Based in a city of retirees, Raposo’s enterprise tapered off as her clients feared contracting Covid-19. “I spent every day sleeping in trying to avoid going into work as long as possible because I was so burnt out,” she says. “I found myself lying in bed scrolling on TikTok a ridiculous amount.”
Raposo began making movies on New Year’s Day 2021, hoping for a contemporary begin for her psychological well being. Instead, she ended up discovering a technique to keep open and attain new clients within the off season.
While different native companies have been considering closing, Raposo began to see an uptick in clients. Almost in a single day, they have been as busy as they have been again within the fall when there have been vacationers round.
“The number of people who drove literal hours to come to the bakery is just incredible,” Raposo says. “I’m not tech savvy in any way, so I’ve had to teach myself,” she explains. “There have been some real flops, but TikTok seems like the last pivot of this crazy year, and my followers have done more for my business than any advertising ever could.”
Today, she has greater than 600,000 followers on TikTok and often meets new clients who drop in to purchase a cake or who discovered her on-line and order on her web site.
Her suggestion? Stay constructive while you put your self and your expertise on the market on social media. “I’ve only been doing this for a few months, and already I’ve gotten people who hate my guts over my opinions on gas stoves or how I dress,” shares Raposo. “I can’t please everyone, but I’ve learned that if I put positivity into the world, then I get it back.”
Also, don’t overlook to look the half. The evening earlier than Valentine’s Day, Raposo’s busiest vacation, she was on the bakery cooking after midnight. “I made a video about kitchen tools that I refuse to allow in the bakery that went viral,” she says. “The biggest thing I learned from that video was to look presentable because you never know when 4 million people will see you with the biggest under-eye bags imaginable and no makeup.”
Amber Walker is not a family title but. She began her personal chef and catering firm, SZND (pronounced Seasoned), on the onset of the pandemic after being laid off from her full-time job as a chef for a catering firm. “I was caring for my three-year-old niece at that time because my sister, who’s a nurse, was working with Covid patients,” says Walker. “I struggled coming to terms with the fact that everything I worked for could be gone overnight.”
At the onset of the pandemic, she entered the Favorite Chef contest. She stuffed out a profile, uploaded photographs, and detailed her historical past, targets, and signature dishes. The competitors promised the winner $50,000 and a two-page unfold in an upcoming challenge of Bon Appétit journal. Walker hoped to make use of the funds to assist mentor extra youth in her group and increase her enterprise.
While Walker did not win the competition, she made it to the highest 15 cooks in a worldwide competitors and used this chance to unearth invaluable entrepreneurial expertise. “With all the support from friends, family, and the community, my business skyrocketed, and the contest led to more followers to my business pages,” she explains.
“I’ve posted about what I do for SZND on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram,” mentioned Walker. “The largest day was once I posted my interview from ABC 27’s Good Day Pennsylvania on Facebook there. I reached many individuals, and so they counseled me for my success since beginning a brand new enterprise in an unsure time.”
For Walker, social media isn’t just about the number of followers. It’s about connecting to her community—the customers she cooks for, fellow LGBTQ community members, and the youth she mentors. “Social media helped me promote my enterprise and present individuals which you could create a greater future for your self by means of onerous work and dedication, somewhat than working a typical 9 to five or for another person.”
So it makes sense that one of her tips for using social media to promote your work or your skills is to give back to your community. As a mixed-race member of the LGBTQ+ community, Walker uses social media to connect with her customers and the causes she supports. “I donate 20 % of my income to an area LGBTQ basis from each pop-up I do,” she says.
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