DreamChamps

Written by on in Tidbits and Treats

What a week! I am officially back in the swing of things after a few days of R&R in Arizona.

There is nothing quite as rejuvenating for me as a trip to the Southwest in the springtime. The weather was absolutely spectacular last week and even though I am now back in Chicago, I feel very glad to have had the opportunity to hang out with my family.

Unfortunately, I am ashamed to admit that I left my camera on the dining room table! At least it was somewhere near food, right? 😉 It is being shipped back to me but for now that means a food picture-less post…

…which means plenty of ample opportunity to tell you what those question were about last week!

Here again were the questions:

If you could be somebody else for a day, who would you be and what would you do?

OR

If you could do anything you wanted for a day, what would you do?

My answer, if you couldn’t tell from the picture in the post, was J.K. Rowling. I would love to see into the mind of someone I respect so much as both an author and a person. It would be fascinating to live in her shoes for 24 hours!

I was so excited about all of your amazing responses, that I had to post them again.

I started this conversation mainly out of curiosity, but also because I am a big fan of when people talk about their dreams, whether it’s a person whose shoes they’d love to “wear” for a day or a lifelong goal such as traveling around the world.

But if there are dreams that I am particularly passionate about, it’s those we have about our careers.

When I graduated from college a little less than two years ago, I thought I had it all figured out. I studied to be a broadcast journalist but ended up deciding to move into public relations because I wanted to stay in a big city. Though I didn’t have a full-time job, I had a “dream company,” one that worked with food clients, had a shiny corporate office and gave me an opportunity to at least write in some capacity, if not all the time. I was over the moon when I was finally hired on and had expectations for where my life would go – one rung up the ladder at a time.

Eight months later, I quit that job. I didn’t even give it a year, as so many people advised me to do. There were a lot of reasons that went into my decision but at the end of the day, I just knew it wasn’t right for me. Fortunately, I had a buddy who felt the same way. It’s a lot easier to type up a resignation letter and walk into your supervisor’s office when you know that there is someone else doing the exact same thing. I was lucky.

And so began my journey of co-owning a business. The rest is “herstory.” 😉

Over the past year, I’ve realized more and more through blogging at Pursuing Our Passion (we’re hosting a blogiversary giveaway right now!) that while it has been absolutely essential for me to learn what it means to be a business owner, have clients and be my own boss, I am happiest when I am able to evoke that same sense of purpose in other people. Not everyone needs to own a business to be happy, but helping people navigate the murky career waters to find a job that suits them perfectly has been one of the most rewarding ways I’ve spent my time since I quit.

That’s how DreamChamps was conceptualized.

Jill and I have officially incorporated our second business, one that aims to help connect people with dream companies and industries. Whether that means working for that pie-in-the-sky dream organization that you think is impossible to get into, or giving us the opportunity to show you a lesser known firm that may match with your personality even better, we want to be those connectors. It’s a lofty goal, for sure, but one that definitely gets us motivated every morning!

You can check out our landing page here. We’ve recently relaunched with a video made by a good friend from Northwestern who is starting his own company, DietzMedia. It was a lot of fun to shoot:

Maybe you are already happy with where you’re at. If so, I applaud you and could not be more excited that you have found something you love waking up for every morning.

If not, then I challenge you to answer me a new question:

If you could land any job, in any industry, at any company – what would it be?

It’s perfectly fine not to know the answer yet. My hope is that this simply starts the thought process that will eventually lead you to discover it!

I look forward to sharing more updates as we get closer to our launch. Until then, I would love for you to visit the site and let me know what you think. You can even sign up to receive email updates if you want. 😉 Any and all feedback on the concept is much appreciated.

Sueños,

23 Comments

  1. It’s great you did what is right for you and worked it all out! I am not sure what I want to do yet, I’m only 21 and still in college, but I’ve always wanted to help people. I originally wanted to do journalism, but I think I am leaning in the direction of doing law and hopefully discrimination law or at a legal aid society or possibly social work. We’ll see!

    • Thank you, Jess! I think it’s great that you have that overall “I want to help people” goal in mind. There are a lot of opportunities out there where that’s needed. 🙂 Can’t wait to hear more as you go!

  3. I’m SO glad you had fun at home!! And what a great post- I always like reading peoples answers to these type of questions. And thanks for putting my response up there too 🙂 I honestly, would love to just run a cafe. I’d like to specialize in brunch & lunch…but also put on special dinners. Other than that- the role as Mom sounds fabulous too 🙂

  4. Please keep me updated on this business! I’ve only been in my first job for about 8 months, but I’m not completely satisfied and brainstorming different careers that could be a passion for me!

  5. My dream job is that one that combines fitness, food, travel and wine. I want to show on the travel channel that talks about all of those. Finding new trends, going to new places, doing workouts and enjoying wine. Maybe I can find that gig someday!

  7. i love that you are determined to pursue something that youre passionate about and that gets you excited. i feel that way about both nursing and blogging because now my blog gives me the platform to do what i love – educating others about heart healthy eating and making good nutritious food choices. im also lucky that kyles business venture is related to these personal interests…

    watching the video now…

    • Thanks, Elise! It definitely helps me get out of bed every morning. 🙂 I’m glad that you have found that with nursing and blogging, too. And Kyle’s business venture is awesome!

  10. My dream job would combine my passion for helping people, writing, and food! 🙂
    I think you have a wonderful journey ahead of you and it sounds like a wonderful start to an exciting business!

  11. you ladies are so inspirational!! lately i keep dreaming of opening my own b&b… but really i don’t know what my ideal job is science-wise. i need to start looking 😉 maybe I can find something that combines food and science!

  12. Jenn, I’m so sorry if I didn’t respond to your original email you sent out about this (I know I was planning on it but I have been SO swamped at work I never do email like I used to!!) but I’m so excited for you and this new venture! So exciting, I know it’s going to take off just like POP Media has!

    Also, I am in charge of planning one of my school’s Career Days and I was just thinking this week that you would be AWESOME to come talk to my students since you have such a kick ass career and you would be such an inspiration to them. We only need a minimum of an hour of your time and it’s on Thursday, May 12… if there is any chance you think you might be interested I would absolutely love to have you come! 🙂

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