What would we be doing if Sticker Guru didn’t exist?
In this episode we get a little personal as we share what we would be doing if Sticker Guru didn’t exist. We also answer your questions on how we got started, how we transitioned from the traditional corporate route to working on Sticker Guru full time, and what our dream careers are.
We get asked these questions all the time, especially from our followers on Instagram. Let’s dive into it!
Lisa started Sticker Guru in Jan 2016 as a senior in high school after just finishing her applications to colleges. She was really interested in stickers and the planner community, and wanted to start her own shop. Lucy started in February 2017 after quitting her job at an influencer marketing startup.
After graduating high school, Lisa went to UC San Diego to study computer science while also running Sticker Guru part time. Lucy started business school in 2019 while also working on Sticker Guru.
What would we be doing after graduation (if not doing Sticker Guru)?
Lisa was applying to product manager positions in Fall 2019. She was supposed to interview with Google for a software engineering role in December 2019, but realized it wasn’t what she wanted to be doing. She canceled the interview while making the decision to focus on Sticker Guru full time.
Lucy was focused on entrepreneurship and applying for internships during business school. So, after graduation she’d either be starting a company, or joining a startup or an incubator / accelerator to help other people grow their companies.
What would our job be if the planner community and stationery wasn’t a thing?
If Sticker Guru and the planner community never existed, Lisa would probably be doing something related to her computer science degree. She probably wouldn’t even be living in San Diego and instead would most likely be working as a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At this point in her life, Lucy’s job would be something still entrepreneurial and maybe she would have another company, but it might be at a startup that’s not her own. If entrepreneurship wasn’t an option, then she’d probably do something in tech / marketing.
Can this really be a full time job?
YES! When Lisa really decided to stop “looking for a job” and focus on Sticker Guru (around March 2020), that is when things really started to take off.
But it didn’t start out as a full time job for either of us, and we don’t recommend quitting your current job to then go start a company. Try to start your business while you still have income from your current job, and when you’ve grown your shop and proven to yourself that this is a viable option–then definitely quit your job!
What is your dream career?
Lisa: "Anything that is entrepreneurial. I can never see myself in a 9-5 job. Ultimately, I’d love to have passive income and not actually have to “work”, but getting to that point is definitely going to require work."
Lucy: "Ideally something that involves dogs and is entrepreneurial (maybe selling products for dogs), I’d definitely like to work in things that are related to my hobbies and interests like fitness/beauty/wellness/social media. I wish I had the discipline to be an influencer but content creation is exhausting for me."
We are really happy with our current careers and running Sticker Guru is the best!
Be sure to listen to the full podcast episode!
How to subscribe + review:
Want to be the first to know when new episodes are released?
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review on iTunes and five stars on Spotify. Your five stars mean everything to us.
Share on social?
Did this episode help you? Help us get the message in front of more people by sharing it on social media. If you do, tag @stickerguru and @bigplanspodcast so we can repost you! :)
Thank you SO much for being here. See you in the next episode!
xo, Lisa & Lucy
Hey!
