i’ve got news

merry march merry makers 🌸🍀🌧️🌷🦋

i've been brewing something BIG behind the scenes & i’m bursting to share it with you.

butterflies. tingles. anticipation.

that's what i'm feeling as i type this email. my fingers are practically buzzing.

merry makery is about to expand into something even more special

(& yes, even more merry!).

sxsw 2022

first, a little rewind...

three years ago, i was living what many would call "the dream." director-level at warby parker, intimately involved in scaling them from 20 to 200 stores, fundraising, & going public. impressive title. incredible boss. stable income. success by most conventional measure.

then came sxsw in austin.

the streets pulsing with creators, creatives, & ceos. raw energy everywhere. i wandered those crowded streets in awe of the people building their own dreams instead of someone else's. it gave me a profound, electric awakening. suddenly my murky waters were crystal clear: i wasn't meant to build someone else's vision forever

i needed to create something of my own.

shortly after i went back to my fancy corporate job at warby parker & did something that terrified me — i put in my notice. no health insurance, disappointing my amazing boss, leaving the team i'd built, potentially burning through my savings.

all those rational fears were there, screaming at me.

but that dream voice was louder.

my starter business

my first business was a card company (yes, actual paper cards!). . i truly believed i could take on hallmark armed with nothing but bootstraps & blind ambition. it's also how this newsletter started, back when i wrote about the enneagram & whatever else crossed my mind.

shoutout to the OG subscribers who've been here since then
🫶 y'all are the real MVPs.

i had a blast, learned a ton, & even landed on noah kagan’s podcast to talk about my so-called “my million dollar weekend.”

(spoiler: no millions were actually made)

but here’s what no one talks about: the profit wasn’t there. despite working 100-hour weeks designing, marketing, & doing all the things, i was barely breaking even.

my inputs & outputs were in an absolute situationship. this forced me face to face with the brutal truth: what i was making wasn’t all that special.

cute, definitely.

revolutionary, nope.

turns out, the universe had better plans...

my homecoming

about a year ago, a founder friend asked for help with their expanding store fleet.

i said yes without thinking twice.

one project led to another through quiet referrals. soon i was advising multiple growing brands on their retail strategy. those years at apple & warby parker suddenly had new purpose. in these strategy sessions, everything clicked. the frameworks, metrics, & operations i'd built translated perfectly to these growing retailers.

i was back in my zone of genius.

this then led me to pivot this newsletter fully into retail. since august, we’ve explored an array of topics with the most loved editions on:

• spirit halloween's pop-ups

• the hottest club in america

• my fave table of all time

• my 2025 predictions

• celebretail ™

the retail insight gap

in writing these newsletters & studying what retail content is out there, i’ve realized…

most retail resources out there are fluffy af.

just this last week, i was helping a client define "same store sales" — one of the most fundamental retail metrics — & the resources explaining it were garbage. like they were written by someone who still thinks retail innovation means adding massage chairs to your showroom floor à la sharper image.

i'll admit that sometimes my content gets fluffy too (because fluffy is fun!),

but retailers don’t need more gummy multivitamins.

now more than ever, retailers need more painkillers.

this looks like:

• actionable advice from experts

• real-world recent examples

• simple scaling strategies

• battle-tested templates

• proven methods

too many brands are reinventing the wheel when it comes to the above. dedicating internal teams to solve problems that have already been solved. wasting precious time, money, & resources because they think they need to do everything themselves.

for me, it's like watching someone build a chair from scratch
when there's an ikea right next door 😳

what's in store?

this is the moment to make merry makery the ultimate resource for retailers.

this will look like:

• exclusive reporting on retail trends

• comprehensive store playbooks & guides

• downloadable templates i've refined over a decade

• a new interview series with people behind-the-stores

• connection with industry peers (maybe in-person dinners? or a book club?)

to support all this newness, i’ll be introducing a paywall for premium content in the coming weeks. you will still get my emails for free, but the really good stuff will be reserved for paying merry members only.

but here's the good news:

as an early reader, you'll get access at a reduced founder's rate. this is your chance to get in on the ground floor of making something very merry.

you’ll help build the resource i wish i had when i was in the trenches of retail.

at first, i thought i could do this with the “pay what you can” model. while a few generous angels (love you forever) pitched in, most of you — being the sharp, budget-savvy pros you are — opted for the “free 99” plan.

which, fair. but that’s exactly why i want you in my merry membership. because the smartest people shouldn’t just read the good stuff. they should help shape it.

so, let’s make this.

together 🫶 

but why???

i realize that paywalling content might be disappointing & for that, i truly apologize.

but to be clear, this isn't just about money.

it’s about creating something bigger, better, & built to last.

for two years, i’ve poured my heart into this newsletter — late nights, weekends, obsessively crafting content to send every monday morning. but let’s be real with each other: when you do something for free, it’s a hobby, not a business.

so to truly serve you at the level you deserve, i need your help turning this from a side thing into something that’s so much more.

i’m fired up about of giving you merry makers more.

i’ve got a massive backlog of frameworks, templates, & insights that i’ve distilled from a decade working behind the scenes of stores. but delivering that kind of value takes time & resources.

i see this next chapter for merry makery as more than a newsletter.

it’s a community (a term i know that’s overused right now, but the best i can find) of retail operators leveling up together. a space where good ideas spread faster, mistakes don’t get repeated, & we all grow stronger.

i believe this is a service the retail worlds needs
& a service worth paying for.

so here we are at the beginning of something new. i hope you'll join me on this next chapter of making retail more merry. stay tuned for more details about the changes & the opportunity to lock in your founding merry member rate (that will only be offered for a limited time!).

as always, my inbox is open. if you have questions or thoughts about these changes, just hit reply. i read & respond to every single email.

excited to build this with you.

be merry,

MacK