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Jeffrey Kam
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IN THIS ISSUE
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The TikTok-famous beekeeper
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How does Shein do it?
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Planting roots in the Rose Capital of the World
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Good morning. Sifting
through the replies to yesterday’s newsletter, it became clear that one
link in particular resonated with readers: The Atlantic’s article about the benefits of talking with strangers.
What is it about
talking to strangers that intrigues us? Probably because we know it
enriches our lives but we can’t bring ourselves to do it.
If you’re like
me, you often freeze when given the opportunity to say hello to your
neighbor on a plane. “What if they don’t want to talk to me?” we think.
Even worse, what if they do want to talk to me? Not trying to hear about their stamp collection for three hours.
These concerns
are largely imaginary, and even detrimental. Studies show that chatting
with strangers can boost happiness, improve mental health, and make you
feel more connected to your community.
So, in the
spirit of trying something new, I’m suggesting that we all attempt to
talk to one stranger today. Then reply and let me know about your
experience. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet another Brew reader.
—Neal Freyman
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Stock Watch: Running Shoes
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Icebreakers with...Erika Thompson of Texas Beeworks
Amanda Jewell Saunders
If there are two constants in Erika Thompson’s life, they are: Texas and bees. She started Texas Beeworks
in 2014, became a full-time beekeeper in 2019, and signs all her emails
with “Bee Well.” But she’s most famous for documenting her calm bee
removal services on TikTok.
After strapping into a bee suit, we asked Thompson a few Icebreakers—but please, don’t try this at home.
You have
9 million followers on TikTok and huge followings on other social
platforms. How do you balance creating content with actually being a
beekeeper?
I always say
creatures before content. I'm so thankful for the ability to show people
the important and incredible work that bees and beekeepers do every
day. But it can be a challenge. I think a lot of people don't realize
that, first and foremost, I'm a beekeeper. And then after many, many
other things, I'm putting together social content.
What was the moment when you decided to take beekeeping from a hobby to a career?
About two years
ago, I was trying to convince myself and everyone around me that I could
leave my good office job and be a full-time beekeeper.
Then, one day I was sitting at work, at my office job, and I opened my email and saw a note from Jeopardy! They were asking me to help create a clue category about bees. And that’s when I thought, “They could have asked anyone.”
What Jeopardy! category could you win that isn’t bee-related?
Oh my gosh. [Asks husband off call] What do I know a lot about, non-bee related? [Husband responds, “Texas.”]
What word would best describe you in high school?
Dork. I was in orchestra, I was the captain of my high school bowling team, and I loved Star Wars. Our school even called the kids in orchestra “Orch Dorks.”
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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Can we ask you a
~personal~ question? Do you have money or a credit card or a 401(k) or
an investment account or student loans or a mortgage or a kid who may
want to, ugh, backpack around Europe “for a little while?”
Then gosh darn it do we have great news for you. We’re launching our new personal finance newsletter called Money Scoop and you should sign up.
It’s written by
an honest-to-goodness CPA (but, like, the cool kind) and twice weekly he
will be discussing all the financial topics you need to know.
On that (bank) note we want to hear from you!
Tell us what you wish you knew about money, what you’re nervous about,
or what you haven’t told anyone about your finances. We’ll use these
“Money Secrets” to keep the content machine chuggin’ along.
See you for Money Scoop’s first issue on August 17th, but only if you smash this lil’ link to subscribe.
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Looking for Direction
Important note:
This section has a new author, as we're reluctantly going to let Kate
Noel focus on her day job of running HR at a 120-person media company.
Who could ever fill Kate's Shaq-sized shoes? The one, the only Shane Loughnane.
A Western Mass. native, Shane's been navigating sticky workplace
dilemmas since he was forced to fire his dad from their paper route
venture (don't worry, he received a generous severance package). More
recently, Shane's held professional roles across a variety of
industries, and he'll be an invaluable sounding board for all your
workplace challenges. Let's get this party started.
I don't
like my current job but I have no idea what I would rather do instead.
Do you have any advice for people like me?—Ashlynn in Denver
As Baz Luhrmann (Australian director, writer, producer) once put it,
“Some of the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting
40-year-olds still don’t.” This is a relevant topic for me, as I’m
somewhere between 22 and 40 and honestly haven’t figured it out yet,
either. And that’s totally okay.
The first thing
you should ask yourself is whether it’s a specific aspect of your
current job that you dislike, or if it’s the line of work that you find
unfulfilling. If the former, perhaps it’s worth a conversation with your
boss: A modification of your current responsibilities, a new role
inside the company, or potentially a job switch within the industry
would reignite the fire.
If you think you
might want to try your hand at something different, start by
documenting your non-income generating hobbies and interests—is there a
way to monetize any of them? If the answer is, “Maybe, but there are
roadblocks,” consider starting small. Even if you can’t up and quit your
current job today to pursue it, what would it look like to start
something on the side, take a class, or cold email a newsletter editor
until they cave and let you write something?
Still nothing? Pick up a book on something you know nothing about (the Brew has a whole shelf full of recs).
If it’s not doing it for you, pick up another one. Most people who
haven’t found a job that they are passionate about have stopped looking
for one. You’re never too far behind, and it’s never too late.
And don’t forget to wear sunscreen.
—Shane
Something bothering you at work? Ask Shane here.
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Shein’s All That
Instagram
If you’re not a
Gen Z woman with a penchant for online shopping, you may have never
heard of the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce company, Shein. If you are in that demographic, the brand likely follows you around the internet like an overly attached chihuahua.
But, unlike a chi, the online fashion retailer has a big bark and a big bite:
- Estimated revenue in 2020 of nearly $10 billion
- Annual revenue growth of over 100% for eight years running
- A $15 billion valuation, as of last summer
Oh, and its app was downloaded more than Amazon on the US App Store in June...nbd.
Now that you’re listening, here’s the background
Shein is an
online-only, fast-fashion retailer based in China, with a focus on
women’s apparel. But calling it “fast” is like calling pickle juice
delicious: It’s a vast understatement.
The first wave of fast-fashion retailers (Zara, H&M) became popular
by creating new designs and getting them to the sales floor in five
weeks or less. Fast fashion 2.0, known as “ultra-fast fashion” and
popularized by brands like ASOS and Boohoo, got that process down to a
week or two. Shein turns around a new design in as little as three days.
Fashion Nova
made waves back in 2018 when its CEO bragged about launching 600 to 900
styles a week, per Vox. Shein added over 7,000 new styles to its site
last Thursday alone (see for yourself here). The key to its speed is its well-oiled supply chain management.
Shein’s order flow is as frictionless as a Slip ’N Slide covered in soap
First, as laid out in Not Boring’s excellent deep dive,
Shein analyzes trends and user data to decide which style to churn out
next. An in-house design team then sends it to a Shein supplier located
in China’s manufacturing hub, Guangzhou.
Here’s where the
magic happens: Suppliers start by making a small batch of the product,
but once it goes live on Shein.com, real-time shopping data is sent to
the factory floor to inform whether to scale production up or down. If
the item is being clicked on and added to carts furiously, Shein’s
software (which all of its suppliers are required to use) tells the
supplier to make more.
As factory
production gears up, Shein.com’s algorithm recommends the product to
more shoppers and its marketing team blasts it across social media.
But moving this
fast has resulted in Shein breaking things. Its flywheel sometimes
outpaces sound decision-making, meaning products like a “Metal Swastika
Pendant Necklace” have ended up on the site.
Looking ahead...rumors have swirled in China that Shein would IPO sometime in 2021, but that was before Chinese authorities cracked down
on the country’s biggest tech companies, especially when they tried to
IPO on US-based exchanges. So we may have to wait a while to learn the
juicy financial deets.
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Open House
Welcome to Open
House, the only newsletter section that begs the question, “How exactly
am I going to use a screened-in porch in the Texas heat?” We’ll give you
a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.
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Zillow
About two hours southeast of Dallas, you’ll find today’s home
in the historic district of Tyler, Texas, aka the Rose Capital of the
World and home to the largest rose garden in the US (spanning 14 acres
and featuring at least 400 varieties of roses.) This 5,091 square-foot
home built in 1965 comes with:
- 6 beds, 3 baths
- More arches than you can count on one hand
- Fancy-shmancy carved ceilings
- A huge parking lot in the back
How much for the Texas palace? Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter to find out.
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Just Click It
1. Which singers have the biggest vocabularies? (WordTips)
2. AI-generated art is actually pretty good. (Berkeley)
3. Tunnels are our transportation future. (Austin Vernon)
4. How to unplug from work. (Founder’s Journal)
5. The $5,000 quest for the perfect butt. (The Goods)
6. Should we be building Olympic charter cities? (Virginica)
7. How we spent our time in 2020 versus 2019. (FlowingData)
8. USA Gymnastics isn’t in charge of its future. (The Cut)
9. The 25 most significant works of postwar architecture. (NYT Style Magazine)
10. Inside the first-ever scientific study of post-mortem meditation. (Tricycle)
Higher learnings: Cannabis
legalization is moving slowly here in the States. In Latin America? Not
so much. Find out how a major legislative change positions Colombian
cannabis cultivators as global leaders in this press release from Flora Growth.*
*This is sponsored advertising content
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Meme Battle
Welcome back to Morning Brew's Meme Battle, where we crown a single memelord every Sunday.
Today's winner: Claudia in Manchester, MI. Seriously, people.
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This week's challenge: You can find the new meme template here for next Sunday. Once you're done making your meme, submit it at this link. We'll pick a new memelord for next week's Sunday Edition and provide you with another meme template to meme-ify.
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