“DoTheDaniel: Behind the Scenes with Creator, Media Personality, and Entrepreneur”

From a food blog to a lifestyle brand, Daniel Reyes Cocka  has established himself as an icon in the industry with over a million unique monthly readers. Daniel is a content creator, media personality, entrepreneur, and the mastermind behind DoTheDaniel.com. In this interview, he shares his insights on building a brand, growing an audience, adapting to changes, and creating a successful career as an entrepreneur, media personality, and content creator.

Daniel’s journey began in 2013 when his boyfriend, now husband, introduced him to the world of blogging. With a background in the food and hospitality industry, he launched DoTheDaniel.com as a food blog. After working tirelessly on his full-time job and building #DoTheDaniel into a profitable business, he transitioned into lifestyle several years into his career and became a leader in the industry.

How does he balance his different roles and responsibilities as an entrepreneur, media personality, and content creator? Daniel shares that it took making a lot of mistakes as a content creator to finally find a happy place where work-life balance is his focus, and success comes naturally. He focuses on working with brands that compliment his life and his dreams of starting a family with his husband in the next few years. It’s always important for Daniel that he trusts his instincts, aligns with the right people and helps lift others as he climbs the ladder of success.

Daniel believes that what sets himself and DoTheDaniel apart is that he never claimed to be or wanted to be overly polished and curated. It’s very DIY and “rough around the edges”, which is what a lot of people out there who read and follow along can identify with and see themselves in.

Daniel considers himself a lifestyle expert after ten years of experience, but he will never stop trying to learn. He believes it’s important to realize where your strengths lay and never try to be everything, everywhere because that is a quick path to burnout. Daniel advises starting slow and focusing on what you bring to the table, not what others are doing. He also recommends being consistent. If you create content once a week and post regularly, you’ll build a loyal audience who can trust you’ll be there for them when they need you just as much as you need them.

Daniel admits that financials play a huge part in his success, but more than that, building and maintaining relationships that he can lean on and trust in the industry is key. He is in the process of expanding his offerings with some exciting new collaborations and is excited to take DoTheDaniel to a whole new level this year.

Daniel was quick to embrace that the pandemic was going to be an existential shift on our world and in our industry, and quickly pivoted to pitching at-home experiences. Daniel launched “The Hand That Helped” community. It’s a gathering of creators, performers, and small businesses that are shared through his network of over ten years at no charge.

Daniel relies on his touch-points with contacts and his strive to be a good-hearted person to maintain and grow his audience. 

Daniel launched a $10,000 giveaway to celebrate ten years of doing what he loves;  #DoTheDaniel10K, a celebration of his audience. In addition, Daniel is working on something special that will be enjoyed by Canadians. He plans to launch an event series with local restaurants in Toronto, and his upcoming segment on TV. 

Daniel Reyes Cocka has big plans, and he can’t wait to share more soon