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Liz Outside | For Builders

@thelizoutside

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Real questions. Real decisions. Real lessons.
Building @atlasstitch + amplifying builders.
Speaking + collabs: DM me

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We could have just dressed up for Halloween.

Instead, a bunch of us decided to become zombies, learn choreography, fill a warehouse with fog, and make a whole movie. 😂

Why? Because somebody had a wonderfully ridiculous idea, and the rest of us said, "Absolutely."

We did it for the whimsy, the make-believe, the overdoing it—and the joy of creating something completely unnecessary and fantastic with people who are willing to play along.

Some things aren't required for life, but they are necessary for the spirit. This was one of those things. 🖤

Presenting our little labor of love...

THRILLER. 🧟🏾‍♀️🎬

To everyone who brought this gloriously unnecessary thing to life: I adore you. I'm not-so-low-key obsessed with you. What's next? 😎😈☠️

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻

#Halloween2026 #LizOutside #thriller #dancebreak #spookyseason by @thelizoutside

Me: I'm going as the Joker. 🃏

Everyone at the party: 🤔...Uma Thurman from Pulp Fiction?

Did I overestimate how many people saw Suicide Squad? Did I just not land the plane? Either way - I had a vision. The vision apparently had other ideas. 😅

Either way, the party was spectacular, the friends brought their A game, and the costumes were inspired.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻😈😎 by @thelizoutside

It started with a little idea.

A LITTLE IDEA. 😂

Next thing you know, there are dance rehearsals, costumes, hair appointments, zombie makeup, a videographer, and an actual film set.

At some point, someone probably should have said, "Are we doing too much?" No one did.

And honestly? Those are my kind of people. 💀🖤

We've been making something and it's coming soon. 🎬🧟🏽‍♀️

#BehindTheScenes #Halloween2026 #spookyseason #dancereels #LizOutside by @thelizoutside

My husband has learned that when I say, "I have a fun idea," that it's already in process.

He sighs and asks, "Now what are you up to?"

Sir, I am living. Please respect my process. ☠️😎

#marriagehumor #creativewomen #halloween #feralwife #LizOutside by @thelizoutside

The undead have absolutely no respect for public art. ☠️🤣

#halloween2026 #zombies #behindthescenes #LizOutside #spookyseason by @thelizoutside

Some friendships come with unconditional love, unwavering support, and apparently a willingness to participate in your increasingly elaborate Halloween productions. 😂💀

When I told my girl @ranafarhatawwad that I needed Bantu knots for my 90s R&B zombie era, she understood the assignment.

And can we talk about these parts?! The placement?! The precision?!

I knew she'd come through because that's what she does. ❤️

Some people just do your hair. Some people are your people. Lucky me, Rana is both. 🖤

Even the undead have standards. 💀

✨ Hair by Rana at Fringe Salon ✨
📍 371 Primrose Rd, Burlingame, CA 94010
📞 (650) 343-4409

If you're in the Bay Area and looking for a talented stylist, go see my girl!

#BantuKnots #90sRNB #HalloweenHair #BurlingameHairstylist #ZombieGlam by @thelizoutside

Leadership isn’t always the person holding the microphone. Sometimes it’s the person holding the tongs. 😅

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate most about leadership is that some of its most meaningful moments happen when you’re not standing at the front of the room.

Sometimes it’s setting the table and creating the conditions for people to connect. And, sometimes it’s simply rolling up your sleeves and participating in the thing you helped build.

That was Savor the Good — an evening built around food, connection and community, all in support of college scholarships for deserving students through the Tarlton Foundation.

We cooked, learned, laughed, ate together and spent an evening enjoying the kind of community the Foundation works to create.

I got to cook alongside my longtime friend Chris — we’ve known each other and worked together for what feels like approximately 1,000 years 😂 — spend time with fellow Foundation board member David Johnson, and share a table with a really special group of people.

I’ve spent much of my career thinking about how things work: teams, organizations, systems, decisions, execution. But, nights like this are a reminder that some of the best things we build are much simpler.

A reason to gather, a place to belong, and a table worth pulling up a chair to.
And, in this case, a table helping make someone else’s next chapter possible. ❤️

#LizOutside #LeadershipInAction #WomenInLeadership #CommunityBuilding
#ExecutiveLeadership by @thelizoutside

At one point I was designing hats for a customer I had zero evidence existed. 🧢

Easter. Mother's Day. Father's Day. Earth Day. If it was on the calendar, I designed for it, because what if there was demand and I missed it?

The fear wasn't based on evidence. It was based on the possibility of missing out.
Meanwhile, the hats that actually moved were the ones real people were already wearing and asking about, like my Route 66 and Sun Signs capsules. Friends wore them, their friends wanted them, and word of mouth did the rest.

What I learned:
The calendar can tell you what's coming. It can't tell you what your customer wants to buy.

Seasonal isn't the problem. Building for a customer you've only imagined is.

If you're starting a product business, ask who's actually asking before you design for a date.

And to the underground Earth Day hat society: if you exist, I'm ready to apologize. 🌍
What's something you built for a customer you'd never actually met? 👇

#buildinginpublic #smallbusinesstips #productdevelopment #founderlessons #hatbusiness by @thelizoutside

My best selling hat was a happy accident.

The first thing I ever sold was an embroidered double heart hat for Valentine's Day. So I thought: great, I've got Valentine's covered. What's next?

Lunar New Year. I made a fire horse hat. It is still the best seller I've ever had.

Then I did a St. Patrick's Day line. No sales. Despite the marketing.

Two wins, and a lot of flops. St. Patrick's, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter — none of them generated enough revenue to cover the time and the capital I put into producing them.

The part nobody posts about: sputtering in front of my laptop, refreshing my Etsy seller dashboard, waiting to hear that ding.

Here's what I learned. I don't have the energy, the capacity, or the capital to chase holidays. I need products with a longer tail.

A flop is data in a bad outfit. Learn the lesson. Don't just say "nobody liked it" and move on — there's data in there.

What did you learn from your flop?

#buildinginpublic #etsyseller #smallbusinessowner #embroiderybusiness #apparelbrand by @thelizoutside

I spent 10 years in banking. Here's the first money move I made when I started Atlas Stitch.

The same week I formed the LLC and applied for my EIN, I opened a separate business checking account. Not once there was real money moving. Immediately.

Here's why it matters more than it sounds like it does.

When your money is mixed, every decision starts with the same tedious step. Can the business survive a slow month? Can I afford a photographer? Can I bring on an attorney?

Every one of those questions begins with untangling what was business and what was personal — before you can even start answering.

When the accounts are separate, that sorting is already done. You just look.

That's the whole thing. It's not exciting. It's the reason I can answer a question about my business in five minutes instead of an afternoon.

Send this to a friend who's still running their business out of their personal checking account.

#unsexymoneymoves #smallbusinessowner #buildinginpublic #businessbanking #newbusinessowner founderlife smallbusinesstips womeninbusiness atlasstitch by @thelizoutside

I worked so hard to get out of customer service.

Then I started a business and hired myself right back into it. Admin, bookkeeper, marketing, the mail room, and the lawyer who plays a lawyer on TV. All me.

So I build systems. Each one gives a department its time back.

I'm documenting them as I build them. If you're every department in your business too, follow along.

#sidehustle #solopreneur #smallbusinessowner #buildinginpublic #founderlife by @thelizoutside