Of Sunscreen, Strategy, and Starting Again
Consider this my launch party (you’re invited)
Hi friend,
I’m writing this with a gold mask on my face (so good, Joanna Vargas, but also looks much less glamorous than it sounds), my (grossly caloused) feet on my favorite ottoman (my WFH life hack - keep an ottoman under your desk), happy after watching the new Superman, exhisted after swimming early this morning (27.5 minutes! Beat my own record of 20 minutes) – and honestly, even happier and even more exhusted because, friend, I FINALLY LAUNCHED MY WEBSITE AND BUSINESS! Can you believe it? Because I barely can.
A friend said something so sweet to me today about my Substack (if you’re reading this thank you!):
It really moved me, because at the end of the day that’s who I am, just an early-2000s blogger girlie, pouring her heart out on the interney - on the one hand, confident no one would ever read her rants or see her virtual scarpbooking efforts (how freeing is that? and how gloomy?), on the other hand feeling like the sky is the limit (it’s teh age of the internet after all), and on teh other other hand finding her likeminded peopel in comment sections - both her and those of blogs she loves (shoutout Decor8 and Design*Sponge).
Back at the heyday of Emerj (my startup RIP), I used to post weekly gratitude lists. Some popel might have thought this was an effort to “build in public” but in all earnestness (while I’m a fan of building in public), it was my way to process a life that was way bigger than what I knew how to deal with. So here goes, ready?
This week was hard. Besides all the obvious biz excitement, I’ve been dealing with a lot of buraucracy, family stuff, the works. These things tend to leave me feeling small and incapble - and I started doing something ridiculous: looking for evidence that I am actually capable. This week this looked like giving my neurotic dog Giov a bath for the first time in the almost 20 months since I rescued him (don’t at me, my vet said it was ok). And reader, we both survived. This left me exhausted to my core, covered in dog hair every which way – BUT, feeling capable.
Coworking with- and seeing friends was also a big one for me this week. Every single day I thought I was too tired to do it, but I was always so happy I did. And my friend Naomi cracked me up (see video below).
I worked very late and very early this week, but I also took time for naps (hmm… maybe A nap actually?) and went to the gym once and practiced yoga once. My teenage son thought I was being a wuss when I said I’ll only so 10 minutes of this or 20 minutes of taht but I knew I didn’t ahve it in me (or in my schedule, quite honestly) to do more, but I still wanted to move my body and get that endorphin (oxytocin?) hit.
Speaking of my son, he’s on summer holiday and I leaned hard on his cooking skills this week. I’m so lucky that he’s so good at the kitchen and that he feels good contributing to the family effort.
I’ve done this “starting a business” thing once or twice, but I’m astounded by how different it is with a supportive partner.
The week started with mt keyboard finding it’s death by a rude glass of water but joke’s on it because now I have a new one (after literal years - maybe 7?) + I got a new pink screen on a deal and it makes me happy (especially when it’s displaying my new website!)
Speaking of which!! My site is now up! Can you believe it? I barely can!! Here it is in all its glory: https://www.consider.club/
I also got featured on Canvas Rebel, thanks to the awesome team at Dreamers & Doers, and got to chat with Myriam at the Workshops.work podcast - I loved our conversation so much that I invited her on my podcast next
Speaking of which, I loved my convo with Iona Holloway on the Looks Like Work pod this week - I feel so lucky that I get to have such meaningful discussions with such incredible humans - and Iona has a very special way of telling a story / of thinking and speaking about life. Here’s a snippet:
I’m so excited to participate at The One Thing Summit next week - each of the speakers will be sharing their “one thing” a practical to-the-point marketing lesson in 15 minutes or less (!!) and honestly I think my presentation for this is some of my best work: Register for free here
And back to the top - swimmimg early today and then marinating in the sun (with sunscreen! Under a pergola!) gave me so much energy. I really like thi snew little habit.
And Superman, especially the dog. He’s just like Giovanni.
I’ll tell you the truth, friend, it’s scary as hell to launch a new business at such volatile times, as a single mom, with no financial support system to fall back on. Lookimg back I understand that I never had that system, but I had the illusion of it, and that’s also something. BUT I always prefer to have my eyes open, while I bravely choose to work towards my calling. I’m investing a lot into Consider - my heart and dreams and expertose but also money. Because I feel like doing this full throated and giving it my all and showing the universe, God, the powers that be and mostly my own self - that I believe in myself and in what I have to offer the world.
And so, as I sit here, mask drying, keyboard clicking, I’m thinking about those two things that have stayed with me since Emerj’s closure.
The first: what my friend Yali said — "You’ve stayed yourself through all of it, and that’s a lot."
The second: from another founder, who once told me, "They don’t like entrepreneurs with question marks. And we have question marks."
Back then, I didn’t realize just how much those question marks would become the heart of my work.
When we closed Emerj, I thought I’d leap right into another startup. But what actually happened was quieter — more interior. I started asking different questions. About how we build. About why. About what’s actually needed, and what’s just inherited expectation. About who gets to lead, and how we redefine that power.
Now, with Consider, I’m not just launching a business — I’m launching a platform. A space where strategic questioning is the methodology. A place for transformation that doesn’t depend on investor whims or tech trends, but on the radical act of asking better questions.
Right now, that looks like:
✨ Deep strategic work with founders and leadership teams (through workshops, offsites, and consulting)
✨ 1:1 journeys like The Curiosity Lab
✨ Community and thought exploration via Portal Pages
✨ And one quiet but very clear agenda: to bring founder tools and mindsets to every kind of leader — even the ones building notebook brands at their kitchen tables.
I'm building this with intention. With investment. With support. With friends and collaborators who bring not just their brilliance, but their hearts.
And every morning, I get up and do the work — even though there’s no boss, no external structure yet, no team Slack buzzing. Just me, a dog, a dream, and an ever-growing sense that this is what I’m here to do.
So thank you for being here. For reading, for witnessing, for cheering me on.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s real. And for now, that’s more than enough.
Until next time,
Yours,
Chedva x
P.S. Want to see what I’ve been building? The new site is live: www.consider.club
P.P.S. If this resonated, forward it to a friend. Or hit reply and tell me what you’re building (or questioning) these days.