Cece Rose, 26, had spent years slogging away in food service, juggling multiple roles for just above minimum wage, now she earns her old annual salary in just a week
A former kitchen worker has revealed how she ditched gruelling shifts for a six-figure online career after earning more in her first week on adult sites than she did in an entire year.
Cece Rose, 26, had spent years slogging away in food service, juggling multiple roles for just above minimum wage. The content creator says life in the kitchen was physically exhausting, with long hours and little reward.
But a bold move into content creation during the pandemic turned everything on its head almost overnight. Now, with more than two million followers online, she’s swapped early starts and heavy lifting for running her own booming online business.
Cece spent years slogging away in food service(Image: Jam Press/@Cecerose)
Cece, from Toronto, Canada, said: “I was working three people’s jobs because they knew I would just get it done. My mindset at the time was, ‘If I’m awake, I could be working to earn money.’”
Cece began working at just 15 after leaving school and moving out of home a year later, forcing her into a full-time gig to survive.Her early jobs included shifts at an ice cream shop and then a barbecue kitchen.
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She was a vegan at the time, but she really needed the cash. By the time she left the industry, she was earning around £14-£15 an hour (7.50-8.50 CAD), often doing the work of several people at once.
Cece has more than two million followers(Image: Jam Press/@Cecerose)
Her days were relentless, from opening kitchens early to prepping food, lifting heavy equipment and spending hours on her feet. At times, she juggled roles across food trucks and kitchens, managing entire prep lists on her own.
She said: “I just simply focused on food, the roof over my head and the clothes on my back. I wasn’t going out, I wasn’t going to dinners – none of that was happening.”
While she enjoyed working closely with small business owners, the physical toll eventually became too much. Cece said: “The food service industry is extremely physically demanding. That part I don’t miss at all.”
Cece now rakes in the cash(Image: Jam Press/@Cecerose)
Alongside her shifts, Cece had always dabbled in social media, doing casual photoshoots with friends when she could. But it wasn’t until the Covid pandemic that she decided to take it seriously.
She said: “That’s when the boom happened. I thought, I could do this instead of working, and focus on creating content that I love. I started in the middle of the month, and in those two weeks I made more than my whole month of work.
“The following month blew that out of the water – I made more than I made in a year working in the kitchens.”
Cece worked in kitchens for years(Image: Jam Press/@Cecerose)
Rather than shock, the sudden success brought relief. Cece said: “I was like, okay, I don’t have to go back. I can focus on creating content and still make more than I was before.”
Despite the dramatic change, Cece says her work ethic hasn’t shifted, adding: “I feel like those jobs shaped me. I learned discipline and how to manage everything myself – and that’s why I can run my business solo now.”
Cece continues to manage everything independently, from content creation to interacting with fans. And while her income has soared, her attitude towards money remains cautious.
Cece Rose(Image: Jam Press/@Cecerose)
She said: “I’m still very frugal. I understand the value of money because I had to work so hard for it before.”
These days, her lifestyle includes travel and property investments – a far cry from her early days just getting by. Looking back, she admits the contrast can be frustrating.
She added: “It’s frustrating to see that I worked in such extreme circumstances sometimes just to make the bare minimum. But I still speak to my old bosses and co-workers and they’re all proud of me. They saw me trying to build something even back then.”