Life & Work with Sola Mawudzro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sola Mawudzro.

Hi Sola, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I remember the day I fell in love with Human Interest segments – CBS correspondent Steve Hartman came to my high school and talked about his news segment “Everyone Has a Story”. His segment focused on the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. That day sparked my love for telling people’s stories through videos.

Being a content creator has enabled me to share the extraordinary stories of ordinary people with big dreams. I enjoy making videos about hotels, travel, and events, but my passion is small, family-owned restaurants in the tri-county area. I’m a year into doing this and haven’t been bored yet- every restaurant has an interesting backstory, and while I have my favorites, every place I film at has taught me something.

My focus on food has to do with being from a multicultural background. My Dad is from Ghana and my mother is from Nigeria. To many of my friends, my parents were both African, but I got to see how different they both were culturally, even down to the food they ate. The memories I associate most with my extended family in West Africa all have to do with sharing a meal. I have a profound appreciation for what both parts of my heritage have taught me, and I feel like I’ve always tried to keep an open mind and learn about the cuisines of other cultures as well.

I love that food is the vocabulary of culture- no matter where you’re from, everyone finds comfort and community in breaking bread together. Every time I step into a new restaurant to film, I feel like the owner has invited me into their home. There are some restaurant owners and chefs I’ve met that barely speak English – but where words fail, food speaks. Even if we can barely understand each other, I feel so warmly welcomed when I get to taste their food and get a window into their culture, their passions, and their dreams.

I love having been given the opportunity to spotlight small businesses that have overcome adversity and still keep persevering. These restaurants all have stories to tell- and I intend to continue to tell them.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No endeavor worth accomplishing comes easily. People think that creating content is pointing a camera, shooting, and that’s it, but a lot of work goes into it. And I love making videos, but social media marketing is a beast of its own, that comes with the burden of comparison.

At times, I would compare myself to other content creators, their growth, the quality of their videos, and even the way they looked and dressed. That can be a slippery slope that can cause you to alter your online personality and lose sight of why you started. Keeping grounded, keeping boundaries, and occasionally taking time off from content creation has helped me to combat some of my inner struggles.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a Social Media Consultant and Content Creator, I specialize in working with restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues in the Tri-County area. I’m proudest of the restaurant work I do – I typically avoid large chains and work a lot with family-owned businesses that have a few or even just one location.

I try to spend time with the business owners if possible – learning more about them and hearing about how the business emerged and stayed afloat during the difficult past three years that we all faced.

I love hearing about their process- for me, content creation is an artistic endeavor, but so is cooking – that’s an art form of its own. So to get a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the most talented chefs in South Florida came to be and how they perform their process- and getting to taste the result – is amazing. What’s the inspiration behind their recipes? The decor of the restaurant? I never tire of hearing others talk about their passion.

I love hearing feedback from my audience. Some people who follow me tell me that they discovered a favorite spot through my page and it fills my heart with joy.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
It’s important to seek out mentorship within spaces in your niche. I remember going to my first few restaurant events and meeting other creators whose work I had admired. Finding an appropriate time to reach out to  them has been instrumental to my page growing. Mentorship doesn’t even have to come from people who have more experience than you- I’ve also found mentorship with others that are less experienced than me but far more talented.

Any creative endeavor- music, art, film, photography, is going to be unique because no two people will do it the same. It’s vital to seek out other creators who are speaking the same “language” (similarly conveying their media to yours) and take inspiration from them while still maintaining your own unique identity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/wanderingsola?igshid=ZDc4ODBmNjlmNQ==