The Aha Moment: Natasha Rhorer
The dictionary defines an aha moment as a moment of sudden insight or discovery. For me, I have had several Aha Moments in my life, both personally and professionally. These moments aided in shaping the course of my life, even if in a small way.
(If you recall, my Aha Moment was crying on a street corner in Astoria after I was promoted at work. It was then I realized I needed to make a change, and stop ignoring my little voice.)
As I made the leap into entrepreneur life, I started talking to more and more people about their moments of clarity. There is definitely something to remembering a moment or feeling that suddenly gives you all the confirmation you need whether it means deciding to leave your job, or move across the country, or go for that promotion.
In my new blog series called the Aha Moment, I will feature a new badass each month and capture their story on how they took this moment and fueled it into something great.
Natasha Rhorer
Natasha has built her career in the luxury retail space working for brands such as Diane von Furstenberg and Louis Vuitton.
Natasha holds a Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University and a Masters Degree in Luxury Fashion Marketing from Savannah College of Art & Design.
Natasha Rhorer is someone who I met while working for Burberry, where she spent 2 years focusing on the end to end Client Engagement strategy and execution for 80 retail stores. Natasha was the person who inspired this interview series, as she most recently parted ways with Burberry to follow a longtime passion for both her and her husband, Rob. (Honestly, this story gives me chills) In the new year, Natasha and Rob will be leaving the Big Apple to set up shop on the island of Roatan where they will own and operate a sailboat charter. (Talk about living your truth!)
What was your Aha Moment?
It was March 2017, and I was traveling a lot for Burberry, which was something I always wanted to do. I was running strategy meetings in many different stores. I was on the plane ride back and I kind of thought to myself, “what else is there for me?” I always knew I would be an entrepreneur, and I knew I wanted to be on an island, so it was then I knew.
“I wasn’t coming from a pragmatic place, I was coming from a passionate place.”
And passionate she is. From that moment on, Natasha and her husband made their weekends and vacation days their own, traveling the eastern seaboard, down through the Caribbean and Central America in an effort to get the lay of the land. After much research, they landed on the little island of Roatan which is about 40 miles off the coast of Honduras. Roatan has a strong community of expats and after a few return trips to the island, they met many great people and began to develop a network.
Through a twist of fate, they ended up meeting a wonderful couple that owns Zeppelin Dive & Sail in Roatan. As it happened the day charter portion of their business was up for sale. Did I mention that this was after they already put a down payment on a piece of land to build a new home on the island? Things really started falling into place, and the answers seemed clear. Natasha recalls the date of October 15 as the day they decided to do it. They contacted the couple and signed on the dotted line. Roatan or bust!
Natasha and I got to talking about the reactions she received after she starting telling people about her decision.
“The reactions range from disbelief to immense curiosity.”
When you decide to take this plunge into a totally new chapter of your life, you will be met with a few different reactions. Those that are supportive and excited for you, and those who will judge you and try to make you feel poorly about your decision. Natasha and I spent a lot of time talking about the variety of those reactions and how we have dealt with them. In the end, you have to be comfortable with the "I don't know."
In the end, Natasha's story is so incredibly inspiring to me. I am hearing more and more stories just like this — people taking control of their lives and taking a leap. I asked Natasha what scares her most about this next step, and her answer was simply:
“I am not even scared this will fail. I am more scared to not take this leap. I know how that story ends.”