368: Becoming a TV Personality and Growing a Food and Lifestyle Brand with Rosalynn Daniels

A big thank you to Clarity for sponsoring the Food Blogger Pro podcast. You've heard me talk about Clarity before. It's a tool that we're building and using for Pinch of Yum, but also a really powerful tool for anybody who's focusing on content that's kind of one of the main vehicles for growth or revenue for their site. And we've been working on Clarity for a couple years, but it hasn't been until recently that we've started to bring other people in to sign up and become a part of it. We're doing an offer right now that we're calling 25 forever. So the first 500 people who sign up for Clarity will get their account at $25 a month. Forever. We're still in the early stages of offering this, but we'll cap it at 500 people. So once we have 500 people who have signed up, then we're going to cap that. We're going to move to a different pricing for Clarity. So it's, it's, it's still in the early stages. You know, it's not going to be the kind of thing where we're at this point where we'd cap it and say, hey, you can't sign up. You've missed your. Missed your chance. But slowly and surely we're moving to that 500 mark. So if you're interested in joining and checking it out, now would be a good time to do that. There's no commitment. There's no plan that you have to join and can't cancel. So you can check it out. You can see if it's a good fit. And how do you know if you'd even be interested in it? Well, Clarity is for anybody who's focusing on content and also starting to focus on optimization of their existing content. So we have this belief that any and every site is gonna be suboptimal right now. There's gonna be broken images, broken links. There's gonna be posts that don't have internal links that could or don't have external links to helpful resources. There's gonna be images with missing alt text. There's gonna be content that's starting to perform worse that if you looked at and kind of improved and enhanced, it would increase rank. We're really just thinking about that for Pinch of Yum a lot. What are, what are the ways that we could improve the content that's currently on our site as opposed to just creating new content? And we're using Clarity as the tool where we track that and make Those enhancements and improvements, one of the things that comes along with that is you can join the Slack community that we have of other content creators. And this just came up the other day. Somebody posted and they said, I had no idea that it had broken images on my site, but somehow those images broke. So I need to, number one, find out how they broke and then, number two, fix them. But they were just saying that they noticed that because of clarity and some of the filtering that they were able to do. So they created a project. They filtered first and said, show me all the broken images on my site. And then it was like, oh, there's some broken images. Then they filtered. After filtering those, they created a project that was fix broken images. Now, you could then have somebody on your team go in, make those improvements, make those enhance enhancements, or if you don't have somebody on your team, that can be the type of stuff where maybe once a week, once a month, you kind of have this maintenance or kind of like spring cleaning mindset where you go in, you block the day out to make improvements, make enhancements. You're not creating new content, you're just going in and optimizing and improving and paying attention to older content and making sure that it's at 100% as opposed to, you know, 70%, which, if I were to guess, I would say all of our sites, pinch of Yum included, would probably be operating at like 70% of their true potential value. And we want to find ways that we can improve that. And we're using clarity as the tool to not only discover those things, but also to organize the tasks and projects that go along with improving them. So we're still in the early stages of it. We're excited about what it's going to be and what it's going to grow into. And we're also excited to learn from you in the process of what you would want it to be, which is why we have that Slack community that we will welcome you to if you are interested in signing up. So you can go to clarity.com food C-L-A-R-I-T-I.com food if you're interested in signing up. All right, that's a wrap for this little ad read. Let's go ahead and jump into today's episode. Hello. Hello, this is Bjork. As you know, you're listening to the Food Blogger Pro podcast, and today we're having a conversation with Rasin Daniels, and she's going to be sharing her her story and how she really has progressed along her journey as originally really wanting to be somebody who is a TV personality and kind of figuring out the evolution of that along the way. And one of the things that I love about Rosalind's story is the intentional steps that she took along the way to help her kind of level up and unlock certain levels to her journey or her career. And there's one specific time in her life that she talks about what it was like to move and how that impacted things for her. And this is a really drastic, significant change to make. But what I found inspiring is to hear the impact that that had on her and her journey to being a creator and really, in a lot of ways, realizing her dream. She's also going to be talking about some of the strategies that she had for connecting with TV stations and a different way that you, as a creator and publisher, might be able to monetize your content, or to not monetize your content, but to build a personal brand that you can create revenue from by working with other brands. And she's going to be talking about what that's like when you are working with the TV station and you're working with a brand that wants to get publicity, and you are somebody who's comfortable being in front of the camera. And it's something that was, for me, so eye opening to say, like, wow, there's this entirely new area that. That new to me area that people are creating substantial revenue from as, as. As creators. And that's really what we are all about, not just blogging. Right? We, that's our name, Food Blogger Pro, but it's really about being a creator and building something, whether that be a skill or an ability or a following online that allows you to work in a way that you want to work. And Rosalind's going to be talking about the things that she's learned along the way that has allowed her to do that. So let's go ahead and jump into the interview. Rosalind, welcome to the podcast.

Hi. Thank you for having me.

Yeah, we are going to be talking about a lot of different things today, but as I often like to do, I like to rewind the tape, have a conversation, kind of the origin story, the genesis of where somebody began their career. So rewind the tape for us and take us back to when you first started producing content as a creator online and what was your mindset at the time?

Oh, my goodness. So when I started, I. I actually wanted to have my own show. And I, my husband and I, we just moved to California, to Northern California. And so I was like, oh, my gosh, this is my chance. Because I had been trying to get out there, but so many things in life happened. And I felt like when we moved finally, that that was God saying, this is your time to go.

You know, like, change is in the air. It's. You're moving places, you're moving careers, you're going to focus on a new thing.

Exactly. And everything that I was used to in the world at the time we were in Atlanta just kind of went away. When we went to California, we were by ourselves, and I didn't have any outside noise. So at that time, it was a pivotal moment in my life where I learned who I was again. I accepted it and I embraced it because I didn't have no of so many people, like friends and family telling me who I am and what I should do and all these things. Right? And I wasn't embarrassed at the time. I was embarrassed to want to be in entertainment.

And why was that, do you think?

Because first off, I'm in Atlanta, so everyone and their mama is trying to be a star. And I just was embarrassed. You know, most of the people in my life at that time were, you know, were in corporate America, and they had these corporate lives. And I didn't really have anyone who understood the world of entertainment. So when I would mention it, it was just like, I know you don't want to be a real housewife, like, you know, or God, her bitch. You went on reality tv. But I grew up doing theater and doing, like, television work. And so for me, it was just like, I really wanted to do this.

So you knew that was part of who you were. But, like, the people around you, you didn't feel comfortable enough to pursue that because of, like, hey, you know, career path should be you get a corporate job and you. It's consistent. And that's the path you should go on where you're like, hey, I kind of want to go on this path, but didn't want to say that out loud. Kind of.

Yeah. The consistency of it all. At that time, I genuinely was living my life for other people, and I was not living my life for myself.

Did you know that at the time.

To a certain extent, it had stages. I even went. I had to go through a stage of kind of like letting go of my parents and letting them know, like, listen, this is my life. You know, I would do as far as I even bought a car because my parents thought I needed a new car when I really didn't. And just all these Things. And so I took control of my life. I was a newlywed. I became a new mother. And I started to just, like, I was forced into this new. These. These new roles where I really had to take ownership of myself, who I was, because no one else could live this. And now there's other people involved in it, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. What. What did that process look like and feel like? Because it almost feels like, in one sense, you. It sounds like you had to kind of go back to who you were. Like, almost like, relearn. Who am I? What am I about? How do I access that? And that's a little bit like looking back towards the. Your true self, but it also feels like an evolution and like a new you. Like a metamorphosis into a new version of who you were. So as you were going through that, did you know that that's what was happening? And did you use any kind of, like, resources or, like, people? Did you follow certain people who helped you with that process? Because now you're on the other side, and I think you can look back on it and say, hey, this is a really important, pivotal moment. But I think there's a lot of people who are in the middle of it right now. So what would you say to those people who are going through kind of a similar thing or trying to figure that out?

For me, the moment of taking everyone away, literally taking away the noise and the influences. So when we moved to California, I no longer was hanging out with people all the time, having, you know, I'd have phone conversations and stuff like that with friends, but it really was a time where I had silence and I could really just think and go back to what I knew made me happy. And for me, I. At the time, I had just finished when I got pregnant. I was a physician recruiter for 10 years. I did great with that. And then I wanted to have more freedom over my life. I definitely am not a corporate America person. Okay, sure.

Freedom in terms of, like, time and autonomy. Yeah.

You know, I am whichever way the wind blows type person. When I wake up in the morning, I might not feel like, you know, doing one thing. I want that option to do what makes my spirit feel good, you know? And I can't do that when I am dedicating my life to another person's business.

Sure.

And so I had to understand that for myself. So at first, I did take a plunge and go into real estate, and then I was doing that for a while, and my husband ended up getting a job offer in Northern California. And, and so that's when we ended up moving. And when we moved out there, it was just a time of, okay, I really don't have anything to do. I don't really have to do anything. I just could just be a mom and do all of that world, but I didn't feel fulfilled. And I knew that getting my creative self out, that's just the only way I feel happy, you know, that gives me so much joy. And so I'm like, okay, what am I going to do about this? So I started taking acting classes out there and trying to get into the world that, you know, that world in the network out there and that world being acting. Yeah.

So starting to explore a little bit. Yeah. This thing that you knew was inside of you, that you wanted to pursue you, it was kind of like embers in Atlanta. Like, it was still there, but it wasn't. It's like you didn't blow in the fire to, like, really pay attention to it. But now you're going to say, hey, I'm going to pay attention to this and maybe see if I can grow this thing, take classes, look for opportunities. And it sounds like, you know, if. If I were to point back to that, the big pivotal piece that was influential in that was like restructuring your social network, like, and, and starting with kind of a reset. And, you know, they. They talk a lot about being the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And if you're spending time with, you know, the average of. Of the five people you're spending the most time with are all kind of poo pooing. This idea of, like, you pursuing your dreams or entertainment, like, that's going to feel very different than if you're with people who are encouraging it or in. It sounds like in your case, just neutral. Like, you didn't have people that were negative. You didn't maybe necessarily have people who were like, go do it, go for it. It was just like, neutral. You had space on your own to pursue that. Is that kind of the change that happened there?

Yes. And I can't deny that I also had an encouraging husband who was just like, you know, whatever, incredibly important. Just figure that out so we can all be happy around here. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, that's awesome.

So, yeah, so that was, I guess, the pivotal moment, just kind of changing the circle. And so, you know, I looked at it and I was just like, okay, I want to have a show and, you know, I want to go for it. And I'm like, Where do I start? So I started looking at the people that I knew, my network. And I had a friend who, she was a VP of marketing for a network at the time. And I reached out to her and I was like, hey, girl, I would like a show.

Yeah, can I get a show, please? Is that how this works? Yeah.

And she's like, oh, yeah, girl, you would be so great. But networks aren't into, Aren't in the business of taking chances.

Sure.

So you either have to have a following or you have to show that you really know what you're doing.

Yeah.

And so that started the journey. So at that point I'm like, okay, mind you, I didn't really read any blogs or anything like that.

And when was this in terms of timeline? Like, what year?

2016. Okay, 2016. And so I, so I started calling news stations. I was trying to get on anywhere I could. I knew I needed camera work because she said I needed experience. And then she said I needed a following. And I, I couldn't figure out the following part, but I knew I could get on somebody's camera. So I started reaching out to news stations and, and asking if I could get on to show recipes and DIY projects and hacks. So I finally got someone who responded back and they brought me on and that kicked off the whole television thing. And so while I was real quick.

On that, because I think it's worth shining a light on that, because that's like, resourceful. It's, you know, there's, there's some hustle, there's some grit involved with that. It's like you're calling, cold calling or emailing these news stations and being like, can I come on? And I think that's the type of work that, you know, somebody will look at somebody who's an influencer or creator or, you know, in entertainment, whatever it is, and be like, man, that must be nice. And I think a lot of times what they don't know about is that period of time where you're like, okay, let me go through and find news stations, try and find a contact, call them, pitch them, get a lot of no's, get some no responses. But then occasionally you get somebody who's like, sure, like, we'll, we'll have you on and doing that over and over again. Can you talk about that time period? How are you finding those people? Was it online? Were you contacting through email calls?

I was going to the, to the news station website and like, I really didn't even know what I was looking For. So at that time, I was just, like, reaching out to marketing TV stuff. And I feel like. I think the first one I got, basically they got me into the. The. To the right person.

Sure.

And I told her. And they were looking for talent to come on to show some recipes. At the time, it was like a daytime show that they had in the middle of the day on their news station that was like an hour long. And, you know, they gave celebrity gossip, what's going on in entertainment, recipes, stuff like that. Right. Little bit of talk and stuff like that. And so, you know, she's like, oh, can you come on and do a recipe? And I'm like, yeah, you know, I can do this.

Yes, I can.

I just came up with a recipe, and I was just like. I went in and I remember my husband. My husband at the time, he was my pa.

Okay, totally. Yeah. Yeah.

And I. All I knew was, okay, I have to do TV magic. So I need to make sure I go in here and I have different stages of this recipe. At the time, I think it was. It was an eggplant marinara. Wait. Yeah, I was making up stuff. So it was an eggplant marinara that I served in a spaghetti squash. But I think that's what I did with that one. Anyway, it was. It was complicated. I would never do something like that now. Because you want to do different, simpler things for tv. So, anyway, so I go up to the station, I have at versions of this meal, and, you know, went there and just did it. And for when I started, everything was live, so I just had to go in and get it done. And I do believe that that was great training for me.

Yeah, in what way?

Because if you could. If you can speak live, you can do anything else. Like, you know, so when I was doing the live work, I didn't realize the people who are watching me. And when my husband ended up getting another job offer back in Atlanta, so we moved back to Atlanta, I didn't realize that people from HLN was watching my progression. And when they found out I moved back to Atlanta, they reached out and asked me to come on to HLN to do the same thing, which is an Atlanta TV network, which is cnn, so Headline News.

Oh, I see.

Okay. Yeah. So this was. This is worldwide, you know what I'm saying? And I'm like, okay, I've never done this before. But you just never know who's watching you. So that's why I always tell people, just do it. Because it's not about the large amount of Followers, it's about that one person. There's only one person that needs to see you, you know, and that one person saw me at that time.

Yeah, I think that concept is. That is so good. And I feel that's another one that I feel like is worth pointing out and pausing to talk about. And one of the things that I'll occasionally talk about is this idea of who, not how many, which, like, to your point, exactly, it's who's watching. And you could have 10 people. But if one of those individuals watching is somebody who makes decisions for HLN and this is the important piece, and they see you're talented, like, that's the piece. If somebody sees talent and knows talent and they come across what you're doing, doors can open. And it's justification for doing hard work and creating really good things, even if there's not a lot of people seeing. And it sounds like that's what happened in your case and what you're describing.

I promise you that has literally been my whole career because I don't have like the largest numbers at all, but I stay busy. And it's because the right people see my work. And I always think of that when I create content because you just don't know, you know, And I would be so upset with myself if I created something that that was, you know, not the best. And I finally got that person. It's Oprah. Oprah. Oprah saw my work and she didn't see the best. I would be so disappointed in myself. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah, so. So I love that. And I think that can be inspiration for people who are in the early stages or feel like they're grinding away and they're like, why am I spending so much time on this? If somebody's, if there's not a bunch of people who are seeing it, because, yeah, you never know who that person is going to be that's going to be a decision maker or influential or maybe somebody who has a big following, they share your content, whatever it might be. So I'm curious to know, when you say staying busy, obviously this was kind of a kickoff, it sounds like. And my guess is coming out of that, you were like, wow, this was really great. And then it also allows you to kind of build your portfolio a little bit. So coming out of that first TV appearance, what did it look like to build on the kind of that as a foundation? Did you then use that as marketing to get other TV placements? Can you talk through that progression?

And I just have to add for all the women out there. My first booking, I was pregnant when we moved back, and I was so devastated that we were moving back to Atlanta because I thought that everything was going to end that I had been working towards in California, but that was so far from the truth. And I definitely didn't think that anyone would want to hire me for TV work. Big and pregnant. Because I was big and pregnant, you know, and that's when I booked my first national job. Pregnant.

Cool.

And so from that, yeah, I took that and made a real with it. And I will admit that once you get into that world and you do well, they talk because it's a small world in that world. Meaning what of TV producers and the people who book talent?

Yeah.

You know, it's not that big. And so when you want to make a lasting impression, you want to be easy to work with. And the word will spread around, huh?

Yeah. It seems like I've heard parallels from people talk about just general brand partnerships, and it's like if you are talented, meaning, like, you can talk well, in this case, talk well on live tv. You don't, like, get. Maybe you get nervous, but, like, you can push through it and still, you know, communicate well. And if you're easy to work with, I think that's a really important one where, you know, people discredit the benefit of being somebody who's good to work with. But in this world, what does that mean? What does that look like to be somebody who's good to work with.

On time for everything? This is coming from someone who is never on time.

Okay, what have you had to learn? What have you had to learn in order to be somebody who is on time for stuff like this? Like, have you had to kind of shift your mindset?

Oh, 100%. 100%. When I think I have enough time, I triple that because my concept of time is off. It is off. I know that for a fact. My husband and I, we discuss it all the time. It drives him crazy, but it's something. It's been my whole life, so I know, especially for important things or for work, prepare well ahead of time. Now I have a team, so they help me prepare. Everybody needs to be ready just so I could be ready because I don't want to miss anything. Yeah, yeah.

What is the. What does your team do that helps you? I think a lot of people who are creators, creatives, you know, are free, kind of free spirit, maybe a little bit. And you can kind of create a team to. To. To build some Accountability for you and structure. But like what, what, what does that look like to have a team who, who supports you?

So for my team. Okay. So when I first started, my very first hire was my day to day manager. And at the time I was really overwhelmed. I actually had, I had signed with a management agency and the person that was over my account had left and they assigned a new person. And I just was not, we weren't having the best relationship but I still wanted to continue and I still had a whole bunch of things I needed to do. So I brought someone in to handle the communication with this agency so I could focus on what I do best. And so that's where she came in. And she basically just responds to emails. Make sure my schedule is together, make sure I get timers notifications like before this, hey, you got 45 minutes before you're supposed to be on. Make sure you, you know what all these things. Because one little thing could distract you. You know, my mom might call, she's at the pool, you know, and so she does that. Pretty much anything that I want to think about, I want notes on. I just have her do all of that.

Yeah.

And then.

And this is through, this is, this is not through the agency. This is an individual that, that you've hired on your team or it is through this agency.

No, I no longer have the agency. Got it. So that hired person to communicate with the agency because I wanted to, I wanted to keep the agency. But I just knew that every time I talked to them I was feeling bad when I hung up the phone. And so I just wanted to put somebody in between there to handle that.

That's. I think it's such a smart move to. When you know you need something that's critical part of your business but you know that your interaction with that thing, whether it be a social media platform or a type of work, like if that puts you in not a good place to find somebody who can sit in between and communicate for you. I know for Lindsay and Pinch of Yam, one of the like systems that she has is she'll respond to or look at comments initially. And then what she's found is like the longer a post is around, the higher the potential for like a weird one off comment that puts you in a strange headspace. And so we have somebody on the team who it's not quite as personal for them to go in and to manage the comments. But that was an intentional mindset like preservation of positive headspace move similar to what you did that allows you to Stay in a better place and. Or in this case Lindsay, to stay in a better place. And so, you know, you needed it. Putting somebody else in between, I think super smart. And for us as creators to constantly be thinking about how can we move the puzzle pieces in a way that, that optimizes for our like, best type of work. And putting somebody else in who, like, it doesn't mean that then they have to do this thing that's negative for them. They might like that type of work.

It was nothing for her. Her and the person they ended up being friends.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Which in turn made it a great situation for me, you know, But I just recognized it in. I don't have time to play with it. So let's just get somebody else there. Yeah, so. Yeah, yeah.

Yes. So you have somebody who's kind of day to day, your kind of right hand person next to you, helping out with logistics management, things like that. Are there any other members that are important to kind of the day to day work of what you're doing?

Yes. So I have a creative assistant who comes in and just does all the creative things with me. So I've been working with him actually since I got married. He did the video for my wedding and we've just been friends and working together on and off throughout the years. So finally I just brought him on because he gets me and I do have a larger picture that I'm trying to create, you know, for the Rosalind Daniels brand. So I needed someone in there who I feel comfortable being around my family constantly and who just kind of understands the way that I think.

Yep.

And just can kind of help with that.

Yeah. What is your great greater picture? I think when you say that, a lot of people will be like, oh, I want to hear about that. When you think out to what you're building, what is that? And directionally kind of, where are you going?

I would love to create a larger platform that provides recipes, lifestyle content, almost like a Food52, but with a little bit of swag to it.

Sure.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Something that I feel like everyone can relate to.

Mm. Mm.

So, yeah, something along those lines.

And that creative role assists you in being kind of a second brain as you pursue this bigger picture on what could this creative thing look like. And to your point, somebody who gets that and it's hard. You can't put that on a job description. Like, it's somebody who just naturally is like tracking with you, step for steps, is able to like build on ideas. That's a hard thing. To find.

But I am genuinely working on duplicating that because my ultimate goal is not for me to be working this hard every single day, you know, so I know that that looks different. So there are plenty of businesses who have these people who come in who understand the brand and they can duplicate things over and over again. That's where I'm trying to get to. But it's just, you know, with my assistant, my creative assistant, right now we're in the process of really diving deep and creating processes for everything. So when this next person comes in, he can now tell, look, this is what she wants, you know, and just mimic that over and over again.

The creating processes, I feel like is one of the. It's like a business secret sauce that shouldn't be a secret, really isn't a secret, but it's so important. And also it kind of feels hard to do. Like, do you feel like that's true for you or is it, has it been something that you haven't had a lot of resistance to? Because as somebody who's creative, my guess is like, your preference is not to spend time documenting a process.

No.

So how do you, how do you solve for that? And, and what are some of the processes that you've created that have been important?

Well, you know what, you, you nailed it. Like, to sit down and actually write things out is just not something that I, I like to do. So I will admit that I have been forced to do this to write these processes in my day to day manager. She needs somebody else to come on in, but to help her with different things because I started finding like, I'm asking her to do a lot of random things, you know, that really wasn't a part of her job description initially. So now what, you know, and so it forced me to really write down what is her role? What did we bring her on for? And what now? What else am I asking her to do? And can that go to someone else who specializes in it and it's not difficult for them to do it, I. E. Writing blog posts.

Sure.

You know, it's not fair for me to ask her to write blog posts when that's not the job that she signed up for. But that's something that I need.

So.

So now we need to evaluate and figure out what that looks like and write that down so we can get the right person to get to do it, you know?

Yeah, yeah, that's great. And that's the type of stuff, to your point earlier, that allows a business to scale when you have A process, it's documented. You can find somebody who loves to do that type of work, bring them in and say, here are the kind of parameters for doing that work within our brand. Here's how you should, your voice generally should this type of writing do say this, don't say this, those guidelines that you have when you come into something. So to me, it's really cool to look at a situation like yours where in six years you've been able to build a team, get a lot of traction, have success as a business owner, as an entrepreneur. I would be interested to hear kind of a breakdown of what your business looks like. And the reason I say that is because it's different than a business where it'd be like, hey, the only thing we do is really focus on blog posts and we try and get as much search traffic as possible and then we monetize via ads. And sometimes I think in this world we can get stuck in this idea of like, hey, the only thing we can do is get a lot of traffic to our blog. Or even like the only thing we can do is sponsor content for social media, whatever it is. But there's a lot of different ways to build a business as a entertainer, as a creator, as an influencer, you being all of those things. So what does that look like for your business in terms of, you know, the different ways that you're able to create revenue on a day to day or week to week basis?

So there are so many things, the main things. So I of course do sponsored work. That's my number one thing. I also do food photography and videography. I was doing that for like other bloggers and smaller clients at one point, but I had to really have a hard to heart with myself. That was not what I wanted to do. But I can still offer that service because now I have people who can take photos like me. I can approve it and make sure that this is Roslyn Daniels style and it comes to our standards. So now someone can get that, you know, but there was a period of time where I wasn't doing that because I was thinking, I was like, I'm the only person, it's just me, you know. That's not true. Yeah, so that, and then I do television appearances, I do recipe creation and I think that is it.

Can you, can you talk about the TV appearances? Because I think a lot of people would think that that would be almost like just a way to get exposure as an example. But are you able to create revenue from that? And then how does that Work.

Yes. I'm so glad you brought that up, because I had no clue that initially, when people do, or usually when people do TV appearances, you're not getting paid if you don't see a brand on there. Right. But I didn't know that until I did it, and then I still needed that exposure in that experience. So I kept on booking work to build my portfolio, which then in turn, I was able to use that with brands and could say, here's what I can do. But I could just slip your brand in here and you can get all of these millions of people to see this, you know, so what happened is the brands, they'll come in, they'll pay for the TV spots for the ads and have it running, and then pay for your talent fee. And that's essentially what I started to do to make money off of television appearances.

So the interesting piece there that I didn't understand with the process is they will run an ad after you do, like, a recipe with their ingredient. Is that the idea? So, like, you go on a. On a morning show, is. Is that what you're saying by the spot, or they're like, paying for the live segment to the TV show?

Both.

Oh, sure. Okay.

So, because it's almost like an ad. So the TV network or. Yeah, TV networks, they're not going to let you mention a brand. They're not going to let you show a brand or anything like that. But so they charge for those segments if you want to show a brand. So usually the brands, they do know that. So they'll. The TV station has. The TV station has their fee, and then you have your fee, and you combine that and present it to the brand. Do you want to pay this? Yes or no?

Got it. Yeah. Which is cool because essentially you're acting like you are doing what you six, seven years ago had thought, like, I want to pursue this. Do you think I can do it? You've made the transition to professional actor, which is really cool. And doing that in a way where, if I'm understanding it right, the brand will say, hey, there's this upcoming segment on HLN, and we want to have 60 seconds that we'll pay to have our, like, whatever hot dogs for July 4th coming up. And we'll do a recipe that will promote this. It'll mention the brand, but they know that they don't have anybody in corporate who's just going to be, like, really good to show up on tv. So you will pitch to them and say, here's what it will cost to Buy this segment. Here's what it would cost to pay me to, like, do all the preparation and to do this. This 60 seconds live. Would you be interested in this package deal between the network and the brand? Is that right?

Correct.

Yeah. And it seems like there's you, there's the TV station or the network, and then there's the brand. Is it hard to get alignment with all three of those? Taking you out with two people? Because it's not like you're just working with the brand. It's almost like you have to go to the. The network first and say, like, would you be open to this idea? Do you have to. Do you have to do that?

No, they're always open.

Yeah. As if you pay us money.

They want it so bad. So that's never an issue.

Okay.

The issue is getting the, like, a brand that is willing to pay for that.

Sure.

Because there has been a change. Like, there's been a lot of digital advertising. So sometimes, you know, now when the pandemic happened, a lot of brands went from doing things to where the commercials come up or the segment comes up in between. You watching Netflix?

Yeah.

You had those ads in between type thing. So now you're forced to watch it type thing. You know, it's situations like that. And so.

Yeah, interesting. And so if somebody sees that and they're like, wow, that would actually be really interesting to get into that. And they have kind of that desire to do live TV for those incredible crazy people who are live TV people who can stand in front of a camera and just talk without getting nervous. I. I did it once and it was like, I ended up. I kid you not, I ended up talking my. I went on with Lindsay and we were making, like, pumpkin muffins, and I ended up talking about, like, websites and domain names. It was like, such a reversion to, like, what am I comfortable with? It's like, I'm not comfortable with recipes. I'm going to talk about websites, but so I have so much respect. There's so much respect for people like you who can do that.

The larger, like, hln, cnn, they are actually prerecorded.

Oh, sure. Okay.

That changed everything. I was like, oh, this is rainy.

So for somebody who sees that and they're interested in potentially getting into it, my guess is you have to have a period where you're kind of doing, like, free work, going on to local TV stations, building your reel, you know, where you can kind of show like, hey, I can do this. I would be talented enough for you to Hire me. But how do you know than like when you're ready to get hired and what would be a good rate to start at? Like, I think of my friend who does video, he talks about his day rate. Like if he's going to go and shoot for a documentary, he has a day rate for being a dp and he knows, is it similar in the acting world? And like, where, where would you start with your like, amount that you'd book or. Because it's different than sponsored content a little bit.

Right. So, okay. It's actually along the lines of sponsor content, I felt. So I know that there's like a day rate usually for. If you're doing eight hours.

Yeah.

And then you have your half day rate. But when you're doing TV segments, like, that's only. You can literally go in there for like 15 minutes, do what you got to do and get out. However, nobody really talks about what happens before that. You have to make the food, you have to lug it, you have to travel, make sure, clean up afterwards, just all of the things to get there. And so the way I kind of started out, I just started thinking of how much my cost to make the food was, how much I can do this for without feeling like I was used. And I just kind of went from there. And when they started responding back really quickly and accepting, I go up a little bit more and just continue to do that. I did the same thing with brand partnerships as well. You have to just start somewhere. I don't think you'll ever really know. And I also don't think that everyone can demand the same money.

Sure. And part of the one variable that I think isn't talked about enough is like, what is your desire to do the work in the early stages? If you're like, I really want to do this. I want to build a portfolio, I want to add to my reel, whatever it might be. You might, if you get paid at all, it'd be like, great, awesome. Like, let's, let's do it. There are some people that would be on the other end of the spectrum where they'd be like, what's my hate rate? Like, how much do I not want to do this? And if somebody reaches out to me and they're like, hey, we want to work with you for sponsored content, or we'd love for you to come on. It's like, I really don't want to do this, but like, here's what I would be willing to do it for. And so having the personal desire variable as A part of it, I think is an important consideration. And that changes. Yeah. Month to month and year to year and changes over time. So that's really cool. It's inspiring for me to hear about all the different ways that people are building their businesses and that's one where it's just a completely foreign world. And so it's important, I think that we talk about it because there's lots of different ways to, to build a successful business as a creator, as a publisher, entertainer, and that's one of them. As we round out, I want to talk about Brown Hands Media. What is that and how does that fit into kind of your vision of what you're building?

So Brown Hands Media is basically my larger production company. So Rosalind Daniels is under Brown Hands Media. And I started Brown Hands because when I started in the whole food blogging world, it was the time when Tasty style videos were hands and pants. Yes. And I never saw brown hands in those pants.

It's just all white hands.

And I'm like, come on now there's some black people around here or some brown people, you know what I'm saying? So it was just a no brainer. Brown Hands Media, come on. And so when I started doing my videos at the time I was like so stuck on perfecting hands in a pan videos with these brown hands. And yeah, it just kind of went from there. So everything that I do goes under that umbrella.

Huh. And so it's almost like kind of parent company, parent media company over your day to day we would call them operating companies. So your, your personal brand, Ross and Daniels, are you doing with Brown Hands Media? Are you doing also some of that like agency type work underneath that so like photography video for other brands. And how do you just does it all from a business perspective? It is all, is it all like one business that like is on one P and L statement or do you, do you kind of separate it out? How does that work?

Yeah, so everything is under Brown Hands Media, but I'm actually starting to kind of, there's some other roads I'm trying to go down. And so what we're looking at is having basically little smaller businesses under Brown Hand Media.

Cool. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And, and would the idea with that be kind of all related? It's, it's similar like with tinybit we have, you know, Pinch of Yum Food Blogger Pro, WP Tasty, these smaller businesses underneath those. And what we found to be really great is there's a lot of like crossover and, and you Know, you can kind of run them separately, but you can also, they can be complementary. I'm curious to know as much as you're willing to share, like what are, what are those other roads that you're thinking of? Because as, as, as entrepreneurs, we always have those, you know, looking ahead, the other paths that we could go down. But is there anything that you're really excited about or looking forward to the potential of as you kind of think about building those out?

Well, three things. I would like to start a new online store and eventually start having my own products. And so hopefully that will go soon.

Yeah. And then like in the recipe world. Food world related food in home. Sure.

Food and home. Because that's another thing I, because I have opened myself out to not strictly be food. I feel like that opens more doors.

Yeah.

So, yeah. So that. And then I want to bring on more talent to duplicate what I'm doing.

Awesome. And, and people that would be creators, but under the umbrella of Brown Hands Media and you, you would have those processes maybe that you could follow. Here's what it looks like to when you're going to do a live TV appearance. Like, here's what we do and here's how we do it and finding those people and working with those, but in partnership with you as you kind of build a network of talent. It's cool.

Yes. And the goal is for it to be diverse. So I would, you know, love for a brand to be, you know, they want to have more of a diverse cast. Well, let's go check out Brown Hyun's media and see their roster, who we can choose from type thing, you know, so. Yeah.

Cool. That's awesome. My guess is people would be interested in following along with what you're doing, both creators and publishers. But also there's brands who listen to the podcast and they'd be interested in connecting with you, reaching out. Maybe it's doing a live TV appearance. Maybe Oprah is listening and this is our chance. She's seen it. She knows the quality content. Now is, now is the time. But what are the ways that people can follow along with what you're up to? Roslyn?

Well, you can find me on all social media under Rosalind Daniels. That's with two ends under Rosalind. And then you can sign up for my newsletter and you can check me out at rosalindaniels calm. You can also check out brownhands media.com as well. But Brown Rosalind Daniels is the main one.

That's great. Rosalind, thanks so much for coming on.

Thank you so much for having me.

Hi everyone. Leslie here from the Food Blogger Pro team. Since we've officially entered into the month of August, I wanted to quickly recap and let you know about some of the exciting new things that we have coming to foodblogger Pro this month. And if you're not familiar with our Foodblogger Pro membership, we have exclusive courses, study halls, live Q&As, deals and discounts, our forum and more that is available exclusively for our foodblogger Pro members. So you can learn more about how it all works and even find out how to join by going to foodbloggerpro.com join but just to give you kind of a sneak peek at what's going to be coming to the site this month. First up, on Thursday, August 4, later this week we're going to be having our study haul all about video for TikTok and Reels. So these vertical short form videos are so popular nowadays, so we wanted to devote a study hall entirely to them. So in these study halls our members get the chance to interact in real time on zoom with their fellow members and they get to discuss, you know, strategy, thoughts, struggles when it comes to a particular topic. And like I said, this topic will be TikTok and reels. So we're going to have breakout rooms and just deep dive into this topic. We'll be chatting about what types of videos we share on TikTok and Instagram, what we find challenging about making these TikToks and reels and kind of what our goal is with them. Overall, it's going to be a fantastic conversation. So if you are a member and you want to join and tune in, you can head to the live tab on the Food Blogger Pro site to get registered. Then on Thursday, August 11, we're going to be holding our monthly live Q and A and it's actually going to be on the same topic which is video for TikTok and reels. So during this live Q and A, Bjork is going to be joined by our social media video expert, Britta Britnell who is the blogger behind Food With Feeling and she is going to be there with Bjork to answer all of our members question questions when it comes to creating TikToks and reels. So during these live Q&As, members get the chance to ask their questions in real time and just learn from our experts and learn from Bjork to get all of the best insight so they can develop strategies to apply to their own businesses. So to join and get registered for that Q and A, all you have to do is log on to foodblogger Pro and then head to the Live tab to get registered. Moving later into the month. And then on August 18th, we're going to be sharing a completely updated version of our YouTube for Food Creators course. So YouTube is such an important social media platform and we wanted to make sure that our course was as up to date and helpful as possible. So we're going to be sharing completely new lessons as well as a strategy session at the end, a strategy Q and A with Nisha Vora, our YouTube expert. So she is the creator behind the brand Rainbow Plant Life and she has over 800,000 subscribers on YouTube, so you'll be hearing kind of her best tips and tricks for getting the most out of YouTube and growing your platform there and just really engaging your audience as much as possible as a food creator. So stay tuned for when that course will be completely updated on the 18th. And the last new piece of content we have going live in August is on August 2025, which is our Foods trending this Fall blog post. So right around the beginning of each season, we like to share these blog posts to give you a sense of some of the new foods or food trends or, you know, fruits and vegetables, all the different things that will be very popular during that season. So for this particular post, we're treading all things Fall, especially for those of us in the Northern hemisphere as we head into autumn, just to give you some some ideas about different types of content or recipes you might want to make to round out your content calendar this upcoming season. So we're really excited about all this new content coming to Food Blogger Pro this month. If you're not already a member and you want to join to get access to all of this as soon as it goes live, you can do so by going to foodbloggerpro.com join and we would love to have you join the community and and interact with you in all these different places. I think that's all we've got for you today though. Thank you again for tuning into this episode. We really hope that you enjoyed it and we will see you in the next one. But until then, make it a great week. Sam.