🎙️ Sometimes the Thing That Knocks You Off Course Puts You on a Better One

Last month, I had the chance to sit down with my friend and former colleague Stacey Kulongowski on the Bring Your Big Energy podcast to talk about my journey to founding Tahoe Dog Co.—and really, about everything that had to happen to get me here.

I loved listening back to our conversation because I felt like Stacey captured so much of my story. And while Tahoe Dog Co. is certainly part of it, what struck me most is that this really isn't a story about starting a business.

It's a story about what can happen when life doesn't go according to plan.

And how sometimes, the best direction for your life is one you never could have designed for yourself.

When the Plan Changes

Before Tahoe Dog Co., I spent 25 years in the corporate world, including more than a decade at Google and YouTube.

My career was a huge part of my identity. It was also, for a long time, one of the primary ways I measured success and fulfillment.

Then I was laid off.

It was unexpected and shocking after more than ten years at the company. But looking back now, I don't think of the layoff as the defining part of this story. It was simply one of the things that changed the direction I was heading.

It gave me time and space I hadn't had before—and forced me to think about what else I wanted my life to contain.

Around that time, my therapist gave me an analogy that has stuck with me ever since:

My stool only had one leg.

That leg was my career.

And no matter how successful that one part of my life was, a one-legged stool isn't particularly stable.

So I started asking myself: What could the other legs be?

My health. My relationships. My community. Creativity. The outdoors. My home in Tahoe.

And, somewhat unexpectedly, dogs. 🐾

🐕 The Dog Who Changed Everything

I wasn't always a dog person.

That's one of the things that makes it so funny—and meaningful—to me that I now own a company called Tahoe Dog Co.

But then there was Steven, my boyfriend's Border Collie.

Steven wanted to do things.

He wanted to go for a walk. He wanted to hit the trail. He wanted to swim in the lake. He wanted to explore.

And because Steven wanted to do those things, I started doing them too.

He got me outside. He got me moving my body. He got me on the trails and into the lake. He helped me experience this place I loved in a completely different way.

And in the process, I started realizing how much I had right in front of me.

🏔️ This incredible place I got to call home.
💛 People I loved.
🥾 Trails to explore.
🌊 A lake to jump into.
🐾 And a dog who was always ready for the next adventure.

Steven helped me see that there was so much more to a full life than professional achievement.

I don't think I could have known it at the time, but he was changing the direction of my life.

🏔️ Following the Signs

There wasn't one big moment when I decided, This is what I'm going to do with the rest of my life.

It was much more gradual than that.

One thing led to another.

Spending more time in Tahoe led me to become more involved in the community. I started volunteering. I walked dogs and eventually began fostering through the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

That led me to Sampson, a Border Collie from a difficult background who made it pretty clear he was supposed to come home with me.

Sampson had a year with Steven, who helped teach him how to be a dog—how to play, how to trust and, in our house at least, how to become a Tahoe Dog.

Eventually Riley joined our family, too.

And somewhere in all of this, an idea started taking shape.

🐾 From an Idea to Tahoe Dog Co.

As I became more connected to Tahoe's dog community, I noticed something.

People here already talked about their dogs as Tahoe dogs.

It wasn't a particular breed.

It was the dog hiking beside you. Swimming in the lake. Riding in the car to the trailhead. Running through the snow. Sitting next to you at the brewery. Collapsing into a happy, exhausted heap after another big day outside.

The identity already existed.

I just thought it deserved a brand.

Tahoe Dog Co. started with an image of Sampson exploring the Rubicon Trail and grew from there—into products inspired by real Tahoe dogs and places, gear for our adventures, community meetups and a growing local business.

And eventually, we found the words that summed up exactly what I'd been seeing all along:

A Tahoe Dog isn't a breed. It's a lifestyle.

✨ A Life I Never Would Have Planned

One of my biggest takeaways from the past few years is that we put an incredible amount of pressure on ourselves to figure out what comes next.

What's the five-year plan?

What's the next job?

What's the next achievement?

What's the right path?

I've always been a planner. But I don't think I could have planned my way to this life.

I couldn't have drawn a straight line from my corporate career to living full-time in Tahoe, fostering dogs, adopting Sampson, building a local community and starting Tahoe Dog Co.

Too many things had to happen that I never would have put into the plan.

Some of them were wonderful.

Some of them were painful.

Some seemed insignificant at the time.

But one thing led to another.

And I think there's something really important in that.

You can have goals without knowing exactly how you're going to get there.

Sometimes you have to pay attention to what keeps pulling you in a certain direction. Notice what gives you energy. Follow the things that make your life richer. Take a step, learn something, and then take another one.

And stay open to the possibility that something that initially feels like it's taking you off course might actually be pointing you toward a different—and better—one.

❤️ And Never Underestimate a Dog

The other thing I've learned?

Dogs can change your life.

They get us outside. They get us moving. They make us laugh. They introduce us to people we never would have met. They bring us into communities we didn't know existed.

They remind us to stop what we're doing and go for a walk.

And sometimes, if we're paying attention, they can show us a completely different way to live.

Steven did that for me.

And there would be no Tahoe Dog Co. without him.

🎧 Listen to Bring Your Big Energy

I'm incredibly grateful to Stacey for inviting me onto Bring Your Big Energy and giving me the opportunity to reflect on all of this.

Stacey and I worked together about ten years ago, which makes it especially meaningful that this completely unexpected chapter of my life brought us back together again.

Maybe that's another one of those signs. 💛

We talked about career transitions, taking risks, entrepreneurship, dogs, Tahoe, redefining success and what happens when you give yourself permission to follow a path you didn't originally plan.

Watch my conversation with Stacey on Bring Your Big Energy on YouTube. 🎙️

If you're in the middle of your own unexpected chapter, I hope you'll give it a listen.

And maybe remember:

You don't have to have the whole path figured out.

Sometimes you just have to notice what's in front of you, follow the signs, and be willing to see where they lead.

Because sometimes the thing that knocks you off course puts you on a better one. 🐾🏔️💛