Picture this: You’re living your childhood dream. You’ve landed the exact job you wrote about in your sixth-grade yearbook, working at the very school you once attended as a student. Your colleagues are your former teachers. You’re making a difference in young lives every single day. Then life throws you a curveball, and suddenly that dream job becomes impossible to sustain.
This is the story that unfolds when we examine what it truly means to live life on your terms versus living up to others’ expectations—including your own past self’s expectations. Kerry Komarov’s journey from beloved middle school teacher to successful entrepreneur illuminates a painful truth many of us face: sometimes the life we thought we wanted doesn’t align with the life we actually need.
Her story raises a fundamental question that echoes in boardrooms, kitchen tables, and quiet moments of self-reflection across the country: When do we hold onto our dreams, and when do we have the courage to let them go? Kerry’s experience reveals how breaking free from others’ expectations—even when those expectations come from a place of love and respect—can be the first step toward building the life you’ve always wanted, even if you didn’t know you wanted it.
The Weight of a Pedestal
heroes. Like, everyone’s like, oh, so much respect for a teacher. I couldn’t do it. Like, more power to you.” This reverence, while well-intentioned, creates an invisible pressure that can make leaving the profession feel like personal failure rather than personal growth.
For Kerry, teaching wasn’t just a job—it was her identity. “When I look back at my sixth grade yearbook, because I’m somebody who has all of them, it says, like, you know, dream job. And I wrote teacher. So literally, from when I can remember, maybe there was a small period where I wanted to be an interior designer for a second. But, like, teacher was always the goal.”
This early clarity can be both a blessing and a burden. When your path seems predetermined, when everyone expects you to follow through on your childhood dreams, the idea of changing course can feel like betrayal—of yourself, your training, and everyone who believed in you. The challenge becomes recognizing when persistence crosses the line into self-sabotage.
Kerry’s attachment to her role went deeper than professional satisfaction. Her favorite quote as a teacher captured her core motivation: “If there is to be change in the world, it must begin with children.” This wasn’t just a career; it was a calling to shape the future through middle schoolers, helping them “become the adults in society” who would create “a welcoming place for all.”
When Life Demands a Different Answer
The turning point came not through any failure in the classroom, but through success at home that created an impossible equation. Kerry’s first child was “an angel” who “followed every schedule” and “hit all the milestones.” The confidence was intoxicating: “My husband and I are like, we are great parents. Look at us.”
Then came child number two, who, as Kerry puts it, came to “f shit up.” Every meme about second children proving humbling suddenly became reality. “He’s a tough cookie, and I love him through and through, but, oh, my God, that child has a world of his own and he makes the rules.”
During maternity leave, the math became undeniable: “How am I going to go back to a job that really requires a ton of energy and presence and, like… really invested in it when I’m exhausted. And if I can somehow pull it together for that school day for hundreds of other people’s children, what’s going to be left for my own children at the end of the day?”
This question cuts to the heart of what it means to put yourself first without guilt. Kerry wasn’t being selfish; she was being honest about her capacity and priorities. Amy Stone’s observation rings true here: “I also came to the realization that working a traditional job schedule didn’t actually match parenting when I had my own kids.”
The revelation that “that’s why people don’t come to work” speaks to how often we judge others’ choices without understanding their circumstances. Creating a better life sometimes means acknowledging that what works for others might not work for you, and that’s not a moral failing—it’s self-awareness.
Redefining Strength and Success
Perhaps the most insidious challenge Kerry faced was the internalized pressure that leaving teaching somehow represented weakness. The societal narrative suggests that stronger people would find a way to “do it all.” Kerry addressed this head-on: “I know many people that do and like, they are the real rock stars out there because being a mom and a full time teacher or a full time worker anywhere is no easy feat. So it just, it wasn’t for me.”
The phrase “it wasn’t for me” carries profound power. It’s not a judgment of the profession or other people’s choices—it’s an honest assessment of personal capacity and values. This kind of self-knowledge requires tremendous courage because it often means disappointing people, including yourself.
What emerged from Kerry’s business journey was a surprising discovery about her own capabilities: “Now that I’ve been running my own business for almost two years now, it’s actually crazy that now I am well aware of how strong of, like, a leader and business person and woman I am… I’m like, wow, I am way more capable than I ever gave myself credit for publicly.”
This transformation reveals something crucial about personal empowerment: sometimes we need to step away from external validation to discover our true strength. The teacher’s pedestal, while honoring, can also limit our view of our own potential.
![Have you ever felt nervous to tell family or friends about a big change you were making? What helped you get over that fear (or did you just go for it anyway)? Let’s swap stories and encouragement! 💛 Inspired by Kerry sharing how she hid her new business plans out of fear of embarrassment and people’s reactions ([00:19:02]–[00:20:57]).](https://imperfectadulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/taoia96KKomarovQuestion-233x300.jpg)
The Art of Strategic Revelation
One of the most relatable aspects of Kerry’s story is her fear of public judgment. She kept her entrepreneurial experiment “from my circle, my inner circle, for so long, because the fear of, like, trying it, putting yourself out there and failing to me would have… I would have been so embarrassed.”
This fear isn’t vanity—it’s deeply human. When we’ve built our identity around one role, exploring alternatives can feel like admitting we were wrong about ourselves all along. The fear that people might think she was involved in “some kind of scam” or “some type of pyramid scheme” reflects how society sometimes views unconventional career paths with suspicion.
But Kerry discovered something powerful: “The thing that was the most scary was the thing that worked out the best.” Going public with her business transformation didn’t just reduce her shame—it accelerated her success. This suggests that our fears about judgment often exceed the reality, and that authentic transparency can be a business asset rather than a liability.
Creating Versus Finding Your Future
Kerry’s transformation began with a simple but revolutionary realization: “Maybe I don’t need to find a job that works for me. Maybe I can create a job that works for me.” This shift from consumer to creator of opportunity represents a fundamental change in how we approach career challenges.
The inspiration came from seeing her cousin “working from her laptop” with “a newborn sleeping peacefully in her lap”—a image that represented the integration Kerry craved. Rather than choosing between professional fulfillment and family presence, she began imagining ways to have both.
Her business, offering “virtual services” as a “creative business strategist,” leverages the same skills that made her an effective teacher—understanding people’s needs, creating systems, and helping others succeed—but in a format that allows her to “call the shots” and “make my own” rules.
The Long View of Life Design
Kerry’s story illustrates that life trajectories are rarely linear, and that our definitions of success must evolve with our circumstances. She didn’t fail as a teacher; she succeeded so completely at becoming a parent that teaching no longer fit her life’s architecture.
Her maternity leave provided what she calls “this awesome, no risk trial period” to experiment with alternatives while maintaining the safety net of potential return to teaching. This strategic approach to change—testing new waters while keeping existing options open—offers a model for anyone feeling stuck in circumstances that no longer serve them.
The practical elements of her transition—from health insurance coverage to initial fears about social perception—remind us that major life changes require both emotional courage and practical planning. Success comes not from blind leaps of faith, but from thoughtful preparation combined with willingness to act.
Today, Kerry helps other business owners solve problems and “look good behind the scenes” while they focus on what they do best. It’s a role that combines her teaching instincts with entrepreneurial freedom, proving that sometimes the best way forward isn’t straight ahead—it’s around the corner you couldn’t see from where you started.
Her journey from classroom to computer screen demonstrates that when we stop trying to fit ourselves into predetermined shapes, we often discover forms of success we never knew existed. The key is recognizing when persistence becomes stubbornness, and when letting go becomes the most courageous choice of all.
This article was inspired by a thought-provoking interview with Kerry Komarov and Amy Stone on The Art of Imperfect Adulting podcast. To hear more compelling conversations like this one and receive special offers from our guests directly to your inbox, join our email community today.
Interview Transcript Kerry Komarov with Amy Stone | The Art of Imperfect Adulting | July 8, 2025
Amy Stone [00:00:05]:
Kerry Kamarov, welcome to the art of imperfect adulting. Are you ready for a fun chat?
Kerry Komarov [00:00:11]:
I am. I’m so happy to be here. Thank you, Amy. This is exciting.
Amy Stone [00:00:15]:
I’m happy you’re here too, and I’m looking forward to our conversation. So I start all my interviews by asking my guests where they call home. Where are you on our big blue marble?
Kerry Komarov [00:00:24]:
Yeah, I’m in the United States, Pennsylvania. So just a little bit outside of Philly in that general suburb area.
Amy Stone [00:00:32]:
Very nice. All right, I love it. So in a second, we’re going to get to the topic at hand, but first I want to ask you in a way, to get to know you a little bit better and let the audience learn a little bit more about you. Would you share something with us that you do for yourself, something that you consider self care?
Kerry Komarov [00:00:51]:
Yes. I am big into purging and getting rid of things we don’t need. So when I’m stressed out, I just pick a drawer, go through it. If it doesn’t have a match or a place where it can live, it gets donated or sold on marketplace or thrown away, really.
Amy Stone [00:01:13]:
All right, I love that answer. I very much love that answer. So I. I grew up living in a small apartment with people, and I’m not really a pack rat. I don’t hold onto. I mean, I have a lot more stuff than I need, but I don’t really have. I’m not a drawer stuffer. And my husband, though, is a drawer stuffer. He just opens the drawers and whatever’s on the countertop puts them in there. And so periodically. We’ve been married over 20 years, and he’s never noticed. But every once in a while, I will open a drawer and I will, like, look quickly to make sure there’s nothing actually important in it, and I will throw the entire contents of the drawer away just in one move. I’m like, all right, this, we need. This, we need. This, we need. And then I just dump the whole thing out. And he never notices. He’s never noticed it.
Kerry Komarov [00:01:53]:
This is like the most successful purging experiences are when you’re home alone. Then nobody has any input on if you should keep it.
Amy Stone [00:02:01]:
Right? No, that’s very true. That’s very. It’s especially true if you have small children who are very emotionally attached to the things that they want to keep. So that is very good. Okay. The topic of the day is not emptying my husband’s drawers when he’s not watching. It is about how and why you left the profession of Teaching. And I’m going to start with a question about intention. You shared with me on the intake form that you always wanted to be a teacher. Do you remember how old you were when you realized that you wanted to be a teacher?
Kerry Komarov [00:02:32]:
Exact age? No. But when I look back at my sixth grade yearbook, because I’m somebody who has all of them, it says, like, you know, dream job. And I wrote teacher. So literally, from when I can remember, maybe there was a small period where I wanted to be an interior designer for a second, but, like, teacher was.
Amy Stone [00:02:52]:
Always the goal, teacher was always the. So what was the. What was it about teaching or the idea of teaching that you fell in love with or that you enjoyed?
Kerry Komarov [00:03:02]:
Yeah. So when I was a teacher, my favorite quote, because I was a reading teacher for 10 years, so, like, it feels very fitting that I’m attached to, like, quotes in a way. But it was that if there is to be change in the world, it must begin with children. And so I feel like in order to play a part in the future and society and the community that goes long after us, is to teach the youth, like them, in my case, middle schoolers, how to be a good person, how to be kind, how to disagree politely so that when they grow on to become the adults in society, it is a welcoming place for all.
Amy Stone [00:03:40]:
Very nice. I feel like I’m not the first person to ask you that because you had that ready to go.
Kerry Komarov [00:03:45]:
That was one of the first things I always started Back to School Night with. Because everyone thinks they want to tell you think that the parents at Back to School night want to hear, like, all these reading strategies? Like, no, they want to know the person that their kid’s gonna spend however many hours a day with for the next year. So, yeah, I’ve 10 years of explaining that.
Amy Stone [00:04:06]:
Very nice. I. That is very. So I have been going to back to school nights for about 25 years. And I. I will say there are times where I have wanted very much or I’ve needed very much to understand what the agenda was, what was going to be expected of me and my kid. But most of the time it was really just about, like, meeting the person at the front of the room and figuring out and socializing with the adults, to be totally honest and. All right, so did you, as a. As a youth, as someone who was growing up and growing into this, did you have role models and people you admired who were teachers who inspired you?
Kerry Komarov [00:04:46]:
Yeah, sure. I actually, it was like, full circle moment. The school, the middle school that I taught at for 10 years was the same one that I attended. So my co workers were my former teachers. So, like, I went from calling them Mr. McGowan, Mr. O’Brien, Ms. Seiler, to Scott, Jen, and Joe.
Amy Stone [00:05:06]:
That is wild.
Kerry Komarov [00:05:07]:
And, you know, all those three teachers I just named were English teachers. They’re still my friends today. And I do have my certification in 7th through 12th grade English, and then at a later date, went back to get the reading specialist certification. So I do feel like there’s a reason where I jumped to those names. They were my literacy teachers.
Amy Stone [00:05:32]:
Wow. Okay, very good. So you’re actually not the first person that I’ve talked to about leaving teachers teaching. Both on the show, I’ve talked to a couple of people who left different parts of academia and also in my life. In fact, in a weird turn of events that is not related to our conversation, pretty much everybody that I knew that was a teacher and I used to know a lot of people who are teachers. They have all left the profession between the years of, like, 21, 2021, and 2023. I think I only know one more person. And he. He was very close to retirement, so he may have retired, so. But one of the reasons I wanted to have this conversation with you is because your reasoning for leaving the profession is not related to the pandemic or lockdown or anything like that. You shared with me that you’ve already said in the interview that your dream job was teaching seventh grade. Before we go any further, I am really very curious what it was about seventh grade that totally appealed to you. Because I gotta say, middle school is like a quirky kind of time.
Kerry Komarov [00:06:33]:
Everybody says this about middle school. The reality is that that’s when kids are trying to figure themselves out. They’re going through all sorts of, like, social, emotional, physical changes. And I feel like if I’m gonna have the most impact, it’s gonna be when they’re looking for themselves, and I can hopefully help them find it. I couldn’t do elementary schoolers. Those teachers are the true angels of society. That seems chaotic to me. And I couldn’t do high school because I just don’t feel like I want to be this, like, authoritarian that a high school teacher might need to be. I want to be more of like, let me get on your level. Let’s learn this in a fun way. And I worry that high schoolers would think that that’s cheesy or corny, whereas middle schoolers might still buy in.
Amy Stone [00:07:25]:
Okay, all right. I love it. I absolutely love it. All right, so Tell us what happened in your life that made you decide or realize that teaching no longer worked.
Kerry Komarov [00:07:34]:
Yeah. So I have two little boys. I have a four year old and a one and a half year old. And my husband and I had my first son. He was an angel. He followed every schedule that I set, hit, like, you know, all the milestones when he’s supposed to. He slept at the appropriate time, if not sooner, that he was supposed to sleep through the night. My husband and I are like, we are great parents. Look at us.
Amy Stone [00:08:02]:
Look at us. We are really good at this. I don’t know why anybody complains.
Kerry Komarov [00:08:06]:
All right? What is there to complain about? So, you know, my second one comes around and every, like, meme I’ve ever seen of, like, your second child came here to, like, f shit up. They really did that. That’s my second child. He’s a tough cookie, and I love him through and through, but, oh, my God, that child has a world of his own and he makes the rules. And when I was on maternity leave with him, it was a true struggle. I mean, you didn’t just go from one to two kids. It felt like I had, like, thousands of things going on. And, you know, like, your maternity leave is not great no matter where you are, unfortunately. But I felt like the time was dwindling. He still wasn’t sleeping through the night. I couldn’t even calm him down if he was in my arms. Like, nothing was soothing him. And I was like, how am I going to go back to a job that really requires a ton of energy and presence and, like, like, not care. I guess care is a bad word, but, like, really invested in it when I’m exhausted. And if I can somehow pull it together for that school day for hundreds of other people’s children, what’s going to be left for my own children at the end of the day? And so towards the end of my maternity leave, I was already thinking, like, I can’t go back this year at least. So I kept extending it as long as I possibly could. Not making any money is not an option for me. So that’s kind of when I started to figure out what else I could do to have a paycheck.
Amy Stone [00:09:43]:
I get it. All right? So I’ve never been a teacher. I always thought it looked like a really hard job. I always. I have a lot of respect for teachers, and even when I was a kid in the classroom, I just always really thought it looked like a really hard job. So when it came time to choose what I wanted to do, I was like, oh, well, not that. But I also came to the realization that working a traditional job schedule didn’t actually match parenting when I had my own kids. And one of the things that makes me laugh about the observation for me is that when it happened to me, I remember. I can literally remember sitting in the kitchen and being like, oh, that’s why people don’t come to work. I had seen people make this decision my whole life. I had never put it together why people were doing that. And this is why, you know, this is why it should be said that people do make it work. Like, people do make this choice and they work it. But. But for other people, it doesn’t fit. And it’s a really, really interesting thing that has been going on for, like, maybe forever. But walk us through, like, the thought process that was going on and the conversations that were happening in your mind with your husband, in your family, as you guys were making. Like, this maybe doesn’t fit or it’s not going to work for us anymore.
Kerry Komarov [00:10:56]:
Yeah, I’m not going to say it was an easy decision. I mean, there were a lot of tears and, you know, weighing out pros and cons that came along with it. For the pure reason that I loved teaching, I always wanted to be it. It felt like I was either quitting or giving up or, like, something that I truly have, like, the ability to do well. I was not using it. Like, I was not going to be continue to use it to, like, my full potential. So that is really hard to, like, grasp. I guess if you have all this skill in something and you’re. You’re going to not do that something anymore is like, it plays a weird mental game with you. But also, when I got this job at the middle school that I went to, like, this was my top school that I wanted to be at. So. So the idea that I got it, and 10 years ago, I guess almost 11 at this point, when I did get it, it was such a competitive world for teaching. I mean, if you got the job 11 years ago, as the teacher, you knew that you were the best candidate out of a ton of really good candidates. Whereas now, because so many people are dropping out because of things have changed from the pandemic and there’s not as much support at home, there’s not as much respect. I guess I should. For educators, it feels like you can get a job, a teaching job, a little bit easier than you could 10 or 11 years ago just because they really need people in the school.
Amy Stone [00:12:33]:
For whatever reason, people are Chronically understaffed at the moment.
Kerry Komarov [00:12:36]:
Yeah. Yeah. So it just, it seemed really hard to give up something that I always wanted. But then I had to remind myself, like, being a present and good and fun loving mom is also something I always wanted. And I don’t think that I personally could do both. And I know many people that do, and like, they are the real rock stars out there because being a mom and a full time teacher or a full time worker anywhere is no easy feat. So it just, it wasn’t for me. And I felt sad that that’s my truth, I guess. So it was hard.
Amy Stone [00:13:14]:
Did you, did you. Did you brainstorm and try and think of ways that you would be able to do it? Were there times where your mind was like, how. What needs to change so that I can do both of these things? Or did it always just feel like it was impossible?
Kerry Komarov [00:13:25]:
Yeah, we brainstormed, like, you know, how many days of daycare would we do? Whose mom would we tap into on this day of the week? And it ultimately just felt unfair for the people in our lives for us to hand them a baby that’s really unadjusted to the world. Just didn’t really want to be anywhere, let alone with, like, his own parents. And it also felt unfair to him that he wasn’t really, like, at a stage where we couldn’t be with him anymore. So we brainstormed ways that we could handle, like, childcare appropriately for me to do it. But the bottom line still came back to is like, when we’re all alone as a family of four at the end of each night and I’m just sitting on the couch, mentally drained, while my husband’s playing on the floor, that’s not going to make me feel good either.
Amy Stone [00:14:13]:
So, yeah, you hit on something that is like a phenomenon in the parenting world, which is that it can feel like there are sides between parents who work and parents who stay home and parents who can do it and parents who cannot. And I’ve always really thought that that was kind of an un fair thing. It just doesn’t feel like we should be pitching ourselves against each other. There are professions where you cannot opt out. Like, if you opt out, like if you’re a surgeon and you opt out to stay home, you’re giving up your spot and your tenure. You can’t come back. Right. Or it’s harder to come back. And there are other professions where you can drop out and come back and so on and so forth, but I can almost kind of hear that. And it’s like, you were, like, making a case for yourself. Like, like, you know, other people can do it. And I felt like it just wasn’t for me. I just wanted to throw some light on that. Like, did you feel like there was a little bit of pressure that if you were stronger, you could be able to do both? Or were you immediately like, no, this is not. This is not the way it should be?
Kerry Komarov [00:15:22]:
You know, no one’s really ever asked me that before, and I don’t know that I’ve necessarily questioned my strength when making the decision. It was more of, like, an emotional attachment. I feel like society sees teachers as, like, heroes. Like, everyone’s like, oh, so much respect for a teacher. I couldn’t do it. Like, more power to you.
Amy Stone [00:15:41]:
I think I just said that.
Kerry Komarov [00:15:42]:
I know, right? Like, I guess I liked being put on that pedestal of, like, someone who could do it, but it’s. I don’t know if this fully answers your question, but, like, now that I’ve been running my own business for almost two years now, it’s actually crazy that now I am well aware of how strong of, like, a leader and business person and woman I am. Whereas before I, like, knew it, but, you know, I didn’t get to call the shots. You just follow someone else’s rules. And now that I make my own, I’m like, wow, I am way more capable than I ever gave myself credit for publicly.
Amy Stone [00:16:21]:
So. Okay, that’s really interesting. I appreciate that very much. I mean, I do. I definitely do have a lot of respect for teachers, But I also will say that we do sort of sometimes put them on a pedestal, and not all teachers are the same. They’re human beings. Like, all of us. Like, different teachers do different things differently. And I’ve had my ups and downs as a parent with teachers. Oh, yeah. All right, so very good. So you know that you’re gonna leave. You know that it doesn’t fit any longer with the way you want to live in your family and the way you want to be a parent to your own kids. Which I want to give you credit for listening to your own voice and paying attention to that, because there is a version of this story where you would have just tamped that down and been like, other people are going back to work. I will too, and it’ll be fine, because other people do it, you know? So you listen to your internal voice and think, that deserves some credit. Do you. Did you know at the time what you were going to do? Did you have a plan, or were you just, like, I just know I can’t do this other thing.
Kerry Komarov [00:17:14]:
I guess I had a little bit of a plan because I knew that I needed a paycheck. So, you know, if push came to shove and I didn’t find something else that was going to help me make money and, like, provide for my, like, part to our family, then, yeah, I would have to go back to teaching at the end of the maternity leave. So basically what I did was towards the end of it, because you can extend your maternity leave as a teacher for up to a year. You just. You don’t get paid for it. So I wasn’t making any money anyway. So I actually came across my cousin on social media, who also had a newborn, sleeping peacefully in her lap, which was another level of jealousy that I. That I experienced. But she also was working from her laptop, like, saying how great it is that she could do both. And so that’s what really kind of spiraled me into, like, maybe I don’t need to find a job that works for me. Maybe I can create a job that works for me. And it really stemmed from there. I would never. Was somebody who was like, I’m gonna start my own business one day. Like, no, I’m somebody who was going to be a teacher one day. So maternity leave actually gave me this awesome no risk trial period to do it, because I wasn’t making money anyway, and I still could fall back on teaching if I had to. So I guess I did have a plan. Yeah, the plan would be go back to teaching after a year and figure it out.
Amy Stone [00:18:41]:
All right, very good. So you. You use the maternity time, the time of maternity, to try out this new thing, and you were inspired by your cousin. All right, so what fears and things did you have going on in your mind when you were like, I’m gonna try this. Do you remember what things you were thinking you were afraid of?
Kerry Komarov [00:19:02]:
Yeah, I don’t. I didn’t. I kind of hit it from my circle, my inner circle, for so long, because the fear of, like, trying it, putting yourself out there and failing to me would have, like. I would have been so embarrassed, which is silly, because, like, a lot of people in your circle are very supportive. So that’s just a me feeling that I would have felt embarrassed had it not worked out. So I feel like it took a lot of courage for me to finally tell my world on social media, so to speak, what I was doing. And honestly, it’s so ironic that the time that I did that and, like, put it out publicly, that I was starting My own business, and I was running with it, is actually when it like became most successful. So the thing that was the most scary was the thing that worked out the best.
Amy Stone [00:19:55]:
That is, that is a thing. That is a lesson that’s in a lot of entrepreneurial classes, actually. So I’ve seen that and I’m thrilled that that was your experience. So who was the first person that you remember telling that you were going to do this?
Kerry Komarov [00:20:10]:
My mom.
Amy Stone [00:20:11]:
Okay. And what, and did you, was she positive or when you began to tell people before you went public, public on social media, or maybe when you told people, did you get any pushback or did you, did you get all positive reinforcement?
Kerry Komarov [00:20:24]:
I think the initial pushback, which nobody said to my face out loud, I think the initial thought in people’s head was this is some kind of scam, right? Like you’re at the bottom of some type of pyramid scheme and now you’re gonna have to pitch to your friends. I think that’s what was going through people’s head, honestly. And I didn’t like that. So I, I tried to make sure that I had enough experience with what I was doing to prove to them that that wasn’t it. Not that I needed to, but I felt that.
Amy Stone [00:20:57]:
I think that’s very interesting. So you mentioned two things. One is that you were nervous to tell people what you were doing because you were afraid of what they would think. And I think it’s really interesting because we talked about teachers having a reputation of being very heroic. It’s also a very secure and tested profession. So there was never any doubt that the job was going to be there, that it existed, that that was there. And here you were, you were stepping outside of that to do something totally different. So that makes sense to that you’re like, oh, if it doesn’t work, what are people going to think about me? And the other thing is the fear that people will think that you are going to bombard them and try and get them to buy your stuff. Because we have all done that. I call that my rolled down and fields scar. I knew so many people who are selling rolled down and fields. And I was like, hey, you see me, there’s only so much moisturizer I can buy. Like, I have more friends selling this than I can buy product. Like, I don’t know what to do. Like, I really like you, but I can’t buy any more lotion, Right? So I totally get that. All right, so I’m going to ask something that’s a little bit personal but very Pragmatic. You can absolutely tell me to buzz off if it’s too personal of a question, but one of the things that keeps people going back to their jobs in these United States where we live is health insurance, especially people who have families and things like that. Did you guys have a plan for that? Like, do you, did your husband have a job that provided health insurance? Like, how did you guys do that?
Kerry Komarov [00:22:18]:
So in this area, I can’t speak to all areas, but in this area it’s pretty common that teachers are going to have better health insurance from whatever the spouse of the teacher is going to have. My husband and I might be that 1% where his is actually better. So ever since we got married, we were always on his insurance.
Amy Stone [00:22:40]:
And so you did not have to worry about that.
Kerry Komarov [00:22:42]:
We did not, no. So the stars were definitely aligned for that. And I know a lot of other entrepreneurs now that I’ve like networked and kind of talked about like our goods and bads and health insurance and figuring that out on their own is definitely something that they have to go through and we just don’t.
Amy Stone [00:23:03]:
Yeah. And I didn’t mean to put you on the spot about it. That’s why I said you could have, you could have done it. But it is a very legitimate thing. It comes up when you choose to be self employed, when you retire, all of those things. And it is a legitimate stumbling block for people because that’s the world we live in. All right.
Kerry Komarov [00:23:21]:
And for teachers, I mean, it’s normally that the teacher has good health insurance, just happened to be the small percentage here where his was always better. So.
Amy Stone [00:23:30]:
Yeah. And whenever I talk to people, I do a lot of stories of people going into business for themselves and the things that come up around that. And so I’ve gotten feedback from people with follow up questions, which is why I add these things in. Because when people are doing the dreaming on their own, it can be really helpful to have people say, hey, this is how it worked out in my house. Like, I actually didn’t have to resolve that because I had this or this is how we did it, or all of those things. Because when you don’t know what the options are, you don’t know what the options are until you hear somebody explain them is really what it is. Yeah. So. All right. So do you ever miss school in the classroom?
Kerry Komarov [00:24:07]:
I miss having an impact on kids. They were hilarious. Honestly, I feel like every day I had a new ridiculous story that like, you can’t even make this stuff up. So they provide a lot of enjoyment and entertainment that I miss. And I miss my teacher friends. I don’t miss actually teaching, actually coming up with lesson plans, being micromanaged by people who haven’t been in the classroom in 25 or 30 years. I don’t miss the strict schedule. Like, I could you to be point blank, you can’t go to the bathroom when you have to go to the bathroom.
Amy Stone [00:24:41]:
That’s what all my teacher friends always say. They’re like, they’re like, you’re not allowed to go to the bathroom. Which I, I have to say, I was in school as long as everybody else was. I never noticed that. I never, as somebody in the classroom, the kids are always asking, you go to the bathroom. But I never ever knew. I mean, I never noticed it. I don’t know why. I guess it’s because you don’t think. When I was a kid, I don’t think I thought of the teachers as like people, which is a really strange thing to say, but if that makes any sense. Like, I was not ever thinking about their bodily functions.
Kerry Komarov [00:25:12]:
No. And like, you know what else people don’t think of that is crazy to me. Like, I couldn’t. If I was waiting for like results from a blood test from my doctor or something and they were to call me, I can’t just answer. But like, so unless they were going to call me during that small 30 minute window, you can’t even get in contact with these, with people who are like, trying to help you.
Amy Stone [00:25:36]:
Yeah.
Kerry Komarov [00:25:37]:
So it’s really hard to properly take care of yourself. I guess you could say when you’re doing any job that has such a strict schedule. Sometimes I told my students, because they were in seventh grade and like had a little awareness of adult having their own life, I’d be like, hey, I have a super important phone call. If it rings, I’m gonna step outside and answer it for 30 seconds to tell them when’s a good time to call me back. And you will sit here like angels and like, instill fear of what I was gonna do if they didn’t say.
Amy Stone [00:26:08]:
Yeah.
Kerry Komarov [00:26:09]:
And you can’t do that with little ones. Which is why elementary school teachers are really strapped for it.
Amy Stone [00:26:15]:
Elementary school teachers can be a really special type of person. That’s true. Because they’re working with very, very small people. But I have to say, if you said, amy, would you go back and teach middle school? It would take a lot because I just find they’re charming. They’re very, very charming. But I think it’s a lot of Drama. It’s a lot of emotion all in one small body. And then a lot of them. A lot of them. So that’s very definitely. That’s very good. All right, so you shift and you start your own business. All right, so in a minute, we’re going to do the final questions, but I want to turn the conversation there and give you a chance to tell people what it is that you decided to do and how you made that transition.
Kerry Komarov [00:26:55]:
Yeah. So my business name is Super Creative Kerry Komarov llc, which was really just in an effort to get started. Like, let’s not waste time or mess around. Let’s go. So I offer virtual services to people. I am a creative business strategist. So if a potential client were to come to me and say, either what do you do or what services can you help me with, I would do a deep dive into what they have going on in, like, the digital space, see where their strengths are and how their strengths could help fill some of the things they’re missing. So, for example, if they have a large email list, but they’re not sending out any type of newsletter or communication, like, that’s a strength that you have a huge list, but an area for growth where let’s get in contact with these people to either educate them, inspire them, or maybe sell something to them if that’s so the case. Yeah. And I think of new ways to get their, like, their name out there. And oftentimes it takes people really trusting me and also stepping out of their comfort zone. But I’ve had a lot of success getting my clients on podcasts, getting them featured in online publications. We now implement blogs for people. I run some of their social media. I’m capable of making graphics. I’m not a graphic designer. But like any teacher, we can throw something very professional looking together in terms of, like, digital imagery. So, yeah, it’s. It’s a lot of strategy and offering them ways to solve whatever issue they’re having. And then whatever one they pick, I run with it, I own it, and I completely handle it. So they can go on doing what makes them money, and I can make them look good behind the scenes.
Amy Stone [00:28:48]:
Very nice. And how do you like for people to find you and get in touch with you?
Kerry Komarov [00:28:51]:
Yeah, Facebook is definitely the best. It’s just Kerry Komarov and my website is on there. I will tell you a little secret about my website. I made it myself through Canva. So it’s not like I can say, oh, go to www.whatever. no, it’s Canva. So it’s free. So I don’t get some fancy domain. I just have it on my Facebook. And on there, you can find ways to book a call with me, tons of client testimonials, more about me and my family, so that if you decide to reach out to me, you feel like you already know me, and we’re not strangers. Yeah. So my website’s cool, and I made it myself for free, so I’m proud of that little thing.
Amy Stone [00:29:31]:
Very nice. All right, so all the links to this will be in the show notes for the listeners and for everybody who’s listening and doing something else. Because people are often multitasking when they’re listening to the podcast. The easiest, easiest way to get those links is to be a subscriber to the imperfect adulting email community. And then I send it directly to your inbox, and you can just click on it and find Kerry. All right, are you ready, Kerry, for the final three questions?
Kerry Komarov [00:29:54]:
Yeah. Let’s go.
Amy Stone [00:29:55]:
Let’s do it. Okay. If I find you on a rainy day, a Saturday, a day with no obligations, no commitments, nothing that you are required to do, what would you be doing? Would you be watching a show show a movie, napping, reading, crafting, or something else?
Kerry Komarov [00:30:12]:
You would find me eating a bag of sour patch watermelon candies, watching some type of trashy reality competition TV show.
Amy Stone [00:30:22]:
I love it. I love that answer. All right, that’s fantastic. All right, if Jeff Bezos called and offered you a free spot on his spacecraft, the thing of the blue origin thing that goes up into space, would you go?
Kerry Komarov [00:30:35]:
No.
Amy Stone [00:30:37]:
I mean, I’ve asked that question before. So far, nobody said yes.
Kerry Komarov [00:30:40]:
Yeah. I’m thinking, like, what kind of personality is going to be like, let’s do that? No, I need gravity, and I need to feel grounded. First of all, I’m scared of heights, so no.
Amy Stone [00:30:49]:
Okay, very good. I just. I just. I. I think it’s a really fun question to ask people. I’m like, where’d you go? Like, all right, if you won the lottery, like, think like Powerball level lottery. Somebody hands you a check for $50 million, what would be the very first thing that you would buy for yourself?
Kerry Komarov [00:31:04]:
Oh, for myself.
Amy Stone [00:31:06]:
Tricky, tricky.
Kerry Komarov [00:31:07]:
I know. I think probably a beach house. We go to, like, the Jersey shores all the time, and I would like to have my own. And depending on how much it was, maybe it would be on one of those streets where, like, the bay is two blocks away and the beach is also two blocks.
Amy Stone [00:31:24]:
Very nice. What’s your favorite part of the Jersey Shore.
Kerry Komarov [00:31:27]:
We go to Ocean City.
Amy Stone [00:31:28]:
Oh, I love it there.
Kerry Komarov [00:31:30]:
I know. It’s so family friendly. My kids love it. I feel like I know it like the back of my hand.
Amy Stone [00:31:35]:
That is a spectacular. The Jersey Shore is enormous, so there’s a bunch of different places to go, but there’s so many beautiful, beautiful parts of it. That’s it. Kerry Karamov. Let’s try that again. That’s it. Kerry Kamarov, thank you for being a wonderful guest on the Art of Imperfect Adulting.
Kerry Komarov [00:31:52]:
Perfect. Thank you.