Joanie is a full time food photographer who quit her 9-5 job to follow her creative passion.

She's always loved cooking, and when she started sharing food content online through her blog and started getting hired by restaurants to take photos of their menu, she realised she had an opportunity to pursue this creative outlet full time. Since then, she's started her own Youtube channel, online courses and physical workshops.

You'll love that story.

We also chat about...

How Joanie got started as a food photographer
Leaving her 9-5 job in 2015
Why her and her husband refinanced their house
The early trade offs when starting a business
Joanie's recipe blog
Yes and No tips to food photography
Her next steps as a photographer

Enjoy this chat with Joanie, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!

Show notes and links from today's episode

Joanie's website: Joanie Simon
Joanie on Youtube
Episode: How Randa built a food blog for passive income and the gift of travel – The Bewitchin’ Kitchen
Lightroom CC

Key takeaways from our chat with Joanie
1 - Pursuing a creative business isn't a straight path
Joanie explains that becoming a food photographer wasn't part of a big plan to leave her job. She started because she saw it as a fun outlet of creativity. She attributes her success to being very hands on, to her constant learning through Youtube and her genuine passion and interest. She made her own content and made sure to make friends with other artists, which completely immersed her into the world of food photography. Her Youtube channel also gave her exposure to a whole new set of audience, food bloggers and Youtubers, which further grew her business.
2 - Having a financial cushion.
Joanie was the sole breadwinner of a 2 children family when she decided to leave her job. With 9 months of expenses in the bank, she decided to focus on one thing only: getting her food photography business of the ground. Her and her husband also got serious about budgeting and knowing their numbers. They also refinanced their house in order to have more options, flexibility and less stress. This helped her focus on her food photography business and it's what gives her the huge amount of flexibility and freedom she has now.
3 - Building passive income from a creative business
Joanie started off with her recipe blog, but this eventually branched into a Youtube channel, food photography coaching and consulting, as well as workshops and online courses. This has been her move towards increasing her passive income and away from exchanging time for money. Through large 500 people workshops and courses she also feels she'll be able to educate people on a deeper level and will be building a much more scalable business. Her dream is to have a physical space to do her workshops.
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