We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Franklin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.
Tiffany, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
Some kids watched teen shows, but when I was a teenager my food network was probably my favorite network to watch. I loved watching people make food look pretty or getting ideas on how to make a dinner on a budget. Then came Guy Feri lol. He won food network star and honestly changed my perspective on the food industry. His show diners drive inns and dives remains one of my favorite shows because you get to see local restaurants doing what they love. You get to see people from all over the country hype up their favorite places and I just loved that. I had determined Guy had my dream job. To be able to go around the country eat awesome food, meet great people and tell their stories is a dream job. I set my intentions on starting my sort of food show nearly 16 years ago but my intention wasn’t there. About 3-4 years ago I started to make the dream a reality but still wasn’t consistent enough. In the last 8 months have been more intentional by reaching out to businesses for collaborations, making sure to stay active on social media everyday and helping to keep people informed about the amazing people in our communities. I highlight local owned businesses/restaurants. I had to figure out what people want to see and how to connect with their interests. To do that I go over my social media analytics, I put myself in interest groups on facebook so that I can stay informed about events in the city. I also talk to local restaurants owners to get their thoughts on what goes well for them. This step towards my dream job required me to more faith in myself and in God. I wasn’t seeing my own potential and I had to get out of my own way. I started journaling and praying more. I just started to show up for myself more. Since then, I have been more active with my social media presence and have had 6 official Fat Boujee Foodies collaborations this year! I’m proud of myself and it’s only up from here.
Tiffany, 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 Tiffany Franklin and I am the creator of Fat Boujee Foodies foodie series. I have curated a social media presence that highlights Indianapolis, the surrounding cities and more! I love quality food and great experiences and I want to share that with the world. I let people know where to find top notch restaurants and vibes. My honest opinions, lightheartedness and respect for the craft are what set me apart from others. I got my start with being a foodie content creator and marketer about 5 years ago when I wanted to highlight the black owned businesses in my city. I am most proud of the way my content makes people feel. I have read comments about how my tone and approach to reviewing food makes people feel good and I love that. I want to inform every one of where to find great food and I want to help businesses grow. I have 2 children and I love to show people places that children have loved and activities that can be fun on a budget. I also just want to keep it real with people and sometimes I talk about my life and how I may be going through ups and downs because we all go through it. Growing my business and my presence means so much to me because I want to show people you can reach your dreams because I intend to reach mine.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Consistency is literally everything with building your social media presence. I have been consistent with posting at least once a day on TikTok and Facebook. Posting multiple times a day is honestly best practice. I would say to not get too hung up on posting times either. Just post the content and be disciplined about it. Also, connect with your audience. Reply to their comments, go onto their page and like/share things because remember this about building community. Always be yourself and be authentic. Don’t compare yourself to others because comparison is the thief of joy. You can be inspired by others but don’t compare. Lastly I would say finding what you want to talk about, really honing in on your own interests will help with stay consistent and give you content ideas.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
The book The four agreements in the a book that has stuck with me over the years. It taught me not to take anything personally and how to just flow through everything that come with this life. I love it because it has helped me to free myself from wanting validation outside of myself. I watch magickal lady dutchess on YouTube and her messages about being able to overcome anything in life and holding ourselves accountable really helped me as well. Reading and hearing messages about how to fortify my faith and mental health really helped me overcome having social anxiety and depression.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/175mZhYS1E/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fatboujeefoodies?_t=ZT-8zfOSJhAk5W&_r=1
