In early 2020, Shay chose family, health, & happiness over a high six-figure job. She had no business plan or any plan, for that matter, on what she should do next. What Shay had was a nagging thought – call it intuition – that now, more than ever, is the time for her to do what she wants. Shay quit the corporate world for good & even if she instantaneously felt a rush of relief sweep through her body, fear also quickly set in.
Shay loves teaching & technology; she is writing her final research paper to earn her Doctor of Education in Learning Technologies degree from Pepperdine University. Even if she’s managed classroom & training programs at different capacities before, she’s always wanted to teach on her own terms so she can truly meet the learners where they’re at, without any bureaucracy or false pleasantries.
Bargaining with her fear to help keep everything in check, she took the leap & worked on building online training courses for healthcare providers, like classes that she’s done face-to-face in the past.
Fast forward a few months of procrastination, a volatile sociopolitical climate, & finally getting back on track through an entrepreneurship program, Shay is now the founder of an educational technology vehicle, Shay Riker Media, which has projects such as The Learning Cooperative, an online teaching & learning community; SideQuests, an alpha-stage exploration of skills & experiences which may be transferrable towards academic credits; & Off the Charts, a series of private, virtual conference meetings that provides healthcare providers a place to decompress with the goal of recognizing stressors that lead to perceived burnout for self-identification & early intervention.
With her new friend & business partner Nan, who she met in her entrepreneurial journey, Shay co-founded The 3500, a first-time entrepreneur’s guide on the side. Their idea for that project came about from the lack of simple, straightforward resources for new founders based on their own experience. Shay & Nan are not all business all the time, they also hangout on Clubhouse the app & run a club called A Club About Nothing where they host a room every now & then to chat about nothing & everything – come as you are.
Shay’s earnings is still nowhere near even a tenth of what her salary used to be, but one year in of excitement, self-doubt, passion, rage, basically a rollercoaster of emotions, what she can 100% say is she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Cherish the things that make you & be grateful for those that break you” is Shay’s moral of the story – that’s still being written.
Connect with Shay’s story & message Shay on Instagram @heyshayriker.
