Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Bakkal.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always loved social media, but my journey to pursuing it as a profession began after college. I graduated from Davenport University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business. Then I enrolled in an esthetics program to pursue my passion for skincare and makeup. During that time, I created an Instagram and Snapchat to market myself, connect with brands, and explore being creative in new ways.
Any downtime I had, I used to create beauty content. I started to grow a following and was able to build a loyal clientele after graduating from the esthetics program. Social media helped me to build a community of beauty enthusiasts and I was proud of that! I didn’t have any prior experience with social media so I felt that I had a natural talent to be able to utilize it so well.
After the pandemic, I was concerned about the stability in the beauty industry so I pivoted career paths and put my business degree to work in the corporate world. I spent a few years in admin and HR roles—and despite the stability, something always felt missing. Social media roles were not as prevalent at that time and even though my corporate roles involved some marketing, I knew that I wanted to be in a creative role creative full time.
Outside of work, I made my personal Instagram public. I documented recipes, travel adventures, local restaurant visits, and everyday moments. When rumors of a TikTok ban began circulating, I decided to challenge myself to post daily on a brand new page to see how much I could grow the account in a month. When it didn’t get banned, I kept posting, and was shocked at the results.
In just a few months, my account grew to thousands of followers, with millions of views and almost a million likes. Seeing the numbers was surreal but what meant more to me was that people loved what I was creating. I landed an opportunity to collaborate with a Harry Potter Airbnb, received products from some of my favorite brands, and started creating UGC campaigns. Between feeling unfulfilled in my corporate job, and the opportunities coming my way I knew it was the right time to pursue social media full time!
Alright, 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?
Self-doubt, criticism from others, and imposter syndrome have all surfaced throughout my journey. I spent so much of my life not being confident because I didn’t have a career path that others deemed “successful.” There was a moment when I had to decide whether to let the noise hold me back or to push it aside and fully focus on reaching my goals and making my dreams come true.
Every part of my journey has led me to where I am today, even the times in my life when I felt lost or uninspired. Through it all I stayed consistent and kept that creative spark alive. I also credit a lot of my success to my husband who has been the source of positivity, unconditional love, and support in my life. It’s so important to surround yourself with people that are going to uplift you and want you to succeed.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in food and travel content and have recently started creating for local restaurants, bars, hotels, and businesses. This is just the beginning, and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come.
I’m best known on social media for my Disney and Universal content. As a longtime fan of both parks, sharing trip highlights feels very natural to me. If you’re into theme park vlogs, food reviews and recommendations, ride queues, and sneak peeks of attractions, there’s a lot on my pages that I think you’ll love!
I’m most proud of the strength and resilience I’ve shown through all the highs and lows both in my personal life and professional journey. Life may not be easy or seem fair at times but no matter what challenges I’ve faced, I’ve stayed committed to building a life and career I love. I’m just getting started and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
When I first started posting on TikTok, I created so much content using clips I had from just one trip to Universal Studios and Disney World. I didn’t intend on posting any of those clips or photos when I took them. I’m so proud of how creative I was able to be with that content. I can turn a single experience into multiple videos that all feel fresh and different. Since I’m not a Florida local, I have to get creative with how I share Disney and Universal content, and that challenge has pushed me to think outside the box. That is what sets me apart from others.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I used to struggle with risk taking, but I realized that holding back was actually holding me back. One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was deciding to pursue content creation full-time. It was incredibly scary at first because there were so many “what ifs” and unknowns. After years of wanting to do social media full time, I knew that it was up to me to make it happen!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belleofthebanquet
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BelleoftheBanquet
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@belleofthebanquet
