My Somewhere In Between: Hedge Fund Exec turned Meditation Pioneer

When I met Laura Sage at the beginning of this year, I knew I had to share her incredible story with you. This feature is extra special to me because the business she started paved the way for mindfulness in the city of Chicago and it also played a pivotal role in my career change journey.

Enjoy her amazing story!

The world would be a better place if more people meditated.

What made you realize you were ready for a change?

After 11 years in marketing and investor relations at a hedge fund, I had been thinking about a pivot for quite some time. The hedge fund space is a mature industry and it’s not very robust in Chicago, so I kept thinking if I was going to make a change, it had to be outside the hedge fund space.

At the same time, I was really stressed out and wanted to find an outlet, other than rosé, to attend to my stress and anxiety. I suspected that meditation would be constructive.

How did you know what you wanted to change into?

Chill wasn’t something I was actively planning. During the time I realized I needed to pivot, I was looking for an outlet to destress. I was reading articles of the proven medical benefits of meditation and it appealed to my logical side. Although, it took me a while to pursue meditation as a practice.

Once I was ready to incorporate it into my lifestyle, I started looking for a space to meditate and a place that I could learn more about the practice. However, I couldn’t find a space in Chicago that was approachable.

I was looking for boutique studios that were offering 30 minute guided sessions where you didn’t have to commit to a month long program and I also wanted a space that wasn’t embedded into deeply religious affiliations.

Since I couldn’t find a space that met those standards, I started realizing there was a gap in the Chicago market. I was curious what this type of studio would look like, so I started doing research from a business perspective, visited studios nationally and it snowballed into signing a lease!

It was a crazy process and I realized I needed to make a change as I was doing three things simultaneously – working at the hedge fund, starting Chill and running the foundation.

I had three full-time jobs and I joke that I kept the two that didn’t pay. But the bottom line was that managing all three was unsustainable and Chill needed more attention.

How did you go about switching industries and starting over?

To be clear, it was petrifying. It proceeded to scare me for a year and a half. I had self-funded Chill and it was very intimidating to put all my eggs in one basket.

Depending on the day, I would say it was the best or the scariest decision I ever made. But it was very reassuring continually getting a lot of great feedback from people who visit Chill. They really thought it was a good idea.

But I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I needed help.

I’m not a meditation guide or a graphic designer, I’m not an expert in the health and wellness space, and there were many other things I didn’t know. I needed to build out a team of people with skills that were different than my own.

I’m so fortunate that almost all the people who joined the team when we opened, and even pre-open, are still partners and working with me today. I attribute that to hiring people with a real interest in helping others and the common denominator that:

The world would be a better place if more people meditated.

What was your biggest fear in changing careers?

I was worried about going broke

I had spent 20 years of my life working and fairly prudently saving/investing. I put a large majority of those savings into the business. There were so many points when I thought, “wow, I could have just gone to the south of France and vacationed comfortably for a long time with all that money.” But I was fortunate that I had a partner who is supportive. I knew I would be fed and have a place to live if I went broke.

What were challenges you faced and how did you go about them?

There were a couple obstacles along the way, but we made the best out of them.

I Underestimated how emotional it would feel when opening

I didn’t comprehend what it would feel like once doors opened. To be honest, I kind of freaked out. I started second guessing if people were going to come, if they were going to like it, questioning how do we as a company and culture digest people’s feedback, learn and evolve, etc. But despite the vulnerability and fears, I just kept pushing forward.

We experienced Loft noise interference

We had some noise issues like footsteps from above our loft space. To resolve this, we brought in sound installation experts and while they helped, you could still hear the noises. We trained our staff to incorporate this into our practice because the truth is, very rarely in life will you get a space with no distractions – so this challenge actually helped us make meditation more accessible.

What are you most proud of about yourself from your career change experience?

Proud is not a word that I use frequently in reference to myself, but I would say the following:

My perseverance

It would have been easier to throw in the towel. It would have been expensive, but easier. A lot of days when I felt scared, I had to wake up and just keep working.  

Figuring out something that hadn’t been done in the past

I’m proud of our team. We have all stretched in new ways together and have done it with grace and generosity. There are no models or market comparables for what we are creating. I give the Chill team a lot of credit for this. It’s not an easy space to inhabit – there’s no road map or recipe.

Getting over the fear

I had so many fears, but in order to be successful, I had to start leaning into my meditation practice and letting go of control. I has to trust that if I continued to make good decisions that things would work out…and if they didn’t work out the way I wanted to, they were still working out. The irony was that I was able to cultivate a pretty significant meditation practice in a relatively short time.

Pivoting based on feedback

We wouldn’t be successful without the support of our community and their feedback. We take our customer comments very seriously and really digest them. When applicable, we try to pivot based on the constructive feedback we get which I believe continues to enhance the experience at the studio.

Helping people

It is infinitely rewarding to be able to help people live happier and healthier lives. Although my joke has been that I’m the most stressed out person in the meditation business, I also recognize that most people aren’t able to have a career in which they feel this fulfilled everyday.

What advice would you give women who are contemplating a career change?

Have a plan, but be flexible

Do as much planning on the front end that you can and then understand that a lot of your best made plans may not come to fruition and that’s okay. Plans are made to be modified.

Get a good support system

It’s important to have people who are there for you as you take this big step.

You don’t have to have every skill, but do ask for help

If you’re lacking a skill set, ask others for help. Complete strangers have been immensely generous and I attribute that to our mission of helping people live less stressed and more mindful lives.

Enjoy the experience and celebrate small successes

This is one I’m actively working on. This is an important element to sustainability. You have to enjoy the journey and celebrate the small wins because that’s what creates the larger milestones.

Starting your own business is not for the faint of heart

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, I encourage you to do as much homework and research to increase your competence and success. There is always something else to learn more about. If somebody cares about the traditional idea of “work life balance” then a start-up might not be for them.

Persevere 

A lot of anybody’s success is tenacity and perseverance –  that can’t be marginalized. In the best funded businesses, there is still an element of just doing the work.  

“Somewhere in between” historically had meant a period of transition often accompanied by a lot of insecurity. I now try to think of “somewhere in between” as a place of opportunity and learning. This change in perspective avails curiosity, excitement and suspense which are preferable to anxiety and lack of confidence. Meditation has really helped me with this (and many other) positive attitude shifts. 

I am so thankful for Laura sharing her incredible journey with us.

Chill is extremely special to me because it’s where I had my “aha” moment when I realized that I wanted to become a Coach. I sat in their lounge area where I journaled and created the processes that I now use with my clients!

Needless to say, I think it’s an amazing studio and I highly encourage you to check it out!

You can follow along with Laura and the Chill community online:

Laura’s Instagram: @hedgepink

Chill’s Instagram: @chill_out_chi

Chill’s Website: https://www.chillchicago.com/