About - The Third Door
Welcome to The Third Door, a weekly newsletter from me, Jenni Gritters. Each week, I write about sustainable business strategy (and a touch of psychology) for solopreneurs and creative souls who want more out of life than the status quo.
Who am I? I’m a former journalist who spends most of her time coaching self-employed creatives, hiking in the mountains and caring for my two young kids. My goal is to build a human-first, anti-hustle, anti-capitalist business — and to help you do the same.
When you’re building a business, there are often two obvious doors to pick from. The first door is the “general admission” entrance. You have to wait in a long line, but you’ll eventually get in. The second door is the “VIP” entrance. You’ll need to pay extra or have special connections to get into that line, which moves much more quickly.
But almost always, there’s a third door. Maybe it’s the door through the kitchen. Maybe it’s a window at the back of the building. Maybe it’s the door through the band’s entrance. Wherever it is, my mission in business and life has always been to find the third door. I am not interested in building a business like everyone else — and neither are my clients.
If you’re here, you’re probably on the path less taken. If you’re here, you’re probably interested in choosing hybrid options (mother and business owner, ambitious person and creative soul, nomad and grounded homebody). You’ve always been uncomfortable being stuck in just one camp. You’re in this business ownership game because of the freedom it provides you. You’re here because you want to be at choice and in charge. You want to be able to change your mind and your circumstances whenever you’d like.
This newsletter includes stories, essays and lessons to help you thrive on this entrepreneurial path less taken. Consider this a library that guides you down your own path, but inspires solidarity as well.
Come for the practical lessons about perfectionism, imposter syndrome, procrastination, burnout, launch strategy, branding, marketing and beyond. Stay for my authentic takes on the ups and downs of building a business that truly aligns with your life over many seasons. Walk away with a sense of community, permission to build a unique business, and momentum.
These days, I work as a certified professional business coach for self-employed creatives. I offer 1-1 coaching and run a group coaching program called SUSTAIN.
But I started my career over a decade ago as a journalist, spending several years working as an editor at media hotspots like Upworthy and the New York Times. In 2018, I launched my own writing and editing business. And within that first year, I partnered with many big-name clients like REI, Forbes, the Guardian, Outside magazine, and beyond. I also made six figures, nearly doubling my salary at my full-time job. When I started to talk about this big leap, my work went viral.
In 2020, I added coaching to my business mix and co-founded another business: A podcast and membership community called The Writer’s Co-op. I exited that company in 2022, then officially opened a content and community agency called The Riverwoods Media Group alongside by coaching business.
You’ll find that I’m the same person in this newsletter as I am in real life. I’m deeply curious, someone who refuses to accept the status quo as a rule, and an enthusiastic entrepreneur. Since I was a kid, I’ve been building things and asking a lot of questions about why we do things the way we do. This newsletter is a place for me to play, just like I did when I was young. And it’s a place where I get to ask those big questions about what’s broken in the way we work, and how we can fix it.
At the moment, I work on my business part-time and spend the rest of my hours caring for my two small children (currently ages 2 and 4.5), practicing yoga, gardening, hiking the trails around my central Oregon home, and cooking.
Free subscribers get full access to this newsletter, which will teach you how to run a business that’s aligned with your values. Subscribing means that you’ll get my weekly newsletters sent right to your inbox. Subscribing for free is great, and I hope you’ll share what you’re reading with friends, or on social media, if it resonates with you. It really helps!
If my work does resonate with you, I also invite you to support The Third Door financially. My goal is to make business coaching accessible to as many small business owners as possible. Often, 1-1 coaching is far too expensive for those who need it most; The Third Door is my effort to change that. The things I teach in 1-1 sessions will change your life, and I’m not shy about sharing key frameworks and tools here, too. Your subscription (just $5/ month!) supports this mission of accessibility.
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