We recently connected with Sabrina Currie and have shared our conversation below.

Sabrina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am 100% happier being a business owner than an employee. It’s not that there aren’t challenges or stresses but the freedom I’ve gained is priceless. As a working mother, I spent many years working in a hospital and when my kids were sick or had special events or performances at school, I was stuck missing them or missing work. I hated that trade off. I didn’t like not being able to volunteer in the classroom or meet friends for lunch during the week. With my own business, I shape it around my life. Lunch with a friend is easy and enjoyable. I can squeeze in an hour or two of work in the evening while my husband watches TV and kids do homework. Holiday? I can work remotely while away if I want or just put in extra hours before or after. Sometimes I can let the business run on autopilot for a week if I’m sick or have other things on the go.
I keep a gratitude journal and I often note how grateful I am to have a job with time flexibility.

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 background and context?

I am a food writer, food photographer and recipe website owner. Fresh out of high school, I attended culinary school and worked for a few years as a sous chef. The pay and hours weren’t a great fit when I became a mother and I retrained as a medical lab assistant. I always knew I wanted to get back into food somehow, but needed to wait until my kids were older.
As a creative outlet, I started posting my food and recipes on Instagram and then I decided to make a website for my content to live. Soon, a local magazine, Edible Vancouver Island, reached out and I began doing regular articles, recipes and photography for them. Next, local food brands started asking if I would do photos for them.
I did these jobs as a sideline to my ‘day job’ working in the hospital lab but last year, I realized my side hustle was earning more than my ‘day job’ so I decided to make the leap to full time content creator.
I love to make food look crave-worthy and I am passionate about local foods and makers so I tend to develop close, long term relationships with the companies I work for.
I recently finished a cookbook. It was a huge project and to have a traditional publisher back it made me feel like I’ve had well rounded success.
The thing I’m most proud of is all the hard work and belief in myself to stick with it. It’s been 8 years in the making and sometimes it felt lonely but now I can look at how the journey has shaped my business and myself.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes. I am a huge fan of lifelong learning. One of my favorite books is called the Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy. It focuses on looking forward and measuring the wins, not the losses. I have reread it (well, listened to it on Audible) about 5 times and each time I pick up something more from it.
Atomic Habits by James Clear is another good one. It is helpful to make the things you want to do into habits.
Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell is really great and even though I’m a solopreneur, it’s helped me think and plan to outsource things.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housell. My dad got me this book and I love how it explains the different outlooks and patterns humans have that are shaped by their experiences.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve had to believe in myself when my husband didn’t. In the beginning and for the first few years, he thought my photography and writing were a waste of time, taking away from my time with the family. I knew deep down that I was doing this for the betterment of my family, particularly my children, so I kept at it. Often doing it discreetly so he didn’t know how many hours I was really putting it in.
In an effort to earn more and show him my business was legit, I added an online shop to my website. I carried stock and shipped orders for 2 years on top of my day job, my recipe content, parenting, cooking and cleaning. Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t burn out. Eventually something had to give and I shut down my shop but I learned a lot doing it.
I had a goal of being fully self-employed. I knew I could do it and I did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sabrinacurrie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wckitchengarden/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westcoastkitchengarden
• Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-currie-582289229
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@curriesabrina4502

Image Credits

Cookbook cover and 2 of me in garden wearing black dress are used with permission and shot by Danielle Acken.