Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lex Covello. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
One of the biggest risks you can take is starting something new- because it means diving into the unknown. Something a lot of people (me included) are afraid of. There being as much room for failure as their is success is always daunting and that’s exactly how it felt when I started doing Covello’s Cuisine. I was a sophomore in college, TikTok wasn’t a thing yet and putting yourself out there online though people didn’t still wasn’t as normal as it is now. So posting online as a food blog was a big risk. And I wouldn’t be here today without taking it and I’m forever grateful I did.
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’m Lex Covello from Covello’s Cuisine on Instagram & TikTok- a food review account based in NYC with content from around the world. I have worked with brands like BuzzFeed, Tastemade, Mona Creative & many more to highlight the best (and maybe some of the worst) food I’ve come across. A former film major with a slight obsession with Anthony Bourdain this just started as a hobby that has become one of my favorite things about my life.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
For me in work and in life building relationships and growing relationships always stems from creating good relationships. And also knowing when relationships won’t help you grow. From learning this I have been able to form an incredible network that is always willing and wants to connect me with new clients!
The most effective thing about this though is being yourself and representing yourself authentically. To build a strong client base you need to make sure they know exactly who you are and what they will be getting from you. There is nothing more important than putting your best foot forward and providing the highest quality of work you can. But outside of that the relationship you form is just as important. No one want to work with someone who is unpleasant- no matter how amazing their work is.
From building these relationships I have been able to expand my clientele based on word of mouth recommendations and strong relationships and people who are willing and want to vouch for me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I’ve been doing this for 6 years now and posting consistently for all of them- no matter when and where. In college- starting this process was something that actually had me talked about- and not in a good way. It was “cringe & weird” and I was doing it before TikTok was a thing. Unless you were a YouTuber- creating content on social media- especially a food page was pretty uncool. And being in an environment where social status really mattered- it was a lot to continue to want to purse.
And because of this though- I had a portfolio coming out of college. And it led to me getting my roles at BuzzFeed, Tastemade & more. And it’s because I didn’t give up even when I wasn’t receiving a ton of support from everyone around me.
No matter how many or how little followers, likes, views, comments I have. I don’t know if that’s resiliency or delusion but I’m gonna keep doing it either way!
Instagram: @covelloscuisine
Tiktok: @covelloscuisine
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