July 23rd, 2025
"Who's one creator that's building a business you admire?"
That was one of the first questions asked by Brett Dashevsky at his latest event for Creator Economy NYC.
On the panel were Denise Press, an executive at Visa, Vincent Chan, a personal finance creator with over 1M followers, and Nicole Casperson, author, creator, and founder of Fintech is Femme.
Their answers were amazing. Incredibly successful creators that I admire myself were mentioned, like Justin Welsh.
But then, before Brett moved on to his next question, he gave an example of another creator who's building a business he admired:
And it was me.
He told an audience of 300+ people about my community and meetup club For The Firsts, and how impressed he's been with the level of intention and authenticity I've been able to create in a few months.
I was shocked he even mentioned it, and even more so at the response.
People in the room all of a sudden started applauding, and after the panel, a few approached me to learn more, connect, or grab a photo.
Over the last year, I've been in a mini-professional crisis as I've struggled to define what I'm actually doing with my career.
Becoming a full-time creator has been an incredibly successful journey for me, but if I can be completely honest, it's not always the most fulfilling.
I want to be more than the little man in your phone telling you how to network or get a job.
That's why I started For The Firsts, for any "first" in NYC to feel like they have a place to connect with others navigating a path so few others in their families and communities have walked.
And that recognition really inspired me to keep going.
I shared this story on LinkedIn earlier today, but I wanted to share it here as well as a reminder that, whatever you're doing, aim for consistency over perfection.
You never know who's watching, and oftentimes when you're in a moment of doubt or uncertainty, that's when someone reaches out with a small token of appreciation that can be all you need to affirm the path you're on.
Welcome to First Things First. I'm so glad you're here.
