A week ago, my life took a wild turn. I was sitting in the ER with my husband, waiting for updates on his health, when my phone buzzed with the notification: the video game studio I worked at was laying off over 100 people, myself included.
(First things first, for everyone who has been asking: my husband is doing much, much better and recuperating really fast, which is a massive weight off my shoulders!)
For about three years now, I’ve been running Hunky Tops as a side gig, basically treating it as a passion project funded by my 9-to-5 salary. Getting laid off means I’m suddenly losing that financial safety net, but it also presents an incredible opportunity. I am officially a full-time solopreneur. I finally have the time, concentration, and mental energy to dedicate completely to Hunky Tops, and I'm super excited to take on the challenge of making it a profitable business.
But let's be real: losing a 9-to-5 also means losing a lot of daily structure, which initially left me feeling a little bit in a daze. To combat that sudden loss of routine—and to hold myself accountable so I keep showing up to do the work—I decided to start a daily video series.
Applying Tech Habits to Apparel
If you have a background in agile development, you probably know all about daily standups—quick, daily check-ins where you talk about the tasks you're working on, what's going well, and what your blockers are. I decided to take that concept and apply it to my new life.
Introducing the Daily Standup Video Series
Every single day, I go live for a few minutes to document this journey. I talk about:
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What I've been working on behind the scenes.
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What's actually working (and what definitely isn't).
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What I plan to tackle next.
The main objective of these videos is to create a living, breathing journal of the process as I try to build this brand from the ground up. It's a way for me to keep a sense of structure, maintain some accountability, and bring you all along for the ride as I figure this out.
I'm also taking these daily videos and turning the content into blog posts like this one. I really want to bring back that early-2000s era of the internet where blogs with active comment sections were a big thing!
Let's Build Together
I would absolutely love for you to join me on this journey. You can watch the daily updates and follow along by subscribing to the YouTube channel.
We are going to learn how to make this happen together.
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What do you expect to see from Hunky Tops going forward?
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What are your own hopes, dreams, and projects that you're currently working on?
Leave a comment below like it's 2004, connect with me on social media, or drop a reply on the YouTube videos. Thank you so much for reading and watching—we'll be in touch!
