Why The Black Polish Society?
đź–¤ Why The Black Polish Society
The Moment Everything Changed
On a Tuesday in the summer of 2023, I was sitting on the couch in my therapist’s office. I was deep in the depths of my misery, bemoaning the lack of reflection I wasn’t finding in the people around me.
It felt like my life’s shallow conversations and inherent monotony were strangling me—and somehow, I had tied all of it back to an analogy about nail polish color. Specifically, black nail polish.
The Grind That Broke Me
Every day, I woke up and was working by 6 a.m. I had a quick 30-minute break to take my son to school, then worked until at least 6 p.m.
Six to ten in the evening was filled with sports practices, yoga flows, dinner prep, cleanup, and bedtime routines. There was no room for anything else, and nothing was sacred.
My job poured into every aspect of my life. No holiday, special occasion, or illness stopped the calls and emails from coming in.
I was a rise-and-grind girly through and through. I responded to every request with, “Can do!”—and I could. I did, and I did, and I did, and I did… until I couldn’t.
Unraveling
I ended up in the emergency room three times over an eighteen-month period for symptoms that would eventually be diagnosed as stress-induced. That’s what landed me in this therapist’s office—on a mission to unwind my life.
From the exterior, it was perfect. I was well employed and performing at the top of my industry. One of the largest hurdles I faced in therapy was admitting that I wasn’t happy with my life. I was ashamed of my lack of satisfaction.
The Black Nail Polish
I sat there crying on that couch when the therapist did something no one had ever done before. He took off his socks and shoes and showed me his painted toenails. Sure enough, he had black nail polish on his toes.
That day, an idea sparked in my mind: What if someone built a business that focused on bringing people together for empowerment and community rather than the bottom line?
The Birth of The Black Polish Society
I knew immediately that I would use The Black Polish Society to fund the change I wanted to see in the world.
A few years would pass, and the “what” and “how” of the Society would shift as the idea grew—but the vision stayed the same.
Today, the Society is open. It exists to help independent artists and writers bridge the gap between creating and marketing their work.
The Society has zero employees. It’s operated and managed by small business owners, each with their own story and their own journey.
The Society reminds the folks hiding their polish that they are not alone.