Hi, I'm Karen. On March 8, 2018, I launched my personal website, Karen's Unfiltered. Looking back, six years have already passed. I've gone from being a simple lifestyle blogger venting emotions to publishing books, launching courses, and leaving my job to start a business—all while aging from 27 to 33.
Six years is quite a stretch when you're living through it, but in retrospect, it's only a fraction of a lifetime. Yet in this relatively short period, I've gained experiences and growth I never had in my first thirty-some years.
This article is a moment of reflection, introspection, and self-critique.
2018: My second year working. Fresh out of school, emotionally turbulent. I started writing online to vent, turning real-world frustrations into words. After completing and sharing each piece, I felt a sense of satisfaction and achievement that invisibly propelled me forward. Despite being exhausted at work and on-call, I still wrote three to four posts daily. The internet was my safe harbor; words were my lighthouse, guiding my direction. That same year, I was invited to speak at a summer camp in Hualien—my first two-hour talk was inexperienced, and I awkwardly finished after ninety minutes. But I'm still grateful.
2019: Early in the year, I signed my first book deal for "Life is Not a Multiple Choice Question." I never imagined that writing online would lead to publishing. It was a rare opportunity, so I invested considerable time preparing. I founded Cross-Disciplinary Reading Club. This year also brought career challenges—a failed job transition attempt made me restless at twenty-nine. So I quit my job and went to the Philippines seeking a breather. Surprisingly, quality job offers came in while I was abroad, and I managed to earn money through freelance work overseas. This became one of the catalysts for eventually launching my PR business.
2020: After eight months of unemployment and failed career transitions, I returned to media work. As COVID-19 hit Taiwan, my job brought unprecedented challenges—solo broadcasting, emergency livestreams, medical news coverage. For the first time, I realized my unique approach to finding and writing news incorporated certain business methods. In June, I was invited to create an online course. By October, on the day my first book was published, I filmed the online course "High-Efficiency Writing Skills." In November, I launched a fundraising campaign—four to five hundred people purchased it, earning me a year's salary in royalties. This opened a new chapter in my life. (This year's multiple side gigs made me think: why not just start a company?)
Writing to this point, the first three years were the germination and watershed period of my career.
2021: In the third year of Cross-Disciplinary Reading Club, with structural improvements and brand building, I successfully implemented a subscription model. I also left my job to start my business in August. I was accepted into the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Social Innovation Experimental Center accelerator and received startup subsidies from Taipei City Government. This opened the door to building my business, and many mentors helped me through the early stages. My PR business also developed well. I collaborated with One Lesson to produce an audio course, "Slash-Career Compound Interest." I also taught an eight-hour writing course at Taiwan Tech.
2022: In May, a major event occurred in my health and personal life that I still struggle to process. My mental state improved, but extreme lack of confidence led me to put Cross-Disciplinary aside toward year's end, focusing instead on media PR. I met many mentors and great clients, and was selected for the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Women Flying Geese Accelerator. In August, I published my second book, "Write a Viral Thousand-Word Article in 15 Minutes." The launch had some turbulence, but it became nourishment for my growth. This experience made me cautious about subsequent collaborations and taught me much. The book is now on its sixth printing. I also launched my second course on Hahow, "Career Side Hustle Management."
2023: The May incident from the previous year weighed on me, compounded by the book launch turbulence, causing physical and mental health issues—lack of confidence, emotional lows. For a while, I explored various mystical practices: Purple Star Astrology, Theta Healing, Dennison Laterality Exercises. Each had merit and unique interpretations. But what truly made me feel "I'm okay" and "I can do this" was attending a two-day workshop by therapist Su Hsuan-Hui. The workshop was titled "Self-Acceptance," and when I left, I cried walking down the street—tears for myself, finally releasing myself. So the second half of the year moved at a gentler pace; I even moved to Yilan. Business revenue continued growing with aggressive business model adjustments, achieving 50% year-over-year growth. Clients expanded to include listed companies. With AI's emergence, I launched my third online course, "The AI Application Era," which also brought many corporate training opportunities. Starting in April, I seriously invested in IG and broke 10K followers by year's end. Now I'm taking a breather!
2024: March just ended, but estimated revenue already reached half of last year's. I'm facing another structural adjustment, recruiting business development and PR staff. This year I've felt physically and mentally well. February brought a new milestone, and everything is under control. While our corporate services don't have an official website, collaboration volume has increased, with more intensive contracts and international partnerships. Of course, I'm grappling with the expansion-versus-stability question and still seeking answers. Good friends probably hope I maintain the status quo—managing people is really exhausting. But I've never tried full-scale expansion, so I don't know how much self-torment it would take before I give up.
Looking back over these six years, I've transformed from someone working over twelve hours a day, living paycheck to paycheck and eating in the company cafeteria at month's end on an employee card, to now having my own business, financial breathing room, and control over my life—something I never anticipated. So I've remained in a state of constant gratitude. I actively seize every new collaboration opportunity. Perhaps my life trajectory seems chaotic, and I don't know where the next step will lead, but embracing every challenge and courageously accepting failure may be the only principle on this path.
Early on my entrepreneurial journey, my motivation was simple—just to issue invoices (laughable in hindsight). Recently, I mentioned to a friend that part of me also wanted to get closer to people living the kind of life and mindset I admired, to solve problems for others and make the world better. Another part wanted to continue learning and growing through entrepreneurship (I've truly learned so much). Now it seems I'm walking this path consistently.
What will I become in the next few years? When will I turn the page? Though unknown, perhaps that's what makes life fun.
