Episode 178: Mindset Shifts For A More Fruitful Food Blogging Experience with Alana Lieberman

Intro:

Welcome to Eat Blog Talk, where food bloggers come to get their fill of the latest tips, tricks, and insights into the world of food blogging. If you feel that hunger for information, we’ll provide you with the tools you need to add value to your blog. And we’ll also ensure you’re taking care of yourself, because food blogging is a demanding job. Now, please welcome your host, Megan Porta.

Megan:

Food bloggers. Hey, are you looking for new ways to make money as a blogger? If so, we have got your back. We have launched an ebook called Conversations On Monetization. Inside this resource, we take your favorite podcast episodes about monetization, and we put them all in one easy accessible package. We threw a few exclusive interviews in as well. Friends, there are so many ways to monetize your food blog. Inside this ebook, we have interviews with success stories like Todd Bullock, Alyssa Brantley, Kelly McNelis, Jena Carlin, and more. All of these examples have become successful through completely different monetization strategies. Whether you are a brand new blogger looking for your very first revenue stream, or you are a seasoned pro wanting to diversify, this ebook is for you. Go to eatblogtalk.com to grab your copy, and we can’t wait to hear your success story with monetization.

What’s up food bloggers? Welcome to Eat Blog Talk. This podcast is for you, food bloggers wanting value and clarity to help you find greater success in your business. Today I am super excited to get some time with Alana Lieberman from yourhomemadehealthy.com. We’re going to have a discussion about changing your mindset so you can feel more confident about diving into food blogging. Alana’s food blog, Your Home Made Healthy is six months old. As a newer blogger is still trying to navigate the chaotic waters of the blogging world, Alana is incredibly passionate about living a healthy life, doing what she loves and encouraging others to do the same. Though her blog has the word healthy in its name, she is completely anti diet and finds restricting yourself counterintuitive to living a healthy life. Recipes on the blog incorporate fresh and flavorful ingredients without any talk about restricting carbs, fats, animal products, et cetera. Also, Alana is anti nine-to-five and hopes to use her platform to inspire others to live the life they dream of. Because the true definition of insanity is not only doing the same thing over and over again, but doing the same thing over and over again that you dread every day. So Alana, I love that bio. I am very excited to chat with you just about balance. But first we all want to hear your fun fact.

Alana:

Yeah. Hi Megan. Thanks so much for having me. I’m not sure how fun this fact is, but when I was younger, I loved to help my mom in the kitchen. Often I would help her with the easier tasks, like cutting ends off of green beans or helping her make brownies from a box. But I also loved watching the Food Network. So when I would do those tasks for her, I would also pretend to have my own cooking show in my head. I had never really presented it to an audience or anything, but I feel like it honestly prepared me for blogging now, which is kind of interesting. You have to put all those steps into your recipes and you have to put the process shots and stuff like that. So when I’m going through, I’m constantly like, well, what would younger Alana put into this recipe? What would she have to say about this? So I just think it kind of brings everything full circle from then to where I’m at now. That was a fun fact for me, not so sure if it’s fun for you guys.

Megan:

I think it’s very fun and it’s proof that when you put thought into things, they can actually come to fruition. I know exactly what you’re saying, even if it’s just something imaginary from childhood that you circulate through your head, there can be a lot of power in that later in life. So I think that’s very fun. So maybe someday you’ll actually have your very own show or you’re putting all of that into practice.

Alana:

Right? It’s kind of like the universe setting you up for the future and just telling you, Hey, keep this at your heart and it will kind of come along and you’ll find a way to express this in other ways as you get older and you’ll have a use for this type of skill, I guess.

Megan:

Absolutely. There’s a reason why it was put in your mind or on your heart to do that, to work through those steps as a child. So I am excited to talk to you about balance because you seem to have such a great perspective on it, both in work and in life. I loved some of the things I read in your bio. You’re very anti diet, you’re healthy, but you don’t talk about people needing to restrict any certain things from their diets. I am totally the same way.I’m not saying anything bad about people who are on a certain diet or program at all. It’s just for me personally, I’ve always been the same way. I also like that you’re anti nine to five so I’m excited to hear more about that. Talk to us about how you got to the point where you realized you needed balance in your life and in your work.

Alana:

Going back to what you’re saying about how I’m anti almost everything, I’m extremely passionate about healthy living and making choices in your life. If dieting is your choice to make you a healthier person, I’m all for it. But in my opinion, and I feel the same way as you, is that basically the right to choose is much healthier and the right to decide maybe I want to have dessert today and I’m not going to feel guilty about it or anything because me feeling guilty about it is almost more unhealthy than actually eating the thing that you want to eat. But that kind of correlates to my expressions of my life and my philosophy and the right to choose the path that you want to go on. To me, work/life balance is incredibly important.

Instead of spending hours at a job that you’re not passionate about, or that’s just a complete drain on your mental health and stuff like that, it’s much healthier to maybe take those risks and take that dive into something that you may not know whether or not it’s going to be successful. The way I got there, I graduated from college and I wasn’t quite sure exactly what I wanted to do, and I actually majored in anthropology back in college. I felt it was broad enough to guide me wherever I ended up deciding on. I ended up in healthcare administration. I was working in management only about a year outside of college. A lot of people would find that a pretty great achievement and I’m not you know, neglecting that as an achievement or anything, but I definitely felt that it was not where I wanted to be and it just wasn’t bringing me joy in my life.

It definitely had an impact on my relationships. I just knew that I had to find something else that really spoke to me. Actually by happenstance, I was constantly looking for that other thing that would bring me joy and I just wasn’t sure and I was always afraid to look for it elsewhere. I was secure in the job that I was in. But come March of 2020, I was actually laid off due to COVID-19. I was almost left with no choice, but to find that career path that really brought me joy.

Megan:

Left with no choice, I feel like so many people have that story, me included. I carried on in a job that was totally depleting in every sense of the word for way too long. I was fired from my job and at the time it was absolutely devastating. I’m sure when you got to that point, being laid off, it was devastating. I don’t want to use the word devastating, but alarming and just scary, really scary. But looking back, I love that you were able to see it as such a big blessing. So how did you move forward from there? How long did it take you to kind of gather yourself and then decide that you were going to jump into food blogging?

Alana:

It took me a little bit. I created a spreadsheet. I can be fairly type A in some aspects. So I created this spreadsheet with almost all the type of jobs that I could think of and I’m putting pros and cons and it’s more, Oh, I can go into finance or I can go into all these different, more practical jobs, I guess. I ended up with a lot more cons than pros because I’m just not a practical job type of person. So what ended up happening is while I was doing that spreadsheet, I actually came across a food blogger who was looking for an unpaid intern and I was nervous to apply for it. I wasn’t sure, especially because financially it really wouldn’t do much for me, but I was bored and I had nothing else to do.

I thought, you know what, let’s just try this. So my drive to just kind of try new things helped in that decision-making process and I ended up just doing it. I think a big part of that is, I majored in anthropology. I did take a lot of gen ed courses and I wanted to learn a bunch of diverse things. I took a lot of psychology classes. One of the main things that stuck with me throughout the psychology courses was this concept of an internal versus external locus of control. Have you heard of that?

Megan:

I have not. Explain that.

Alana:

Yeah, it’s actually pretty interesting. They did a study and they give out questionnaires to a bunch of participants and it asks them questions to determine whether or not they have an internal or an external locus of control. The questions for example, would ask how they relate to a statement like, “people often succeed because they are in the right place at the right time.” Then it would give them another statement that kind of contradicts this and would say success is mostly dependent on hard work and ability. So it kind of helped the people studying to determine how the people felt they had control over their life. So if people felt that people only succeeded because they are in the right place at the right time, then they had this external locus of control, which meant that the world basically controls your fate.

Then those that develop closer to the statement, “success is mostly dependent on hard work and ability.” Those people had an internal locus of control where they felt that they got to control their own destiny. It was based on some of their own beliefs and their hard work and stuff like that. So basically what the study found was that those that had more of an external locus of control, they weren’t as successful. They always felt that they just had to sit around and wait for success and that they had no choice in the matter. Those that had the internal locus of control, went out and got it for themselves. I feel like I try to embody that internal locus of control and figure things out on my own, figure out how I can tackle it and how I can control the situation.

So although the universe was teaching me something as I was laid off from my job and I could’ve gone about it and said, COVID is ruining everything and coronavirus is such a burden and all of this stuff. Of course it is. And I know it’s been really hard on a lot of families and people, but it also can serve as a learning opportunity where you could say, you know what, I’m not gonna let it define me and I’m not gonna let it hold me back. That’s kind of where that study really influenced me and my decisions on my life.

Megan:

Gosh, Alana, I love everything you just said that aligns so much with the way that I operate and the things that I believe as well. I love how you framed that using the external and internal what is its locus of control from psychology class? Isn’t that funny the things that we take from psychology class? I still remember certain things that I’m like, I don’t know why I remember it, but I carry it with me. But psychology is so interesting. I just love the way you presented all of that. Just so inspiring. So how does somebody go from maybe being more on the external side to going over to the internal side? Do you have recommendations for that?

Alana:

I think you just have to sit down with yourself and really determine what it is that you want. If it’s something that scares you, that’s almost better because that means you really want it. You’re really passionate about getting there. I think one of the biggest things that you can do is just kind of go on that journey. Especially if you don’t know where it will take you. So it’s your way of saying to the world or to the outside forces that you feel maybe dampening your life and your choices. You can tell them, you know what, I’m not going to listen to you. I’m going to take the opportunities that are presented to me. If they’re not presented to me, I’m going to make the opportunities on my own. So just go on that journey. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, like I did with an unpaid internship. I mean, within weeks of working for that food blogger, I started my own blog and just kept chugging along and I loved every minute of it. So you never know where the journey will really take you honestly.

Megan:

That is so cool. So if something scares you, that’s probably a sign that you need to explore it more. It took me a really long time in my life to figure this equation out. But I came to a point, I don’t know when it was, a few years ago probably, where I was like, okay, that’s terrifying. Instead of running from it, it was terrifying, but I need to go do it. Just running into the fear anyway, no matter what you’re afraid of, because most likely once you start going into the fear, you’re going to realize it’s not as scary as you thought. Once you start getting onto the other side, you realize that there’s so much reward for being brave enough to do that.

Alana:

Yeah, I agree completely. Like I said, the bigger, the dreams, the bigger the goal, the scarier there’ll be. That just means you have to work the hardest you’ve ever worked in your life to achieve them. Once you do, you’ll feel so proud and it will probably be the most rewarding experience you will ever have.

Megan:

There’s a lot of scary things. I think about food blogging, especially for someone on the outside that hasn’t really dug into it yet. I mean, there’s networking with people, talking to people who are quote successful. There’s putting your content out there for the world to see, being vulnerable on your blog and also on social media. There’s so much that is really, truly scary. So how did you get into that and what were the scary things for you, I guess, going in and how did you beep past them?

Alana:

Yeah, so I really just dove deep. I try to find as many resources as possible, so that I felt like knowledge was power. So the more things that I knew regarding this scary goal that I had of starting my own food blog and my own business, the more empowered I felt and the better I felt to be able to tackle those goals and helped me on that journey. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give the audience or anyone that’s listening is really just invest in yourself. I listened to, on top of listening to Eat Blog Talk, I listened to the Food Blogger Pro podcast as well. One of their biggest takeaways is this concept of 1% infinity. Basically you do small things to get better day by day and over time you just will see remarkable results.

Things don’t change overnight, but as long as you do these smaller things to get better day by day, you’ll see the hard work paying off. One of the scarier things that I did is I also invested in myself in paying for a mastermind. That Sam Adler Frosting and Fettuccine’s mastermind. She does the photography styling course where she had about, I want to say 10 to 20 ladies come together, all basically food bloggers or in blogging and food photography niche. We got to work off of each other’s ideas and ask Sam questions. She’s been doing this I think for about three to four years and she’s very successful at it. So we got to bounce ideas off of her and for her expertise, it definitely wasn’t cheap, but it’s definitely an investment.

The scariest part for me was that I wasn’t making money off my business, but I still had to put money into it. To make that decision really just makes you go back and forth, is this worth it? Am I worth it? Do I want to do this? I think once I put the money in, again, I was telling the outside forces, whatever they are, that they can’t control me and they don’t control my destiny, but instead I’m taking it upon myself to control my goals and where I want to be.

Megan:

Oh, I love that too, Alana so much. And there is such power in masterminds and getting together with people who can challenge you and help you grow. I love the concept of the mastermind. So what advice do you have for someone who is listening and they’re maybe at a job, and they’re just thinking about food blogging, just on the outskirts of it. You mentioned investing in yourself, surrounding yourself with people who can help you grow. What other advice would you have for them?

Alana:

I would generally say I’ve said it multiple times, but really just take that leap and just feel confident in your own abilities. You’re passionate about it. When you’re passionate about it, you’re going to be successful at it because you’re going to do whatever it takes to get there. So I would just say trust yourself and take those leaps and really just hit the floor running and invest in yourself. I just can’t push these points any harder because they’re just so true. Really educate and learn as much as possible about the thing that you’re passionate about.

Megan:

That is all great advice. And I do think we need to hear things over and over. I love it when people are like, okay, I already said this, but I’m saying it again because sometimes we just need to hear those things and it takes like four or five times and we’re like, Oh, okay. So I need to invest myself. Seriously. I think everything you’re saying is gold. Really, truly invest in yourself, jump into fears, take the leaps. If you’re passionate about it and scared of it, do it anyway. So let’s talk about monetization. So you’ve been doing this for six months. Are you monetizing yet?

Alana:

My blog itself. Isn’t monetized. My goal is obviously to apply to an ad network and get into that with my blog, but I’m repeating again here, but again, I told those forces you know what, I’m not just going to sit around and wait for them to decide when I get to monetize, but I basically took it upon myself to monetize a business of my own and I do virtual assistant services for other successful bloggers. Actually it’s interesting with the whole web story craze right now, I have a few clients that have asked me to help them with those. That’s just proof that I spent hundreds of thousands of hours just learning these past few months and just diving deep into all things, blogging, even the new things like web stories and just really tried to make it successful so that I can keep growing where I find joy. To me being a virtual assistant is how I’m able to do that, until I’m able to monetize my blog.

Alana:

I love this about you, Alana. You’re resourceful. So instead of just sitting back and being like, well, the adults aren’t here yet, I will just wait for them. You went out and you found something that food bloggers needed, web stories, that’s super resourceful. It’s one of those things that we’re being told you should probably experiment with, but nobody really wants, I mean, we don’t have enough time, right? Everyone’s like, I’m short on time. When am I going to fit in web stories? You saw that opportunity to do it for other people. I love that. That’s awesome. So whether you do something like that, or just find something that aligns with food blogging that you’re passionate about, like photography or videography or writing, that you can offer to food bloggers is another way to be resourceful. Do you have any other ideas, like VA work is great. But I do know quite a few people currently who are waiting for ads, what else can they do in the meantime to bring in money?

Alana:

We know there are multiple ways to monetize and ads just are touching the surface of that. But if you even reach out to brands and do some work for them. So again, educate yourself in photography and recipe development. Even if you don’t have a huge following, or if you don’t have a lot of readers to your blog yet, you can do what’s called white label work for other brands. Instead of them having you post stuff onto your social media or your blog, you can always encourage them to hire you to put it on their advertising, their blogs or their websites or their social media, and this way your follower account won’t matter because it really has nothing to do with it. It’s really based on your talent and your skills that you’re providing to them. They’ll pay you for it. So that’s another avenue that I’m hoping to get into. I’m not quite there yet myself. But definitely something else to help you monetize while you wait for the followers and the ads to kind of come along with your hard work

Megan:

That’s a great recommendation. What are your thoughts about just overall balance? So as you know, food blogging is all consuming. It can take up all of our time if we allow it, but we have lives. We have people who need us, most of us do. So how do you recommend an overall balance, achieving an overall balance in our lives so that we do stay happy and not stressed out?

Alana:

Yeah. I would definitely say to schedule into your busy calendar those things for yourself. So the biggest thing that I felt in my nine to five was that I had no flexibility. I had to go in when my boss wanted me to go in and I had to leave when they said my work was done. I know the work is never done on the food bloggers journey, but you can kind of shift your hours a bit more cause you’re not reporting to someone else and their strict guidelines. Just the same way that you would post blog posts by 9:00 AM on Tuesday. You should also put in, at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, go get a manicure or go for a walk outline or find those ways to really find time for yourself. If your kids have a recital or a sporting event, obviously post COVID or anything, but you put those into your calendar too, to make the time to be a part of your family again. So that you don’t turn this job that was supposed to be your escape from that nine to five into a much longer workday. Instead you get to have that flexibility and really work it into your schedule instead of the other way around.

Megan:

So you’re in control of your schedule instead of being a victim to your schedule and saying, I’m always busy. I never have time for X and then realize over time as I matured that maybe actually I have time for anything I want to have time for. The things I really need in my life are peace and my family and for health. If I’m not taking my schedule and controlling it myself, it will control me. That is not a good way to go about living life and operating a business.

Alana:

Right. So many people want to become a food blogger. Before they even started that journey, they realized, you know what, I want freedom, and this is what’s going to give me that. Well, then they go through and they realize that that’s not necessarily the case. There’s social media and there’s posting and there’s photography. There’s the website, the front end and the back end. So many things you have to stay on top of that. If you truly want that freedom that you wanted when you made the decision to become a food blogger, anything I guess that is your own business or your own thing and entrepreneurship and stuff like that. You really just have to schedule in that time because in most cases, I mean, some people I guess have partners, but in most cases, you’re the only person that’s going to work on this business. The work is still going to be there the next day. But you have to find the time to be there for the other people in your life. That’s why relationships are usually better when you’re your own boss instead of reporting to somebody else, because you get to tell yourself, Hey, I’m going to spend time with my kids today. I think if you were to go and tell a boss that, they may not be so happy that their work isn’t getting done. So it’s to make that decision for you.

Megan:

Yeah. That’s a great way to put it. I have a question for you that I did not prep you for, but I’m curious to hear what you would say. So what piece of advice would you have given yourself a handful of years ago before you went into food blogging just about being an entrepreneur before you were an entrepreneur. Now having some knowledge, what would you say to yourself?

Alana:

I probably would’ve told myself to open your eyes and pay more attention because what actually, the funny thing is, I was constantly reading food blogs, and I was using the recipes and everything. What happened was I would go online and I would see this text and the recipe and all the beautiful pictures and I would use it and I would close it out. I never thought twice about where this content was coming from and who was presenting it and what they were and what they did and stuff like that. But now looking back, it’s like I could have done this probably 10 years ago if I had just questioned things, if I just said to myself, where’s this recipe coming from and who is this lady that typing it all out? And does she make money from this? I know that probably doesn’t speak to any or many other people, but I guess the overarching lesson would be just questioning the things around you a bit more and try to learn. Maybe that will answer some of the things that are missing in your life. Because if you just kind of have blinders on, you may not learn about the opportunities that are out there.

Megan:

And do you agree with this, that trying to be more present and living in the moment would help in that way, or really it would help so many people have clarity about so many things.

Alana:

Just don’t take things for what they are. Be inquisitive and just always try to learn and try to grow from anything that you encounter. I mean even the simplest things that you use daily, just learn how they work or what they’re there for, and it probably will open your eyes to a whole other world. Hopefully present you with some more meaning. Hindsight is 2020, but I just wish I had jumped onto the blogging thing when I was back in college even. I just never questioned it.

Megan:

So you’ve already made a really good case for why food bloggers should move past their fears if they have any? What else do you have to say on that? If you’re trying to convince someone who’s like, I don’t know, Alana, I’m not so sure this is scary or why should I, what would you say to them? you should start food blogging if it’s a passion for you, because…

Alana:

Your fear definitely shouldn’t outweigh what’s to come. I think that if you do nothing, you will never see what the possibilities are. I’m struggling to put this in a more succinct way, but basically if you just sit there in your comfort zone, then you’re just never going to grow. You’re never gonna know what else it could have been. Then you’re just stuck with the what ifs and beating yourself up about it. So I would just say, and it sounds so cliche and it’s so easy for me to just go out and tell you, Hey, quit your job or Hey, do this. It’s just that you could either live your life with unknowns in your comfort zone and just be miserable. Then just realize that all that time spent, why are you tagging along like that and upset when you could try to make a difference in your life?

So I’m sorry I’m going roundabout on this, but you just want to make a difference and you want to be the one to find again, that internal locus of control, where you take charge of your life. Instead of thinking about what ifs you can think of, I could be really successful. Instead changing that mindset and having that shift just really will boost you and boost your confidence because you’re not stuck in your own fears and you can shift it to say, well, what if I’m really successful at this instead of what if I’m unsuccessful?

Megan:

I think that was very well said and mindset, in my opinion, is everything. The cool thing about mindset is that we have complete control over it. In any given situation, you mentioned COVID earlier, and just being able to see it with a different lens. We all have that choice. I mean, there are bad things every day. I encounter things all the time that are attempting to weigh me down or bring me down. I have the choice in every single moment to let it or to not. So I think the mindset is so huge, not just in business, but the way that you live every day and the way that you show up for the people who need you. So I love this whole interview, Alana. This is right up my alley and I feel like you and I would be really fast friends. Is there anything that you feel like we should really touch on before we start saying goodbye?

Alana:

Yeah, I would just say that you really just need to dive deep obviously before you make any jumps into anything and make any life changing decisions. We really have to figure out what your true self is looking for and if it’s the right fit for you. I don’t want to make the impression that I’m saying just go out there and do whatever and just see what sticks, but you want to be very intentional in your mindset and in your decision-making. So maybe if you are working your nine to five job, see if there’s ways in that job that you’re currently working, that you can relate to what you want to do eventually. Ask your boss to work on a project that maybe you wouldn’t have been assigned to normally, but it relates to something that you want to do in the future.

So you’re making those changes for yourself or after you get home from work, you find the time to really learn photography and you really learn about blogging or whatever else it is that you want to do so that when the time is right, you can feel confident in making that leap. You may be miserable and your days may be long while you learn the other path, but it will help you make that leap. It will change your mindset to feel more confident in knowing that you can be successful. But when you do master that skill, or when you do know enough to know that you want to do something, that’s when you should definitely take the leap, because again, living in fear will do nothing for you. It’s just all about that leap that’s really gonna help you just pivot to success.

Megan:

Sp well said, I love all of that. I have to ask you, I was looking on your website. There is a picture of you with Giada. Tell me about that.

Alana:

So that really happened, coincidentally. I was in Las Vegas for my 21st birthday and we were eating at her restaurant and we asked the waitress and we asked, Oh, is Giada here today? Just joking around, never thinking that she would be. Actually the waitress said no, that she had left town. She was there recently and she was already gone. But then when we were leaving the restaurant, it’s on like the second level of the hotel. We’re like going down the escalator and I see this familiar face coming up and I’m like, Oh my gosh, that’s her. So I was nudging my mom who was with me and I’m like, Oh my God, I don’t want to freak out. But that’s her on the elevator. We basically ran back upstairs and my mom told her that it was my birthday and she took a picture with me and quickly after she slipped into the kitchen so that nobody else could see her, but it was definitely one of the highlights of my life.

Megan:

Oh my gosh, I love it. I love that story. You look so happy and cute. I love that picture. I bet you just cherish that.

Alana:

Definitely. It definitely goes back to those days of watching the Food Network and pretending I was my own host of a cooking show.

Megan:

Yes, see it came back around. That’s so cool. Your dog is adorable. Oh, what a cute dog.

Alana:

Thank you. Yes. And he loves helping me in the kitchen and sniffing everything, trying to steal a few scraps.

Megan:

Yes. I have one of those too. He’s always eager. I think there’s like one food. I found that he won’t eat and that is mushrooms. So everything else he’s very willing to eat when I drop it. So I already asked you, you already shared great inspiration. Do you have anything additional? Sometimes people have an extra quote they want to share.

Alana:

I just want to say, so when I took Sam’s mastermind, we had weekly calls where you get to ask her questions. I did ask her one day when I was doubting myself, how she handles the constant fear of possibly being unsuccessful and not making enough money for the year, especially leaving a consistent paycheck and stuff like that. One thing that she said to me that really stuck out was this quote here that I wrote down, it says, “it can be really scary not having a consistent paycheck. There’s always that risk that you might not make what you expected this year. But the exciting thing is that if you shift your mindset, you can also believe in yourself enough to make more than what you expected to make. Not many jobs are like that.”

Speaker 3:

Just hearing her say that really gave me chills because I never really thought about it like that. I hope maybe that provides a new perspective to everyone else because I always thought, venturing out on my own. I may not meet my salary requirements and everyone has bills and responsibilities, but I never quite thought about it that I could always make more. That’s really what to keep them going. When you work that nine to five for a boss, your salary is predetermined and no matter how much time and effort you put in, it’s always going to be whatever you determined when you started working. But when you work for yourself or if you’re a blogger or a virtual assistant or anything like that, where you get to decide and call the shots on your own, you can always live in fear. But also if you shift that mindset and say, well, I can just add a few more clients or I can work extra hard and put out more recipes and I can make this happen for myself. You’re not stuck at someone else’s salary expectations and you can truly grow and see the results of your efforts. That just really spoke to me.

Megan:

I love that you have a quote that stuck with you that is inspiring you and lifting you up in a new way. I think it’s so important to hold onto those gems as we find them. Anything is possible in food blogging. So it might as well go to the side that’s going to favor you, right? So instead of thinking negatively, will I ever get into that ad network, go big, go on the other side and think huge, because that is possible. Anything is possible.

Alana:

Constantly doubting yourself. I mean, obviously you just won’t do well then, if you are telling yourself you’re not going to do it, you’re not going to, but if you tell yourself you will, you’ll find the ways that you will. They may not fall in your lap, but you’ll work the hardest you’ve ever worked before to make them happen, because you don’t want to lie to yourself and you want to succeed and do what it takes to succeed.

Megan:

Doubt and fear, I found just breed failure because when you doubt yourself and you’re filled with that fear, nothing good comes of that, ever. So why not go big on the other side and believe in yourself and good things can happen. Not just good things, but things that you never saw coming in a good way, will start coming into your life. Here’s something else about that. Have you found this Alana, that when you are desperate for something, that it never happens, but when you just kind of let it go with a positive mindset, that good things just flood into your life.

Alana:

Kind of like how the whole food blogger internship kind of stumbled upon me. I was making that spreadsheet and being very intentional, but I never had a food blogger on the list. When you’re putting out the vibe that I’m determined to find something and determined to do something, it may not be how you intended to find it. Like you said, it just kinda will happen as long as you stay determined and positive.

Megan:

I always think of desperation when I was a teenager in my early twenties and dating. There’s someone really cute that you want to date and you’re just like, I really need it. I need it. That situation never happens. So I always compare it to that. Desperation does not equal good, healthy things. Comparing dysfunctional relationships to food blogging.

Alana:

You tell yourself you’re done dating and then find the perfect guy.

Megan:

Exactly. Yes, exactly. We’ll put together a show notes page for you Alana. We’ll just detail all of the things that we talked about, some main takeaways. If anyone wants to go find that you can see it at eatblogtalk.com/yourhomemadehealthy. Alana, tell everyone where they can find you online.

Alana:

I’m yourhomemadehealthy.com. That’s where all my recipes are. Then you can also follow along, mostly on Instagram. Your Home Made Healthy there as well. I have Facebook, but not too active there. Trying to really hone in on the recipes and blogging and then hoping to expand my reach after that.

Megan:

I think that’s smart and I am with you. I’m not super into Facebook, but we have to have the account, right. So everyone go check out Alana on her platforms. Thanks again for being here. Thank you for listening today, food bloggers. I will see you Monday.

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.