Meet Andrea Yu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Yu.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in a small town in North Alabama. My mom is from there, and my dad is from Hong Kong. That’s another cool story in and of itself, but let’s just say we were a pretty unique family around town. I’ve always been a bit of an introvert. When I was around five years old, my mom gave me a diary to write in, and I remember (in my five years old wonder) the significance of “the diary”. We don’t really call them diaries anymore, but I remember seeing teens write in them in movies and TV shows. Harriet the Spy was my favorite, only because she used hers in a completely different way – a super top-secret, detective kind of way. All goes to say, I was so happy to carry something that felt important – something that I could place the things I felt were valuable to me inside. We have to put our feelings somewhere, right? Ever since then, I’ve always kept a journal by my bedside.

As I’ve gotten older, more reflective and introspective, I’ve looked back and realized that a lot of my journaling obsession came from being raised in a culture where therapy was taboo, emotions were buried, and conflict resolution was not conversational. I’m not saying I had a horrible childhood. I share this because I know it is something that the majority would understand. It’s the inevitable. Forms of communication are a learning curve for everyone and can be quite difficult if the generations before you and your parents’ didn’t model it in a healthy way. Journaling was a way for me to communicate the things I didn’t feel like I had chance to communicate, and it was a way for me to hold on to the tiny spark of confidence I had in my own voice.

Fast forward a few years post-college. It’s 2014, I’d been living and working in NYC a solid three years. I’d just started a new position at a second company designing textiles and organizing product development for soft-home goods (bedding). At this point, you probably guessed that I studied textiles in college, but the reason I majored in textiles is because my professor told me that a lot of textile majors find themselves dabbling in the stationery world too, so I was adamant on somehow landing in that space… eventually. The new company I was working for was balanced and steady. It not only educated and grew me in a new skill (product development), it gave me the time and space to begin building a solid, real community in NYC.

The experiences I had with people in New York were real. And what I mean by that is I found friends who were not afraid to open up or ask questions. People of NYC are pretty open in general – especially about their feelings. I have lots of subway ride stories. While some would say that honesty could be rude or TMI, I found it refreshing. Building relationships and getting to hear other people’s stories in depth confirmed I wasn’t alone in the parts of my life I thought I was. Coming together and getting to know someone else in that way is inspiring. As C.S Lewis puts it, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

In 2015, I got an idea. With the new levels of emotional vulnerability I was experiencing through community, I thought to myself, “It would be really cool to have a journal that collected stories from multiple people that others could read.” There was a light inside of me that wanted people to experience what I had experienced – a level of connection to others that allowed me to feel seen and known and reassured that I was not alone. Having a full-time job and very little time outside of that and my social life, I sat on this idea for three years. In 2017, I started to realize that my time in NYC was a stepping stone. I also realized I couldn’t live there and not have a full-time job, and I certainly was not comfortable starting a business there from the ground up. Nashville had been on my heart for quite some time and was the city I felt like I might land in after NYC. Well, long story long, that’s what ended up happening! After a year-long slow leave out of NYC which included stepping out of my full-time job, spending the last hoo-rahs with all my dear, dear friends, the call to Nashville became real.

I moved to Nashville the summer of 2018. I had no job. But, I did have a few friends and a place to live. It was a good start, along with the financial wiggle room I had to get the groundwork done. So I sat, I prayed, I dreamed, and I researched. Then, I thought to myself, “What on earth have I done?”. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

You see, moving to a new city where I only knew maybe two people with no job was completely out of my character and most certainly out of my comfort zone. All the “what-ifs” started to set in. But alas, I had made it this far. So after much brainstorming, The Written Collective Co. began to form. This name was birthed out of failure from another name I tried but couldn’t get approved by the USPTO. So, I was starting on a second foot, but I’m glad I did. This new name felt solid. It felt like the mission I wanted to achieve – to cultivate vulnerability and connect through the written word, with and for others.

Some of you might be wondering why I made the verb in my company name past-tense, especially if you are a writing fanatic. It feels a little weird, right? But for me, it felt fitting. I used “written” because when it comes to story-telling, we have LIVED. We have lived to tell of the things we’ve been through. We have loads and loads of stories written on our hearts that are waiting for the right time and person to impact. We all share a common thread of wanting to be known, but the magic doesn’t fully happen until we choose to allow ourselves to be known. And yes, we are all currently writing a story in the present, too, but at the end of the day, after the pen has left the paper, it is written, and your voice matters.

I launched my site in the Summer of 2019, and I released my first product in the Fall of 2019 – The Written Collective Notebook, or what I also like to call our “traveling notebook”. The first full year was purely experimental. I sent out a test batch, played with some concepts on social media and felt like I was having fun in the honeymoon phase of this little business I had launched. All in the midst of this, I was grasping for any freelance work that would help support living in Nashville and keep my savings balanced. I began to make connections and was making plans to partner with a few folks around town for some writing workshops… I felt like I was only just getting started, and then… 2020.

I have become very passionate about mental health and have had to prioritize that over the last year. I stopped writing, and I’ve had to really dig deep to figure out what is going on internally. As many of us did last year, I wrestled with a lot, mourned a lot, and struggled deeply with depression and anxiety. I think I’ve always lived with a bit of anxiety, but last year it appeared much more real to me than it ever had and caused me to really have to dig deep in other areas of my life.

In terms of where I am currently, let’s just say I have had to give myself a lot of grace. I have been very slowly taking on things one at a time. I took on a full-time job at the end of last year so I could continue to support my small business. I am at the point where it’s time to invest in the areas of business I lack skills. It has been a long journey of high mountains and deep valleys for sure, but I haven’t let that stop me. It might have slowed me down a little, but I will not give up, and I believe that’s the reason why I am still standing. I am also incredibly grateful for the amount of support friends, family and followers have given over the past couple of years. I couldn’t keep going without them either.

This fall is going to bring many exciting new things with some opportunities that have come my way for The Written Collective Co. I am partnering with a new small business subscription box company called Oak & Rose. Please check them out! They are gathering American-made goods from small businesses all over the country to spread awareness and encourage people to support small business. And a little spoiler alert for ya – I am launching not one but two new lines of books this fall. I am nervous and excited and freaking out all at the same time, but I can’t wait to share them with the world. As you can now see, The Written Collective Co. is still very small but slowly growing and evolving. I am looking forward to connecting and partnering with more businesses and entrepreneurs who are passionate about mental health and giving back to our local communities. Some of these things are in the works, and some are still dreams, but we’ll get there!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think choosing to start a business from the ground up is ever a smooth road. I think it’s one of the more vulnerable things a person can do because no one is going to feel your failures as much as you and no one is going to want to celebrate the little triumphs as much as you. Your business is your baby, and not everyone is going to understand exactly what you are doing. I still don’t know what on earth I’m doing sometimes. I say that confidently and transparently because I know there are many folks out there who are feeling the exact same way in this very moment. So, I just want to say to those people, you’ve got this. Your resilience has taken you this far. Keep going!

Some of the struggles I’ve faced have mostly been self-confidence related. Can I design a product AND develop one? Heck yes. Can I make things look really pretty online? Absolutely. Check, check. But is it enough? With business structure and marketing funnels being placed deep in the throws social media, it can only leave one depleted of trying to prove what you’re doing is good enough across multiple platforms. Media management is a whole separate job within itself. This is where I struggle most. I do not have a marketing brain, so this has been really difficult for me, and throwing myself into the Instagram algorithm with the other billion companies out there can only leave me guessing if what I’m doing is even worth it if it appears no one is really seeing the content.

I have come to terms with the fact I have to ask for help in this arena, and I have had to shift my mindset in meditating on the mission behind my business and what that could also look like beyond the social media realm because I know this business was meant for more than just the digital world.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I studied print design for textiles at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I primarily worked in the soft-home bedding industry designing patterns and bedding lines for a plethora of brands. My 6.5 years of experience in the bedding industry helped me grow my skills in product development. Product development was an unexpected skill that led me to what I am able to do now. When developing a product, you are in contact and coordinating product samples with vendors. Communication with vendors is typically you giving them every detail of the way you want your product to be created, so anything regarding material, color, make and quality must be clearly communicated in order to achieve what you want. Product development also includes creating product specs, which is the more technical aspect outside of the administrative part I was able to learn along the way.

This skill help me with packaging design gigs when I moved to Nashville and began freelancing and was the primary source of my income. It also helped me develop my own product, which is how I was able to quickly make books. Yes, it’s a different product, but the process is the exact same. As mentioned before, I have a full-time job again, alongside running The Written Collective Co.

I am a graphic designer at a small marketing firm designing print collateral as well as web assets. I create web images for storefront products, any needed social media assets, packaging design, user guide books, product labels, etc. It’s a hybrid company, and a lot of folks there are Jacks and Janes of all trades. The company is supportive of our outside endeavors as long as we get our work done. It’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t have gotten the job without my freelance experience, and I wouldn’t have accepted the job if I knew I couldn’t run my small business alongside it. I am very grateful to have this dual opportunity and hoping to gain some marketing experience in the process.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.thewrittencollectiveco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writtencollectiveco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writtencollectiveco