Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristina Laverde.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cristina. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Whatafoodlife began two months ago when I realized my camera roll was inundated with more pictures of food and new restaurants I visited than pictures of myself and friends. Every Monday at work, instead of being asked “How was your weekend?”, instead I get asked, “So what new places did you try this weekend?” Therefore, I started Whatafoodlife with a purpose — I want my Instagram feed to be the place people go to when in need of a restaurant recommendation and I want to showcase the best moments of my life, which happen over food. I have been passionate about food and trying new things for as long as I can remember and being able to share this passion with people who are just as delighted by food as I am is a journey I am so excited to be starting. In just two months, I have achieved such incredible growth in terms of my engagement with followers and meeting other foodies like me and I have huge expectations for myself as Whatafoodlife.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I began years ago as I was a teenager with a different Instagram name “Exquisiteats”. This was an Instagram I opened up out of pure boredom where I would simply post all the pictures of food I would take. It wasn’t something I took seriously so I didn’t understand how time consuming Whatafoodlife would come to be. Juggling a full-time job as I do now while putting together and consistently dedicating time to my feed is a whole other full-time job but I enjoy it so much that I have learned to effectively manage my time efficiently. It is not only finding time to post pictures but most importantly finding time to network and mingle with other foodies like me. Becoming a part of this foodie community has truly opened me up to a world that I knew existed but simply hadn’t set aside the time to be a part of. Therefore, being able to overcome this challenge has been undeniably fruitful.
Please tell us about your work.
As Whatafoodlife, I do what I love which is simply sharing my love of food with others! I post only pictures of food I truly enjoyed and restaurants that represent the three main things I look for which are: excellent service, ambiance and quality. As well as starting Whatafoodlife on Instagram, with it, I began to post full reviews and additional pictures on Yelp and TripAdvisor to truly show my audience a full picture of my experience at a restaurant. My greatest sense of achievement has been increasingly being the person people come to when they need an honest recommendation and seeing the feedback I have gotten from family, coworkers and friends. I enjoy all types of cuisines and Miami is a great place to grow in this industry since it is so diverse and you can truly find every single type of food, from Mediterranean (which is one of my favorites), to Indian and beyond. So, Whatafoodlife showcases a very broad range of pictures but each with its own personality. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and I am excited for what the future of Whatafoodlife holds.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Persistence. I know how hard it is to dedicate time to social media and how critical it is to continually engage with your audience so I think staying dedicated is the way to success. My passion for sharing this love of food with others just keeps growing and seeing the growth I have achieved in such little time keeps me going because I know people truly enjoy what Whatafoodlife has to offer.
Contact Info:
- Email: whatafoodlife@gmail.com
- Instagram: whatafoodlife
- Yelp: https://whatafoodlife.yelp.com
Image Credit:
@whatafoodlife
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