Have you ever been in a situation that seemed so bleak, and you were certain nothing good could come out of it? Well, most people have been there. But the good news is, not all bad situations bring bad vibes. Some could be your life’s turning point. Anna Sagan knows this all too well.
Who is Anna Sagan?
Sagan is a 33-year-old woodworker from Los Angeles. In 2020, Sagan found herself in a situation that was all too familiar for millions of people worldwide. She lost her job as a marketing consultant in Chicago and had to go back to her parent’s home in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was dejected and did not know what to do with her life. However, Sagan did not want to stay idle. She wanted to do something to keep her mind busy.
The Birth of a New Career
Sagan discovered her late grandpa’s woodwork tools and started using them to fix things around the house. She started working on old furniture at home and making wine racks for her friends and family. Before long, she started working at a fee, and to her excitement, people started giving good reviews for the work she did. This motivated her to do better, as she looked forward to building her career in woodwork. However, Sagan says that the biggest win about getting a career in woodwork is the gratification and fulfillment she earned from it. She only hopes to grow and earn from her newfound love.
When asked about the most important lesson she has learned since she started woodworking, Sagan says, “That woodworking and creating something spectacular and visually stunning takes time, hard work, patience, and persistence. And that the efforts in getting it done are hard, but don’t go unnoticed in the final product.”
Work Habits, Challenges, and Future Plans
Sagan says that she is extremely ADHD and can have trouble concentrating on the same thing for a long. However, her passion for woodwork has transformed her. She says that time flies when she is working on a woodwork project and can be completely tunnel-focused. When she starts a project, she cannot stop thinking about it until its finished. For larger projects, Sagan likes to make mood boards so that her end goal and vision are always in front of her. She says that these serve as visual reminders to help her stay aligned and focused.
Sagan says that the most significant challenge is the fact that she is a woman in a man’s world. It is disappointing that even with the experience and passion she has for woodwork, she is still overlooked for opportunities because she is female. Sagan speaks of a time when a colleague at a woodwork company asked her if she was the cleaning lady because it was unlikely that she was working in the woodwork department. In another instance, she lost her job because she distracted her male colleagues. Sagan says she looks forward to when her clothes or gender will not measure her expertise and abilities.
Although Sagan is struggling to make profits from her woodwork career, she is optimistic that she will find a place in the industry. When she moved to LA, Sagan had to sell her tools to settle in. she does not have a shop to sell her ware, nor does she have the funds to get new tools. But she has a strong will to succeed in the industry. And according to her, this is enough to get her going in the right direction.
Who Is Sagan Outside Her Career?
Sagan loves wine starting and uses her spare time to visit different brewers and taste their wine. She says that there is something so artistic about the practice and doesn’t understand why people fear it.
And even when she is not working, Sagan appreciates that finding her passion in woodwork was the breakthrough she needed. She says, “Quitting my very nice, high-paying, marketing job to pursue woodworking… and being broke off my ass was probably the best accomplishment I’ve done in my professional career. It was the first time I made a choice to do something for myself because I wanted to.”
Important Lessons
Sagan says the most important lesson in woodwork is that creating something spectacular and visually stunning takes time, hard work, patience, and persistence. The efforts to get something done are hard, but they don’t go unnoticed in the final product.
She has also learned that to be successful in woodworking, she has had to be persistent and know that failure is inevitable. The more she has failed, the more she learned and got better at the craft.
Final Words
Don’t doubt your ability. We are all capable of doing things we feel are impossible.
If you’d like to contact Anna Sagan, you can reach her through her website or blog. You can also reach her on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
