If you want to be successful in business, you need to take risks.
A few years ago, I took a life-changing risk.
And today is the first time I’m finally writing about it on the blog.
When I started Chocolate Covered Katie, I never expected this to become my full-time job. My high school friends were all making blogs or Myspace pages back then, and we were doing it just for fun.
When a company contacted me about putting ads on the site, I thought their email was spam and came very close to deleting it. My blog was getting around 700 visitors per day, which I thought was a ton.
Then suddenly, Pinterest took off and changed everything.
Readers began pinning my recipes like crazy—for example, this recipe has over 1 million repins!
I was in college and in way over my head.
Traffic surges kept crashing the website, and hundreds of new reader questions and emails poured in each day.
I spent nights and weekends reading up on CSS and PHP and devoted my days to mastering aperture, F stops, and shutter speed. I was suddenly interested in subjects I’d never even thought of exploring: photography, business, computer programming?!
Interest in my actual college classes took a back seat, and my college social life swiftly dropped to nonexistent.
At the time, blogging was not a “real” job.
No one was a full-time blogger—at least, not anyone I knew.
But I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that this could really turn into something fantastic. If I didn’t take the chance to explore the opportunity, I knew it wouldn’t exist forever.
While I did initially tell readers I’d made a decision to blog full-time, there was a part I left out:
I dropped out of college to write a blog.
It sounded like such a crazy idea at the time, and there were definitely people in my real life who didn’t support my decision and were vocal about letting me know it.
But when I decide to do something, there is no talking me out of it – I wrote about this once before.
Both of my parents were supportive when I told them about my decision, but they did worry about me not having a degree, especially with the future of blogging being such an unknown.
Out of respect for them (because they seriously are the best), I went back and finished a year later online. Although I started college at Bryn Mawr and transferred to SMU in Dallas, my degree says I graduated from Penn State.
Somehow, I never seem to do anything the traditional way.
So was the risk worth it?
I love my job and get to eat chocolate every day. Definitely worth it!
Side note: If you want to read more about my college journey, you can do so here:
Chocolate Covered Katie – College Story Part 1
*For all who’ve been asking, here’s my simple tutorial for How To Start A Blog.
That’s really funny. What did you major in? I’m a lot like you in some ways (I love healthy cooking and writing and running), but I don’t know that I should go to a culinary school because I don’t want to have to cook with meat, eggs, milk, etc. Its a dilemma!
I started out as a Spanish major at SMU. The degree I ended up getting is a Bachelor’s in Letters, Arts, & Sciences.
Have you looked into culinary school at a place like the Natural Gourmet Institute?
I have! And it looks excellent, I have to say, although far from home. 🙂
Getting the kind of degree you did may be what I decide on. I don’t like fitting into a box! I want to have a lot of skills in areas I love, you know? It’s very inspiring that you wrote this because I would love my “hobbies” to become a career.
Tnx u have everything a person will want to eat here 😻for every taste 👅
Thanks for sharing your story Katie! I’m interested not only because I’ve been blogging for 13 years (during that time my internet business has earned everything from chump change to a full-time living that supported me and my kids during my time as a divorced mom), but also because I’m a mom of homeschooled kids. Their educational and career paths are also going to be non-traditional. I love that our modern era with the internet and other technology allows us to do this. You’re an inspiration!
Way to go! So glad you followed your heart. So many people benefit from what you do here! Best wishes as you continue your journey!
Love this! I’m a full-time blogger and I love it. I earn a great living, I travel full-time (sold my house last year!), and it will allow us to have enough money saved to retire before 30 if we actually wanted to. But, I love blogging so I don’t see that happening, haha.
Oh this is so inspiring to read!
Time has changed and everything seems to be possible nowadays. Though, I agree with the part where you say that the future of blogging being so unknown, but as I see it you have totally made a good job so far and it has deifnitely been worth it havent it? 😀
Anyway, was very nice to read this! I’m getting motivated to follow my own dreams as well!
Take care!
Paulina (your nr 1 fan from Sweden ;))
100kitchenstories.se
You’re such an inspiration to me Katie 🙂 Your blog was the first one I ever discovered on the Internet and I’ve stuck with you ever since! You inspired me to write my own blog and I’ve never looked back. Thank you SO much for everything. <3
Good on you for taking a risk and pursuing your passion. It’s incredible to see how well you have done. Keep it up Katie!
You could not have posted this at a more perfect time. I was just thinking about your blog and wondering last night how you made this into your full-time job. I graduated from college a year ago and am still trying to figure out how to find/create a career that I am passionate about. This is really inspiring. I also love baking, and your blog has always been my favorite!
I like that messy chocolate picture. Just hope it is dark chocolate, my favorite. 🙂
This is actually great! (I’m in college right now) my blog doesn’t nearly make enough for me to drop out, but it does make me feel good about myself when I have a bad/long school day! I’m so glad you started your blog, I’ve absolutely loved it.
x Kenzie // Kenzieblogslife.blogspot.com
Katie, I have always found you to be so positive, kind, upbeat… and am reminded after reading this Blog, you are *so* generous! I found you a few years ago when I was working on moving to a plant-based diet, everything yummy I Googled sent me to the same place – here!
I don’t want to bore you with details, but we just love you around here. I have been disabled for some time, but in that time with so much of my life changing, I discovered I actually liked baking, loved it even! I live with my folks – who, like yours, were extremely (& sort of surprisingly!) supportive about my sort of !beyond! traditional University choices when I struggled with future hopes and the school where I was not happy, and then transferring to my favorite school, the University of Oklahoma, where what I wanted to “be when I grew up” was not taught, not something I could get a degree in. So I bounced around a LOT, and I have no idea why my parents didn’t tell me to cut it out 🙂
I have hoped for the past 5 years to start a home-based business and this really encourages me! And also like you , I want to finish those few classes and (oh! go away, silly tears!) I want so much for my parents to see me walk or wheel or heck, have a friend give me a piggyback ride!, across a stage to receive my degree. Hoping hoping!
Some tradition is very nice. But some of us also just aren’t made from the same mold, which i think is very cool. Life would be so boring if we all did things the same way! It is just so neat that you found your niche so early in life, this is a fantastic Blog (and book!) and I have learned so much from you. I feel like you are part of my “team” when my stubborn Dad sets down his junky desserts and dives into a CCK recipe! You might very well have helped us get to keep him here still, he had a heart attack 4 years ago.
Now if you can come up with some sort of plant-based hot dog, which for some wacky reason is my Dad’s favorite food? You will be the biggest hero in this house. 😀 (I Guess we all can have one vice, but my STARS that man likes junk!) :0)
Thanks again for being so kind and sharing your life a li’l bit too!
Aw thanks… I can try. Have you tried any of the plant-based hot dogs on the market? I haven’t tried any in years but think I’ve had the Lightlife ones a few times, years ago, and liked them.
Wow, Katie! You are so inspiring. Thanks for sharing your story. As a high school kid it’s nice to know that non-traditional schooling is sometimes the best option of all, depending of course on your circumstances.
Hi Katie! Your blog and recipes were among the first to get me interested in cooking and baking. One of my first “trial recipes” was your avocado cream sauce, which I now make all the time! I actually recently started my own food blog on Instagram (@24bbakery) because I’ve been inspired by you to share my love for food and health with others! If you have any advice on starting a successful blog I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for making it!
I tagged all of my posts about blogging… hopefully one of them can maybe be helpful! https://lett-trim.today/tag/blogging-tips/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Ha! I can’t even imagine telling people you were going to quit college to write a blog. Even now, blogging isn’t exactly something everyone thinks about when they think about career choices, but a few years ago?! That would be like telling people you were quitting college to play professional quiddich. Which would be really fun, by the way.
Love your blog!
Your story is very inspiring! I started blogging about 3 years ago and wished I had gotten into it sooner. Now, with two small kids, there is no way I can quit my day job and blog full-time. I’m contented by positive feedback on my recipes and increasing my views per day.
Hi Katie! Awesome story and very inspiring 🙂 I started blogging about a year ago about my journey with scoliosis and my surgery. Recently the hospital I had my surgery at in NYC came to me and asked me if they could share my story and my blog. I happily said yes! The NY Post and Daily Mail ran the story last week which was great exposure. But now I’m wondering how to keep gaining traction and visitors… Do you have any suggestions for those of us still trying to figure out the blogging thing 😛
PS I LOOOOVE your blog and all of your recipes! Your muffins in my house always go like hotcakes!! … And my family doesn’t even like to eat healthy like I do – haha!
Oh wow, congratulations. That is fantastic exposure!
I tagged all of my posts about blogging… hopefully some of them can be helpful. I would say Pinterest is one of my biggest traffic sources and a great place to focus if you want more traffic. https://lett-trim.today/tag/blogging-tips/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E