10 Years Later
What I thought I was building — and what I actually built instead.
Ten years ago, I got married.
I was living in New York, working in the fragrance industry, building what I thought was a clear path forward.
At the time, success looked like one thing:
A senior title at a global beauty company.
A steady climb.
A defined ladder.
And if I’m honest — I thought life would follow that same structure.
Predictable. Linear. Clear.
But the last ten years have taught me something I didn’t understand then:
The most meaningful growth rarely follows a straight line.
The Things I Didn’t Say Out Loud
Even then, something didn’t sit right.
I remember looking at my boss’s job and thinking —
I don’t want that.
Not because I lacked ambition.
But because I could already see the limitation of the path in front of me.
There was only one way up.
And I wasn’t convinced I would enjoy where it led.
At the same time, I was quietly hoping for something else.
I wanted to find my way back to the brand side.
Closer to the product.
Closer to the story.
Closer to the consumer.
But I didn’t fully believe I could.
I had spent years on the supplier side of the business.
I felt like I had been out of the game for too long.
Like I would have to prove myself all over again.
And in many ways, I was.
What Marriage Teaches You About Growth
Ten years into marriage, I can say this:
There is no such thing as a perfectly mapped path.
Not in relationships.
Not in careers.
Not in life.
There are seasons where things feel aligned.
And seasons where you’re figuring it out in real time.
What matters is not certainty.
It’s commitment.
To keep showing up.
To keep evolving.
To keep building — even when the outcome isn’t clear yet.
The Hard Part
There was a period where things weren’t working.
I was at a global supplier, winning business, growing accounts — but none of it mattered.
The company had acquired other businesses that were declining, and no matter how much I built, the overall performance was still down.
It felt like I was digging myself out of a hole I didn’t create.
There was no magic solution. Just pressure.
I remember questioning everything — not because I didn’t believe in myself, but because I couldn’t see a way out.
And I didn’t have the space to figure it out.
I was just trying to survive.
The Shift
Then something happened.
A reorganization.
At the time, it felt like another disruption.
But in hindsight, it was liberation.
It gave me space.
Space to step back.
Space to think.
Space to reimagine what work could look like.
That moment changed everything.
Becoming
Over the last 10 years, my career didn’t follow a straight line.
It evolved.
From Director of Business Development
→ to VP of Sales
→ to Brand President
→ to building my own consulting business
If you had told me this would be my path, I don’t think I would have believed you.
Not because I wasn’t capable.
But because I hadn’t yet expanded what I thought was possible.
The part I don’t usually say out loud
This is the section where I go deeper on:
The moment I realized I wouldn’t go back to corporate
What actually changed financially and mentally
How I knew my business was real — not just working
The emotional cost of building something on your own
