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

Dina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

In 2008 I started a cake decorating business out of my home when my kids were very young. I wanted to put my hands to work because I was missing being creative and I wanted extra cash. That soon took off into a full fledged business and customers were raving about my cakes and asking for the recipe. Being creative and needing an outlet, I decided to start my own baking blog. Blogs were just starting to gain some traction and anyone who loved what they did shared it to the world via a blog. I was self taught in graphic design, web design and copywriting. Once my audience grew, I soon learned that I could monetize my blog. I was hired for campaigns to showcase merchandise, products and recipes from other companies like Nestle, Kraft Foods and Betty Crocker. This was a dream come true for me. I loved writing, taking pictures and creating recipes based on their campaign needs and sharing my creativity to the world. My blog continued to grow and as I navigated my way through the blogosphere I learned quickly that every food blogger that made it big was also a published cookbook author. I reached out to several major publishing companies until someone bit and that someone was Cedar Fort Publishing and Media. They signed me on to write two cookbooks. This was a huge undertaking and one I didn’t take lightly. I pushed through all of the hurdles I faced with crash courses in food styling/photography, props, recipe creation and so on. During this time I continued to learn graphic design to promote my blog and books and it became a passion of mine. Speed up to 2014. I seperated from my ex Husband and needed a 9-5 job to support me and my four children. So I went to school to become a Master Esthetician. I loved my time as a food blogger and campaign writer, but that wasn’t going to pay the mortgage and I didn’t have time to wait for that to flourish. Skincare was another passion of mine and I was aging and needed all the help I could get so Esthetics was the next best thing for a career. As an Esthetician it’s important to grow your clientele by marketing yourself on social media. Again, this was an amazing outlet for me as I made my own graphics/posts/stories and logos for myself and other businesses who saw my work and wanted me to help them with their business branding. I now do graphic design work for my current employer and on the side for businesses looking to stand out on social media and love it.

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.

As a graphic designer and Master Esthetician I live in the best of both worlds. I get to help others look their best and also be creative with my social media and helping others with their business branding. I noticed that a lot of businesses I followed really didn’t stand out, particularly on Instagram. Instagram is the BEST resource for Medspa owners and small businesses because it’s local advertising, personable, fresh and INSTANT exposure. Not to mention, it’s totally free. Since I have skills in graphic design and an artful eye, I decided to help others freshen up their business pages by adding a new logo, color scheme, fonts, SEO boosted profiles and custom highlight covers to brand their business and remaining cohesive in design and recognizable to existing customers and new ones who found them. I realized that so many business owners don’t know a thing about SEO, graphic design or even social media. Most don’t have time to figure it all out or don’t really have the will to learn it all. This is where I step in. It comes easy to me since I have been doing it for so long and it’s what I love to do.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

A life goal of mine is to be work where I live and not live to work. In other words, working on my laptop on the beach somewhere in the Caribbean, a coffee shop in a new city, a plane ride to explore a new destination or on vacation with family is where I want to be in the future. I want total freedom and I won’t stop until I have it.

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

The best advice for building your audience on social media is to learn graphic design to create eye catching posts or hire someone like me to do it for you. Being consistent when posting is also important, but if you are posting irrelevant content or something that isn’t esthetically appealing or doesn’t make sense, then it’s a waste of time and you won’t grow your audience. It’s a lot to learn, so if you don’t have time to figure it all out you need to hire someone. Remember that your business on social media is your blueprint to the world of customers just waiting to discover you and bring your business. Make it count!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinaddict.dina/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dina-foglio-244417a/

Image Credits
cedar fort publishing and media (cookbook cover photo)