Hi, I'm Karen. On March 8, 2018, I launched my personal website, "Young Karen's Musings." Looking back, six years have passed. I've evolved from a simple lifestyle blogger venting my frustrations to publishing books, launching courses, and leaving my job to start my own business—and I've gone from 27 to 33 years old.
While "six years" sounds like a long time when living through it, in retrospect it's only a fraction of a lifetime. Yet in this relatively short span, I've accumulated experiences and growth that didn't happen in my first thirty-odd years.
This article is a moment to reflect, introspect, and review.
2018: My second year at work, fresh out of the gate, feeling emotionally and physically drained, I began writing online to express myself. I channeled my workplace frustrations into words, and each completed piece brought feedback and a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. These invisible forces pushed me forward. Despite being exhausted from work and on-call, I managed to write three to four pieces daily without rest. The internet became my refuge, and writing my guiding light. That same year, I was invited to give a lecture at a camp in Hualien. My first two-hour talk was inexperienced—I awkwardly finished in just ninety minutes—but I remain grateful to this day.
2019: Early in the year, I signed a contract for my first book, "Life Is Not a Multiple-Choice Question." I hadn't expected that writing online would lead to publishing, but seizing this rare opportunity, I spent considerable time preparing. I also founded Cross-Border Reading Club. That year I also faced career disruption. After a failed attempt to switch jobs, at 29 I felt particularly lost, so I quit abruptly and went to the Philippines to catch my breath and find direction. However, during this time, several excellent job offers came my way, and unexpectedly, I was able to do freelance work overseas and earn extra income. This period became one of the catalysts for launching my PR business later.
2020: After eight months of unemployment and failed job transitions, I recommitted to my original field and returned to media work. As the pandemic emerged with Taiwan's first confirmed case, my job presented unprecedented challenges—solo reporting, emergency live broadcasts, medical news coverage. For the first time, I recognized how my skills in finding and writing original stories could incorporate some business methodology. In June, I was invited to create an online course. In October, the day my first book was published, I filmed the online course "Efficient Writing Skills," and in November launched crowdfunding. Four to five hundred people purchased it, earning royalties equivalent to a year's salary—opening a new chapter in my life. (This is also when I thought maybe I should start a company.)
Writing to this point, the first three years were a period of business germination and a turning point in my life.
2021: In the third year of Cross-Border Reading Club's existence, with refined mechanisms and brand building, I successfully launched a subscription model. That August, I resigned to start my business. I was accepted into the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Social Innovation Experimental Center accelerator program and received startup subsidies from the Taipei City Government, officially beginning my entrepreneurial journey with support from many mentors. My PR business was also developing well. That year I also collaborated with First Class Studio on an audio course, "Slashing & Compound Growth," and taught an eight-hour writing workshop at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
2022: In May, something major happened in my health and life that I still struggle with, though my mental health has since improved considerably. Due to extreme lack of confidence at the time, by year's end I paused the Cross-Border business and pivoted toward media PR work. During this period, I met many mentors and great clients, and was selected for the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Female Flying Geese Accelerator Program. In August, I published my second book, "Write a Thousand-Word Viral Piece in 15 Minutes." The early days had some turbulence, but this too became nourishment for my life. This experience taught me to be more cautious with every subsequent collaboration and I learned much from it. The book is now in its sixth printing. That year I also launched my second course on Hahow: "Career Side Hustle Management."
2023: The crisis from May of the previous year hadn't fully healed, and combined with the book publishing incident, my physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing suffered. For a period, I explored various mystical practices like Purple Star Astrology, Theta Healing, and Dennison Neurological Organization, each with their own merits. But what finally made me feel "I'm okay," "I can do this" was a two-day workshop by therapist Su Hsuan-Hui. The workshop was titled "Self-Acceptance," and as I walked down the street after completing it, I cried—tears for myself. I finally felt I was slowly releasing myself. In the latter half of the year, I lived at a slower pace and even moved to Yilan. Revenue continued growing, with business model adjustments achieving a 50% year-over-year increase. Clients now include listed companies. With the emergence of AI, I launched a third online course, "The Age of AI Application," which also brought many corporate training opportunities. Starting in April, I seriously focused on Instagram and successfully reached 10K followers by year's end. Now I'm pausing to breathe!
2024: March just ended, but estimated revenue has already reached half of last year's total. I'm navigating another round of operational adjustments while beginning to recruit sales and PR staff. Both body and mind are in great shape this year. February brought a new milestone—everything feels under control. Although our corporate service division still lacks an official website, our collaboration numbers have increased, we've signed more intensive contracts, and even secured international partnerships. Of course, I'm also facing the challenge of expansion versus stability, and I'm still seeking answers. My close friends probably hope I maintain the status quo, as managing people is truly exhausting. But I don't think I'll know my own limits until I've actually tried.
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 with an employee card by month's end, to now having my own business, financial breathing room, and control over my life—something I never anticipated. This is why I've remained in a constant state of gratitude. I seize every new collaboration opportunity. Perhaps my life trajectory seems scattered, and I don't know where the next chapter will lead, but embracing each challenge and having the courage to accept failure may be the only principle that matters on this path.
At the start of my entrepreneurial journey, I was motivated simply by the ability to invoice (embarrassingly so). Recently, I mentioned to a friend that perhaps another part of me wanted to get closer to the lifestyle and thinking of my ideal role models—to solve problems for others and make the world better. Another part hoped that entrepreneurship would allow me to continuously learn and grow (and I truly have learned so much). Now it seems I'm already on that path.
What will I be like in the coming years? When will I turn the page? Though I can't know, that's what makes life fun, isn't it?
