It's Wednesday- so it's time for another Woman Crush Wednesday installment!
Meet Samantha of In The Midst!
When did you start In The Midst?
Meet Samantha of In The Midst!
When did you start In The Midst?
- I started it February 14, 2016. What better day to celebrate my love of food than Valentine’s Day?!
Can you tell me about your background? School? What set you up for this endeavor?
- I went to school initially for elementary education then switched to communications. I guess that explains my blog well. I love helping and teaching people and decided to do it in this format. My lifelong love of food set me up well for this endeavor. My grandparents had a bed and breakfast when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time making meals for their guests and that is where I learned to cook.
Is anyone else involved in In The Midst?
- Just me!
Is this your sole job? If not, what else do you do?
- Not a job at all, just a passion project. I eventually would love to start a food business but right now this is just something for me.
If you’re not doing it, what would your dream job be?
- Still dreaming that up, but definitely something related to food. I love helping people so combining those two passions would be ideal. I’ve toyed around with cooking classes or cooking consulting – I think that could be really worthwhile to help others realize that they can cook for themselves and be able to learn all the basics so they can be successful in their own kitchen.
How important is social media to your business?
- Beyond important, it’s everything. Sometimes writing a blog you can feel like you’re talking to a wall but social media allows it to become a conversation with your people. I’ve met so many wonderful people in the food scene in my city because of social media. Many just from sending a message on Instagram! Social media has brought me awesome friendships and connections.
What would you say is your personal brand is?
- Oh, that’s a good question. I think for my blog my tagline that I came up with from the start still rings pretty true. “West Coast Roots. Midwest Living. Cross Country Cuisine.” That is so me - I am proud of my roots, I absolutely love living in the Midwest, and I have such a desire to try all kinds of foods. My brand revolved around that and being a resource to others.
What can others learn from you?
- My biggest desire is for everyone I know and work with to realize that anyone can cook. But really. People see certain cuisines or meals as so unattainable. Or they think it costs a lot of money. I love showing people budget-friendly ways to make their life full of good food.
How do you do under pressure? How do you handle stress?
- I love deadlines and conferences, the stress of accomplishing something big like that excites me. Everyday stress isn’t nearly as fun but having a project to work together with a team and be stressed together can bring people together.
What’s the average day in the life of Samantha look like?
- I wake up at 7:40…well snooze until 7:50 and then I’m usually out the door by 8:05 (I pride myself on low-maintenance mornings) so I can have a few minutes before work to check up on things and get my day in order. I work 8:30-5 and then after work is a combination of social media/blog posts, making dinner and other meals for the week, going to an event at church, or just introverting. My weekends are where I do lots of other things like blog strategy, group fitness research for classes I teach, and trying out new restaurants.
Do you/Did you have a mentor/mentee?
- I have lots of different people I look to for different things. Someone I look up to for goal setting, someone for social media, and someone else to remind me to have fun. I have also always been very fortunate to be surrounded by strong women leaders. They inspire me daily!
How did you advance your career?
- I’m still pretty young in the career force, but I think I have found myself where I am at because of willingness to put in hard work, loyalty, brain power, and absorbing every possible ounce of information that is thrown at me. I save every email, article, PDF I get and that has helped me to keep tabs and be a resource to people.
Why do you do what you do?
- I love my current job, I get to work for my sorority and pair that with my passions of helping others and food. I do it because I get to go work every day surrounded by people who I love and who support me all while we get to do things that support college women to be better people.
How would you describe your personal style?
- Hmm… I would say it is classic feminine. I’ve learned over the years there are just some trendy styles I cannot pull off, and that’s ok. My personality is matronly in nature so pairing that with a midi-skirt and Peter Pan color doesn’t work, I don’t feel chic just a little too mature. I stick with classic options and provide a pop or two of fun to keep it relevant. I would say 99% of the time I am wearing something from the Loft. I love slouchy cardigans, lace, and the color grey.
What makes up your wardrobe?
- Again, majority of my clothes come from the Loft. After that would be leggings. Which I used to be totally against leggings, I was in that crowd that said they weren’t pants. Then I read this awesome article about men being able to wear comfy basketball shorts, why are we judging women that want to be comfortable in leggings? It was a feminist shift in perspective. Don’t get me wrong, I still make sure my leggings pass the bend over test, and usually still wear a shirt that covers my booty but I have always been modest in my attire choices.
Who is your fashion icon?
- I don’t think I have a particular icon, but I usually love anything that Reese Witherspoon, Blake Lively, or Kate Middleton wears. Classic with a pop of modern.
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
- This is hard! Little things all over. My first job out of college. My budgeting skills. My DIY furniture abilities.
What is your ‘must have’ accessory?
- My mustard seed necklace from my grandma, I wear it all the time. The bible verse Matthew 17:20 says “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." It reminds me to always have faith and I love the family connection. A lot of my favorite jewelry has family ties.
What advice can you give others that look towards you to gauge success?
- Don’t look towards me, look towards yourself! In this social media world we think everyone has it together and it stresses you out to think you don’t have it as good as them. This blog isn’t perfect, I don’t post consistently, and I don’t eat out every day of the week. You are seeing my best side of me, my tailored brand. Give yourself some grace and reach out to those you look up to in the blog world so you can hear about their real life. My favorite moments of running this blog have been talking to other people in the industry and realizing none of us feel like we have it figured out. It was so comforting to hear that.
What advice can you give on failure?
- Failure is just practice so you can get it right the next time. If you frame your failure that way you can let it catapult your success instead of bringing you down.
What was your big break?
- I wouldn’t say I’m there yet but it always feels great when brands reach out to me to showcase their product.
Are you a member of any organizations? Trade Organizations, etc.
- I am a member of and work for Alpha Gamma Delta. As far as food I joke that I am a member of the Church of Patachou because it is hands down my favorite restaurant. Not a real association, but it should be!
What’s next for you? What’s next for In The Midst?
- We shall see! I am redesigning my blog and I have some cool ideas around story telling for some blog posts. I know so many awesome people that I want to share their story of food. I have also loved getting involved with some different food charities, so I would like to bring that aspect of food into the mix.
Thanks Samantha!
xo,
KJB
Keep up with Samantha and In The Midst!
No comments:
Post a Comment