I wasn't ready to start this email list. I didn't know what to name it, what to write about, or where it would lead. But I started it anyway. And for me, that's rare. I'm usually the type to overthink, wait until the "right moment," or procrastinate until I talk myself out of it. Clearly, I decided to end that when starting this newsletter! So what did I learn by starting without clarity? #1 Clarity comes from action, not from thinking. I've written an email once a week for 6 weeks - enough...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Ah, to be a kid in the early 2000s. The other day, I was talking with my cousin about those "nostalgia" TikToks. You know, the ones that show the toys you used to play with in 2001 with the music that is so nostalgic it almost makes you feel sick? You best believe that I'm going through all 35 slides of this too! I said to him, "yeah, we could curate that same feeling today if people realized what made those times so special." So, what made those times special? (from an early 2000s kid)...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Meeting the Carbliss Founders Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet Carbliss founders Adam Kroener & Amanda Kroener at AMA Milwaukee's Summer Social event. Amanda Kroener & Adam Kroener speaking at AMA Milwaukee Summer Social (Photo courtesy of Green Onion Creative) Carbliss is a beverage company focused on creating flavorful, low-carb, & low-calorie canned cocktails. They're similar to a High Noon, but they taste so much better. I'm not just saying that! I almost had a hard time...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Sydney Sweeney is launching a soap with Dr. Squatch formulated with her bathwater. As in, the water she bathed in. All of us rn I read that she is trolling her trolls who would ask her for her bathwater in her social media comments. If that's the case, that's pretty funny. But I also feel like we are cooked as a society lol. Also, this made me think of the song "Bathwater" by No Doubt...IYKYK. But anyway - what does this have to do with anything? Sydney Sweeney is selling literal bathwater,...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
My brother Dino graduated from college this weekend! When you're at a college graduation you are reminded of career paths, plans, success, and everything that goes along with "setting up your life." It's a mixed bag of emotions: excitement, fear, maybe even worry. Some people have jobs after graduation, some don't. Some know what their career will be, some are figuring it out. In many ways, it paralleled building a freelance business. Highs, lows, certainty, and uncertainty. But I realized...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
There's a joke that I've seen online that you'll know who your true friends are based on who is willing to pick you up from the airport. Literally me rn My family said I'm the "King of O'Hare" because I've mastered the art of picking someone up from Chicago O'Hare Airport. And yes, that title went straight to my head. I picked my parents up the other day and it was...chaotic to say the least. Even I, a seasoned professional, couldn't believe what I was seeing. As one does, I made my way to...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Years ago, I remember seeing the viral TED Talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the danger of a single story. Essentially, her message is that the story we hear about a particular type of person or place may not be correct and can lead to big misunderstandings. Stories have power. They shape how we see the world. But the power of stories has to be harnessed correctly. Telling your brand's story What if your target customer has a story about you in their minds that isn't true? What if they have...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read