We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Hwang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cindy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
By the end of the pandemic; our family had created so many memories by being out and about in Chicagoland. So many of our family and friends wanted to learn more information about the vacations we took, the sights we saw, and the activities we enjoyed. One day in the beginning of 2022, I just decided to create an Instagram page to document our family adventures and share them with others. It has been an amazing way to keep track of our memories, inspire others to try new things, and connect with like-minded people. Then in early 2023; chicagofamilyadventures was actually nominated for Best Chicago Instagram account to follow; which has been such a motivating force to continue this lifestyle account.
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?
We are a family of four residing in Chicago and what sets us apart is our willingness to try anything once. Our entire family truly believes you don’t make memories by doing nothing; so we look for the hottest place to try for date night, or the newest experience launched in the city, or catch the latest Broadway in Chicago show.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
As an Instagram creator, building brand partnerships has been a learning curve. Understanding the algorithm to get more views and audience reach is frustrating by itself. However, when a brand we are working with loves the content we’ve created, it only brings our motivation and drive up to do more. Currently one of my bigger goals is to bring engagement up – while I get a steady follower count daily; it would be great of my audience engage more frequently as that is what drives audience reach.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Following accounts that resemble what you also want to portray. It’s great to learn from others but then put your own spin on it. Specifically – I will always highlight Lunar New Year, AAPI authors, and Asian cuisine. My husband is Korean, I’m Chinese, and my children are half Korean/half Chinese. It’s so refreshing when the audience loves my posts about Chinatown, Uptown (Vietnamese food), or Korean cuisine that I highlight.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chicagofamilyadventures