Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Heart.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
This was not the career that I had in mind. Around 2015, I was working in real estate with my husband, and as much as I loved what we were building together, I was craving a creative outlet and something that felt like mine. I loved beauty, so I started posting makeup looks on Instagram just for fun.
From there, I started a blog and eventually YouTube. My first YouTube video was a makeup tutorial, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I taught myself how to film and edit as I went. Little by little I found an amazing community of women that shared the same passions as me.
Then I started sharing more of my everyday life. I remember making a holiday video where I was getting ready for a party and also making the green bean casserole I was bringing. People were way more interested in the recipe than I expected, and they kept asking me to share more food, so I did.
My content became less about beauty and more about food, home, entertaining, family and everyday life. Somewhere along the way, what started as something I was doing for fun became my actual career.
It’s kind of wild to think that it’s been more than ten years now, because I still feel like I’m figuring things out as I go. But I think that’s also part of what I love about it, it keeps changing, and I get to keep growing with it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road. I think from the outside social media can look like this really straightforward career, but when I started there was no roadmap at all. I was basically figuring everything out as I went, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, everything changes again.
There have been times when something that used to work suddenly stopped working, or a video I was really excited about didn’t do well, and I’d start questioning everything. Do people still care about what I’m sharing? Should I be doing something completely different? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come close to quitting but I’m always glad I powered through the lows.
I also think a big part of my journey has been figuring out where I fit in. I grew up moving around quite a bit, lived in Panama, and then moved to the U.S. when I was around 13. For a long time I never really felt completely rooted in one place. So when I started sharing online and found this community of women who loved the same things I did and that connection meant a lot to me. I think that’s a huge part of why I kept going.
And then life changed too. I became a mom, my priorities changed, and naturally my content changed with me. I’ve had to learn not to tie my worth to views or numbers, which is probably still a work in progress. I’ve also had to learn how to set boundaries because when you work from home and your life is also part of what you share, those lines can get blurry really quickly.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create lifestyle content and share videos centered around food, home and entertaining, mostly through social media. I recently launched my own food blog where I share recipes that I’ve developed and tested myself. I didn’t learn to cook until well into my adult years, so a lot of what I know has come through trial and error. I think that’s also why I’m not afraid to experiment. I’ve been told more than once that my recipes are really unique. When an idea comes to mind, I just go for it. I won’t lie though, not all of them have been winners.
The biggest thing for me is that I always want it to feel approachable. I never want someone to watch something I make and think, “That’s beautiful, but I could never do that.” I want them to think, “Oh, I can actually do that.” Regardless of what I share, I want it to feel inspiring without feeling intimidating.
I think what I’m most proud of, though, is the relationship I’ve built with my audience. Some of them have been with me for more than 10 years, through so many different versions of my life and my content. The fact that they still show up, try the recipes, send me photos, or tell me they made something for their family means so much to me. At this point it feels like we’ve kind of grown up together.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happiest is my family. My husband, my kids, just doing life together and creating memories along the way. Knowing my boys are growing up feeling loved and surrounded by family means everything to me.
I also really value peace. I guess at this point in my life, happiness is being able to slow down enough to actually appreciate what I have while I’m in it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://LettersFromMyKitchen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misslizheart/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissLizHeart/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS0pvfQZhy8qYG7Bhg51h7Q
