Today we’d like to introduce you to Beatrice.
Hi Beatrice, we’re so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
First of all, I’d like to say thank you for featuring me in this space. I feel honoured to be a part of the OrlandoVoyager community. Although I’m from Stockholm, Sweden, Orlando has always owned a piece of my heart growing up. I used to surround myself with princess fairytales and Disney Movies. I believed that if I swam far out enough in the ocean, I would become a mermaid, just like Ariel. Needless to say, my parents had to watch me closely at the beach.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Orlando on many occasions throughout my life. Despite the 10 + hour flight time, it is a staple destination for me and my family, and while I’ve lived and gone to school, University, and Law school in Sweden and Canada, I’ve spent many vacations in Orlando throughout the years.
I’m Swedish and I’m living and working in the legal field in Sweden. I’ve traveled a lot growing up and continue to travel as much as I can. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos and sharing stories from my travel and food experiences. At first, it was just on Facebook for family and friends, and then I moved over to Instagram and started a separate account for this in 2018. That’s also when started my travel blog foodieonvacay.com.
In the beginning, I posted content on and off for a while and gained a few followers, but I wasn’t consistent. I had this, distant idea of being able to connect with others through travel and food, and creating something of my own. I was, however also too caught up in my daily life and had other priorities. Then Covid-19 hit, and I got time to reflect upon my life. I enjoyed my current situation, but staying home more also gave me more time to try new things. I dove deeper into hobbies that I hadn’t had time for previously. I followed my favorite travel & food creators on social media more closely. I thought if they can do it, why can’t I try? I realized that I had nothing to lose and used my extra time to educate myself in a field that I’ve always wanted to explore.I wanted to, once and for all learn how to connect, share my stories and knowledge with others online, so I did. Looking back, committing to actually going for this took the longest time, but it was technically the easiest part. Once you manage to change your mindset from ”why would people be interested in following me” to realizing what you can bring to the table, you’ll see a whole new world of possibilities. There are so many resources through which you can educate yourself, if you just take the time to search for them, learn and stay consistent.
I also asked myself ”if you’re not going to explore this path now, when are you going to do it”? That’s when I started sharing travel & food content consistently. It actually didn’t take long until found myself as part of a growing community of like-minded people from all over the world. I also got inspired by larger creators and started connecting with new people as much as I could. Although I’m slightly introverted, I’ve been continuing to put myself out there for my passion and I’ve gotten to meet and connect with so many people that I originally only knew through social media.
Although I’m what many would consider a small creator, my videos have been seen by over half a million people, and I’ve also managed to get partnerships and collaborations in Sweden, Spain, and Croatia. Although these are all milestones that you’d typically see as signs of success and that you’re on the right path, it’s actually not what motivates me to keep going. I usually say no to most collaborations to be able to focus on sharing the content that I want to share and what my audience wants to see. People are there to see my food and travel experiences, both locally in Sweden, and when I travel around the world, so that’s what I want to give them. I love to be a part of this community, share my experiences and learn from other creators as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I enjoy being in the travel & food space a lot, but if I’d known when I started how long it would take to get where I am, how much effort I’d have to put in, and how many times I’ve had to say no and set boundaries to actually be able to create this for myself, I probably wouldn’t have done it. You see people who are established in the industry, and they make it all sound so easy, but no one tells you about the effort that has to go in for it to go anywhere.
I’ve spent so much time watching tutorials, studying other creators and their content to figure out the direction I want to go in, getting up early or staying up late to get posts up before or after work, and said no to activities that people typically would consider as fun. When I’ve been traveling I’ve also gotten up early, spent a lot of time getting a photo or video just right, always testing the patience of my boyfriend. However, the more you create, the more you realize that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. There is so much to learn in this field, and the more effort you can put in through different social media outlets, the faster you will grow, but you can’t let perfection get in the way of getting things done.
However, putting in effort is one thing, prioritizing is another. If you have to keep up with your regular life and a full-time job, it takes a whole other level of time management to actually get somewhere. You’re going to have to give up other things, and if these things involve other people, they will most likely not understand.
Content creation is an investment, both time-wise and financially. You need to have a decent camera, phone and computer, and you need to be able to do the things that you’re sharing with your community. For me, that means consistently having new travel and dining experiences. However, thanks to the generous rules for paid time off in Sweden, I’ve managed to travel a lot more than most people with a day job and also keep a steady flow of income to support myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a traveler and content creator who specializes in unique food and travel experiences all over the world. Through extensive research, I seek out experiences and share my favourite things to do, as well as general travel tips and guides with my community. I do this on a daily basis primarily Instagram, but I also share more long-form content on my blog as well as short-form videos on TikTok and Youtube.I’m also active in various Facebook travel groups as well as TripAdvisor to continuously share and discuss my experiences to help and provide value to others.
I have plenty of experience with travel planning and seeking out the best experiences, especially in the US. However, during the past few years, I’ve started to explore more of Asia, and Covid-19 forced me to explore my own backyard, which was Sweden and Europe. When it comes to food, desserts are one of my core topics, especially East Asian desserts and treats. I fell into this rabbit hole when I was studying in Toronto, Canada, and got a friend from Seoul who was living in Japan. She introduced me to many East Asian experiences, and I’ve continued to explore East and South Asia’s various food cultures ever since. This has made me part of the local East Asian community in Stockholm, and I’m a well-known figure and have collaborated with various milk tea shops and Asian supermarkets around town.
Developing this community has given me many opportunities that I’d never gotten otherwise. Even if I’m proud of the opportunities I’ve gotten as a creator, such as this one, I’m even more proud of actually believing in myself and my ability to learn. I’m also glad that I haven’t let other people’s skepticism and lack of support get the best of me. I love being able to provide value within this field and I feel so proud when I realize that people find my content valuable. It makes the late nights and early mornings worth it.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ve found a few people that I really admire within the industry and I’ve observed them very closely. I’ve been studying what they do, and why I enjoy watching them. I’ve also made sure to contact them, ask questions and learn from their content.
When it comes to networking, I’d say that it’s all about putting yourself out there, sharing your content, and showing others what you’re worth. Start talking to people in your city on Instagram and engage with their content. It is likely that they will find you interesting as well, and ask if you want to meet in person. People who are serious about content creation and have a similar following as you, are usually more than happy to get to know you better.
If you’re not used to connecting with new people, you should prepare as if it’s a job interview. Learn and plan how to talk about yourself and what you want to share. Even if you don’t stick to your plan, you’ll feel a lot calmer and be more confident. Make sure to ask the people you network with a lot of questions too, and keep a good balance between listening and talking.
Everyone is nervous in the beginning, but the more you’ll do it, the more confident you’ll be, which will translate to other areas of your life as well.
Contact Info:
- Email: foodieonvacay@gmail.com
- Website: foodieonvacay.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/foodieonvacay
