Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Bailey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rachel, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
I created my initial business, Rachel Bakes at Home, in 2020. Rachel Bakes at Home was a food blog as well as my social media brand. I developed recipes and provided photography to various brands as well as posting content on social media and websites. All of this while working a full-time job as an attorney. The scope of work became overwhelming and, piece by piece, things began to fall away. The blog went first and then my posting routine began to decrease. I was going through the motions with photography and recipe development. I wasn’t finding joy in it anymore. Burn out hit me hard. I began to resent the business I had created. What had started out as an exciting, creative outlet was now mentally draining.
Finally, I realized that a change was needed. Rachel Bakes at Home needed to evolve. In March of 2023, Rachel Bakes at Home was dissolved, and I began working under the brand name of Routinely Rachel. My focus now includes travel and wellness along with recipe creation and food photography. I lost some brand partnerships along the way and have not quite found my footing with my new audience, but I am excited and inspired again. Sometimes, a huge pivot is needed to slow you down and bring you back into the light.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Rachel Bailey and am based in Astoria, New York. I own a content creation and photography business while also working full-time in the legal field. In late March of 2020, the entire world was learning about COVID-19 and the majority of people went into lockdown mode. I do love my friends so it was hard to accept that we wouldn’t all be in the same room for a while. There were so many things I couldn’t control (and I’m a control freak) so I wanted to find a way to cope with the resulting anxiety. Baking was my saving grace! It started with banana bread and then blossomed from there. As the pandemic raged on, I started trying more difficult bakes and began creating my own recipes. Family and friends kept suggesting I start my own Instagram page for photos of my finished creations. Those suggestions lead to my first business and brand, Rachel Bakes at Home. With Rachel Bakes at Home, I focused on blogging, recipe development, and working with brands to promote products and share beautiful photography.
Rachel Bakes at Home was up and running from 2020 to March of 2023. The business evolved into my new brand, Routinely Rachel. I kept part of the food photography and recipe development business and added travel and wellness. My main focus now is on content creation and social media sponsored work. I absolutely love working with brands and assisting them in reaching their marketing goals. Reinventing my business after almost 3 years has been a challenge, but I’m loving every minute of it!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most important qualities that have been most impactful in my journey are curiosity, determination, and competitiveness. Being curious is such a gift and has made me so much more insightful. Ask questions and keep your mind engaged. That will open you up to so many new opportunities.
Determination and competitiveness go hand in hand. I have always been competitive (especially with board games). Some argue that competitiveness isn’t healthy, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Competitiveness pushes me to grow and keep learning. I am not necessarily competitive with others; it is more that I am competitive with past versions of myself. For example, 2023 Rachel needs to do better than 2022 Rachel. I am always determined to improve. Once I set my mind to it, there’s no stopping me.
I challenge you to tap into your potential and set a goal to improve on past versions of yourself!
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
If you go all in on existing strengths, you stand still. There can be no growth. Evolving and growing is so much more fun! At the beginning of the pandemic, I started baking. I definitely enjoyed it but wasn’t necessarily good at it. I’d cut corners and my presentation was lacking. Further, I had never used a DSLR camera.
Fast forward three years and I am a professional photographer, content creator, and recipe developer. Brands PAY me to create content for them. That would’ve never happened if I stopped baking or snapping photos because I wasn’t automatically good at it. I invested time and money in various courses and practiced often. Don’t get stuck in a rut. Get out there and GROW!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/routinelyrachel/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/routinelyrachel/
