Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Chen.
Austin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started the Transportcasserole Instagram foodie account in January of 2016. I was in Hong Kong at the time and there is just so much good food there but I didn’t want to spam my friends with endless pictures of food. That is how transport casseroles were born. The name is from a local sports radio station in Dallas where they discussed the intricacies of taking a casserole to a social event. No one is ever like “Can you help me find the best way to transport the casserole to the party?”. Anyways, the account became a food journal of my travels and has held true thru time. Every photo is taken with just an iPhone and some of them were pretty bad in the beginning. So, it’s shocking that someone would want to interview me, haha! The best part about starting the Instagram account is interacting and meeting the fellow foodies. I am currently into posting golf course food as a lot of courses have upgraded their menus. You can even get a steak on some of the local courses now!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For a while, I was trying to grow the account like everyone else by joining DM groups and influencer agency but it was a lot of work. People would text me to like and comment on their posts on a Sunday while I’m out golfing. When I finished the round they would be upset it took me so long. Also, there were rules on how many words minimum one needs to comment, so I just felt like it took away from the authenticity of a post. It wasn’t fun anymore so I have taken it easy this year. I post when I want to post and comment on whoever I like. So that would be the big tip I would give anyone starting out. Find out why you want to do it. If you want to be a foodie influencer, understand that it will take a lot of work and people are not going to follow you because you put up some pictures. You have to post consistently and interact with the community.
Please tell us about Transportcasserole (Food Instagram).
I do digital marketing for a e-commerce. Golf retailer so social media is a big part of my life. I really enjoy traveling and trying out foods. That is probably what stands out on my account is the unique foods I have tried like Guava Pie at McDonald’s in Hawaii or Ostrich flat noodle in Hong Kong to name a few.
There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
Talk to people is my big advice. Don’t be afraid to message much bigger accounts then yours. But always remember if you are looking to have an account do something for you, you better give them a reason to. Offer value to others instead of expecting people to do you a favor.
Contact Info:
- Email: transportcasserole@gmail.com
- Instagram: transportcasserole
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