Where to Begin

I started my first company when I was seven years old. I took rocks from my neighbors’ yards, painted pretty designs on them using nail polish, then sold them back to those same neighbors — who were sweet enough to actually buy them. (Thanks, Mr. Smith.)

They say to try to make a career out of your childhood interests, and I’d say I’ve done a pretty good job at that. Today I run Matterlab, an agency made up of creatives, educators, and entrepreneurs who are driven by doing good. Through strategic communications, we work with hundreds of nonprofit leaders across the country to advance their missions.

Because I have been “successful” (a topic for another day), I sometimes get asked to speak about how I got here. The most frequently requested advice I give falls into two categories — creativity and entrepreneurship. How do you make a living doing something creative? How did you decide to make the leap from corporate to nonprofit to entrepreneurship? Where could I learn this creative skill? How could I use my expertise in a more altruistic way? 

I typically answer their questions with more questions. Like the trained journalist that I am, I consider it my duty to dig deeper if I am going to give specific, personal, helpful advice. 

And over time, I’ve honed in on a common theme for it all: where to begin. 

Throughout my years of being a creative (a word I’m finally coming around to considering a noun) and an entrepreneur (a word I still haven’t been able to replace with something easier to say or spell), I’ve filed away those Q&As for my own remembrance and use. But I’ve always wanted to find a way to share them. 

So in the spirit of practicing what I preach, I’ve started. 

I created Where to Begin, a place to feature people I’ve met (and some I’d like to meet) — all of whom have a story to tell about where they began. My medium of choice is writing because it’s how I got my start and I believe it’s important to stay true to your roots — that’s one piece of advice I’ll never stop giving. 

Let’s begin!

Have a story to share about where to begin? I’d love it if you would send me a note.

Know someone who is figuring out where to begin? It would make my day if you shared this with them.