👋 Hello! I'm Nate Kadlac, and this is #48 of Plan Your Next. It’s a newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
If you’re new here, it’s nice to meet you!
What’s new this week? Too much, honestly!
🎨 Beta testing a new idea: Approachable Design for Non-Designers.
This is a 1:1 design service for creators and entrepreneurs who have a tough time making smart design decisions.
How do you create a vibe or an emotion using the right typefaces, colors, and fonts? It requires digging into your core values. It doesn’t start by being inspired by what others are doing or by choosing a minimalist-designed template because it’s the least offensive. Instead, I’ll work with you to unlock your creative taste.
What do you get? A personal design session to understand what makes you, you. We’ll translate that into a personal design guidebook for you to reference. It’s early, it’s discounted heavily, and I only have one more spot at this price before I use your feedback to bring in the next cohort at a much less discounted rate. Hit reply if you have any questions.
👨🎨 Yes, I illustrate all my own newsletter art, and now you can own it. I’m selling it as an NFT (Non-fungible token). Here's a primer.
I get this question every week, and now I’m trying to understand the crypto NFT space more, so I thought, let’s just sell the sucker!
Sales of traditional art is a 60 billion market. Digital art has a ways to go at roughly 10 million, but it’s increasing in speed. NFT’s allow art to be authenticated, divisible, and portable with built-in scarcity. You can keep the original on your phone and resell it later just like a painting. I’m looking to understand this space more and so I wanted to offer my own art as exclusive pieces. Only one copy will be minted.
Good morning from Laurel Canyon!
For the past few days, I’ve been lounging in this small AirBnB studio atop Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles.
I’m taking some time away from work to spend time reading, hiking, meditating, journaling, and reflecting on how my life is about to change in just a couple of months. (If you’re new here, we’re expecting a girl in April.)
Being alone in this studio looking through the layers of Laurel Canyon feels like a selfish thing to do—since I’m not the one pushing a human out of me—but I also know myself and how selfish I think I can be.
Our pregnancy didn’t come easy. A lot of trials, and a lot of errors. We took the scenic route; the winding Mulholland Drive of pregnancies. Thankfully it wasn’t the Trollstigen version.
The reason I’m here is to create a future memory. Have you ever been so furious at everything around you, and someone close to you reveals the cliche wisdom to, “take a few breaths, and find your happy place?”
This moment right now is that happy place. A fresh moment to connect the dots between peacefulness and fatherhood. A new slice of my mind dedicated to the mindset of who I want to be as a father.
During the two years of trying to get pregnant, we had to change course several times. A new method. A new drug. A new schedule. New info to read. It felt endless, always expecting the call from the doctor to tell you, “no” in a new way. But like my unorthodox professional career, you keep your eye out for missed hidden doors to sneak through.
In a conversation about skateboarding, Werner Herzog talks about the skateboarder’s mindset when it comes to trial and error. He still manages to do this in stereotypical Werner Herzog fashion, waxing poetically about trial and error.
With skateboarding, you have to accept trial and error, and I see them doing a certain jump or slide on the metal rail, and they do it 25 times and fail. 26th time they fail. 30th time they fail. It’s good that you don’t accept failure, and don’t give up.
As rudimentary as this sounds, the uncomfortableness of failure is what leads to breakthroughs. A new door might lead to three new doors.
Or maybe you haven’t fully perfected the landing and need to keep trying.
I am confident I have no clue what it’s going to feel like taking care of another human. I’m fully aware I’m going to fuck it up time and time again. But I know I’ll have a lot of chances to make up for it.
Plan Your Next featured guest
If you’re new here, I aim to discover insights from entrepreneurs and creatives who are chasing their next thing. This week, we have the privilege to highlight Rachel Krupa.
I'm a believer, if you say things long enough, and you tell people you're gonna do it, you better do it. Otherwise, you're the person that just talks about things and doesn't execute.
Who is Rachel Krupa?
I met Rachel just weeks after moving to Silver Lake, Los Angeles. She never not smiles, and her attitude is inspiring. You can’t help but be mesmerized by her ambition.
Years ago, she opened The Goods Mart, a better-for-you, socially conscious convenience store. Imagine if Whole Foods and 7-11 had a baby. After visiting almost daily, and finding a unique pairing of Peatos and Kombucha slushies, I heard bits and pieces of her story and how she pursued her next thing.
Rachel, what do you spend most of your days working on?
I run Krupa Consulting, a mission-driven public relations agency, and The Goods Mart, a clean-convenience store concept.
How did you get the idea for The Goods Mart, and how did it come to life?
At the PR agency, we work with better for you food products. And so a lot of people would come to our office and get goodie bags filled with food. I kept hearing from our clients, “You should have a showroom of snacks!”
After hearing that, I just started telling people for 8-10 months, “I'm gonna create a better version of 7-11.”
I'm a believer, if you say things long enough, and you tell people you're gonna do it, you better do it. Otherwise, you're the person that just talks about things and doesn't execute.
What were your first steps to opening The Goods Mart?
I found a space I liked and I just called the guy. I wasn't thinking operationally. I was just thinking, “How do I do this?” I know the products really well. I want to do something to change the way that we look at food, I want to change how we shop, I want to change convenience stores and to build a community around that.
And so I found this space in LA. The landlords told me it used to be a drive-thru mini-mart in the 70s, and I thought, “Fuck, this is meant to be!”
What was one failure along the way you were forced to learn from?
It was the hardest thing when I had to close the Silver Lake store. I felt like a failure. I felt as though I let down myself. I let down the community. I let down anyone that ever believed in me because I felt like I couldn't do it.
Financially it didn't work. The space was too big. We were paying too much rent. Monday through Friday had no foot traffic. People don't know how to shop in convenience stores.
I've had time now to reflect on it was just like I learned so much that was like a Ph.D. in business for me. And now I'm stronger because of it. But it takes time. It's like that wound that will never heal.
What would you tell someone who feels stuck in pursuing their next idea?
There's never a good time to start anything. Something's going to come up and make it a little bit difficult.
So you have to expect that.
When it seems as though someone looks like they're buttoned up, and they know what they're doing? No one knows what the fuck they're doing.
Do you have a favorite quote or piece of advice you live by?
Last year I heard this quote, ”Your stress equals that you care.”
So when you're stressed, that means you care about something. You're stressed you're not doing it because you care about it.
From that perspective, how can I be softer with myself, knowing I’m doing things for the right reasons, vs doing it to kill myself?
Where can someone find you online?
You can find me on Instagram: My Instagram, Krupa Consulting, and The Goods Mart.
Also, sign up for The Goods Mart newsletter.
👋 See you next Sunday
If you’ve forgotten who I am, here’s a little bit about me. As always, my calendar is always open to chat about your crazy ideas or if you’re creatively stuck.
And if you’re creatively stuck because you ran out of coffee, save 10% on Flow State coffee. Flow State uses l-theanine and raw cacao to lower anxiety and support creativity. (Affiliate link)
Have a great week,
Twitter: @kadlac
Web: kadlac.com
Trial and error, plus your next special guest