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

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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.

I created my initial business, Rachel Bakes at Home, in 2020. Rachel Bakes at Home was a food blog as well as my social media brand. I developed recipes and provided photography to various brands as well as posting content on social media and websites. All of this while working a full-time job as an attorney. The scope of work became overwhelming and, piece by piece, things began to fall away. The blog went first and then my posting routine began to decrease. I was going through the motions with photography and recipe development. I wasn’t finding joy in it anymore.

Finally, I realized that a change was needed. Rachel Bakes at Home needed to evolve. In March of 2023, Rachel Bakes at Home was dissolved, and I began working under the brand name of Routinely Rachel. My focus now includes travel and wellness along with recipe creation and food photography. I lost some brand partnerships along the way and have not quite found my footing with my new audience, but I am excited and inspired again. Sometimes, a huge pivot is needed. Momentum may slow down for a bit, but you have to believe the risk will pay off in the end!

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.

I’m Rachel Bailey and am based in Astoria, New York. I’m an attorney as well as a content creator/influencer. In late March of 2020, the entire world was learning about COVID-19 and the majority of people went into lockdown mode. I do love my friends so it was hard to accept that we wouldn’t all be in the same room for a while. There were so many things I couldn’t control (and I’m a control freak) so I wanted to find a way to cope with the resulting anxiety. Baking was my saving grace! It started with banana bread and then blossomed from there. As the pandemic raged on, I started trying more difficult bakes and began creating my own recipes. Family and friends kept suggesting I start my own Instagram page for photos of my finished creations. Those suggestions lead to my first business and brand, Rachel Bakes at Home. With Rachel Bakes at Home, I focused on blogging, recipe development, and working with brands to promote products and share beautiful photography.

Rachel Bakes at Home was up and running from 2020 to March of 2023. The business evolved into my new brand, Routinely Rachel. I kept part of the food photography and recipe development business and added travel and wellness. My main focus now is on content creation and social media sponsored work. I absolutely love working with brands and assisting them in reaching their marketing goals. Reinventing my business after almost 3 years has been a challenge, but I’m loving every minute of it!

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

“Working nonstop always leads to success…”Definitely a lesson to unlearn! I now realize that working nonstop mostly leads to burn out and resentment. Success isn’t guaranteed.

When I started my business, I wanted to do it all – social media, blogging, freelance, you name it. I saw what other successful people in the industry were doing and thought I needed to emulate everything to be as successful. I didn’t factor in that those people had assistants and employees. They were not a one-person show. I also didn’t factor in my full-time job. I was treating my side hustle as another full-time job and working 80+ hours a week. Social events were ignored, friendships neglected. I was exhausted and, honestly, not that successful.

Burn out hit me hard. I began to resent the business I had created. What had started out as an exciting, creative outlet was now mentally draining. The burnout resulted in a lengthy hiatus and the restructuring of my business. I had to let things go and stop comparing myself to full-time content creators. I have learned to devote the time that I can and to take breaks as needed. Success is different for everyone.

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

Growing an audience on social media can be a slow process. For me, growth has come in waves. The algorithm is not always kind, so you can’t rely on “going viral.” My main advice is to focus on cultivating an engaged audience and stop obsessing over numbers. Please don’t buy followers or join follow-for-follow groups. It is truly about quality over quantity.

Smaller accounts can make just as much money as larger accounts if your audience is truly engaged. I began working with brands at around 1,000 followers on social media and the work has remained constant. Don’t hold off on starting your business and/or starting to pitch clients out of fear that your account isn’t big enough.      

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/routinelyrachel/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/routinelyrachel/

Image Credits
Rachel Bailey