mornin’ merrymakers 🫶🥹💌🤝✨,

i'm writing this from seattle, where i've spent the past week wandering the sites and the shops. pike place is pell-mell. the first starbucks is not grande. university village is masterclass in mall-making.

the emerald city greenery is what really steals the show.

& what has me really thinking about why i do what i do with merry makery. which is what has me speechless in seattle compared to my usual monday musings.

so today’s not about stores nor about me,

but about stories & about you!

i’ve officially been an entrepreneur/solopreneur/consultant/freelance/contractor/whatever you want to call working for yourself outside of a corporate setting for four years.

social media & it’s nature of showing highlight reels means you rarely see or realize how many moments of doubt go into working for yourself.

& how every person i know that’s following a similar path to mine contemplates getting a job again.

doubt is the ante you pay to keep betting on yourself.

i've had & still have plenty. i have no idea if merry makery will be a booming success or just the hardest self development course i ever took. and that's okay. even on the days i worry this business might be a “failure,” i'm reminded that building it at all is a success & that i will get through this better for it.

but i want to tell you what actually pulls me out of those doubt spirals.

it's you.

every time i hear from one of y'all, the doubt gets quieter. & every time i hear that i've inspired one of you to post on linkedin, write a newsletter, start a business, or simply go shop in a store, i feel like i’m onto something bigger. like i'm on the right track for merrymaking, even when the track is foggy.

so today i want to be specific about it.

because "thanks for the support" immediate loses me & you deserve better.

if you've ever done one of these things, this is for you:

→ if you've ever liked, commented, or reshared one of my social media posts, i see every single one. this is one of the most free AND most generous things you can do. you’re vouch for me to your people & to the algorithm. i don't take this for granted.

→ if you've ever replied to one of these emails, even just a "loved this one," you should know that inspires me to keep going & shapes what i write about.

→ if you've ever forwarded a letter to a coworker or your ops lead or that friend who just signed their first lease, you grew this thing in the best way possible.

→ if you've ever partnered with me, sponsored an edition, or brought me in to work on your business, you bet on a one-woman shop when you had safer options. that trust is how i’ve survived this long.

→ if you've ever clicked an ad in this letter, you’ve paid for ¼ of a drip coffee which fuels my brain every morning.

→ if you've ever sent me a store photo, a retail article, or a "you have to see what this brand is doing" text, you’ve in guided me towards my best letters.

→ & if you just open & read, every week. you keep me going.

before i made up the word merry makery, & before any of you were here, there was a smaller group i need to thank.

some of them are reading this.

the friends, family, & loved ones who built their own businesses & let their light shine so bright that i started to think i could do the same. watching y’all put your work into the world is what gave me permission to put out mine.

this is social contagion at its best.

which brings me to the thing i've been sitting with all week in seattle.

my friends spread their light to me. y'all keep it lit. & i hope my work spreads it further. even if you don't love stores. even if you don't fully understand what i do.

i hope my work helps you believe in doing & sharing your work.

extra emphasis on sharing.

because doing the “work” without expression is just private unrealized potential.

it would be like a store doing all the buildout, perfecting the assortment, training the team, and never opening its doors. the magic doesn't happen on the white board or in the back room. it happens when the doors open and people walk in.

when you co-create with others.

i write this as a reminder to you and myself to open your doors more often.

we’re living stor(i)es that deserve to be shared.

p.s. seattle is just the start of my nomadic adventures for the next fourish month. i’ll be in sf for the next 10 days & then nyc for a few weeks. let me know if you want to grab a coffee & stroll stores together! or if there is a store that i must see.