Hi friend,

Not every room is your room.

I am learning that in real time.

I am learning it while carrying merchandise, setting up tables, sweating under tents, testing product displays, talking to strangers, watching people walk by, and asking myself the very honest question:

Is this the right room for Rise + Rebel?

After completing my first two Rise + Rebel pop-up events, I am realizing how important the room really is.

The audience matters.
The location matters.
The organizer matters.
The communication matters.
The visibility matters.
The weather matters.
The event flow matters.
The booth placement matters.
The amount of product I bring matters.
The way I present the product matters.

And most importantly, the energy matters.

When I first started reaching out to local events, I was mostly focused on getting out there.

I wanted Rise + Rebel to be seen. I wanted the merchandise in front of people. I wanted feedback. I wanted movement. I wanted to stop waiting for everything to be perfect and finally let the brand exist outside of my head.

And I am proud of myself for that.

But now I am learning the next layer:

Because not every event needs the full version of you.

At my first event, I brought almost 95% of my merchandise.

By my second event, I brought maybe 10%.

And that alone taught me something.

Not every room requires everything.

Sometimes the lesson is learning how to show up with enough, and trust that enough is enough.

That feels bigger than retail.

It feels like a life lesson.

How many times do we walk into the wrong rooms carrying the full weight of ourselves, trying to prove, explain, perform, convince, or over-deliver?

How many times do we bring all of our energy into spaces that only needed a small portion of it?

How many times do we mistake exposure for alignment?

That is what I am sitting with this week.

Knowing which room you belong to is not just a business lesson.

It is personal.

It is creative.
It is emotional.
It is spiritual.
It is strategic.

Because where you place yourself matters.

Where you allow yourself to be seen matters.

And as a business owner, founder, vendor, creative, and woman building something in real time, I am learning that the goal is not to be everywhere.

The goal is to get closer to the right rooms.

There is a vulnerability in this season that I did not fully expect.

I feel exposed.

I feel new.

I feel like I am figuring it out in real time because I am.

This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and now that I am actually doing it, I am facing the beginning stages.

The awkwardness.
The uncertainty.
The learning curve.
The “sucky” first experiences.
The quiet moments where I have to remind myself not to give up too quickly.

But even when I do not make a sale, I am learning.

I am learning who stops.
I am learning what people touch.
I am learning what sells.
I am learning what drains me.
I am learning what excites me.
I am learning what kind of setup works.
I am learning which rooms feel aligned.
And I am learning which rooms do not.

That matters.

Because sometimes success begins with recognizing you are in the wrong room.

Not because you failed.

But because you are getting closer to the right one.

That is a very different kind of success.

It is not loud.
It is not flashy.
It does not always look impressive from the outside.

But it is real.

And I am starting to trust real more than impressive.

This theme also connects beautifully to this week’s Rise + Rebel Podcast episode with Carol Reid.

Carol’s episode is titled:

And honestly, I cannot think of a better conversation for this season.

Carol is one of those women whose wisdom does not come from theory. It comes from life.

In our conversation, she talks about fear, courage, healing, caregiving, self-doubt, boundaries, modeling at 70, and what it means to keep taking the next right action even when fear is still present.

One of the most powerful things Carol shared was that when she was invited to model, fear showed up immediately.

She thought:

I am not a model.
I do not know how to do this.
What will I have to do?

But then courage answered.

She said yes.

And then she did something I deeply respect: she took responsibility for being ready.

She did not wait for someone else to prepare her.
She found someone who could teach her.
She learned the runway walk.
She showed up.
She claimed her space.

That is the part that stayed with me.

Because claiming your space does not always mean you feel fearless.

Sometimes it means you are afraid, but you still walk.

Sometimes it means you enter a room and remind yourself, “I belong here too.”

Sometimes it means you are new, but you are willing.

Sometimes it means you are still healing, still learning, still becoming, and you choose not to abandon yourself in the process.

That is where Carol’s story met mine this week.

I am not modeling on a runway at 70, but I am learning how to stand in a new version of myself.

A founder.
A retail startup owner.
A podcast host.
A commercial real estate advisor.
A creative woman building a life and brand in public.

And every time I show up in a room, I am learning something about who I am, who I serve, and where I belong.

Maybe that is what knowing your room really means.

It is not just finding a place where people understand you.

It is choosing the rooms where your becoming has room to breathe.

Here is what this season is teaching me:

You do not need to be in every room.

You do not need to bring everything to every opportunity.

You do not need to call every experience a failure just because it did not produce the result you wanted.

You can learn from a room without staying in it.

You can outgrow a room without resenting it.

You can be grateful for the data and still choose differently next time.

You can start small.

You can bring less.

You can adjust.

You can take notes.

You can keep going.

And most importantly, you can claim your space without forcing yourself into places that were never meant to hold the fullness of you.

That is the work.

Not just building a brand.

Building discernment.

Not just showing up.

Showing up where it makes sense.

Not just being seen.

Being seen by the people who can actually recognize what you are building.

If you are in a season of beginning again, claiming your space, healing from self-doubt, or learning how to move with courage even when fear is present, I think this episode with Carol will speak to you.

Watch the full episode here.

And if it speaks to you, I would love for you to subscribe to the Rise + Rebel YouTube channel.

Every subscriber helps this message reach someone who may need it.

Subscribe here.

I am learning that the wrong room is not always a waste.

Sometimes it is a teacher.

Sometimes it shows you what drains you.
Sometimes it shows you what matters.
Sometimes it shows you who your people are not.
Sometimes it shows you how to prepare differently.
Sometimes it shows you that you are braver than you thought.

And sometimes, after standing in a room that does not quite fit, you finally understand what kind of room you are actually looking for.

So if you are also in a season of figuring it out, I hope you give yourself grace.

You are allowed to learn by doing.

You are allowed to test the room.

You are allowed to adjust.

You are allowed to leave with information instead of applause.

You are allowed to claim your space before you feel completely ready.

And you are allowed to keep becoming until you find the rooms where your becoming has room to breathe.

As always, I wish you the best because you deserve the best.

Until next time,
Aya