I’m heading into my last week at Hampton, and for the last few months, I’ve avoided thinking too hard about what’s next.
I was never good at the “crossover” technique of starting one thing during my spare time while keeping a full-time job.
When I have a job, all of my time goes to that. All my focus too.
In some ways, that’s part of the reason I decided to leave in the first place. I still love the company and the people. But I just realized that I’ll never do my own thing as long as I have a job. And I want to do my own thing.
I just haven’t known what.
Two ideas have tugged at me though.
The first was a general newsletter for D2C founders. The idea was to write case studies of D2C brands going from 6- to 8-figures, and then monetize via affiliate partnerships with a handful of agencies I like. Maybe even with Hampton.
I know how to do that type of writing, and I know the business model can work. That’s exactly how YouShouldTalkTo makes money. There was just one problem: I have zero background or clout in the D2C world. I also don’t have much passion for it.
I like to see D2C founders win. But when I sat down to research a few brands I just didn’t feel compelled to keep digging.
So to me, that idea would have been easy to monetize, but hard to write. And somehow, that felt like a mistake. There’s never any guarantee a business works out, so why waste your time building one just for the money? It should be something you like to do.
Which brings me to my second idea…
Recently, I’ve been getting into woodworking, and part of me thought that after leaving my job, I’d start making and selling furniture.
I’ve never done either of those things, so to get an edge, and learn faster, I thought I’d start a local newsletter all about craftsmen here in Austin. I’d interview them. Highlight their work. And in the process, build both a network of knowledgable teachers, and an audience eager to buy handmade stuff.
For a long time, these two ideas jockeyed back and forth in my mind.
The D2C concept seemed the most likely to work. But the woodworking thing felt like it had more soul.
I thought of doing both – D2C writing as my “day job,” and then woodworking for fun. But I knew I had to pick one. Part of the reason for leaving my job was to be less of a workaholic, and starting two different publications didn’t seem in line with that.
Then there were all these other interests I had – HoldCo’s, and regenerative farming, cooking, and competitive shooting, hunting, travel, media companies, advertising, and local restaurants.
I want time for all of those.
This has been the constant battle of my life – hopping from place to place, thing to thing. Never spending long enough for any of them to take root.
Today, I feel like it all crystalized.
Rambler will be an upscale business & lifestyle newsletter for adventurous founders and tech employees living in Texas.
It’ll be focused on the things I’m most interested in – like adventure travel, interior design, business, and living well.
Building it will force me to put roots down here in Texas. It’ll also be interesting because it’s a new type of media challenge I haven’t worked on yet. It gives me a cool reason to keep learning from other writers and media founders too.
I’m pretty sure I can make it a viable business. Maybe not a multi-million dollar behemoth like Morning Brew.
But then, does it need to be?
One of the reasons people try to make so much money is because they believe it will help them lead an interesting and fulfilling life. And it seems to me that if you put yourself in the middle of all the cool stuff going on in your town, and write about it – you pretty much guarantee the same thing, regardless of the money.
In a lot of ways, I think local media is the most interesting opportunity young entrepreneurs are overlooking right now. I’m gonna help unlock the model, while building a cool brand in this cool state, and getting to know other cool founders.