Creating Your Own Path

On today’s show I’m talking with Mishell Leong, a children’s artist located in Singapore. She started her professional career as an accountant, spent some time in the restaurant industry, traveled a bit, overcame physical ailments and started a family before coming to the realization that she could actually paint! In the interview we talk a lot about how Mishell worked through internal and external resistance as she embarked on her journey to becoming an artist. She also talks through the research she did as she was refining her style as an artist, why her years as an accountant have made her a better business person and why she remains open to career shifts as she continues on her current path. For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s interview begins a new segment dedicated to those who have gone through a major career shift at some point in their lives. I’m kicking it off with Stephanie Washburn who is a tattoo artist in Roseville, California. However, what makes Steph's story so interesting is that she didn’t start pursuing art until she was almost 40 and found her way into the tattoo industry after that. In the interview we talk about why she left her corporate nonprofit job of nearly 20 years and how she and her husband set themselves up financially to make it possible. We also talk through the importance of finding great mentors, the challenges involved in being a woman over 40 in the tattoo business, and why she believes the act of thoughtlessly quitting your day job is not necessarily the answer. Steph’s story is an inspiring one and I think you guys are going to get a lot out of it! You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s show is the first in a segment dedicated to those who create with uncommon or interesting materials and as soon as I landed on this theme, I knew I needed to reach out to today’s guest. Katie J. Evans of Hart Variations is a jewelry designer who uses things like butterfly wings, snake skin sheds, bones, entire insects, and feathers to create really stunning and unique pieces. In the interview, we talk about how her materials are ethically and legally sourced, which is a process I wasn't familiar with. I envisioned her walking along and finding the materials, but it turns out there are actually rules and regulations and official suppliers for these types of materials. We also talk a lot about her creative process, why she decided to hire help, how she’s navigated the jewelry world to find the right audience for her work and why feedback from her customers has made a world of difference in her business. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

On today's mini episode, I'm announcing some big career changes that have been taking shape behind the scenes. I'm also talking about how those changes will affect certain aspects of my business like this podcast, my e-courses and consulting offerings, and the freelance work I'll be doing. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s interview brings me to Common Space here in Sacramento, California to interview photographer William Thompson. Until recently, I actually had no idea that William had a day job. Because his photos are so stunning, I pretty much assumed he made a living taking them. However, he doesn’t—at least not yet. He’s got a full-time job working in the banking industry and hopes to one day turn his side hustle into his main hustle. It was great talking to William because I think he’s currently in a place most of us can relate to. He’s working on a lot of different types of projects, trying to figure out what type of photography he likes best and continually practicing to get better at his craft. And he does it knowing that right now the bills are paid by his day job. As many of you know, I really enjoy talking with people who are at different stages of their career and, even though I’m in a different industry, I’ve been right where William is right now in his photography career. You can find the full episode + s

I came across Shannon Washington’s work thanks to an article on Refinery29, in which they named her a "Next Gen CEO." She’s a self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate creative who currently works at live media company, INVNT, and runs the travel and lifestyle publication, Parlour Magazine. In the interview, we talk about how Shannon has become someone who both loves stretching herself to learn new skills and someone who knows when to delegate. She also chats about the mindset shift that allowed her to view work in a more fluid way, why her career pivots have been the key to her success and the realities behind all of those “quit your day job to follow you dreams” mantras we always seem to hear. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is a good one you guys! I’ve been following the career of Christine Amorose since I stumbled upon her blog C’est Christine about five years ago. She has not only filled the last six years with amazing travel experiences, but she’s also landed jobs with incredible companies (she currently works for Vimeo) and worked on really cool projects on the side. In the interview we talk about how she carves out time for her creative side hustles and why schedules and lists are key. We also dive into what values she looks for in a company that indicate a culture that welcomes creative thinking both on and off the job, the logistics behind working full time, traveling regularly and taking on side gigs, why her full-time work and side hustles complement each other so well and much more. You can find the full episode and show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s guest is author Karan Bajaj. He’s written three books while being employed by various large companies and is currently the CMO of a startup. When he reached out to me, I immediately knew he needed to come on the show because he’s been able to pursue both corporate work and his worked as a published author by taking sabbaticals. I was incredibly curious to see how he's made it all work. In the episode we chat about his 4-1-4 rule (4 years working, 1 year off, 4 years working, etc.), which he uses to plan out his sabbaticals. We also dive in to the reason he feels compelled to pursue his parallel careers, his best advice to those considering a sabbatical, how his latest break inspired and allowed him to write his latest novel, why he thinks career pressure stifles creativity and much more. You can find the full episode and show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today, I’m chatting with the very talented Trisha Hughes of the food blog Eat Your Beets. Not only is Trisha food blogger, but she’s also become an incredible resource for those who want to learn more about the art of food photography. In the interview, we talk about how she got started as a blogger and why food photography did not come as naturally to her in the beginning as she had hoped. She also goes into the reason she decided to teach others how to photograph food (rather than follow the trajectory of her peers by jumping into cookbooks), what she's learned about marketing her photography workshops and ebooks, and why she believes in starting before you’re ready. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s episode brings me to Common Space here in Sacramento, which is a rentable space for events, photoshoots and other fun things, to chat with writer and photographer Ashlee Gadd. Ashlee is the founder of Coffee + Crumbs—a collaborative blog about motherhood—and she was kind enough to help me continue my segment on those who teach their craft to others. Recently, she and the team at Coffee + Crumbs launched a writing workshop that looked incredible! So, I knew I wanted to catch up with her to chat about the blog, the workshop and everything else she’s working on these days. In the interview, we talk about the amazing community surrounding Coffee + Crumbs and how Ashlee believes that the workshop has strengthened that community. She also chats about how Coffee + Crumbs came about, what the team is working on right now (she may have given us a little inside scoop on that front, by the way) and her best advice for those looking to share their knowledge with others through workshops and classes. The full epis

Today’s episode is the first in a new series focused on those who teach their craft to others and it brought me to the studio of Jen Hewett in San Francisco a few weeks ago. Jen is an illustrator, printmaker and surface designer who has been teaching block printing to others over the last several years and she has just recently transitioned to working on her art full time. I was, of course, curious to see how adding the element of teaching to her business model made that transition possible. In the interview we talk about some of the issues that come up around teaching others to do what you do and why Jen actually wants to see her students open their own block printing shops and studios. She also chats very candidly about how she sets boundaries regarding her time and skills, how she's committing to breaking out of her routines this year and much more. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s Tuesday Tips + Tricks episode is sponsored by Melissa Camilleri of Compliment and the 21-Day Insta-Course. If you listened to episode 72, which was the first episode in this sponsored series, you may remember Melissa as my guest interviewer. As I mentioned on that show, she was actually one of my very first guests on the show in Season 1 and since that first interview she’s been growing her brand in other ways by teaching business owners how to share their story on Instagram through The 21-Day Insta-Course. She was kind enough to come on the show today and talk about things like how we’re all going to be okay—even as Instagram rolls out the new algorithm, why she believes that building relationships should be at the core of any strategies we implement and so much more. Not only that, Melissa is offering a really great deal on course registration. Those interested in taking the course can find all of the details at bit.ly/21DayInstaCourse and enter IMREADY, in all caps, at check out to get $25 off regi

I reached out to Amy Stringer-Mowat of AHeirloom back in 2014 after winning one of their Instagram contests and told her I had big plans to take my show on the road and interview her in Brooklyn in 2015. As most of you probably know, Brooklyn did not make the cut during last year’s travels. Luckily, she was kind enough to hop on Skype to chat with me remotely after all this time! A Heirloom creates beautiful home goods like cutting boards, cake stands and more—and they design, manufacture and ship from right here in the U.S. In the interview, Amy and I chat about the ways in which she and her husband Bill scaled their business very quickly, why she believes in using the tools she has at her disposal to create and how much fun she has collaborating with others. For the full episode and show notes, visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s episode is the third installment of the segment dedicated to those making physical products for a living and it brought me to Benjamins Shoes here in Sacramento to chat with Benjamin, himself! I’ve followed his work for a while now and have been really inspired by both his work and his story. In the interview he talks about how NOT winning a start-up business contest actually lead him to a preferable outcome, which I thought was a great lesson for all of us out there who are worried about rejection or failure or simply having things not work out the way you thought they might. We also go into the fun story behind the Benjamins brand, how he started with one really, well-thought out and well-designed shoe and expanded from there, why he’s looking to increase efficiencies in an effort to scale his business and why he believes the success of his business comes largely from in surrounding himself with people whose knowledge base differs from his own. The full episode + show notes can be found at creatingy

Today's Tuesday Tips & Tricks episode is sponsored by me and my e-course Perfecting Your Pitch! Perfecting Your Pitch, which starts on April 4, 2016, is designed to help fellow business owners understand the basics of reaching out to media. The three-week course covers topics like which media outlets to pitch, how to find and properly reach out to media contacts, press release basics, maintaining relationships with the media and much more. My friend Melissa Camilleri of Compliment (a recent course participant) was kind enough to be a guest interviewer for today's show and in the episode we talk about why I decided to create the course, tips for those who are just starting to think about reaching out to the media, why traditional tools like press releases still matter and much more. For the full episode + show notes, visit creatingyourownpath.com. Don't forget: CYOP listeners can get a $10 off the regular price of Perfecting Your Pitch by heading over to jenniferesnyder.com/perfectingyourpitch and using th

Today's episode brings me to the Oakland studio of woodworker and designer, Melanie Abrantes. Melanie has built a career around making and designing beautiful home goods out of different types of wood and cork. In the interview she talks about her transition from studying product design in school to landing graphic design jobs after graduation and, eventually, finding her way back to product design with her current work. We also go into her connection to her materials, why focus is such a crucial part of her work and how she comes up with her various products. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Welcome to CYOP Season 3! I'm very excited to kick off this new season with a four-interview series focused on those who are making physical products for a living. Sarah Perez of Electric Sun Creatives is my first guest and I had an opportunity to chat with her in her beautiful studio at the Warehouse Artist Lofts here in Sacramento, California. If you're not familiar with Sarah's work, she makes really striking wall hangings and mobiles using found driftwood (along with other wood products) and brass. In the interview, we talk through Sarah's recent press coverage through social media and how it's changed the way she manages the logistical side of running her business. We also go into her material choices, how she ended up making the products she does today and how she plays with limits to spark her own creativity. For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today I'm sharing details about what you can expect from Season 3 of the Creating Your Own Path podcast. In the episode, I chat about the future of my CYOP Road Trip shenanigans, some small (but important) changes to the content that will be coming your way and the new sponsorship opportunities I'll be introducing this year. You can find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today I’m chatting with Simone Anne, a professional photographer and avid traveler based out of Berkeley, California. She’s very talented and offers up insight beyond her years. Truly—some of the things she says in this episode had me thinking deep thoughts about the meaning behind my work. In the interview Simone and I talk about how she got started with photography at a fairly young age, why traveling makes her better at her job and what made her decide to pursue hobbies that have absolutely nothing to do with photography. She’s an incredible person and her work speaks for itself. I can't think of a better way to wrap up Season 2! The full episode + show notes can be found at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s show brings me to Berkeley, California to chat with Lisa Jackson of Good on Paper. As a stationery and print goods designer, Lisa creates both ready-made collections for companies like Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas and does a ton of custom work for freelance clients. What you might not know about Lisa, however, is that she has a full-time job with an environmental consulting firm and she’s a self-taught designer. In the interview we chat about why Lisa has kept her full-time gig even though she has nearly a full-time workload with Good on Paper, how sharing bits of her personal story on her site and social media accounts has resulted in some interesting collaborations and what it’s been like to grow a family and career in Berkeley. Find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.