We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly Dela Cruz recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?
Yes, I do take vacations. I feel like I should take more time off but it’s hard since I’m a workaholic. I used to be very bad at this but I’ve been learning how to actually relax.
It’s really important to take vacations and to take breaks from work because you need that time to rest and reset so that you can continue doing the best work. I know how hard it could be to take time off work, but just know that you need to rest every now and then. Even a short break would be super beneficial and prevent burnout.
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?
I’ve been blogging about food since 2011, but didn’t take it seriously until years later. I have always loved food and loved documenting what I ate and sharing it with my friends and family. Over the years, I started gaining a following and created my first website in 2013. At first, this was just a hobby and a little passion project. I didn’t do it for free food or popularity. I genuinely love trying out new foods.
In 2016, I got my first email from a brand to send me ice cream and eventually I was getting invites to eat at restaurants for free. That’s when I realized that my hobby could be more. I ended up leaving the fashion industry and worked a few years in restaurants and eventually found myself in the CPG world. I don’t blog full time, but it’s still a passion of mine and I love helping small businesses. I now create digital content for CPG brands and restaurants and loving every minute of it.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding thing is when an idea finally comes to life, especially when it comes to recipe making. I like to make unique recipes that may not have been made before. I’m not culinary trained so I have to do some research and planning when it comes to making a new recipe. The best part is when the recipe comes out way better than I initially expected!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Social media is always changing so it’s a must to be resilient. During the pandemic when no one could dine inside restaurants, I had to be creative with take out orders. Also during that time, TikTok was blowing up and I had to start learning how to edit videos. I made more recipe videos which were really fun and eventually, Instagram came out with Reels.
Contact Info:
- Website: Dandyeats.com
- Instagram: Dandy.eats
- Facebook: Dandyeats
- Other: TikTok.com/@dandyeats