“The Art of Starting” & How to Keep it Going
The current global state of affairs is unprecedented: a pandemic has infected every continent except Antarctica, keeping people at home for months — away from jobs, friends, family and “normal” lives. And now we are witnessing an uprising for racial equality unlike anything we’ve seen since the 1960’s. 350+ cities nationwide took to the streets, demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the countless other black lives lost to violent interactions with the police.
These realities are leading us towards innovative and systemic change in our every day lives: to new ways of socializing and engaging politically, as well as new ways of doing business. It certainly feels like a season for starting.
And this question — how to start something new, and keep at it — is one I’ve been asking myself not only in recent months as it pertains to our current affairs, but long before that when faced with big decisions about my professional purpose.
My story of starting begins in 2013.
In May of that year, a good friend invited me to the Food Book Fair in Williamsburg. I’ll never forget walking into the sparkling lobby of The Wythe Hotel to find rows and rows of books, magazines, and businesses, all dedicated to food — which I’ve had a deep affinity for since before I can remember. The other thing that stayed with me from that day were the expressions of the people there. Volunteers, authors, sellers, chefs, activists and foodies from all walks of life, they all looked happy. Until that day I had never considered food or cooking as a professional path.
At the time I was 2.5 years into what would become a 10 year stint in the fashion industry; first as a photo intern, then producer, and finally talent agent. During that decade, I internalized a few general rules about surviving in the industry:
- To be hard. I was taught that everything should bounce off you. Certainly, there were some exceptions to the rule, but typically, shows of emotion were seen as a sign of weakness and not well received.
- To be yourself sometimes comes at a cost. As a female COO once told me in a salary review meeting, “Perception is everything.” Her council in order to get the raise I wanted? “Throw on some lipstick from time to time.” Unfortunately for me I identify as a generally non-makeup-wearing she/her who prefers streetwear to heels. I never got the salary increase I wanted.
- Having a life outside the industry is seen as disloyal. You mean, your friends don’t work in fashion? And you don’t hang out exclusively at trendy industry haunts? You won’t spend outside your means to buy clothes? My answers, defiantly: NO! NO! and NO!
Point being: for a long time my heart longed for more than this J-O-B: to be happy and to feel free to be myself. But didn’t that mean starting over?
As an eager graduate with a B.S. in Photography, I had unwittingly stumbled into this pseudo-“Devil Wears Prada” reality. I paid my dues and went through the hazing process to join the club (like the game of “how-many-director’s-chairs-can-one-5'3”-intern-carry-on-her-arms-at-once?”). I think it was the pride I felt in surviving that propelled me forward, and up in the ranks — at least on paper.
It was when I’d started to become weary of it all, that I found food — that day at the Food Book Fair. I started gobbling up food culture anywhere I could: read all sorts of food-related books, attended food panels, went to networking events and talked to chefs, and eventually attended the acclaimed International Culinary Center to get certifications in Food Writing and Culinary Techniques. I loved it all. Even at my most tired, going to school and working, the passion never waned.
Still, the question nagged at me year after year: but change my career? Start where? How? Instead, I proudly proclaimed myself a “side-hustler”, a multi-hyphenate millennial doing it all. It wasn’t until February when my fashion “family” kicked me to the curb (the 4th lesson of fashion being that you are always expendable) that I realized —
I had no choice but to finally START. I have since committed myself to being a food photographer, chef and recipe developer full time.
Talk about a scary new beginning: starting a business in the midst of a global pandemic felt like a recipe for failure (no pun intended!). To my surprise I discovered, like Hansel and Gretel, that I had unknowingly dropped breadcrumbs to mark the path ahead. I’d met a wide network of incredible women; entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, chefs, small business owners, other side hustlers, career changers, and every-damn-thing in between.
As my own journey of entrepreneurship has unfolded in recent months, I realized that I would not be where I am today without having been inspired by other women on their own journeys of career change and passion discovery. Not only were their voices the ones cheering me on, their wisdom served as the net that I needed after taking my own leap of faith.
For this reason, I’ve decided to launch an Instagram TV series called, “The Art of Starting”. Every week I will speak with passionate, talented women from different industries, focusing our conversations on how each started down a new path; whether changing careers, starting a business, developing a creative process, or speaking openly about mental health issues.
In this series I dive deep with my guests into questions like, what called them to their work in the first place? When did they feel ready to start? How did they begin to hone in on their own creative vision and voice? What are some of the best tools and resources they discovered along the way?
And of course, we talk about how to keep going once you’ve started. The resounding theme so far? Show up to your work, to your journey, to your path, as if it were a practice.
After all, the process itself is the work, not some vague end product which you discover upon “arrival”. Just like the care that I put into my food as I’m seasoning it, then cooking it, tasting it and getting it just right, is as important as the care I take in plating it. Even then, there’s something to be learned about how to make it even better the next time around.
At a recent digital networking event, entrepreneurial growth guru Alison Gilbert explained, “… we, the entrepreneurial minded, are actually artists…”. If business is a canvas, then an artist knows that a masterpiece requires time, mistakes and do-overs. What starts as a sketch can, and will, evolve through many iterations.
It is my hope that this series provides inspiration and useful tools for the many women who are still carving out their own path. Who have a tugging at their heartstrings for something that allows them to feel more empowered personally, professionally, and/or creatively.
These conversations will initially be held live on my Instagram, where I will collect donations for The Loveland Foundation, founded by writer Rachel Gargle. TLF provides financial support for black womxn to afford therapy. As a mental health advocate, this cause is very near and dear to my heart.
You can follow me on Instagram for weekly guest announcements. Watch the first three episodes here on my Instagram TV, where we already covered a wide variety of subject matter. Upcoming guests include Jazmin Alvarez, founder of clean beauty destination Pretty Well Beauty, Philadelphia based art director & ice cream maker, Danni Sinisi, and Bianca Crystal, doula, fitness instructor & licensed social worker.
