Caffeine Dreams is a podcast by the Founder of Big Ass Iced Coffee, Casey Arnold. Listen to new episodes every month, featuring behind-the-scenes of building an instant iced coffee company from the ground up and other founders’ secrets.
Here is a recap of Caffeine Dreams Episode 001 with Sydney Nunn, Owner & Curator of Simply Placed in Beverly, MA.
You may have heard people say “Brick and mortar is the way of the past”, however, it is the way of the future for Sydney Nunn, Owner and Founder of Simply Placed, a curated home decor store in Beverly, MA. After finding herself pouring everything into her corporate job, she decided that she needed a change.
In this episode, Sydney talks about her experience realizing that the paycheck is not the only thing that matters. What matters is finding a job doing something that you truly love. Getting laid off from her cushy full-time job in tech was the real game changer for Sydney. Going through a range of emotions and second-guessing herself, she decided to take a few months off from finding a new job in tech and instead found herself working a part-time retail job at Anthropologie.
Sydney credits Anthropologie with helping her realize she could open up her own retail storefront. Two months into the job, she made a personal goal to open up her store in a year and a half and got to planning. As part of that plan, Sydney re-entered the corporate world and simultaneously started building a brand by showcasing her design skills on Instagram. The vision was beginning to come together and people were responding well to her design talents. After a year and a half, according to her plan, Sydney left her full-time corporate job and opened the doors of her very own retail store, Simply Placed.
Launching her business did not come without hiccups. Sydney recalls that there were challenges the first year that were “debilitating” but instead of getting discouraged or giving up, she simply took them as lessons and learned about what it means to be a business owner and entrepreneur.
Sydney serves as a beacon of hope for anyone who may feel that they are destined for something else. It may take you years to discover what you are destined for (it took Sydney ten), but that does not mean you are behind. This episode leaves us with this advice: bet on yourself. Take something you know you want to do and invest in it. Invest in yourself and you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
To follow along with Sydney's journey and shop Simply Placed, you can find her on Instagram (@shop.simplyplaced), TikTok (@shop.simplyplaced), and Facebook @Simply Placed.
