We recently connected with Maria Watkins and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Two years ago, I started posting my low-waste life on TikTok, and I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t. I didn’t actually intend to make a career out of it when I first started posting, I was just having fun sharing my life. I worked a regular 9 to 5 job doing graphic design for a nonprofit, and about six months into joining TikTok, I started accepting brand deals and ads just to make some side income.

In June of 2023, I took the leap and left my full time job after being burnt out and it not getting any better at my workplace, with the hope that I could actually earn a full time salary working for myself. I gave myself a 4 month time period, where I would give it my all, and see if I could make this work full time. If not, I would have plenty of savings and plenty of time to find a new position with a different company.

It’s been over a year since then, and I’m thankful to say that I am earning a full-time living from my creative work, thanks to the work I’ve done to expand my brand. I’ve joined new platforms, I opened a small shop selling dishwasher-safe labels, I wrote a cookbook and have a bunch of other passion projects in the works. It’s not always easy, trying to figure out where my next paycheck is coming from, but it is 100% worth it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 27 year old living in Western New York with several food sensitivities and allergies, to everything from seasonal and outdoor allergies, to allergies to preservatives and artificial colorings in common packaged foods. I also live a low waste life, trying to be as sustainable as possible in my day to day. I make most of our plant-based meals from scratch, and wrote a cookbook in 2024 that has 50 of my most popular recipes. I like to say that we are an ingredients household—we don’t buy prepackaged meals and opt to make most things from scratch.

In addition to writing a cookbook, I developed a line of pantry mixes made with common ingredients to replace things you would like at the store, like packets of taco seasoning or containers of pancake mix. I wrote out the recipes to fill the jars and make the items if applicable and have it printed on dishwasher-safe labels that go on the top of mason jars, so you always have the recipes. I am incredibly proud of these mixes, as it has inspired thousands of people to reduce the preservatives in their foods and seasoning mixes, and make a few new things from scratch.

Since developing the pantry mixes, I’ve also created a line of labels for common cleaners, to cut out some of the toxic chemicals from standard cleaners.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started on social media two years ago and I have learned SO much since then. Everyone starts somewhere, so my best advice is to just post it. I always wish I had started earlier. Social media is always changing, but the one thing that has been a constant success is being consistent with posting. Consistency is absolutely key—it’s the only way you will build a dedicated audience of individuals who support you, your brand and your mission.

I thrive on a posting schedule too. I post 10 videos a week, with one per day and two per day three times a week. I pretty much never run out of content ideas due to the nature of my niche, but when I’m not quite sure, I love to repurpose content! You went through all that work the first time, don’t let it go to waste! As long as it’s a few months between using the footage, you’ll catch the interest of new people that haven’t seen it before. Work smarter, not harder.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing how many people I impact day to day. Reviewing every single comment that’s left on a recipe video or post of people saying that they tried it and loved it or are going to try it, is one of the best parts of my day. It helps me keep going and know that even though I may not make the most money in the world, or work the least, I still make an impact every day. It inspires me to keep going, make more recipes, come up with new products and really just continue to inspire.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://livingplanetfriendly.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingplanetfriendly/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livingplanetfriendly/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@livingplanetfriendly
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@livingplanetfriendly