Meet Zahida Warren of Raleigh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zahida Warren

Hi Zahida, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I love to go out and explore all things from food, local shops, and travelling! Most people like to as well, so I decided to start documenting it through Instagram to help inspire others to do the same, while also supporting local businesses. Originally, I started with just posting local food I enjoyed, but I have since then expanded to posting places to visit, fun activities and experiences, and more! At first, I only captured it through photography, but now I am having fun creating videos to capture it all. I enjoy not only taking fun photos and videos, but getting to be creative by editing and doing it in a way that fits my style.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been times where I feel that my content has not done as well, or it has gone through spurts where it plateaus. Sometimes you spend hours creating something that does not do well, which becomes really upsetting. During that time, I sometimes have thought no one is enjoying my content or even seeing it, so what’s the point? However, I still like to go out and take photos of my experience. I love the editing process, it’s almost a bit therapeutic to me to find the right song for a video to create a specific vibe or mood, or learning new tricks to edit my photos, and even coming up with my punny captions! I have come to realize, that I don’t need to “make it big” and even if it’s only me that sees my own content, I enjoy creating it and have a fun time doing so.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I mainly love to eat and travel, so most of my work is posting content of that! I work with local restaurants and businesses in hopes to reach people who might have never heard of that spot, or perhaps always thought of trying it but never have. By doing this, I think I am most proud of the relationships I have built. Moving to Raleigh last year, I feel like I have already built amazing connections with lots of locals through my work. I love recommending places to others and helping local businesses. I feel what sets me apart is the fact that I like to romanticize going out. A lot of my posts have been about creating a mood that others might also enjoy from the shots that I get, to the music I choose for it. From getting dressed up to visit a nice restaurant, to a cozy morning at a coffee shop, I want others to appreciate the beauty of it all!

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I actually started doing this mainly during Covid and it really opened my eyes to a lot about local and small businesses. A lot of the people I met during that time were struggling with keeping their businesses open and spreading the word. It made me realize that there is a lot going on behind the scenes of a business. We live in a time of social media, so I have seen the importance of it and how it can be used for marketing. I think there are times where this has really helped local businesses out. I have also learned the importance of me shopping local and supporting my community!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetlifeofz/