We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ben Hon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?

I think about this question often. If I knew back then what I knew now, I definitely would have pursued a career in photography earlier.

My immigrant parents of course stressed the importance of education as a path to security. The fear of insecurity trumped any thoughts of pursuing a passion that, while soul satisfying, does not have a clear path laid out towards future security. After college, I found myself working in finance in corporate America. While I learned a lot of valuable lessons there, it did not provide the fulfillment I needed personally.

Finance gave me a great comfort zone. But comfort isn’t where creativity thrives. When I left finance and the comfort was gone, I started to take more chances and exploring things I liked. At that point, I didn’t have a path towards what I wanted to do, but I knew I liked food and photography. As I started taking more photos, my interest grew into a passion, and it just led me towards opportunities I never knew existed.

While I wish I had started sooner, I do realize that I did need the push out of my comfort zone to appreciate the path that got me here today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born into a restaurant family, so that was the foundation of my hospitality training. For the first 2 decades of life, I was taught the importance of great customer service. I learned how to care for others, be a good listener, manage expectations, and work as a team in a fast-paced environment. I carried these lessons with me throughout my professional life, up until today. When I left finance and found myself getting more involved in photography. These skills helped me with relationship building and problem solving.

I provide photography services, content creation, and social media management for my clients.

Many businesses do not have a strong social media presence. My job is to help them create a social media strategy or an aesthetically pleasing feed. The heart of what I do goes beyond my skills as a photographer and having my thumb on the current pulse of the food industry. The true strength of my service comes from my background in hospitality, and that I truly care about the success of my clients. I know firsthand that running a food business is tough work. I understand their struggles. I strongly believe that what sets me apart from others is that I listen to my clients, I listen to their customers, and package all that with great care into a social media presence that communicates what they stand for. I don’t treat work as a transaction. If my clients succeed, I succeed, and that is what drives me to do my absolute best for them.

I am most proud of pursuing my passion in photography and doing something that I love that doesn’t feel like work. For this reason, I enjoy helping and highlighting others who are also pursuing their passions.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My social media began as a personal space to simply park all of my food photos. As I continued posting, my enjoyment for it grew. It was something I liked to maintain, and it was a joy to be consistent with it. Eventually, it began to attract an audience organically. I never began with the goal of growing an audience, but food resonates with many, and my voice and perspective started to gain notice. Opportunities opened up and one thing led to another. I think it all happened from that single desire to highlight and uplift chefs and businesses doing amazing work, and staying open to any opportunities.

My advice for others who are looking to grow their social media presence:

Social media is all about inspiring, motivating, and entertaining others. We see a lot of feeds where people only advertise themselves, but content that resonates is content that helps others – whether that is going to make them smile, or teach them something, or expand their perspectives.

After you find your niche, create content consistently that others will find useful. Start with something that interests you as this will show your passion for it. Share your expertise, and lastly, have a visually pleasing feed.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

For me, the best source of new clients has been through word-of-mouth referrals. Building a network has been an important part of my business, but also an enjoyable part. Putting yourself out there, going to events, meeting others, staying connected, and doing great work that can speak for itself is all part of finding new clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.benhon.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/stuffbeneats
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/benhon33

Image Credit:
Charlie Chalkin