We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erica A Thomas . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erica A below.

Erica A , appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

There are many paths to success, but a common thread for successful people is that they believe in themselves. You cannot expect others to believe in you, your product, your mission, or your business if you don’t believe in it. However, there is bound to be rejection along the way and you can’t allow that rejection to redirect you off the path. You have to stay the course and get back on the horse so to speak. Another thing I will say, despite it being a bit taboo, is that success isn’t just about hard work. It’s also about your network – surrounding yourself with the right people will help you get to where you need to go.

Erica A , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Simply put, I’m a woman who likes to share her love of recipes and restaurants with others. As a blogger, I’ve been fortunate to turn my side hustle into a beautiful brand.

Before becoming a content creator, I was working in corporate America as a marketer and was laid off. My then boyfriend and now husband encouraged me to use this opportunity to take a risk and turn my passion for food and blogging into a full-time business.

Fast forward – nine years later, my dining and entertainment tips have been featured on Good Morning America, Essence, Huff Post, Eater, Thrillist, Fox5, CNN, and Food & Wine.

I’ve also been able to partner with brands I believe in and enjoy creating content for like: Reese Witherspoon’s brand Draper James, Lexus, Pottery Barn, Kroger, Woodford Reserve, Hellman Mayonnaise, BJ’s Wholesale, Midas, Opendoor, and many more.

In this digital age, we know that content is king or as I like to say – queen. I create high quality, beautiful, engaging content for brands. My clients appreciate that my content is extremely high quality and that we work hard to tell a comprehensive visual brand story. Additionally, I have an influencer education platform where I educate influencers on how to run their brand as a business. I also have a luxury candle business – EWE Home. Our candles have been sold at the Waldorf Astoria and the Loews Hotel.

I am most proud that I am able to do what I love while having the flexibility and time to spend with family while also earning a living. There’s nothing better than holding my son while being on a business call.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I was blessed to have a supportive husband who was able to financially support me while I put a 100% of my time and resources into building my brand. I took a year to focus on creating and implementing a plan for growth and that is not something that everyone is able to do. It’s important to me that I acknowledge this privilege because while it is not impossible to grow a side hustle into a full blown business while working full-time, it is certainly a privilege to not be worrying about putting food on the table while you’re focusing on your entrepreneurial endeavors.

That being said, I put in the work. I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, so I was always setting money aside into savings to prepare for a potential business launch. I would go to work at my corporate job from 9-5 and then work on my business from 5-9 prior to my layoff.

Whenever I start something new, I email my entire network and ask for support. You’b be surprised how many people want to help you. I also scheduled in-person meetings with people so they could connect me with others. Emails are great but conveying your excitement and commitment in person gets others to believe in your idea. Once I started meeting people with likeminded ideas and pursuits, it was easier to connect and collaborate.

I launched my blog with recipes, which generated some freelance gigs. I then launched an Instagram that leveraged my blog following and began slowly working with brands. Once I had that following secured, I launched in-person events, including my inaugural 10 of Us Dinner Series that I host 4 times a year. This event connects women of all types from different industries to enjoy great food, company, and allows them to grow their professional and personal networks. Through these dinner parties, we’re also able to support local restaurants, which is great. I enjoy online interaction, but the best type of interaction comes through in person connection.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn is that you either “run your hobby as a hobby” or “you run your business as a business” – essentially that you can’t do both. People have tried to destroy the notion that “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” But I truly believe that if you find the right balance, you can be passionate about things that interest you and also find a way to monetize that passion.

Also, a lot of people are looking to social media as a guide to how they should live their lives. We must remember that social media is a “highlight reel.” It’s not meant to be the thing we are often using it for, i.e. “A Guidebook to Life.” Everything on social media should be taken with a grain of salt and it’s important for me to be a good digital citizen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eatingwitherica.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingwitherica/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EatingwErica
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eatingwitherica/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/eatingwitherica
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eatingwitherica

Image Credits
Eating With Erica