ALUMNI FOCUS

The magic lies beyond your comfort zone

Meet content creator Janice Fung, Macquarie University Bachelor of Applied Finance/Bachelor of Laws (Honours) graduate (2014) who left a promising corporate career to follow her passion for food and travel. From sampling Spanish tapas in Potts Point to slurping on noodles in Hong Kong, her feeds are full of her thirst for life, hunger for new experiences and cravings for travel. Much time was spent perusing her offerings while researching this article, and all we can say is don’t watch her socials if you’re feeling hungry or suffering from wanderlust – and follow her, for sure!

Although she studied applied finance and law at Macquarie University, listening to Janice Fung recount the opportunities she harnessed during her time here it’s clear the seeds of her role as a food and travel content creator – which had been sown as a child living between Australia and Hong Kong – quickly began to germinate.

From a month-long stint in Borneo as part of the PACE program, where she worked on a land-rights case and visited a remote village to document evidence from elders, to what she describes as the highlight of her uni days, a semester exchange studying at the University of Calgary in Canada, her ability to suck the marrow out of life has served her well.

Remembering her uni days, Miss Fung says, ‘I also did a law internship at Cochlear, working with the regional head of the legal department, whose reference was pivotal in the grad jobs I applied for, and was part of both the LUCY Mentoring and Global Leadership Programs, all of which helped me prepare for life beyond uni!’

Unsurprisingly, with all this experience before she’d even graduated, Miss Fung started working in financial services as a part of a graduate program as soon as she had finished. ‘My experience at Macquarie University held me in good stead for my career, first at the Macquarie Group and then at the Commonwealth Bank,’ she says.

Still, the creative life was calling. ‘I’ve always been interested in creating things,’ she says. ‘As a child, I used to put on plays with my siblings and was always messing around with a camera – I fell in love with telling stories in video form. Then, in my spare time at uni, I made YouTube videos just for fun.

And so, after several years in the corporate world, Miss Fung started to seriously consider what life might look like if she invested all her time in content creation. ‘I’d been thinking about it for a long time and wanted to see where I could take it,’ she remembers.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy decision. ‘I decided to write down the pros and cons of leaving my job,’ recounts Ms Fung, ‘and realised that while there was an unlimited upside, the downside was capped – at worst, I’d just have to go back to my corporate job, which wasn’t a bad option at all!’

But the courage to resign and put herself out there on the internet only happened when she finally faced her fears about why she shouldn’t do it. As she explains, ‘One of the biggest things stopping me was my concern about what others would think – that’s when I decided I’d much rather try and fail than never fail because I’d never had the courage to try.’

Still, Miss Fung didn’t tell her parents straight away because she didn’t want them to talk her out of it. ‘In fact, I pretended I was still working!’ she says a little sheepishly, but they can obviously all laugh about it now. ‘I got away with it for a while because my parents live in Hong Kong, but when they visited, they quickly realised what I’d done!’

And initially, they weren’t too happy about it. ‘They didn’t understand the life of a content creator and were really worried for me – they struggled with why I’d spent so much time studying and being admitted into the Supreme Court, and thought I was throwing it all away.

‘It took some time, but when they saw how happy I was making content, they started to come around, especially once they realised I could support myself financially from it – they’re constantly sending me content ideas now and are super supportive.’

So, with the travel bug still biting hard, the plan to take a year off and explore the world with her trusty video camera in hand began to crystallise. Naturally, the focus would be on food. ‘It’s such an amazing way to connect and bring people together,’ says Miss Fung. ‘My family has always gathered around food, making me the foodie I am today,’ she adds.

In 2019, Miss Fung left the familiarity of Sydney and her work to travel around Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. ‘That’s how I started my YouTube channel,’ she says. ‘I began documenting my travels, eating my favourite foods and making content about my adventures!

‘Lots of people are creating video content on food now, but in 2018 and 2019, while blogs were popular, not as many people were doing video,’ she remembers. Still, it was right before the pandemic, which in early 2020 put an abrupt halt to international travel and eating out, so Miss Fung went back to the Commonwealth Bank for two years, as had been her backup plan.

Finally, with borders open again and travel recommencing in earnest, in early 2023 Miss Fung took the plunge and threw herself into full-time content creation. ‘It’s been fun but nerve-racking!’ she laughs, noting her business and law skills from her degree have definitely come in handy as she navigates running her own business, planning content, creating partnerships with brands she’d only dreamed of working with like Sony and Destination NSW, and juggling everything from editing her videos to speaking engagements.

‘I love what I do, but I have to implement a lot of structure to ensure it’s sustainable. There are days when it’s absolutely exhilarating – I’ve reviewed theme-park food at Hong Kong Disneyland, for instance, and flown to Port Douglas with Sony for a series of immersive photography and videography workshops.

‘But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, it requires a lot of time in front of my laptop. When I started my own business, I worked all the time – there was just so much to do and not enough time. It’s about finding a balance and taking some time out too,’ she says.

Having worked in corporate and now on her own business, Miss Fung says both come with their own pressures. ‘In big organisations, there was less flexibility in what I did but more stability – in my own business, there’s so much flexibility but a lot less predictability. I have complete control over decisions and the direction I want to take my business, but it also means I’m fully responsible for whether something works out or not.’

The change from working as part of a team to on her own has been a change too. ‘I love working with people and being able to bounce ideas off a team, so I’m always looking to connect with other businesses and creators, both as a collaboration or to feature on my channels,’ she says.

So, it’s no surprise that a chance meeting with the Macquarie Photography Society at a digiDirect industry event led to Miss Fung reconnecting with her alma mater and speaking on creating content on social media and turning your passion into a side hustle at one of the society’s meetings in late 2023.

‘I spoke about my journey as a content creator and how to find your niche and monetise your content. The thing is to just start,’ she advises. ‘Your first videos aren’t going to be great, but you have to be bad to get better, there’s no way around it – and tag me in your content. I’d love to see it!’ she says with the same friendly, down-to-earth approach she’s had from the start.

Now with over 80,000 followers on YouTube as well as 26,000 on TikTok and 24,000 on Instagram, plus 1800 newsletter subscribers (sign up on her website), where to from here for Janice Fung? ‘I’d love to create more content on cooking,’ she says, and as always, her family is her inspiration. ‘My mum and grandma are amazing cooks, and I want to learn how they make certain dishes and soups and share this knowledge – I want to make sure these family recipes don’t get lost.’

As she says, food is more than merely fending off hunger. ‘It’s how you express your care and love for someone, and it’s how we create, nurture and rekindle relationships – that’s why food and people play such a big part in my content.’

It would seem the risk Miss Fung took to become a content creator and live just beyond her comfort zone has worked out. ‘Whatever happens from here, whether I go back to the corporate world or move in a different direction, it will all have been worth it,’ she says.

Then she adds thoughtfully, ‘I remember when I was considering this career change, someone said to me, what would make 8-year-old Janice and 85-year-old Janice proud? And I think what I’ve done will make them both proud. I took a chance, and where it has led me continues to be both extremely exciting and satisfying.’

Janice Fung graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Applied Finance/Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (2014). After working in corporate banking for several years, she reinvented herself as a travel and foodie content creator and now has well over 100,000 engaged followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

With over 500,000 video views a month, Miss Fung is the globe-trotting foodie friend you’d go to for a recommendation both at home and abroad. Her adventures span all things food and travel, from luxury hotel reviews to back-alley street stalls serving the best street eats, and her unique style of storytelling with a focus on fun, relatability and authenticity helps others get in touch with a thirst for adventure in their own lives.

Miss Fung’s work has led to partnerships with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Sony, Destination NSW, Skyscanner, Adobe and many more. Her focus on understanding culture through cuisine has also led to collaborations with household names in the food space domestically and abroad, including Tefal, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Amoy Sauce Sauce, Cobram Estate Olive Oil and appearances on Buzzfeed Tasty.

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