Blogging can feel lonely, but you don’t have to do it alone. In this conversation, we dive into how building a trusted group of peers can accelerate growth, reduce overwhelm, and keep your passion alive. Enza shares her journey from corporate life to blogging and how surrounding herself with supportive peers has been the key to her momentum.
Listen on the player in this post or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
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Enza Whiting has been a food blogger for about 4 years. This is her second career and her passion. Before this, she was a director for a national insurance company for 34 years. Her website memorializes their traditional family recipes, traditions, and new family favorites.
Takeaways
- Community beats isolation: Why blogging becomes more sustainable when you stop doing it alone.
- Find your circle at conferences: How in-person events can spark lasting relationships.
- Consistency matters: Meeting regularly keeps accountability and friendships strong.
- The glue is personal connection: Building bonds beyond business creates trust and longevity.
- Support during struggles: A group that understands your wins and setbacks keeps you grounded.
- Start small: Even two or three committed people can form a powerful support system.
- Invest in relationships: Time and energy spent nurturing connections will pay off.
- Look for generosity, not competition: Healthy groups share ideas freely and lift each other up.
Transcript
Click for full script.
EBT746 – Enza Whiting
[00:00:00] Supercut
You are going to want to download our bonus Supercut that gives you all the information you need to master Pinterest. Head to eatblogtalk.com/masterpinterest to download today.
[00:00:14]
Blogging does not have to be a lonely road and today’s episode is your invitation to find your people. Enza Whiting of Enza’s Quail Hollow Kitchen shares how community transformed her blogging journey, speeding up her growth, deepening her confidence, and keeping her passion alive. We talk about how to build a support system that fits you, why conferences are worth every penny, and what happens when you finally surround yourself with people who get it. If you have ever wished for your own blogging circle, this one is for you. And we do give lots of ideas inside this episode about how to find your people. I hope you enjoy this.
[00:00:58] Intro
Hi food bloggers, I’m Megan Porta and this is Eat Blog Talk. Your space for support, inspiration and strategies to grow your blog and your freedom. Whether that’s personal, professional or financial, you are not alone on this journey.
[00:01:14]
Hey there. Let’s be real for just a minute, shall we? Running a food blog can feel isolating.
So isolating at times. You’ve got big dreams, but no one around you truly gets what you are building. That’s where the Eat Blog Talk Mini Minds come in. These are low cost, high connection groups for food creators who are ready to stop spinning their wheels and start making real progress. Here are just a few things you will get from this monthly group.
Zoom calls that keep you focused, personalized accountability and strategy support, a safe space to ask questions, share wins and troubleshoot challenges and most importantly, a group of people who actually get you. Whether you are looking to get more consistent with content, grow your email list, or just stay sane while juggling all the things the Mini Minds group offers structure and support without the overwhelm.
You do not need to grow alone. Join a group of bloggers who show up for each other and rise together. Head to eatblogtalk.com/mastermind to apply today. Spots are limited so do not wait on this eatblogtalk.com/mastermind.
[00:02:25] Megan Porta
Hello Enza, how are you today? It’s so good. Great to have you here.
[00:02:30] Enza Whiting
Thank you Megan. It’s so nice to be here with you.
[00:02:33] Megan Porta
Yes, I’m super excited to talk about this. This is one of my favorite topics because it’s so important in our space and that is the importance of community. It is an essential. As you know, before we get into all of that good stuff, we would love to know if you have a fun fact to share with us.
[00:02:52] Enza Whiting
Okay, so a fun fact. I don’t know if it’s fun, but it. It’s a little odd, I think, for most people. I live in a. We’ve lived in our house for probably 24 years and we have an in ground pool in the house. And I didn’t learn to swim until four years ago when my granddaughter was born.
[00:03:15] Megan Porta
Oh, wow. Did you find that having her swimming made you want to do it more or.
[00:03:23] Enza Whiting
When I found out that I was going to be a grandmother, I wanted to be able to all of it. And I knew that having her come over and use our pool was going to be a big part of what we did together as a family. And I wanted to be able to do it with her, you know, and I didn’t do it with my boys.
[00:03:47]
So I thought, you know what? One, for safety’s sake, I want to be able to swim. And two, for being able to make memories with everybody and being a part of it with everybody was really important to me. Grandchildren will make you do all kinds of things you never thought you would.
[00:04:07] Megan Porta
And it’s such a good lesson that it’s never too late to do things that are speaking to you. Never. You can do those things at any time.
[00:04:17] Enza Whiting
Absolutely.
[00:04:18] Megan Porta
Yeah. That’s so great. I love that you did that. And I’m sure you’re children and grandchildren are so appreciative to. Just like you said, for safety’s sake alone, right?
[00:04:28] Enza Whiting
Yes. Yes. Yeah. My boys are shocked that I would even get in the pool and wet my hair, so.
[00:04:36] Megan Porta
Oh, I suppose they grew up with probably not that, right?
[00:04:40] Enza Whiting
That’s right.
[00:04:41] Megan Porta
Yeah, that’s right. Oh, I love it. Well, thank you for sharing that and I would love if you shared a little bit about your blog. So just give us the background. What is it called? When did you start? What’s your niche? Just anything you feel is relevant.
[00:04:57] Enza Whiting
So my, my blog is Enza Quail Hollow Kitchen. And I named it that because I live on Quail Hollow Lane and my kitchen is on Quail Hollow. I started my blog later in life. I was 59 when I started it. And it kind of got started as a way for me to memorialize my mom’s recipes.
[00:05:25]
It’s an Italian, very heavily Sicilian niche with some Italian American recipes thrown in as well. But a lot of it was around how do we keep my family traditions and family recipes going? And that’s how it. It kind of got started. And I’ll just tell you aquick story that kind of pivoted all of it was, my mother makes this wonderful chicken dish.
[00:05:55]
It’s an agri dolce chicken. It’s a sweet and sour chicken dish, and it’s everybody’s favorite. So for years, I was trying to make it, and, you know, I’d call her and mom, now tell me again what you put in it. And she’d say, well, you know, you put a couple spoons of this and a couple of spoons of that.
[00:06:16]
Well, my chicken never, ever tasted like hers, and I couldn’t figure it out. So one day I was watching her make her chicken and realized that she was make. I was using a tablespoon as she was using a serving spoon, like a big ladle spoon to measure her ingredients. So there was no way my chicken was going to turn out like hers.
[00:06:42] Megan Porta
Oh, my gosh.
[00:06:43] Enza Whiting
So that was the impetus to, like, really memorialize every part of her recipes. So. So that’s how I got started.
[00:06:53] Megan Porta
That’s so funny. So a spoon is. Yeah. It has many, many meanings. It can be as.
[00:07:01] Enza Whiting
That’s right.
[00:07:01] Megan Porta
Small as a quarter teaspoon and biggest spoon. That is so great.
[00:07:08] Enza Whiting
So. So now I am much more careful about how I measure things out when she’s doing something. I measure everything precisely because otherwise it’s not going to come out the way she made it.
[00:07:20] Megan Porta
Right. You’re like, now tell me exactly how much goes in there.
[00:07:24] Enza Whiting
Right, Right.
[00:07:25] Megan Porta
And does she appreciate that? Does she see the value in what you’re doing?
[00:07:31] Enza Whiting
Oh, she loves it. She. She thinks it’s absolutely wonderful that I’m not, you know, that she’s. All of her dishes, the things that everybody has loved for so many years can now be passed down from generation to generation because they’re memorialized somewhere. And my. My kids and my. My cousins and, you know, my sister, my brother, everybody makes the recipes now because they’re available to them and they can replicate them the way that Nona made them, you know, which is really.
[00:08:12]
Which is important. You want them to. To. You want them to taste the way that she made them because they remind you of her. They remind you of, you know, the traditions that you grew up with. So having that all available is so important. And she loves it. She loves.
[00:08:32] Megan Porta
Amazing. I love that. That has the most meaning right there. Good for you for starting and remind me. So you started just a little bit after Covid. So your blog is about four years old.
[00:08:45] Enza Whiting
Four years old. Okay. Yep.
[00:08:46] Megan Porta
Cool. Well, welcome to the world of blogging. What do you think so far.
[00:08:52] Enza Whiting
It’s been. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of challenge, it’s been a lot of learning. And I have to tell you, I. I am so glad that I jumped into this when I did, because I spent 34 years in the corporate world, and that was great. You know, I loved every minute of it, but it was very analytical, very technical, very strategic, and a lot of those skills I’ve been able to pull over into food blogging, but at the same time, I’ve had to learn all new skills.
[00:09:33]
Right. Photography, SEO, writing. I mean, it just goes on and on and on and on because, you know, all the things that are associated with. With food blogging. So that’s been very invigorating and. And I love the challenge of it. But one of the things that I really noticed from leaving that corporate environment was the lack of support and the lack of having people around me that understood what I’m dealing with and what I’m doing.
[00:10:12]
So that was a big miss for me. I really felt like I needed something like that that I left behind. And the friendships that you. That you gain too, you know, and. And I’ve had to find that and find a way to. To find that in the blogging world.
[00:10:33] Megan Porta
Yeah. Which is the perfect lead in to what our topic is. I love that you just naturally did that. My husband and I talk about this all the time because he recently left the corporate world. I’ve been a food blogger for 15 years now, so I’m used to this kind of solo game.
[00:10:51]
He came, you know, he’s at home now, and he’s like, what? I can’t handle this. What is this? This life without people and community and support and friendships? He’s kind of going bonkers a little bit, trying to figure it out. And I’m like, well, this is my life. Welcome. But, yeah, you have to seek it out because you’re not in a building where other people come every day.
[00:11:15] Enza Whiting
Exactly.
[00:11:17] Megan Porta
It’s hard. It’s not easy to navigate because we need people. Right. We’re made to be social beings, I believe.
[00:11:25] Enza Whiting
Right. Yeah.
[00:11:27] Megan Porta
So it’s super important.
[00:11:28] Enza Whiting
It is. You know, and one of the things, you know, from my previous job, I worked in insurance, and most people don’t understand insurance, so. But I was surrounded with people that were doing the same thing that I did or were involved in the same environment that I was involved in. So, you know, you had support, you had somebody that you could talk to about what was going on, and they understood what you were dealing with and what you were talking about.
[00:12:01]
When I started my blog, I found that that was one of the things that I was really missing out on was, you know, people don’t understand what a food blogger does or what any type of blogger does. They just assume that you make a. You make a recipe, you take some pictures, and you throw it up on a website.
[00:12:21]
They don’t. They don’t understand all of the things that go into it. They don’t understand the challenges that you have with it. They don’t understand what you’re trying to get out of it. So it’s hard to find anybody to like to talk to about it. And when you have a win, they don’t understand that either, you know, so they can’t really celebrate with you because they don’t under.
[00:12:48]
They don’t get it. So finding other people that I could work with on a regular basis or meet with on a regular basis that had that. That level of understanding and that are going through the same things that I’m going through, that’s. That was world changing for me.
[00:13:11] Megan Porta
Yeah, it’s invaluable. Yeah. I mean, people have the best intentions, right? Like, our family, our partners, friends. They want to support us and our new ventures if we just start blogging. But there’s a disconnect. They don’t. Like you said, they don’t really get it. They’re not in our world. And missing that level of understanding is huge for us because it is such good.
[00:13:34]
It’s such a niche thing, a niche passion and niche job. We want that understanding. Like, come on, get me. Why aren’t you understanding? This is really cool. I just got into MediaVine or whatever, and they’re like, oh, that sounds great. Awesome. Yay.
[00:13:52] Enza Whiting
Well, you know, a couple of years ago, I lost my thumbnails on my website, so Google wasn’t showing any thumbnails. And I wasn’t the only one dealing with it.
[00:14:03] Megan Porta
Yeah, I had that happen, too. Yeah.
[00:14:06] Enza Whiting
But it’s a big deal. I explain what a big deal that was to my husband. It wasn’t clicking with him.
[00:14:14] Megan Porta
Yeah, he’s like, oh, yeah, can’t you get them back?
[00:14:21] Enza Whiting
Well, what can you do to get them back? And I’m trying to explain, like, I. I have no clue what to do to get them back. But the women in my group, they understood what that meant, you know, and they could talk me down from the panic that I was dealing with, and they celebrated with me when my thumbnails came back.
[00:14:44] Megan Porta
Yay. Welcome back. Thumbnails. And your husband’s like, okay, good. Glad they’re back. Yeah, there is. And it’s not like we fault the people in our lives for that because they just, they’re not in our world. But we need, we need to surround ourselves with people who get it. Can share our wins, can share our.Can commiserate when we have struggles and we lose our thumbnails or whatever. Like, fill in the blank, whatever your struggle might be. So how do you recommend we find people? If somebody’s listening and they’re like, this sounds great, Enza, but I don’t have people. I don’t know where to find them.
[00:15:22] Enza Whiting
Well, you know, I think you have to. There are different areas that you can certainly look for people like minded people or people that are in the same situation or time of life that you’re in. I found my group at a conference. So one of the women in the group had actually posted a question on the board saying, are there any women over 50 that are in food blogging?
[00:15:57]
And, and so a whole group of us responded to her question. And, and we’ve been meeting every week. We meet every Friday. Yeah. Because we really work at it. Right. I mean, we want to make sure that we keep this group going because it’s important to us. But we’ve been meeting every Friday for two years now.
[00:16:24] Megan Porta
And that’s so much.
[00:16:27] Enza Whiting
When, when the next conference came around, we were so excited about seeing each other in person again. And we had such a great time. And it wasn’t all work. You know, sometimes we talk about, sometimes we talk about work when we get together and, you know, we help each other out with things, but sometimes, you know, we, we talk about what’s going on in our lives and, and that is helping to nurture a friendship beyond just food blogging.
[00:17:01]
But, you know, something that we can carry on for a long time. And so we decided, you know what, we have to see each other more than once a year. So we’re getting together. We get. We saw each other at the conference, in the Tastemaker conference in January. We’re getting together in September.
[00:17:23] Megan Porta
I know exactly where you’re going. I think I know.
[00:17:27] Enza Whiting
You know where I’m going, right?
[00:17:29] Megan Porta
Yes, I do. I was at her house this summer. It’s. You’ll have the best time.
[00:17:34] Enza Whiting
I am so excited to go. I’m so excited to spend a few days with these just lovely women that have been there for me for the last two years and, you know, to continue to work on our friendship.
[00:17:52] Megan Porta
I absolutely love that. It makes me so happy to hear when people do this. They find each other. And then not just that, but you stay together. You don’t fizzle, you don’t let the group dissipate, because that happens too, a lot.
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[00:19:21] Megan Porta
What do you think kept you guys continuing to meet? What was the glue?
[00:19:27] Enza Whiting
So I think there were a number of things. One is that we all, we all had a common goal and that was to make our blogs work. Right? We were all trying to, we were all kind of at different stages of blogging, but we were all trying to work on making them successful, whatever that successful means to, to each of us.
[00:19:56]
But, but we want it to grow. The other thing is that we are all in the same stage of life, so we have a lot of things in common outside of the, the food blogging world. So we understand the struggles that we each have with committing to things and, you know, life gets in the way.
[00:20:21]
But we’re all in a different stage of life now, you know, so, so we can, we can speak to each other about those things, and we hold each other kind of accountable. So, you know, we meet on a weekly basis. Everybody that can attend attends. I mean, it’s not written in stone that you have to be there every week, but almost everybody shows up every Friday morning for our.
[00:20:51]
For our talks. And one of the things that we love about it is that while we’re learning and we’re helping each other out with things, we’re also creating a bond, and we enjoy each other’s company. So we like to see each other and catch up on what’s been going on over the course of the week.
[00:21:13]
And I think that’s important, too. Right. It’s not just about growing your business, but it’s also about being able to share what’s going on in your life with somebody on a regular basis. And that, I think, really helps to keep us tied together.
[00:21:30] Megan Porta
Yes, we all have the bond of food blogging and being entrepreneurs, but finding a personal bond is the glue, it sounds like. So the fact that you’re all in the same stage of life is awesome. You have that to relate to. You might all have grandchildren or, you know, grown children. So that is kind of what’s keeping you coming back, that personal side where you’ve connected deeply with each other.
[00:21:58] Enza Whiting
Absolutely. I mean, you know, we’ve. We’re. We’re more than just a group of food bloggers. I think we’ve grown into a group of friends that are trying to support each other and that want to see each other succeed. There is absolutely no competition in this group. I mean, everybody. Everybody is so happy for everyone else’s successes, and we’re all trying to help each other get there, too, you know, so everybody’s willing to share what.
[00:22:33]
What works for them and what areas they might have success in. And. And there’s no ill will against anybody else. So it’s been great.
[00:22:46] Megan Porta
And I’ll just say, if you are in a group, for anyone listening that has that, you don’t need to be there. Create your own group with a different vibe because it’s so much better the way you guys are doing it and that. I hear people say occasionally that they’ve gotten into a group, but there’s a negative vibe and there’s competition, and people hold back and they don’t want to share everything because they’re afraid people are going to steal their ideas, and that’s toxic and negative and not what we’re talking about here.
[00:23:15]
So if. If you feel that you. You don’t have. Yes, you’re in the wrong group. Make your own group or find another group, because they do exist.
[00:23:26] Enza Whiting
Yes. Yeah, yeah.
[00:23:28] Megan Porta
So out.
[00:23:28] Enza Whiting
There are a lot of wonderful people out there. But you know, if you. If you haven’t found your people, then you have to keep looking.
[00:23:41] Megan Porta
Yes. There are so many food bloggers, so many awesome food bloggers wanting this exact thing at the same time as you, listener, whoever’s listening, thinking, I want this. There are a lot of other people wanting the same thing. So you just need to find each other. And it is possible. You mentioned conferences, Enza.
[00:24:04]
What else do you recommend? Like retreats, Instagram, Facebook. How else do you recommend to people?
[00:24:11] Enza Whiting
I do think that attending retreats, even joining a mastermind group and like you have mastermind groups available and those are great opportunities to meet people and you can work within that mastermind group, but if you find people within that group that you really click with, then that’s a great way to start a friendship with someone.
[00:24:45]
And your group doesn’t have to be. Our group is big. There’s probably 10 or 12 of us in the group and the meetings, you know, at any point in time. But your group can be two or three people, you know, you can start out with in a Facebook group or a mastermind group or something like that and then create that relationship with those people where you can continue that on even beyond the.The group that you started with.
[00:25:18] Megan Porta
Yeah. I currently have the best mastermind group for Eat Blog talk. They are so great. I mean, every group is great, but this group, oh, my gosh, they’re just so cohesive and they support each other in food blogging. But like you’re talking about, it’s more than that. It’s personal and it’s like everything is intertwined.
[00:25:39]
It’s so beautiful to watch their connection with each other. And I know I’m gonna cry because it makes me so happy, but I know after this year is done and our group is up, I know they’ll continue and be friends forever.
[00:25:52] Enza Whiting
That’s awesome.
[00:25:53] Megan Porta
I know.
[00:25:54] Enza Whiting
That is an awesome way to. It’s an awesome way to find people.
[00:25:58] Megan Porta
Yeah, it is. And yeah, sometimes you do have to invest a little bit to find the people, and I think that’s well worth the investment because you’re getting so much else too. But I’ll also say we have a lower investment group, the accountability group, which we’re rebranding in a few weeks. We’re going to call it something different, but it’s such a low investment.
[00:26:19]
And people in that group find each other too. And then they start their own things. So, yeah, if you’re like, I don’t know where to find people, where, how to reach out, join a trusted group. The Eat Blog Talk groups are very well vetted and very trusted. So come join us. You’ll find your people, I promise. They are out there waiting for you.
[00:26:42] Enza Whiting
I, I agree 100%. In fact, Megan, I know that there are people, women that are in my group that are also in your mastermind groups. And you know, that’s not to say that you can’t be a part of more than one group. It’s just a great way to do some learning, do some networking and make some friends.
[00:27:09] Megan Porta
Yes, I know. I’m like, super pumped up about this right now. Okay, so find your group. I love also, Enza, that you said it can only be. It doesn’t have to be 10 to 12 people. It can start with two or three. So even if there’s one person that you feel a connection with, start there. That is okay. You don’t need to find.
[00:27:29] Enza Whiting
That’s a great way. Yeah. Great way to start.
[00:27:32] Megan Porta
Start small if you need to.
[00:27:34] Enza Whiting
Yeah. I mean, the important thing is that you feel supported, right? It, it doesn’t matter how many people are there supporting you, but if you’ve got even just one person that understands your, what you’re trying to do and how you have to go about doing it and can celebrate your wins with you, no matter how big or small they are, I mean, that’s really what you’re looking for because that’s going to make, that’s going to make your work seem so much better.
[00:28:10]
Like, it keeps you going, it keeps you motivated, it gives you that little extra drive that, you know that there’s somebody there behind you that understands and that can help you through it. I mean, it. And we have all kinds of different challenges in this, in this industry from, you know, getting burned out.
[00:28:33]
Yeah, you talk about that a lot and I, I listen to a lot of your talks about that because that, it’s a real thing, you know, you’re. You’re working constantly and because it’s not a 9 to 5 job, sometimes that day goes 10, 12 hours, you know, and you can burn out. So having a supportive group of people that can help you work through that too, to say, hey, you know, it’s okay for you to step back a little bit.
[00:29:11]
You don’t have to do everything all at once. Things don’t fall apart. If you make some time for yourself, that’s just as important as learning, you know, all of the technical things that we have to learn in this business.
[00:29:29] Megan Porta
Right. It shouldn’t be all about hustle. And I think that should be the tone of every group.
[00:29:36] Enza Whiting
Right.
[00:29:37] Megan Porta
We need to acknowledge that burnout is real and that we also need to take care of ourselves. So that’s where that personal side comes in. And if we see that you’re burning out and working too hard, then we’ll call you out on it and invite you to slow down a little bit. That’s another piece of it too.
[00:29:54]
So you mentioned that you guys meet every Friday. I love that. Do you, do you ever find that it’s hard to show up or are you just so into this group that it’s not even an option unless you’re traveling or sick or something?
[00:30:08] Enza Whiting
Yeah, no, it’s not. It’s not difficult to show up at all. And I’m on the east coast. There are women in the group that are on the west coast and so they’re getting on the, this our calls at 7 o’ clock in the morning. So, you know, some of them are rolling out of bed and, and jumping the phone with us or on the, on the zoom meeting. And you know, that takes commitment. But that also means that they feel enough about all of us in the group that they want to be there at 7 o’ clock in the morning.
[00:30:47] Megan Porta
Yeah, that says a lot. Seven is early for a call. Yeah. Good for them for doing that. That shows that it’s a great group and you guys must have an amazing vibe. And I will say the 50 plus too. I just feel like that’s an age where we feel a little bit more settled and.
[00:31:09] Enza Whiting
Yes.
[00:31:10] Megan Porta
Yeah, just like the maturity has hit by then. So I mean, I don’t mean to exclude people outside of that group, I hope you know what I’m saying. It just feels like a more settled era, you know what I mean?
[00:31:22] Enza Whiting
You’re in a whole different mindset. Right. Your children are pretty much, you know, grown. If you had children and they’re out of the house, you’re at a different point in your career. I mean, if for me personally, I was at a point where I was ready to step away from a 34 year long career in, you know, in insurance and start doing something that I was really passionate about, that I really enjoy.
[00:31:54]
So, you know, yeah, I’m at a totally different point in my life. I’m kind of reinventing myself for the years that I have coming forward and in finding a new challenge. So this is completely different for me than it would be somebody that’s 20 or 30 years old and just starting their families and things are life is hectic and, you know.
[00:32:23] Megan Porta
Yeah, I know. And then as far as gatekeeping, food bloggers are so good at this. Generally every once in a while I’ll run across somebody who’s like, I don’t want to share this idea. Someone might steal it. But for the most part, I don’t see that in our space, we’re pretty generous. Giving people is your.I’m assuming that your group is the same way and that they align with sharing ideas.
[00:32:50] Enza Whiting
Absolutely. We, we share ideas all the time. And, you know, I can. I’ll give you a couple of examples that. Of things that happened recently. I had an opportunity to go on a daytime talk show and do a food demonstration. And I’ve never done anything like this before. And I was so nervous.
[00:33:18]
And my lovely group of ladies got together on a Monday afternoon. I was going to the demonstration, was going to be on Tuesday, and helped me walk through, do like a complete walkthrough of the demo, gave me pointers, you know, told me what they liked, told me what I needed to do differently.
[00:33:43]
They timed me. I mean, they were so supportive. And when I tell you I went into that cooking demo so prepared because they were willing to do that for me, I mean, that made the biggest difference in the world for me to be able to do that. And then another example was one of the girls in the group was doing some keyword research, and when she went and looked up the.
[00:34:14]
The word on Google, she found my recipe was at number one. So she got in touch with me to congratulate me on being number one on Google Search. And then she said, you know what? I’m. I’m not going to go after that word because that’s your. That’s your win, you know.
[00:34:34] Megan Porta
Oh, my gosh, that. There’s so much love there and all of that. I love that ladies showed up for you and helped you walk through your demo. That is just creating that space for you and then giving you constructive feedback. That’s amazing.
[00:34:51] Enza Whiting
Oh, yeah. I mean, I can’t. I can’t say enough about this group. They’re absolutely fabulous people and everyone deserves to have that.
[00:35:01] Megan Porta
And you can. It’s. It’s very possible. Like we said earlier, there are so many of us, so many food bloggers, so many options for connections and groups and friendships. So get out there and find your people. They’re there, I promise. And if you need help finding those people, send me an email and I can direct you.
[00:35:21]
If you’re into retreats, we offer retreats. We have one coming up in the fall. I mean, Tastemaker Conference is always available. Flavor Media Summit for the more advanced food bloggers in the Spring. There’s so many options and to get in and find your people. So let me know.
[00:35:37] Enza Whiting
I think that it’s really important that if you’re looking for your people and you haven’t found them yet, don’t be afraid to invest in it because that was the, the best expense that I took on was investing in this food conference that opened this up, this opportunity up for me.
[00:35:59] Megan Porta
Right, right. Yeah. Sometimes it’s just an initial investment and you will be so pleasantly surprised by that. Is there anything we’re missing, Enza? Anything about either finding a group or once you’re in a group, what the mindset should be or anything else?
[00:36:20] Enza Whiting
You know, I would just say that once you find a group, I, I really think it’s important to commit to the time in nurturing those relationships. So, you know, for us it’s meeting every Friday, it’s getting together at the conferences, it’s getting together on our own outside of the conferences. But you have to put in, you have to put in the time and investment of yourself in order to get the benefit out of it.
[00:36:55]
So I was part of a group that kind of fizzled out. People weren’t really interested in getting together on a regular basis and it was mainly because we weren’t interested in the same things. But once you find the people that you think that you click with, you have to invest some time into it. You have to make the effort.
[00:37:21] Megan Porta
Yeah. And it’s just like our personal relationships outside of food blogging. Right. You have to nurture them if you want them to grow and to remain healthy. It’s the same thing within your group.
[00:37:34] Enza Whiting
Right.
[00:37:34] Megan Porta
I love this chat. Thank you so much for bringing this topic to the table and for joining me today. I could not have enjoyed spending my. There’s not a better way to spend my Thursday morning. So thank you so much, Enza.
[00:37:50] Enza Whiting
This was great. Thanks. Thanks.
[00:37:51] Megan Porta
Do you have either a favorite quote or words of inspiration to leave us with today?
[00:37:56] Enza Whiting
So I have. I don’t know that this really applies here, but a friend of mine gave me this quote in a little frame years ago and I don’t know where it came from or anything, but I have it on my desk and I look at it all the time and the quote is hard earned.
[00:38:15]
Happiness is doubly savored. So the things that you work for that you really work for. You will appreciate so much more.
[00:38:25] Megan Porta
I love it. What a great way to end. Thank you for that. We will put together a show notes page for you. Enza if you want to head to eatblogtalk.com/enzasquailhollowkitchen, you can find those. Tell everyone where they can find you. Where should they go to get all of your good stuff and your good content?
[00:38:46] Enza Whiting
So obviously you can go to my website enzasquailhollowkitchen.com or you can find me on Instagram and Facebook @EnzaWhiting. And I’m also on TikTok.
[00:39:00] Megan Porta
Awesome. Everyone go check it out. Thank you again for being here and thank you for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time.
[00:39:05] Outro
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