so... what’s next?

hey rad readers,

lately i’ve been thinking a lot about how life is one big experiment, especially for someone like myself that learns by doing.

i changed my major five times in college (english, psych, econ, marketing, finance... what a ride!) while interning across multiple different industries (a law firm, a bank, a gym & a restaurant oh my!). to then kick off my career at apple in a rotational program that had me in 8 different roles. i've lived in more "homes" than i can count & don’t even get me started on my dating history.

so obviously my entrepreneurship journey has been full of twists & turns, including the one i’m sharing today!

learning curves

on the “startup curve” i’m deep in the experimentation phase.

what’s fascinating is realizing how similar the startup curve is to the journey of self-knowledge. our personal development is directly linked to our professional development, especially as a solopreneur. tim urban captures this perfectly in his article on “how to pick a career (that actually fits you)”.

both these visuals help give perspective on on the journey that is life, reminding & comforting us on the non linear nature of life.

pathless paths

quick flashback for newer readers: two years ago, i left my retail strategy job at warby parker to strike out on my own to bootstrap a greeting card business. i thought i had it all figured out.

spoiler alert: i didn’t (& still don’t)!

but what i did have is self-belief. a critical component that helped me jump into the deep end that i've been swimming in ever since.

i can honestly say that it wasn’t until i shed my corporate-only career path blinders that i realized how many more life paths were open to me that were “right” in different ways. another concept excellently illustrated by tim urban below & excellently written about by paul millerd in “the pathless path.”

the past seven months have been a whirlwind of experimentation (& existential questioning, let’s be real) on these different paths. from my smorgasbord of newsletter topics to the many sides of my businesses — slinging cards on shopify, selling digital downloads on etsy, creating all types of content, & freelancing as a designer — i’ve overfilled my plate at all you can eat business venture buffet.

through all my business experiments, i’ve been hunting for that sweet spot on my ikigai—the work that meshes what i love, what i’m good at, what pays, & what the world needs.

when i first started my business i was trying to force my ikigai to align with the business i wanted to build, but this year i let go of the control & instead let my true ikigai emerge. through this i’ve i know i’ve found a stronger ikigai because people that know me well are not surprised by it & many were expecting me to do this all along…

drumroll please…

i’ve decided to return to an industry i’ve been passionate about my whole life. it’s the first place i drove when i got my license. it’s my favorite area to explore when in a new city. & it’s what i have a decade of direct work experience in at apple & warby parker.

i’m thrilled to share i’m returning to retail!

this past year, i’ve had the pleasure of crafting retail strategies for some killer brands as a consultant & it’s sparked a major love affair with the industry again.

an industry that is all about merrymaking.

so moving forward, this newsletter will be exploring both how retailers make this magic & how we can apply these same lessons to sprinkle extra joy into our personal lives. i realize this is a bit vague but i wanted to dedicate today to explaining my thought process on why i’m changing things up. next week you will see exactly what i mean.

if this new chapter isn’t your jam, no hard feelings—feel free to hit unsubscribe.

but if you're even a smidge curious, i hope you’ll join me as we embark on this new era of merrymaking. i promise, it’s going to be a ride worth taking & that i’ll keep brining the monday morning mood boosts!

appreciate you growing with me 🫶 

p.s. if you’re looking for the best fact-driven daily news email to deepen your understanding of the world or you just want to show your support for my newsletter, please check out today’s merry partner 👇️ 

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