This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens and Raptive.

Welcome to episode 544 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Monique Volz from Ambitious Kitchen.

Monique launched Ambitious Kitchen in 2011 as a passion project and now it has grown into her full-time business (with several employees) and a New York Times bestselling cookbook (and another cookbook on the way). In this interview, Monique shares how she has adapted to all of the changes in the food creator landscape over the last 14 years, how her priorities and definition of success have changed, and the different “eras” of her business.

Due in part to an incredible season of growth during the pandemic, by 2022, Monique was burned-out. The pressure of keeping up with constant content demands — especially in the age of TikTok and Reels — prompted her to take a step back and refocus. She shifted away from the pursuit of virality, re-centered her creative goals, and leaned into the process of writing her first cookbook. In recent years, Monique has downsized her team so that she can focus on creating content (as opposed to managing a team) and returned to what she loves most: creating from a place of joy.

​Check out the show notes to find relevant links or leave a comment.

Three episode takeaways:

• Building a brand takes time and adaptability — Monique spent years balancing her blog with a full-time job before taking her site full-time. In this interview, she chats about the combination of hustle, constant learning, and “right time right place” that led to the success of Ambitious Kitchen.
• Burnout is real, even when you’re doing what you love — The constant pressure to create high-performing content eventually led Monique to reevaluate her approach and change her relationship with social media.
• Reinvention is essential in a changing industry — By reducing her team size, walking away from YouTube, and refocusing on meaningful content (like her cookbooks!), Monique is embracing a new chapter that aligns more closely with her values.

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Thank you to our sponsors!

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