Did you spend years working on your career only to realize it’s not what you want?

I did.

It wasn’t just the 7 years in BlackRock where I rose the ranks to VP.

It was also the time I spent at Columbia studying Economics.

And all the years in high school studying math and accounting.

And my early childhood years growing up surrounded by successful relatives and family friends in banking and finance.

Yes, these were all privileges.

But they also became limitations when I wanted to leave but I had no idea how.

Changing a career you’ve spent your whole life working towards isn’t easy.

I had a hypothesis that I would enjoy a career in fashion more

But I was terrified of making that leap after 7 years in finance.

💭 What if I don’t like it? 
💭 What if I can’t survive the massive pay cut? 
💭 What if it’s just shiny object syndrome?

So here are 3 ways I test-drove a career in fashion before I took the plunge.

1️⃣ Pitched to a hotel my fashion rental concept

I thought of starting my own fashion business. And so I did.

I created a pitch deck and sent it to a bunch of hotels.

I even got a meeting with one of the General Managers!

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

But this first step was crucial – it showed me that it was possible.

It showed me that people were interested in what I had to offer beyond my life at BlackRock.

2️⃣ Ran my own fashion blog

I started sharing my thoughts on fashion with the public.

Again, I was scared AF.

But writing gave me clarity and an audience.

Yes, the audience was damn small.

But it was something. It reinforced the idea that people were interested.

I wasn’t just speaking to a void.

And what I did had value.

It also showed my clear interest in fashion.

3️⃣ Started making connections with people in the fashion industry

Finally, the game changer: Expanding my network.

Through meeting new people, I found roles within fashion that I didn’t even know existed

Roles like the one at Style Theory had the perfect crossover between business, startup, tech and fashion.

It was only when I started meeting more people that I learned how vast the fashion industry was and how diverse the professionals were.

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So if you’re scared of making that leap, break it into a bunch of test drives.

And take things step by step.

And if you need guidance through these steps, Contact me “STEP” and we can figure something out.