Daily Inspiration: Meet Rachel Jitsawat

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Jitsawat

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It was a spring afternoon. The sun was shining through the windows of my family’s 2002 Toyota 4Runner, and I was sitting in the driver’s seat as my daughter entered her karate dojo, which the car was parked in front of. That morning, I woke from a dream about someone from my past. I could not shake it throughout the day.
I grabbed my iPad as I ushered my youngest out of the front door. With forty-five minutes in front of me, I began typing away. I kept typing until my daughter’s class ended, and it was time to head home for dinner. I didn’t know it then, but that was the moment I started writing my memoir.

That was in 2023. By the fall of that year, I had stumbled upon an online platform called Substack and began serializing my memoir (once I realized what it was). By the fall of 2024, I had started a companion podcast. Now, in 2025, I’m poised for the second season of my podcast, and have over fifty posts on my Substack, “The 9 Lives of Rachel Jitsawat.”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is it ever a smooth road for anyone? I feel like even someone with the easiest of startups has at least one bump they’ve hit.

My road was not smooth; it wasn’t even paved. It’s still made up of dirt and gravel: my computer is reaching the end of its lifespan, and every time I record a podcast episode with a guest, it can’t handle it and continuously cuts our recording off, forcing us to start again; I have yet to make any revenue off of my Substack or podcast; my subscriber growth is glacial.

All of these things, and many others, contribute to my biggest struggle: imposter syndrome. It’s really difficult to listen to advice that tells you not to concentrate on the numbers when you feel like you are writing, speaking, and publishing into a void. My household is on a single income, so I want this to work out as an additional income stream for my family. That extra pressure (that no one has put on me but me) makes it difficult to “ignore the numbers” and to only focus on putting out quality content. For me, I feel like both are important: you have to use the numbers to strategize while not losing sight of creating quality work.

Because of my low numbers, the imposter syndrome gets fed into me, leading to unhelpful thoughts of not being good enough or failing. That’s my biggest struggle: reminding myself that I deserve to take up space just as much as anyone else, and the income will come when it comes.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As mentioned before, I write and publish a serialized memoir on Substack. The memoir is titled, “The Crush Chronicles,” and it’s a millennial coming-of-age story about a first-generation Asian-American experiencing romantic love in a myriad of ways, and clumsily navigating each situation. The series is very nostalgic for the 90s and 2000s, which was not something I was expecting would be a result of the series.

The companion podcast of the same name (The Crush Chronicles Podcast), goes beyond my personal story by incorporating others into the show. Each episode is based on an excerpt from the memoir, but the spotlight is on the guest being interviewed. This allows people to be able to relate to one another about one of life’s most vulnerable romances (the crush) and helps us all to realize we aren’t alone in these awkward, emotional ordeals.

I’m most proud of my consistency. Except for when I was sick earlier this year, I have released a post every other week, and every week when the podcast went live. Showing up to anything, even if it’s something you enjoy, takes discipline, and while I am far from perfect in this regard, I am happy that I have not given up.

I believe I am set apart from others because I am a first-generation Asian-American whose heritage comes from Thailand. Except for Thai food and Chrissy Teigen (and I guess season three of White Lotus), you don’t hear much about Thai people. Beyond that, I feel like I am one of the few diving into what effect our crushes have on our lives. When we move on, we think that’s it, but I’m finding that there are things that stick with us, even from childhood crushes, and it’s fascinating.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I have always been highly adaptive. Maybe it’s a quality found in all Pisces, maybe it’s from my life as a military brat, or perhaps a combination of the two.

When I had just started and was developing my brand, I received some advice (that was actually solicited) to niche down. This can be a touchy subject; you hear so much advice and tips about “finding your niche” or “you are your niche” or don’t worry about your niche that it becomes both annoying and overwhelming. When I received this advice, though, I didn’t take it lightly. I took the time to mull it over and consider how this could improve my work.

I spent a few months working on a rebrand as a result of the advice I was given, narrowing my focus and redesigning my website, logo, etc. I’m so grateful that I was able to pivot in that way because I feel much better about my direction as a whole, and it was because I was open to criticism and willing to add change. My product was the same, but I had a better focus. Knowing what you’re focusing on makes it so much easier and less stressful in your day to day.

Pricing:

• Free Subscriptions: one free newsletter per month and free previews of The Crush Chronicles chapters
• Monthly Subscription ($5/month): all newsletters and full chapters of The Crush Chronicles, plus bonus episode access to the podcast
• Annual Subscription ($45/year): same as monthly, but with a 25% discount
• Founding Member ($46-$77/year): same as monthly but with VIP priority to applying to be on the podcast and any future events

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jitsie.substack.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheljitsawat
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheljitsawat
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JitsieTube
• Other: https://linktr.ee/racheljitsawat