We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steven Wong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I have always enjoyed the arts, basically any type, from architecture to cooking to painting. I started drawing and painting when I was 10 and continue to this day. When I got to middle school I practiced music and cooking. Cooking and trying different foods was always a sign of love in my household as a child. My family enjoys a nice meal and with that comes great conversations and memorable experiences. At a young age, my mom always took me to different types of restaurants, while trying different cuisines. She always wanted me to experience new things and see what would spark my interest. I was always eager to try a variety type of foods. As time passed, I started taking pictures and writing reviews on Yelp and Google. In today’s society, with social media, I have been blessed to be able to have passive income thru my social media by sharing my passion of food and culture with viewers and readers alike.
Steven, 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?
My name is Steven Wong and I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and now live a bicoastal life in Southern California. I majored in Honors Level Studio Art. I have always been the type of person that will try everything, and my career has been no exception to that rule. I have vast experience in higher education, entertainment, human resources, operations, and most recently commercial and industrial real estate. As fulfilling as my jobs have been, I always felt the need to do something creative and that is when I decided to see if my passion can be turned into a side hustle. After numerous years as a Yelp Elite Member, a few apps have reached out to me to promote local restaurants in my area. With that, I was able to slowly build a following in the food community of Southern California. This never feels like work because I love to try different foods from different cultures. I am the type of person that will drive 2 hours if someone told me a dish is a must-try. I am honest, informative, and detailed when it comes to my reviews while providing pictures of my experiences. Because I travel from coast to coast, my reviews show a wide range of restaurants from mom-and-pop shops, to new must -try, to classic restaurants and even pop-ups and chains. My reviews are pretty straight-forward to the point, and based off of my experience with the restaurant and staff. Given my platform and opportunity, I am most proud of promoting and highlighting local mom-and-pop restaurants, especially during the pandemic. By using Yelp and various social media platforms, I have been able to shed some light to some of my favorite restaurants and support them in mulitple ways. In my work, you get dedication, passion, truth, and details. I have respect for restaurants and brands as we are a community.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I am still building an audience on social media. It is not an easy task and it truly takes networking and patience. I recommend anyone that wants to build an audience, to always be themselves, while being truthful. Post regularly with high-quality content to connect with your followers. Be patient and interact with others like you that is in the same community. I believe in this social media space, there is room for all of us. Some people might believe that in order for you to get a “brand deal” or to make income, you need to have thousands of followers but that is simply not the case. Persistence and drive is also a major key in overcoming obstacles, while building a strong and lasting presence.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
For me, I want to prove to myself that I can truly support myself financially, while helping people, by doing what I love. So rare do you hear people who actually enjoy what they do. I want to be a living example of that statement and to be proud to say what I do. It is also a euphoric feeling that I am able to go after a goal that was a passion of mine, where it started with my mom. The journey becomes sentimental and I always want to do my best to make my family proud.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: isayyummy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/StevenWong8/featured
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BFaQvJf3Om6rON2I9tCOQw
- Other: Personal IG: @stevenpwong