Episode 280: Taking the Full-Time Blogging Leap and Setting Yourself Up For Success with Lauren Casolaro

280 Lauren Casolaro 

Lauren Caolaro: Hi, this is Lauren Casolaro from Pinch of Parsley and you’re listening to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. 

Sponsor: Hey, awesome food bloggers. Before we dig into this episode, I have a really quick favor to ask you. Go to your favorite podcast player. Go to Eat Blog Talk, scroll down to the bottom where you see the ratings and review section. Leave Eat Blog Talk a five star rating if you love this podcast and leave a great review. This will only benefit this podcast. It adds value. I so very much appreciate your efforts with this. Thank you so much for doing this. Okay. Now onto the episode. 

Megan Porta: Hello, food bloggers. Welcome to Eat Blog Talk. The podcast for food bloggers looking for the value and confidence that will move the needle forward in your business. This episode is sponsored by RankIQ and I am your host, Megan Porta. You are listening to episodes 280. Today, Lauren is going to talk to us about taking the leap from being in the corporate world to the entrepreneurial world and how to prepare yourself and set yourself up for success with a similar venture.

Lauren has an MBA focused in healthcare and she started her vegan food blog, Pinch of Parsley and food photography journey in March 2021 as a side hobby. Lauren made the leap to pursue this as her full-time job in September 2021. She knew she wanted to eventually make that switch, but she wasn’t yet ready mentally or financially. She had to quit her hospital job on short notice and move back in with her parents. Since then, Lauren has mastered mindset, money management, pitching and landing clients and learning the ins and outs of what it means to run a business. Wow Lauren you’ve done this in such a short amount of time, I guess I didn’t realize that. That’s so great to learn all of that about you. Before we start talking about this topic, why don’t you share a fun fact? 

Lauren Caolaro: Hi, so thank you for having me. My fun fact is that I have a bucket list goal of visiting every state in the United States. I’ve only hit 14 out of 50, so I definitely have a long way to go.

Megan Porta: That’s an awesome goal. What is your most coveted state? Which one do you want to visit the most? 

Lauren Caolaro: I’m not sure. I really want to go to Savannah, Georgia. So I guess you could say Georgia is next on my list and I’m going to Salt Lake City in May. So that will be Utah for the first time. So that’s exciting. 

Megan Porta: Nice. Love it. There’s so many cool things to see in the United States. We forget that we’re like, we want, travel to Europe or travel around the world, but there’s so much right in front of us. I feel like that we miss out on just by looking too far ahead. So I absolutely love that goal.

Lauren Caolaro: Thank you. 

Megan Porta: Yeah. I’m excited to learn more about your journey. So you took the leap from being in the corporate world into going into that brave area known as the entrepreneurial space. So can you just talk us through that? How did you make the decision to take the leap and how did it go? Just a little bit about all of that?

Lauren Caolaro: I think like everyone, not everyone. I’m sorry, but I think like a lot of others, I started my Instagram and this journey during the quarantine of COVID just as something to do. I’m vegan and I felt like everyone around me just didn’t get it or would say things like, I don’t even know what I would eat if I went vegan. So I started my food Instagram just to post daily meals. Then I slowly started becoming obsessed with creating recipes and the photography portion. My parents are actually both photographers. So I think it’s in my blood. But as I started following more people, I realized that you could actually earn a living off of doing fun things that you love, like food photography and blogging.

So in January I started taking photography courses. Then in March like you mentioned, was when I started my blog. I would say somewhere inM ay or June of 2021, I made this mental plan that I wanted to start making money from this and eventually quit my hospital job by the end of 2022. But I ended up quitting my hospital job in August and I have not made a single penny from food photography or anything. That was actually just due to an end to relationships. So I had to quit my job. I moved home and I just took that as the ultimate push for me to go full-time with food photography.

I just thought of it as a now or never type of thing. If for some reason it didn’t work out in six months, I was like, all right, I’ll start applying to regular desk jobs or back to the hospital and stuff, but it’s been going good. So that’s how I got into it and where we are. So I’m definitely going to keep going. 

Megan Porta: That’s great. I absolutely love hearing people’s unique stories about that. How they quit, why they decided. What kind of timeframe they gave. Cause I think everyone has that timeline. If things aren’t going well in six months or a year or something, then you know, you have to go to plan B.

But I have a similar story where I kind of launched into full-time blogging out of necessity because I was fired from my job and it was heart wrenching. It was so humiliating. But looking back, I’m like, thank God that happened because it really forced me to do it. I don’t know how long it would have taken me to be brave enough to do it myself. So I am so grateful. So do you feel that same way about the events that unfolded? I know they’re not exactly ideal events, but maybe you have a perspective like I do.

Lauren Caolaro: I feel the same way in my head, I was like, oh, December. The end of December is when I’ll quit, but I don’t know if I really would have done it, cause I was just so comfortable. I’m like, oh, everything’s fine if I’m not making any money off of this because I have this hospital job. So I wasn’t really putting in as much as I am now. So even come December, I don’t know that I would’ve been ready then either. 

Megan Porta: I know it’s like when people say oh, I don’t want to have kids because I’m not ready. The answer is always you’re never going to be ready to have kids. So if you want to do it, you need to do it. It’s the same thing. We had great health insurance. Amazing. Better than anything I’ve ever heard of anywhere. We have a son who has a lot of medical needs, so that alone, I feel like I probably wouldn’t have left there willingly for a really long time. So sometimes those unfortunate things swoop into your life and you just need to embrace them and accept them as a blessing in disguise, right? 

Lauren Caolaro: Yes. 

Megan Porta: So love your story. Now, if anyone else who may be listening to this episode is in the same boat that you were, like maybe in a corporate job, a full-time job that they’re not loving and they eventually want to get out of it someday. You have some tips for those people. So let’s talk through those. So what would be your number one tip for people in that situation? 

Lauren Caolaro: Okay. So my very first one would just be to invest in yourself as much as possible while you still have that full-time regular salary coming in. So for me, I invested in all my camera gear, my props, educational courses, coaching calls, books, everything before I quit, while I had that secure paycheck coming in. Because sometimes working for yourself can be scary and a paycheck may not necessarily be guaranteed every month. Sometimes clients pay late and you’re just getting in money when you’re expecting to. So you just want to make sure that you have all those tools you need before making that switch. 

Megan Porta: That’s a really smart thing to recommend. Investments are important anyway, but while you have a stream of income coming in, set some money aside to invest. So do you have specific investment recommendations? You invested in equipment and camera equipment, and you mentioned some resources. What do you recommend people look for first for investments? 

Lauren Caolaro: Okay. So for me, I had started just taking photos on my phone. So my first big investment of course was my camera. I was like, I don’t know that I could have a successful food photography career with just an iPhone 8 at the time. So I invested in my mirrorless camera and a new lens. So those were the first two. Then other courses. I bought some Joanie Simon courses, Two Love Studios courses for composition, lighting and pitching and pricing. Just a lot of things like that. 

Megan Porta: Obviously photography is really big for food bloggers. So if you don’t have your photography honed in, I think that it is wise to start there with your camera and learn and grow as a photographer first and foremost. But if you’ve got that down, maybe there’s another thing that you want to focus on. Maybe you don’t know anything about keyword research, so an investment there might be wise. Like taking a course about SEO. You could spend so much money in this world, right? The amount of courses and help and audits and everything available out there is insane, but you’ve got to focus like you did, and just figure out that maybe one place to start with and move from there.

Lauren Caolaro: Yeah, for sure. I definitely invested in a lot of courses and I do want to mention, even when I say invest in yourself, it doesn’t always have to be something of monetary value. For example, Joanie Simon, like I mentioned, she has a ton of free resources just on her YouTube. So just even investing time into your education, whether it’s free or paid, whatever it is, there are resources out there either way. It doesn’t always need to be spending a ton of money. 

Megan Porta: Yeah, that’s a great point. I’m glad you said that. What would be another tip? 

Lauren Caolaro: For me, this should actually probably have been number one, this is the most important to me is your mindset. It is so important. If you don’t believe that you can do this, then you probably won’t. I feel like that’s harsh to say, but you just have to trust that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be and that endless opportunities are coming to you. Then I just feel like you’re in the right place to do and accomplish whatever you want to. So what helps me to be in a good abundant mindset is just having a morning routine, a work schedule in place, setting boundaries. So I’m just trying my best to keep working from nine to five. Sometimes I don’t. So I can’t pretend like I do that, but reading self-help books or just any book really. Going to therapy is a big thing for me. I go every week. Daily journaling and affirmations. Then just some form of movement every day, even if it’s just a walk.

Megan Porta: Those are so great. Lauren. I feel like you and I would get along really well, because that so aligns with everything I believe. As you were talking. I thought of this podcast episode I just listened to, so he’s my business mindset coach, Cliff Ravenscraft. I put it on Instagram. If you haven’t listened to this episode, it’s so good. Go to the Cliff Ravenscraft show and he talks about how to achieve any goal, basically. It’s just like pure gold the entire episode, but there’s one part of it that you just triggered for me. That is when you want to decide something and you just have to believe it. He talks about you just need to decide. The word decide means that you exclude every other option out there. So if you decide you’re going to do this, then there is no other option for you. You are doing it. So you just have to do it and believe it and make that commitment. 

So I just wanted to bring that up, but yeah, that’s so important to have your mind in the right place. All of those things you mentioned are such good ways to support that. Ah, love that one. Anything more about that? Or are you ready for your next tip? 

Lauren Caolaro: Oh, I just wanted to say I’ll definitely listen to that podcast because I’ve actually never heard of him. 

Megan Porta: Oh, it’s so good. It is life-changing and I listen to him all the time. So I was like, oh, I’m listening to an episode, but everyone I see, I was telling my husband, you have to listen to this. I was telling all my friends. It’s just so good. While you give your next tip, I will look up the exact episode number, just so people have it. But all right, go ahead and tell us what tip number three is. 

Lauren Caolaro: Okay. So tip number three is to pitch your services. I actually didn’t pitch anyone until after I had quit my job at the hospital. This was just the biggest mistake. I genuinely thought that brands would find me and reach out to me. But doing that, I earned $0. Nobody ever did that unless it was for product exchange, which was also just a no for me. So when it did come time to pitch, I had no idea what to say. I was sending the worst pitches. Nobody would get back to me, but had I just been doing it the whole time, I feel like I would have probably crafted a better pitch with trial and error. 

Megan Porta: People aren’t just going to flood into your life magically. Sometimes they do, right? Sometimes things do fall into your lap and it’s whoa, that was so cool. But most of the time you have to put yourself out there and food bloggers need that reminder because it’s not always going to come easily. So thank you. I appreciate that reminder. We have to represent ourselves and let people know what awesome services we provide, right? 

Lauren Caolaro: Yes, definitely. It doesn’t even always have to be a brand, like a food brand. It could be fellow creators. Maybe you want to help them with their photography, taking something off of their plate. I’ve recently been doing web story development for other creators, just something that helps one another and you’re stil getting paid. It’s another revenue stream you can add. People have to know that you’re here. Otherwise it’s hard. You’re not going to be found. 

Megan Porta: You don’t have an agent when you become a food blogger, you have to represent yourself. So that’s part of the deal. If you represent yourself, which you do, you’ve got to pitch yourself, whatever that means. So that’s another excellent one. So I found the episode. Cliff Ravenscraft Show episode number 672. Everyone listening to this episode now needs to go. Everyone in the world should listen to this. It’s so good. You’ll be so inspired afterward and you’ll be ready to crush your goals.

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Megan Porta: All right, move on to tip four. What’s your next tip for us Lauren?

Lauren Caolaro: Tip 4 is money management. In my case, I didn’t know I was making the switch when I did, so I hadn’t set myself up how I would have liked to at that time. But, when you’d like to maybe quit your job. So like I had said, I had planned for December, say you have something set up like that. I would start scaling back on your spending and start saving as much as you can, even if it’s just setting aside $25 to $50 a week. That will all add up and be super helpful when it comes to paying bills or getting groceries. Or like I said, if you’re waiting for a check from a client to come in, you’ll have that extra savings to tap into if you need to. 

Megan Porta: Ah, that’s a great recommendation too. I didn’t manage my money for a really long time. I wish I could go back. That is one of the things I wish I could do differently is just tell myself, you need to start managing your money right away. Before you become a full-time blogger, like you’re saying, because you get into it and you want to invest in all of these things and you put all the money out and you feel like you’re hemorrhaging money and you’re not keeping an eye on what’s coming in and what’s going out. I think this is an extremely important thing that gets pushed to the side. Do you have a system or a tool or something that you use to manage? Do you just use a sheet, a Google sheet, or what do you use for that? 

Lauren Caolaro: So to track everything I do I have just like a giant spreadsheet who I actually got from The Fit Peach. She has just a giant HoneyBook thing, I guess you could say. But it’s just a giant tool to track your expenses, your income, everything like that. It’s amazing. I got that because I think it was only $30 at the time. I really don’t have a need to invest in HoneyBook or QuickBooks or anything like that right now. So that’s what I’ve started with and that’s what I still use. It’s just super easy for me, but on the other hand, I finally just set up when money comes in, half of it, or at least 30% goes into my savings. I can have that in case anything happens to me and I need to use it for taxes when things like that. 

Megan Porta: So wise, seriously. That is like one of the smartest things you can do. I’m trying to think of it. I don’t have it in front of me, dang it. There’s a book that I read last summer that completely changed the way that I saved money. I think it’s called something like Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, but basically the concept is you take right off the top when you get paid, you take a certain percentage and you put it aside into different accounts for certain things. I started doing that immediately in July or June and my husband and I have more money saved than we’ve ever had ever, because you don’t even see the money. You’d take it away immediately and put it in a tax hold. Then we have vacation money and we have specific things like new cars. We want new cars and specific little pockets of accounts within our overall bank account. Then whatever’s left, that is what we use to pay contractors and supplies and tools and investments and all of that. So it has completely transformed my life. I love looking at my bank account now. I’m like, oh my gosh, we have so much saved. I’ve never done that before. It’s amazing what a little intentionality can do, right?

Lauren Caolaro: Yeah. I love that. I agree with you completely. If you just take it right away, you don’t even see it. It’s just like what they do at a normal corporate job. You get a paycheck, but guess what? They already took out taxes, health, insurance, whatever else. So if you just do that for yourself, It’s good. 

Megan Porta: Exactly. So again, it goes back to you having to be your own agent. You also have to be your own boss and money manager. So you’ve kinda gotta give yourself a stern talking to and do those things that are hard. You don’t want to do it, but someone has to do it. Which is you. 

Lauren Caolaro: There’s definitely a lot of different hats that we have to wear. 

Megan Porta: Yes, that is for sure. Okay. What is tip number five? 

Lauren Caolaro: So number five is to diversify your income. I feel like this is very important, regardless if you are just starting out or if you’re very well-established. I know we all have a favorite thing about our business. Say photography is your favorite and you just want to do that one thing and just make money solely off of that. But sometimes landing a freelance gig with a brand or something like that could take months. So while you’re waiting for that one revenue stream to see some action, you should be diversifying your income with a few other streams, like creating a digital product. Like I mentioned before, reaching out to fellow creators. See if you could provide any of your services to them such as recipe development, copywriting, photography, anything like that. You could reach out to local restaurants, do social media management for either of those restaurants or other creators. There’s definitely a lot of ways. There’s more than that. That’s all I can think of right now. There’s so many different ways that we can diversify and bring money in. 

Megan Porta: There really is. We get shortsighted with the ads. I’m not saying that’s bad because I’ve done it. We all do it where I want to get into the ad network. We get so laser focused that we don’t see that there’s so many other opportunities to make money because there are endless opportunities, especially if you just sit down and think a little bit creatively. But yeah, I love this. So how much do you recommend diversifying? Because I think I’ve gotten into the trap where I’ve tried too much. At one point I was getting like nine income streams and then I was like, wait a second. That’s actually not good because I can’t really focus well on the individual pieces. So what are your thoughts on that? 

Lauren Caolaro: I was thinking about that the other day, cause I’m like, I don’t want to stretch myself too thin where I’m not focusing on big things that I do want to achieve. For me, Mediavine is a big goal that I would like to reach this year with the blog. So I would like to do that and create that as a revenue stream. I am doing some freelance, some sponsored posts, and then like I mentioned some work for other people. So right now I think I currently have three or four and I feel okay with that. Then hopefully I can reach Mediavine and add a fifth. Since Mediavine is a nice passive income, that would be great. But I agree with what you’re saying. Once you feel like maybe you’re doing too much or things are starting to suffer, I would review them, see what you’re not so passionate about or maybe just isn’t bringing in as much as you would think. See if you could reevaluate, if it’s necessary to still be doing those things. 

Megan Porta: Stick also to the things you really enjoy. It’s not always going to be fun or easy, but there was a period where I was doing cooking classes just because I felt like I should, or I don’t know. I don’t know why I was doing that because I did not enjoy them. They were stressful. I almost burned my kitchen down. My oven started on fire during a live cooking class. I was so mortified. My smoke alarm went off. Why am I doing this? This is so not fun for me. After that little live session, I just had to sit down with myself and say, you do not need to do this. If this is not lighting you up, you don’t need to continue.

So I think we should all do that self evaluation once in a while and just make sure we’re doing it because we want to be doing it. Okay. You have another tip. So why don’t you talk about tip number six.

Lauren Caolaro: Yes, I think this is my last one and it’s one of my favorites. It’s making connections. I am a strong believer in community over competition in this creative space. I would definitely not be where I am without the people in this community. Everyone that I’ve ever talked to and just come across in general has been so kind and generous with their knowledge and their feedback and any advice that they have. So for me, the best thing you could possibly do is just make those genuine connections, ask people questions. If you have a question about something you see them doing and just listen to their real life experiences, it’ll make you gain fun, internet friends. It’ll also improve your business. 

Megan Porta: Oh, I could not agree with that anymore. You’re so good at that on Instagram. You’re really good at just making those connections there. Is that where you recommend people start? If they’re like that, I don’t know how to make connections. I hear that a lot. Where do I do that? Where do I go? What would you say to that? 

Lauren Caolaro: For me, I’ve definitely found the most connections through Instagram. People that I have followed for one reason or another. I love their work or maybe their story popped up on the discovery feed and I love their personality or a combination of multiple things, whatever it is. But I’m super outgoing, so I will just respond to their stories or just be engaging with their content and then reach out to them via DM and just try to make a connection. Yeah. I have a lot of close friends that I’ve gained through Instagram and just sparking a conversation of something that I see we have in common or something I’m interested in that they’re doing.

Megan Porta: It’s incredibly easy to do that, to establish a connection through a platform like Instagram, isn’t it? Some of my best blogging friends. That’s how I met them just by commenting on their posts or sending them a direct message and they turned into amazing pals. 

Lauren Caolaro: Me too. Me too. It’s crazy. I never thought I would be talking to this girl from Canada and we’re so close. I liked your story one day, you were doing something and I thought it was so cool. Or I do the same thing, let’s talk about. 

Megan Porta: There’s nothing more personal than sending an audio message on Instagram, right? Like when you receive those audio messages, I’m always like oh, this is so nice when people do that. It’s actually easier for me than typing it out with my fingers. Just press record and send a really personal message to somebody and that will make their day.

Lauren Caolaro: I’m so glad you feel that way, because I have definitely sent people that I’ve never even spoken to before voice messages, and I’ll always start it off and be like, I’m so sorry if you think this is weird. But it’s just the best thing ever. 

Megan Porta: I don’t think that’s weird. I don’t know that anyone would think that was weird.

Lauren Caolaro: I know I’m not sure. 

Megan Porta: Yeah. I think that is a really nice personal touch. There’s something about hearing the human voice too that you’re like, oh, that’s what Lauren sounds like. I really like her even more. Oh, these are all great. Okay. So of the six tips that you mentioned. I think all of them are so important. You hit this spot on. What do you think is the most important one?

Lauren Caolaro: I’m going to have to go with a mindset. I just found, for myself especially when I first started pitching, I was like, these pitches suck. Nobody’s going to answer me. They did suck and nobody answered me and that’s what happened. But when I sat down and really thought through my pitch, I did a few coaching calls with people who specialize in crafting pitches. I was like, I’m going to get good at these. They’re going to be great. People are going to answer me. I perfected them and people have finally been answering me. But yeah, when I was going into it with, this sucks, no one’s going to answer, that’s exactly what happened. Once I shifted that I did start getting feedback and responses. 

Megan Porta: It’s such a little shift, but it’s such a hard shift.

Lauren Caolaro: It is very hard. 

Megan Porta: It is. It’s not easy because you get stuck in those habits. I was just talking to my 14 year old son before this call because he’s always saying, mom, I can’t do this. I’m not smart enough. I’m a jerk. I’m like whoa. Start saying the opposite. You got to rewrite that stuff that is just ingrained in your soul. He doesn’t mean any of that, but it’s just a habit he got into. So sometimes you just have to be intentional about seeing what you’re doing and then calling yourself out and rewriting those things that are not true. You don’t want them to come true. So stop saying them right. So easy. 

Lauren Caolaro: It’s so true. It’s so hard to think about it. I think I read a book. Oh yes. It was Atomic Habits by James Clear. I read this book and I was like, I never thought of my thoughts as a habit until I read that book. I was like, oh, so I like speaking negatively or being like, oh, I can’t do it. It’s just a habit that I’ve created throughout the years that you just need to cut off and replace with a better habit. 

Megan Porta: Oh, I love that. Awareness is the first thing you have to be aware of. So his book brought you into awareness and yeah, just being super mindful of what you’re saying, what you’re thinking, then making changes. Love that. Mindset is everything. I feel like mindset and people are everything. If we can get a handle on those two things, then your business is going to grow and soar and do all the good things you want it to do. 

Lauren Caolaro: Yeah, definitely. 

Megan Porta: Amazing chat Lauren. I am so just grateful for your time today. Thank you so much for joining me in this amazing conversation. 

Lauren Caolaro: Thank you so much for having me.

Megan Porta: It’s so good to connect with you in this way. Yeah, this is wonderful. So before we go, do you have either a favorite quote or words of inspiration to share with food bloggers? 

Lauren Caolaro: Okay. So my favorite quote that I’ve been thinking of, especially this past week was, no one is you and that is your superpower. So I think it’s just really easy for us to get imposter syndrome in this creative space, or even get in your head that maybe food photography or blogging in your specific niche. Like for me, veganism is super saturated and it can cause you to question why me of all people, why would I be able to make it in this space?

But you’re just able to do that because nobody else is ever going to do it in the same way that you are. Rather, it’s how you take a photo, edit a photo, how you write a recipe or a blog post. It’s just, we’re all so unique in how we’re going to do things. We’re just going to attract our own set of people who are drawn to that and we’ll succeed as long as we are true to ourselves and doing things in the way that we do them.

Megan Porta: Oh, so well said, I can’t wait to pull that quote out and put it on Instagram. That was amazing. Thank you so much. We will put together show notes for you, Lauren. So if anyone wants to go look at those, you can go to eatblogtalk.com/pinchofparsley. Why don’t you tell everyone where they can find you online and on social media, Lauren?

Lauren Caolaro: Okay. So on Instagram, which is mainly where I connect with everyone and you can grab recipes if you’re interested. Then there’s obviously food photography going on, that is Pinch of Parsley with an underscore at the very end. Then my actual website is apinchofparsley.com. So Pinch of Parsley, just with A before it. Yeah, that’s it. Then I think everything else is Pinch of Parsley underscore.

Megan Porta: I was just browsing through your Instagram account. I love your photography. It is so beautiful. Oh my gosh. 

Lauren Caolaro: Oh thank you so much. 

Megan Porta: Yes. Captivating almost. Okay, cool. Thank you again for being here, Lauren, and for everything that you’ve shared today, we really appreciate you. Thank you for listening today, food bloggers. I will see you in the next episode. 

Outro: We’re glad you could join us on this episode of Eat Blog Talk. For more resources based on today’s discussion, as well as show notes and an opportunity to be on a future episode of the show, be sure to head to eatblogtalk.com. If you feel that hunger for information, we’ll be here to feed you on Eat Blog Talk.