Ep 144: Going viral with 500k following as an Italian Chef | Gero DiMaria Mohammed Omar (Kucina)

Gero DiMaria knows what it means to go truly viral.


He's an Italian chef & owner of Kucina - Singapore's first
authentic halal food restaurant.


But he's also a bona fide Italian culinary superstar with over
500k followers on social media - 256k on Instagram & 252.6k
on TikTok!


He took the world by storm with his recent series of viral reels
on choosing the best pasta/cheeses in grocery stores, and that
had a real trickle down effect on his business.


So we dig into all the juicy stuff, including:


What does it mean to actually go ‘viral’?


What kind of measurable impact has social media had on his
business?


What is his advice for leveraging social media for businesses?


What have his toughest moments been?


And who exactly is Gero?!


The goal: To understand the role of social media today, what it
really means to go viral & how one can leverage on that
social media reach to build your own business.


Highlights:


1:55 Italian childhood

4:11 What do Italians eat every day?

5:38 People in Asia aren’t taught to think?!

10:58 Entering the food industry

12:13 Work hard to earn your money

13:33 Your first job sets the bar

14:49 That English breakfast shift 

16:52 Knowing that the F&B world was for him 

17:33 How to cook the perfect pasta

20:04 Moving from London to Singapore

21:58 First job at Pasta Fresca

23:19 What’s an authentic halal Italian restaurant?

25:59 Chefs can only be chefs, they can’t run a business

29:43 Going into marketing & the lost $3000

31:22 The turning point

32:39 Content strategy

35:14 Going truly viral

36:18 Acting debut

37:58 Why accept collaborations?

40:00 Separating his personal brand from his Kucina
restaurant

41:24 The content creation team

42:48 Advice for entrepreneurs

44:06 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?

45:25 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

46:15 What do you think are the most important qualities of a
successful person?






Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/144 


Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building
your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes):
https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062


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