Name of your website?Ethnic Spicy Food And More.com
Your name?
Vanessa LaBranche
Your Location (city, etc)
Worcester
Please give us a short summary of your website?
My website is about ethnic cooking with free recipes. Cuisines include African American soul food, Mexican Hispanic food, Cajun Creole Food and Jamaican cuisine. There is also information on herbs and spices. My website also features the food history behind each cuisine. Eventually my website will include more dining and cookbook reviews and resources for specialty seasonings and spices.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have been inspired because of my passion of cooking and being introduced to the different cuisines from my travel over the years. I am enjoying writing the recipes and content on a daily basis.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website. I have been building my own web pages and creating my own content. I started writing for this website as of April of this year.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I decided to call it Ethnic Spicy Food And More because it describes the different ethnic cuisines that I mention. The "more" part means it will be more than just a recipe site but will include additional food related content I will be adding in the future. As my traffic builds, I will be offering a free monthly newsletter relating to the theme of my site.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
I think it is somewhat different from other websites because I don't just focus on one cuisine. Most people when they eat, they like trying different foods and that's why I think my website differs from some similar offerings. I also think that there is a need for information about cuisines that relate to spicy food with flavor.
secure a book or otWhat is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, her mainstream media deal?)
My eventual goal is to keep it for income and also build a community of users who share a passion for cooking and eating as I do.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
My initial investment of money so far has been good as well as the time commitment.I think you have to be realistic when it comes to success. Patience is needed and realistically it takes time to build a business, whether it is an online business or a local business.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
If I had an unlimited budget for development, I would probably hire an additional webmaster to help build more content in a timely fashion. I also would hire a marketing company on my behalf, who could possibly pitch the idea for professional or celebrity chefs who could provide video cooking tips and demonstrations, provide content, recipes, etc. to my site to give more in depth info regarding my niche.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
If it got really big quickly, I would have to find a network of people who could help me keep up with the demand.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
As of yet, I have had no unexpected costs, but in any business that would be unrealistic to think it wont be necessary in the near future. In my opinion, a web business is still a cost effective way of having your own business, compared to other models.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is my time. I work a full time job and I've been working on my website on a part time basis and making the time necessary to make progress.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I would have to say creating good content. When setting up my pages I also use keywords that are somewhat in demand with search engines.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I've only been running the site for five months so far. I plan to continue with it even if it does not enjoy big gains in any of those categories. I do believe in the motto of "Do what you love and the money will follow." How much money you make is another question. But hey, if you enjoy what you're doing it isn't work after all.
What is your website address?
Ethnic Spicy Food And More.com
