Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Chanthavong.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tommy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I made a New Years Resolution in 2017 to start a food blog/Instagram account and document all my food adventures. My friends knew there was something unique about this hobby and pushed me to go for it at the start of 2017. Not knowing what or when to post initially, I looked in my photo gallery and began posting my adventures. I was an amateur foodie and didn’t know how to take photos, so my photos were random angles and shots. Once I initially started my account, I met a few Houston Foodies that were well known and inspired me to change the way I shared my pictures and approached my blog differently.
In the later half of 2017, I started adding different features to my photos (i.e., a unique background) and my content started changing. I then became unmotivated during this time due to school and being occupied with extracurricular activities in my spare time. There were gaps in between posts and just long delays of posting on my account, I lost sight of what I wanted to do with the account and was in limbo. Not quitting is in my vocabulary, so I took some time off and reflect on what I wanted to accomplish as a foodie.
In the beginning of 2018, I stepped up my motivation to continue this account and started to have another goal: support local restaurants through my social media handles. With several rejections and ‘left of read’ messages later, I was able to obtain a menu tasting for a local restaurant and supported their business. From that point forward, it became easier and natural for me to talk to businesses in regards to menu tastings. Although it was fun going to establishments and supporting their business, it got lonely when going with a plus 1 or just by myself. With the later half of 2018, I wanted to create a foodie group! A group that enjoys food and supporting businesses and their success in the Houston Community. With that goal in mind, I created and founded Chow Down H-Town (@Chowdownhtown1)! We initially had four members and towards the end of 2018, we had established ourselves as six foodies who support and encourage each other to be successful within our own personal goals as a blogger/influencer.
Fast forward to today, I have grown professionally in the foodie community and I’ve met so many people with different backgrounds on why they are a foodie today. People I’ve met gave me words of encouragement and some also say that I partially was the reason why they are a blogger today. It’s a unique feeling to hear that you inspired someone to go for their dreams and shoot for the stars. I’m honored to introduce myself as Tee of @TasteWithTee, a Houston Food Blogger.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was an uphill battle for a first time foodie. With so many well-established influencers in the community, you were just thrown to the wolves and it’s intimidating because you don’t want to leave a bad impression on people who’s been around for a while. It was stressful in the beginning because I always envied a handful of bloggers that had really nice photos and high-quality content. I remember asking for some advice on how to improve on myself. It was really vague and hard to understand the concept of what it means to be a foodie. Everyone can take a photo of their food and put it on your social media handles, but for a foodie it takes a lot of trials and a few hundred photos later to find the right one to engage your followers. At the time, I had a decent phone that took decent photos, but I didn’t know how to edit or what it meant to have your photo stand out. As a result, I had no self-confidence to post a photo unless it looked flawless.
At the time, I was in school as well, so I never had time to go to events or menu tastings since school consumed my entire day and work too. There were also times I didn’t interact with my followers on my account until a few days or maybe even weeks later because of how busy my schedule was or I was just too lazy to respond to them. When finally meeting people with the same interest as you, I started becoming more active on my foodie page and engaged more frequently with those who follow my content. With Chow Down H-Town supporting me with all my success, it’s very warm to have a support group that will always encourage you to do your best no matter what the outcome is.
@TasteWithTee – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
@tastewithtee is an Instagram food blog for those who visit Houston and the hidden food culture within this city. I want to share my experience with those who stop by my page and look for different restaurants to try in my hometown. I also like doing mukbang’s on my page because it’s fun to see my reactions when I eat food. Emotions convey what you want your viewers to see and what you’re experiencing at the time. This hobby became an opportunity to meet amazing people and share memories with them alongside me. Food makes me happy, which I’m sure makes everyone happy in today’s society! Not only with my foodie account, but my group, Chow Down H-Town (@chowdownhtown1) we use foodie dates as an excuse to eat and hang out with each other whenever we’re bored or just want company to eat!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is a sensational feeling for me. If I have a challenge/obstacle in front of me, I will find a solution rather it’s in a very complicated way or a simple way. Currently if I were to compare my success of @tastewithtee from now versus 2017, I would say I’ve been pretty successful with my foodie account. Starting literally from the bottom and working day in and day out to get where I am. Yes I don’t have that many followers, yes my pictures don’t stand out, but the amount of people/business owners I have met in the past two years have increased and my network has expanded tremendously. Business that I’ve contacted in the beginning of the year still keep in contact with me, which means I’ve built a trust with them and established a relationship with them! When I see new businesses establish themselves in Houston and do well, it makes me happy because I was able to make an impact for them to still be standing.
Contact Info:
- Email: Email: tastewithtee18@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastewithtee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tastewithtee/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=Ws1a5344qbRKmZNqHbfIPg
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/chowdownhtown1/
Image Credit:
@tastewithtee
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