Emily McDowell on Reclaiming Creativity, Navigating Burnout, and Finding Balance

Emily McDowell is an advisor, thought partner, and coach to creative entrepreneurs in the product space, helping to save their time, money, and sanity. As founder of the stationery and gift company Em & Friends, she inspired a sea change in the greeting card industry with Empathy Cards, a more honest and supportive alternative to traditional sympathy cards, and for nearly a decade, some element of her work was in a constant state of “viral.” In 2022, Em & Friends was acquired by Union Square & Co / Barnes & Noble, and Emily exited the business. She is also the co-author and illustrator of There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When Life Gets Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love (HarperOne, 2017), and offers unsolicited advice and cautionary tales in her newsletter, Subject to Change, a Substack Featured Publication of 2023.
This week, Barrett talks with Emily about their mutual experiences of burnout, identity loss, and recovery after leaving significant professional roles. Emily shares her journey from a high-stress advertising career to creating a company focused on empathy cards, driven by her experience surviving cancer. Emily and Barrett discuss the rapid growth and subsequent burnout she experienced, the emotional and mental toll of such high stress, and the importance of reconnecting with one's authentic self amidst professional pressure. They cover a wide range of topics, including personal stories of financial insecurity, the search for purpose, self-acceptance, and the balance of ambition with self-care, emphasizing the significance of internal work and the healing power of genuine human connections and new beginnings.
In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(05:19) - Emily’s advertising background and first viral card

(11:30) - Navigating business growth and challenges

(18:42) - Merging with Knock Knock and burnout

(27:04) - Barrett’s story of burnout

(32:06) - The aftermath of leaving a successful role

(39:14) - Embracing quitting and self-discovery

(55:53) - Facing setbacks and choosing a new path

(01:01:55) - Redefining success and ambition

(01:13:53) - A shift in self-perception

(01:16:21) - Embracing vulnerability

(01:18:25) - Letting go of burdens

(01:22:14) - Rediscovering self-worth

(01:24:58) - Navigating new ambitions

(01:40:55) - Emily’s beautiful future

(01:41:48) - Who Emily is becoming

(01:45:41) - Barrett’s poem


Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com.
Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.