Melsy

Building quietly for now

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Freelancing across (multiple) borders means invoicing in three currencies and losing a bit every time.

Plus the client who always promises to pay "end of next month" and really means 3.5 months.

How the heck do you chase late payments without wrecking the relationship?

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Early on in Shenzhen, I gave blunt feedback in a group meeting. Cue extremely awkward silence.
What I do now: say it 1:1, say it softer, and always start with what's working.

Ever had a cultural misread at work?

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

"We're expanding into Asia."

Which part?

Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, and the list goes on. They all brief, decide, and pay differently.

One plan for "Asia" is how budgets disappear.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Honestly, sometimes having a smidge of gratitude will rewire my entire day.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

🔺This is the #1 hack to ensure your startup succeeds.

Most founders have these problems:

1. No $$$
2. No $$$ for registration or great hires
3. Investors basically all but ignore you

These problems will all go away with this one simple hack:

Having a super-rich family.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

I blew over $128 on software I didn't need
because I wasn't sure which basket I needed to add more eggs to.

Now, there's a better game plan and (hopefully) less expensive lessons ahead.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

@billgnofficial Ideally, it would expand into a community where people can support + motivate each other and help keep everyone accountable if desired.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

@billgnofficial Still tinkering, but it's meant to be a commitment-free way to test-drive your dream/idea/thing you keep putting off.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

@CreativeGracey Waitlist is hungry! https://t.co/5Jyfr0VaMJ

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

If only there were a physical way to measure just how badly you want it.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

That first move can be stupidly small.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

It's past midnight; I'm tired, a little discouraged, but I'm still tinkering away.
Sending supportive energy waves to anyone still up and trying to make it work.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Side-quest FOMO is loud.
Everyone else's tiny experiment looks cooler than your blank page. So you scroll, save, plan, and..... never start.

Don't just dream about it. Find out.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

What if someone took your wild idea seriously… then told you what it would actually take, no motivational poster voice?

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

I still call it a side quest so my brain doesn't write a resignation letter. Same work. Smaller panic. Anything you are currently pretending is "just a little experiment"?

Let's connect!

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Everyone I met told me the same thing: “2-3 years in China? Yeah right. You’ll blink and a decade will have passed.”

Then the pandemic hit. And I left. And for a while, 2-3 years was my average in any given location.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Fun fact: I wrote copy at DJI in Shenzhen for almost three years.

Met great people. Learned how hard it is to make words matter inside a machine that ships hardware.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

I was young enough to think I had the guts to climb any corporate ladder, let alone one in China, and it was intoxicating to be in an environment where everyone I met was just as weirdly wired as I felt I was. There were high highs and dramatic lows.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

@markproduct Right now? Unfortunately all 4 aha.

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Told a friend I'm trying to build something after hours.

They said "but you're already busy" like that was the end of the conversation.

PLOT TWIST: It's not. 😅

[Melsy @melsy_creates]

Languages have been a huge part of my life + career thus far

🇺🇸 : native
🇹🇼: mother tongue
🇪🇸: fluent
🇫🇷: … okay-ish?
🇩🇪: currently embarrassing myself on purpose.

What’s the language you’ve been “about to start” for years?