind of look at this option and say, like, wait, this might be a thing that works. Oh, then what? Like, that's the thing. You know, I think a lot of people see that. They see the potential of it and then they're. They kind of are like, you know, maybe they don't fully get after it. They don't know what to do. How did you actually. What did it look like to say, like, you know what? I am going to do this. And to be at the point now where, like, it's a really successful site that you're running. I don't know how much you share around, like, metrics or anything like that, but it's like it provides an income for your family and then some. So how did you get after it in the. In the early days?

So the first thing I did was I had to convince my husband. As you know, at the time, we were broke at this time. By this time, we ended up getting our own home. We had moved away from his grandmother's and we were in our apartment at the time. Was it the apartment or did we end up in the Atlanta house by then? I think it was the Atlanta house. Yeah. Okay. So basically, you know, so we're scraping up, basically struggling and trying to survive. And I was just like, oh, my God, like, these people are actually making all this money. And so I was just like, okay, let me actually put in some research. Like, I had printed out what Huffington Post did, some articles on food blogging. You guys were talking about food blogging, you and your wife and so many other people, I think, like Cookie and Kate and a couple other people. So I was printing out all of these articles and stuff, and I hand him basically this thick little dos. Yeah, I was like, look, I know we're broke, but our last, like 100 something dollars, like, it was it was what, in March? So, like, tax season was approaching, and we were like, look, we get our tax income next month.

We just gonna go full broke now.

Yeah, just like. Like, okay, look, just let's do this. And then. And then we'll. We'll. It'll work out. I'm gonna make this work out. And, like, give me a few years and I will make this work.

Huh? Yeah. And so that last amount, you're, like, signing up for, like, getting a theme and setting up your site? Essentially, yes.

So I signed up on a host, got a theme, and. And, you know, I was just like, okay, I'm doing this. I'm doing this. Oh, I think also we got a camera from a pawn shop. Yeah. A T3.

And that in the next step for you then, is recipe development, photography, writing posts, and rinse and repeat.

Oh. So I was so excited. I treated it almost like a journey mostly. Almost as if I was just like, hey, you know, I'm just gonna wing it like a blog. Like a blog blog instead of a recipe website.

Sure.

That was the thing back then. That was the thing. And so, like, I would put it.

Up, meaning more lifestyle. Like, just, here's an update. Here's something I'm doing. Here's what I had for dinner yesterday.

Well, no, more like I failed at making dole whip, but this came out pretty good.

Sure.

Like, stuff like that. So it was like, ah, it's not dole whip, but it's really good. And it kind of looks like dole whip. So here's the recipe and stuff like that. And then a lot of recipes from, like, my childhood. I have a lot of recipes from, like, just like culinary school, too. So basically it was a lot of just figuring things out, trying to figure out what I'm creating, basically.

And then what do you mean by that?

I was like, okay, I want this to be a recipe website, but what does that mean? And so I'm like, what are people looking for here? And kind of digging more into that and kind of understanding what people are looking for, and then trying to figure out first, it was just mostly a very vague kind of thought process of, oh, this is my cook. This is where I cook. You know, I cook global food, and I'm a Southern belle. So that's what this is what it is about. And that sounds cute and it sounds like a niche, but it's really not.

Yeah, sure. And so essentially what you're doing at that point is looking for what is my focus, what is my niche? And how did you do that. Like, how do you actively discover what your niche is?

So I feel like it was an ongoing kind of journey for quite a few years where I was just like, I want to cook things I like, but I also want to cook things that people are searching for, are interested in. And I need to know who I'm talking to because that could really mean so many things. Right? So you could really love chocolate cake, and then you could really love grilling, and then you could really love tofu. And it's just like all of these things. Well, who is this person that you're reaching out to? So I think back in 2019 or so is when I really, it really just like, it like foul. It was like I know what I need to do. And so I created the ideal reader kind of working of, yeah, who am I talking to? Who is this person and what am I serving them? And not food wise, but like, who are they? Who are, who is this person? This in the flesh?

And do you imagine that being the person? Like if you're creating a recipe, if you're writing a blog post, are you imagining that person as the person you're writing to?

Oh, yeah. Every time. Every time.

How would you describe that person for, for your site right now? So for sweet time, Sweet tea and time. Who is that?

Okay, so her name is Chloe Brown Mueller.

Okay.

I do this for all my students. I make sure she has a name or he has a name, make sure they have a name so that they're a person. And so she is in her early to mid-30s. She has multiple kids, probably about four under the age of eight. And you know, she, her and her husband live on the east coast, so anywhere from, I would say Vermont to North Carolina. And basically she. What she likes. Oh, thank you. Sorry.

Delivery is like mid podcast delivery. Water. Yeah, like little tea. That's awesome.

Yeah, he, he, he's so helpful. He really is.

Best business partner ever.

Yes, he really is. He is just so wonderful. And thank you, honey. I love you too. But yeah. So Chloe Brown Mueller is like this woman. She isn't struggling with money. Her and her husband make around mid six figures. So and they live in a home, like a single family home with a large backyard. So this specifically tells me what I can cook for her, what grocery store she's going to, who she's cooking for. And then I even dabble into things like what does she like to do, what are her hobbies, what is like her favorite thing to order from a restaurant? Stuff like that.

And how does that Help you as a creator? Like, what does that framework or that Persona do for you when you're in the process of creating?

So it helps me be like, I know that spring is coming. So Ms. Chloe Brown Mueller has a backyard where she can go grill. All right, well, what kind of grilling recipes will she like? What would she be doing? Would she be dining al fresco? So what kind of al fresco recipes can I make? What are we drinking with that?

Yeah.

Are the kids outside? You know, what are we making for them? You know?

Yeah. So it's kind of a thought framework in order to guide content decisions, and it's one of the ways that you can help stay in a. In a lane. So if you're like, great, like I'm going to do. Trying to think of an example, like, you know, chili cheese fries might be like, like, maybe not like, maybe. I don't know. You didn't know better than I would. But versus coconut shrimp. Like, I see on your site right now where it's like, yeah, that might be a little bit more aligned. So at what point did you launch your new site? Was that around the same time where you're like, hey, I'm going to do this new thing. I'm going to really focus? And then did you just do away with your old site or did you migrate it and rebrand? What did that process look like?

So my old site was on WordPress.com.

Okay.

Yeah. And so the new site was more so for me to be like, yeah, this is my brand. This is what I'm going to. This is my focus. And it really came like, even the name. People are like, why sweet tea? And time. And I was just like, because the Southern belle part of me.

Yeah.

You know, sweet tea, we always have sweet, literal. Just sweet tea. We have sweet tea all the time. Yeah, it's always in the fridge. Southern Bend always has. Always has fridge full of sweet tea and lemonade. So sweet tea and thyme was that plus my love of the herb thyme. When I first started cooking, I would just put it on everything because I really didn't know, like, I was 12, 13. I was just like, this is good. I'm going to put it on everything.

Yeah.

And so I really felt like, yeah, this kind of invokes who I am. Like, I love that fresh, citrusy, lemony smell of thyme. That's herbaceous. And then, of course, sweet tea from the Southern belle aspect. Without being. Yeah, without being. What's the word I'm looking for? Stereotypical.

Sure. And so, so you said, hey, I'm just going to start this fresh. I'm going to do a new thing, new focus. I have my Persona. That's where I'm going to start. My guess is that there is a season of really grinding when you had to get it up and running. How long were you in this in between of like juggling the blog with your day to day job and figuring out how to balance that? And at what point did you know, like, okay, now I can actually leave my job and focus on this full time?

So I actually left my job at Macy's and at the brew house I was working at, so they made their own beer and everything was pretty cool. So basically I left that right before I decided to start Sweet Tea in time. My husband was working two jobs and he was like, look, I'll be able to support us if you go ahead and do this, you know, and I don't do anything impulsively. I always.

You're meticulous.

I'm very meticulous, yes. I look at every minute detail. I'm very focused and I'm also very ambitious.

Yeah. And so you knew you're going to go heads down on this. This is going to happen.

Um, one of the biggest things I actually learned in the beginning was that most people that, you know, will not support you, um, when I told my parents, they mocked me. They literally laughed at me and ridiculed me. It was not. They were not nice. And then like, what was that?

How did, how did you process through that? Like, that's a pretty heavy thing to sort through.

Oh, goodness. So thing that my students know about me is I live through petty and spiteness all day. Well, pettiness and spite all day, every day. Oh, yeah. It gets me up in the morning. It makes me happy.

What do you mean by that? Like, it drives you.

Oh, gosh, yes.

So it was like fuel almost.

Yeah. So like, literally his parents told me, you know, this will never work. It's just an expensive hobby for people who have the money to do it. You should go back to Mason Macy's. You know, instead of doing this in three years, you could be a manager. And I was just like, yeah, gee, thanks. And then what, in 2000, was it 2020? 2020 was the first time I made the annual amount that, that Macy's manager makes in three months.

Wow. And at that moment you're like, I made the right decision.

I was like, yeah, I should have took that job at Macy's. Huh?

Was it hard for you not to be like, Told you so. Or did you?

Oh, God, they know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, that makes sense. You didn't. You didn't have to say anything, but something was still said.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

That.

That is basically it right there.

What, at what point along the way did you know? I mean, obviously that moment was a really clear one. But I think one of the things that a lot of people struggle with in the journey is, like, there is.

Especially in the world of content.

Like, in a lot of people we speak to are in the world of content. It's not like you're selling a widget on Amazon where you buy a thousand and then if you sell a thousand in a month, then you have kind of validated the idea. But with content, it can take a really long time to build up momentum to the point where you can run ads and make income or somebody would pay you to do sponsor content. So how did you know in the early stages to keep going and that you would get there? Or did you know that? Or were there early signs that kind of validated you were heading in the right direction?

So what was it? It was the fact that I saw a lot of growth in my traffic. Mostly, like, I would. I was broke at the time, so I would just sit in food blogging groups and just watch and listen. And then people, if an expert was like, hey, you need to do this. Hey, there's a change coming. I was like, I'm gonna get on it. I'm gonna get on it. I'm gonna get on it.

You were learning, essentially. I mean, it was like continual education.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Constant education. And not only that, but I felt like the people that I was talking to and writing, you know, these recipes for, I would get a great amount of feedback. Yeah, A lot of, oh, my God, I made this. And it made my husband cry. Or my family wants us for every holiday now. Or, you know, this is my wife's favorite meal, and it's just like, yay. Like this because, yeah, sure, I really wanted to get into ad networks and stuff. And in the beginning, I was with an ad network that didn't. Wasn't good at all. I was what? They were paying me, like, $15 every three months. It was awful. Oh, it's so often they slowed down my site so bad. I was like, no. Oh, yeah. Inappropriate ads, man.

Let me tell you, it sounds like, not ideal. Yeah.

Oh, my God. No. Like, literally, I got two emails on the same day. Satan. You know, they saw adult things and.

You'Re like, that's not Normal people also don't understand that. It's not like you doing deals with these ad companies. Like, people assume it's like you've approved it and they're like, hey, you know, why would you approve this ad? And you're like, I didn't.

I didn't even know that was there. That's not for me. You know, like, I didn't know. So I was like, no ad. I'm going to get to the big ad companies. I'm just going to grind it out. And for me, I think, oh, goodness. Was it once we found out you were really sick? Yeah. So my husband has a chronic illness. And at the time, like, when he was in the military, it wasn't as bad, but with stress, it gets worse.

Sure.

How long did you work two jobs? Like, many years.

So at least before beginning.

At least four years and then. And yeah, so at least until 2019. So we were. He was working these two jobs. I'm at home taking care of our son because daycare in Florida, so expensive.

Sure.

And I'm working on the blog, and the blog is what I think this was right before I joined mediavine. And so my husband's working, he's getting really sick. And, you know, our son couldn't, you know, was at home with me, but we really couldn't go anywhere. And Florida, it gets so hot. You really can't walk around.

Yeah. It's like Minnesota in the winter, except just the opposite extreme.

Oh, yeah. Like, some days it's like 105 degrees.

And it's just stay inside.

So my son is lonely. He wants to play with friends and he can't. We lived in a not so nice neighborhood, and it was just rough. And I was just sitting here and I was frustrated and crying and I was like, there's no way that this is it. There's no way I'm living like this, like, for the rest of my life. Like, we did everything we were told. We went to college, we joined the military. You know, we are working these jobs and trying to find, you know, where we belong and nothing where my husband's over here working these jobs. Like, yeah, they require expertise and this and that, but they barely pay anything. Rent is expensive. Just living is so expensive. And so just like, I'm going to make this work no matter what. Period, point blank. Fight me on this.

Yeah. And. And that was when? At what point? What year was that?

Well, that was 2018. Then I joined. I joined Mediavine that summer and then that winter, my husband ended up so the illness got its worse in 2019, like in around my birthday. And he ended up hospitalized for quite a while. And so mediavine. I didn't have the money numbers. The numbers that I was having that I'm having now, like, right now, I believe my session RPMs are like 80. Yeah. So, yeah, we're Q1 right now, so we got to blow up. So.

So by that you mean that when somebody. Like RPMs, for instance, or to explore that a little bit, RPMs, for those who aren't familiar, like 1,000 page views. Um, and it's like, on average, how much revenue per mil, which is like essentially a word. The M stands for mil. A thousand. But you're. It's the RPM you have is 80. Yeah, yeah. Which is like super high. That's, like, insane.

Yeah, it's. You know. And so basically, back then, I was making. I was able to pay some of our bills and then your VA benefits. Was able to pay for our rent and at the time. So basically he ends up hospitalized and you're in there for like a month. He was in there for a month. And he's getting these calls from his jobs, basically, like, threatening him and saying, you're going to lose your home, you're going to lose everything. You're going to be homeless if you don't get your butt in here. And it's like, literally sick with an unknown illness. They're running all kinds of tests on him, trying to figure out what's wrong.

And he. And he. On the other end, it's dropping, like, you gotta come in. And it's like, oh, my gosh, this is not what we want.

Exactly. And I'm like, you're stressing us out more. And I was so mad because it was like, you guys have, like, no compassion for us, like, there. And I was like, there's no way. I'm not. I'm gonna retire him. I'm not gonna let him work for these people. Don't like him and treat him like crap. He's gonna come work for me. If anything, like, I, like, I put it in my head. There was. It was hook a crook. No other way. No other way.

What do you mean, hook a crook? I've never heard that.

Oh, goodness. Hook a crick is. It's just saying I'm going to do whatever it takes, basically.

And, yeah, awesome. By any means necessary, essentially. Yeah, exactly that.

Exactly.

And. And you did it, like. And you talk about that moment in 2020 where you're able to step back and say, like, In a quarter, I was able to make as much as I would have if I worked a full time job. That. Not that what you're doing now isn't stressful, but it's like probably, it's like you have more control over it than you would another job. So when you look back on it for your journey, what are the things that were most important along the way that you'd say for other people who are interested in following a similar path of making it work by any means necessary? Hook a crook. What was it that. That was most influential in that mindset? Something you actually did.

Changing my mindset. Changing it. And I know it sounds like everybody's talking about mindset now. Oh, but no, like, what to what? I had a really victimizing mindset, you know, like I'm an adult, but I, you know, I expected my family to come, hey, help. You know, we were literally homeless in 2016. We were sleeping in the Everglades because in Florida, if they catch you sleeping in your car, you get arrested and go to jail. So it's like we were hiding in the Everglades, sleeping in. And our busted. It was so broken because. But something happened. It was a very old car. It was a very old suv. And basically something happened where the frame. Something had happened to the framework previously and the hood bust open and smashed into the windshield.

Yeah.

Yeah. So we had to ratchet strap the hood onto the grill at the frame of the grill. So it was, it was a mess. Yeah, it was a mess. And we had this broken windshield. It's like $300.

And you. And you were. And that's where you were living out of for a season.

Yeah, for literally what, four months. And so we were able to find a place that we could afford to live. And it was like. It's like it was awful. And literally our parents lived, what, in the same county? They knew. Yeah, they. Yeah, they're not. They were. Our parents aren't, you know, like, oh, they're, you know, poor and live in the hood or anything like that. Our parents are very comfortable.

Yeah. Which is another dynamic that's really hard about that situation is kind of the family dynamic of like, maybe in. In a way could have helped and weren't. Which is hard. Yeah. But it also, I would guess, breeds within you like this certain level of determination.

Yeah.

Well, talk about that. What did that experience do? How did that inform how you operate as an entrepreneur?

So I just saw a video. It was saying the difference between a hero and a villain is they both received Pain in their lives. The villain takes that pain and was like, the world hurt me and I'm going to hurt it back. The villain does that. The hero says, I got hurt, and instead of hurting the world back, I am going to use this as fuel to do something positive.

Gosh, that's awesome. I've never heard that explanation before, but that's really cool.

I'm not saying, like, I'm a hero. That's weird. But, like, no, I think it's.

I think it's a. I think what you're saying is, like, it's. It's your mindset about how you respond to pain or, like, suffering. And, you know, there's probably a lot of things that somebody who understands that better than I do could say about it in regards to processing through that healing. But apart from that, it's like, are you responding in a way that, like, is positive and makes the world better so other people don't have to feel that? Or, like, in the villain perspective, do you kind of carry that with you and make other people feel that out of, like, spite or whatever it might be? So, yeah, that's powerful.

When I say, oh, I work out of pettiness and spite people when they know me, they're like, yeah, I totally get it. But, like, never in that villainous, the negative way. It's in the. Sure, I'm going to make people who wish for my so mad today. I'm going to be so great today. They going to be so mad seeing on TV or hearing my voice or wherever I am, they're gonna be mad about it. And I'm just like, yes, let me go ahead and make them mad. That makes me happy.

Yeah, sure. So I know that, you know, speaking of mindset and even. Even this idea of kind of being intentional with finding your niche and genre that you're gonna focus on, you have your blog, but then you also have kind of a mastermind with other creators, food bloggers, recipe creators that you work with. Are these the kind of things that you work with with that group? And for those who might be interested in. Can you talk a little bit about what that looks like and even, like, what a mastermind even is?

Yeah. So basically, the mastermind is a really small, intimate group. And I want to say, like, intimate as in, like, it is a very small group, no more than 10 people. And basically, we sit together, we talk together, we grow together. I learned so much from my own students. I'm just like, I never know all the answers. I may be an expert, but I don't know all the answers. And I have people from all walks of different areas of this industry. What? The last cycle we had a girl who actually worked on the brand side of things before becoming a food blogger. And so she was able to give us a lot of insight on how like brands see like media kits and how they think of like influencers versus bloggers and things like that. So she was able to give a whole lot of insight and I was just like, yes, this is stuff that I'm talking about, you know. And so there's just this group of us and I go over things like mindset, I've been in masterminds and courses and things like that where they're like, stay positive, be positive. You know, don't think in the negative. Be positive. And I'm like, use whatever motivation it takes to get you out of bed and do your work.

Sure. Yeah. It's going to be different for everybody.

Yeah. I have a thing called the difference between motivation and your why. My why, of course, is like taking care of my family and creating a safe space for transitioning veterans from being military to civilian and helping people with low resources and girls of color and things like that. Yes, that's my why.

Yeah.

But the thing that makes me get up every day and get super pumped is something that people would consider negative.

Sure. Yeah. It's these past experiences.

Exactly.

That you've. That you've had that fuel you to do the work that makes this positive impact in the world.

Exactly, exactly. Like when I see that I've grown, like my photography is better, my videography is better. Like I shot a really hard recipe and I got it down and I'm like, yes, everything's great. You know, like that, that kind of goes into that, you know.

Yeah.

And good as long distance wise are like their goals. Right. They're goals. But you need something every day besides your goal to get you up. What's going to make you get up today? You know, what is it? Most recently it was our, our Never say no Disney Disney World trip. We want to go to Disney World and not say no.

Sure. Like you just say yes to everything. Like cotton candy.

Yes, yes, yes.

We took, we took our daughter Solvi, who's three and a half to Disney on Ice. And I was kind of. It wasn't exactly that mindset, but it's kind of like, hey, this will be fun. Like we just got to splurge and. And so they had these Disney on Ice star light up wands and she's like, dad, can I get one of those? And usually we'd be like, no, we don't need another toy. We don't need something else. But it's just like, yeah, sure, let's get one. And he was like, $35. I was like, okay. But it's such a Disney thing where it's like, if you're gonna say yes, you better be ready for it. You have to have the resources for it.

Exactly, exactly. Like a big thing about us. We don't do credit. Stuff like that. Like, unless it's important. Like, you know, we got. You got. We got what the. You need credit because you need this. Like, we have that, but we don't, like, put things on credit cards. Yeah.

Don't carry debt. Significant debt. Yep.

Yeah, we don't do debt. We learned that really hard.

And. And so, you know, obviously there's a lot that people can take out of this. Your story is super inspiring, both you and your husband. And especially as you think about what you've been through, where you are, and also your attitude as it relates to all of that. I know that you do. The Mastermind would be interested for you to share that, where people can connect and sign up for that. And also, as we kind of close out, where can people follow you? Just in general, like online, Best place to connect with you. Because I'm sure that people want to stay in touch with you and. And follow along.

Hey, if they want to. Yeah. So they can follow me on Instagram. It's sweet. Underscore T Like T A underscore time T H Y me like the herb, not like on the watch. Yeah. And so the Mastermind, you can actually go into my menu on www.sweet tea and time.com and basically you'll see right there, the Mastermind. And I'll take you to my courses page where it has all the info on the different things we talk about. We talk about like branding, pitching your ideal reader, your niching, working on SEO, working on the perfect recipe, post, things like that. Things that you need, I believe. How long, how many hours do I spend FaceTime with those people? Like, yeah, 60 hours. 60 hours on average with each student.

Awesome.

Yeah. Yeah, it's four. It's four months. Basically. It's just four months of us getting together and going through your individual blog. Because I've been number 812 in a 815 person course. It's been like, yeah, we're gonna. We're in it together. One on one, you and me, we're. And I'm Like, I didn't get anything.

And this is really, it's a. It's a mastermind, which is like a group, small group of people working through something together, which is, which is awesome. So I know that, you know, when we sat on that panel together, you shared your story. It was really moving. And today, same thing, really inspiring. And I know for other people will as well. Last question. As we close out, let's say you were to go back and you hear, you know, you're in Everglades and you hear a knock on your window, and it's like your future self and you're there to have a conversation. And you have just a minute or two, what do you say to yourself in that moment, knowing what you know now?

And I would say, don't. Don't succumb to the feeling of you're not good enough. You are good enough. You are so great at your. What you do, what you love. And don't let anybody stop you. Don't let anybody veer you off focus.

That's awesome. And it reflects in what you do. And I know that people will hear that and it will be moving for them. So thanks for sharing your story. Really good to connect again, and thanks for coming on the podcast. Really appreciate it.

Thank you. It's been so awesome.

Hello. Hello.

Leslie here from the Food Blogger Pro team. We really hope that you enjoyed this episode of the podcast. Before we sign off, I just wanted to quickly let you know about a couple exciting things that we have coming to Food Blogger Pro in the month of June, the first of which is a live Q and a this Thursday, June 9th with Chelsea White from Chelsweets. So she'll be joining Bjorke to answer all of your questions about TikTok. And she has over 2 million followers on TikTok, so she has lots of knowledge and insight to share with our community. If you're already a Food Blogger Pro member, you can get registered to join by heading over to the live tab on the site. And if you want to join Food Blogger Pro to get access to the Q and A, you can join by going to foodbloggerpro.com join and speaking of TikTok, next week, on June 16th, we're actually going to be completely updating our TikTok course. It's going to have all new lessons and at the end, it's going to have a strategy Q and A with Britta Britnell, our social media video expert. We're so excited to share this course update with you. We've been working on it for months now, and it's just really, really going to be one that I know you'll love. Finally, the last thing I wanted to mention is that on June 23rd, we're going to be sharing a quick win with you all about five tips for making great Instagram Reels. So if you're looking to level up your game on Instagram and start sharing more reels, this quick one is for you. It's going to go over lots of really specific tips and tricks that you can implement to take your reels to the next level. So stay tuned for all of that. If you're already a Food Blogger Pro member, you'll get access to all of it as soon as it goes live. But if you want to join Food Blogger Pro, you can easily do that by going to foodbloggerpro.com join we'd love to have you be part of our community. All right, I think that's it for today. We hope you enjoyed this episode and hearing about what's coming next on Food Blogger Pro. And as always, until next time, make it a great week.