FROM MANAGING BRANDS TO IGNITING THEM.

You were a marketing executive doing really high-level data-driven stuff. And it was really impressive, but you still wanted more... What was it that wanted you to really push yourself to create even more?

I think for me, there wasn't really one big moment. It was just a slow realization over time that I wanted more ownership. I wanted more ownership over my time and the way I was spending it, over the creative decisions that were being made, and over just the kind of impact that I was making.

I loved corporate. I learned how to scale, how to manage teams, thinking strategically. But I also observed how much time and energy went into maintaining systems that weren't necessarily driving innovation. And they certainly weren't driving connection.

[Career Evolved] was so instrumental in just forcing me to take a really hard look at myself. And I also went through some big step in my personal life that just made me take a step back and say, you know what, what do I want out of the next phase of my career?

I knew that I wasn't totally fulfilled. I had this creative block, I wanted to do more, but I wasn't sure, it's the golden handcuffs. Like, how do you find your way out of, how do you exit the matrix? How do you do all of this stuff? It's really challenging.

In the past year, I went through some heavy personal changes. I lost a parent, which is very, very challenging. I continue to care for my youngest child who has some special needs. It is quite challenging, but what has really helped to me, I think is grounding myself every day.

A few years ago, I started thinking, what would it look like if I took everything I know about brand building and I apply it to something that actually reflects my values, my creativity, my community. And that's where our brand Chalked Apparel came in.

It's a kids athletic wear brand. It's inspired by youth sports, but it's around the idea of confidence and grit and resilience... Every piece in the collection has an affirmation woven into the garment.

You've said so many one-liners that really stood out to me... brand is behavior made visible. And you also said purpose doesn't replace profit, but it can fuel it. Can you expand on those a bit?

I realized that there was also this huge opportunity to help other founders and organizations do what I had already started to organically do, which was build brands that are strategically sharp, but emotionally resonant. And that's why I launched Ignite the Land, which is a brand and marketing consultancy that helps leaders clarify their story, find their voice and go to market with purpose and precision.

Margins will probably be better if I slapped a logo on a plastic legging and called it a day. But that's not really what the brand is about. That's not the impact that I want to have. In our businesses, we cover a hundred percent of our employees health premiums. That's certainly not the best financial decision. But it's important to us because our people are important to us.

It is a scary thing to make a pivot like this, for sure. But it is also one of the most rewarding things that I have done. And it's been the most rewarding pivot of my career for myself, but I also see that reflected through the faces of my children.

Without the introspection that Career Evolved really forced me to confront, I wouldn't be sitting here today. So your mentorship has honestly meant the world to me, just the vote of confidence back when I didn't have confidence in myself, it really encouraged me to take a bold step forward.