Have you ever talked about something that made you sweaty? I both love and hate doing it. When I shared at the beginning of 2024 how I had (finally) stopped worrying about my business and boldly shared my faith, the response was — and still is — so encouraging. I was nervous to share something so personal, but I’ve received so many positive DMs and emails about that episode that I’ve decided to continue.

My tentative plan is to dedicate one episode per month to a more personal topic, with today’s episode being no exception.

This episode of The Kate Show is not like the others: Getting canceled, being a woman, being glad I’m not “enough,” and revealing some of the grossest marketing tactics currently being used in western culture…those are just a few topics I’m covering.

Happy New Year! How stressed out are you about 2024?

Has worrying about your business or life at large become your primary creative venture? You might be feeling just as I was: Exhausted. Drained. Frozen — and not in the “let it go” or “let’s build a snowman” kind of way. Like me, you might have climbed the mountain of self-helpism only to find that the view from the top was actually really cloudy and that you didn’t feel any more confident about your business or any less worried, either.

In reality, we as American entrepreneurs don’t have a lot to complain about. We have the freedom to pursue our dreams, and with that comes all the personal baggage. There truly is no differentiation between personal and professional life, and the spillover from one to the other is real (and can be a struggle).

Today on the podcast, I’m taking things in a very personal direction. You guys know I’m a follower of God, and you also know that I don’t keep quiet about it in my brand. This episode is about sharing my very personal, vulnerable story with how I *finally* stopped being a control freak and a worrier in regard to my business.

I felt the need to share this because I speak with many of you who seem to have the same sense of anxiety over your own businesses. You overanalyze every marketing decision you make, fearing that one wrong move will halt the growth of your business. Or you worry, as I have, that the success you’ve worked so hard to achieve could disappear. It’s not a fun way to live, let me tell you!

Until recently, I considered myself a professional worrier. I thought of nearly every possible bad scenario and came up with a solution for it even though those bad things never actually happened. However, something else was happening at the same time and it was causing needless turmoil and preventing me from the full experience of a great business and a great life.

Ironically, the better things became in my business and life in general, the more I worried. I worried about losing it all by some uncontrollable calamity or by my own poor choices. Was I being a good enough mom, or will my kids end up in therapy? Am I making the right business decisions, or am I going to self-destruct? How do I know if I’m actually being my best self? I had the constant feeling of impending doom, like I was walking the edge of a cliff and was always one or two wrong moves away from slipping.

Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? But I’m pretty sure this sort of thing is what our culture would classify as “anxiety.” While anxiety can be worsened by chemical factors, poor diet, or a lack of proper rest, anxiety is also an illness of the soul, an illness that impacts every choice we make. And that’s why today we’re today about worry, the solution for it, and what to do in our businesses when we feel completely bewildered about what to do next.

It has taken me almost a decade to realize all the things that I’m going to share with you today. If you are a worrier, take heart. If there is hope for me, there is hope for you. Thank God that every day is a new beginning, because there are still days that I have to go all the way back to the basics and remember why I don’t have to choose worry or anxiety anymore. That’s why I’m creating this episode, for myself as much as for you.

Today's episode of The Kate Show isn't a tutorial on how to be a great mompreneur — because I actually have no idea how to do that. Instead, I'm sharing a few of the struggles, solutions, and boundaries I've uncovered thus far in my journey. If you run a business and have kids or plan to in the near future, it's time to listen up. It's about to get real.

"Live and learn," has been the most cliché and yet the most accurate theme of my life, and I know that I'm not alone in this. Today on The Kate Show, I'm getting personal with you and sharing some of my top regrets — and top wins — since starting my business eight and a half years ago.

Why talk about my regrets? Because those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it (another cliché that I firmly believe). If I said I wouldn't do anything in the past differently, I would risk bringing the same old baggage into my future. On the other side of that argument, however, are the things I would do again — the things I am proud of — the things that I didn't think I could do until I did them.

If you've made mistakes despite your best intentions, or if you've made great choices without even realizing it, this episode is for you. It is my hope that you will feel seen, heard, and encouraged to keep moving forward in your business.

Rather than blasting your ears with more marketing rants today, I'm shifting focus to a much more personal topic: My maternity leave! With our second baby due in June 2022, I am faced, yet again, with planning for a 3-month leave. Because many of you are soon-to-be mothers or hope to be, you might be wondering how (and if) it's actually possible to take 12 weeks off when you have your baby while also running your own business.

The short answer: Yes.

The long answer: Well, that's why I'm making this episode.

Today on The Kate Show, I'm sharing how I plan for maternity leave without reducing revenue or short-changing my agency's clients. In fact, if you are a client or member with us, you'll feel reassured after listening to this episode. Even though I'll be re-prioritizing my time this summer, you will remain a high priority to my agency. I couldn't do this without my team and a whole lotta automation. Let's dive into it.

Whether you are an interior designer or not, if you would like a real-life perspective on how to thrive amidst discomfort in your business and flex your faith vs. worry muscles, this episode is for you. Being invited to speak at this high-level retreat in the distinguished Kimpton Rowan Hotel was a huge growth marker for my business and quite an honor. I had amazing conversations with luxury interior designers from Orange County and beyond over the two-day retreat, and I walked away with a deepened appreciation for the hurdles one must jump over to become a successful designer.

This episode of The Kate Show is for any interior designer, home stager, window pro, or organizer who worries that she'll never be successful, or that the success she already has simply won't last. For those of you who might no longer experience these struggles, you will find much camaraderie in this very personal, transparent episode.

You started a business and now you are questioning everything about your identity. Your skills, your talents, the value you bring to the world — everything you once believed about yourself is now held in question. And the insecurities you had previously? Well, those have likely gotten worse. If this sounds like you, you need to take a few deep breaths and listen to this episode. I'm not going to give you some feel-good advice or tell you things that aren't true. I'm going to share something about imposter syndrome that the internet forgot to mention.

The coronavirus was a great multitasker - did you know that? While it was running around scaring the pants off people (and apparently wrapping them in excess toilet paper), it was also doing a few other crazy things, specifically in the business world. I can guarantee that business owners, especially those of you in the home industry, are going to do certain things differently as we navigate this post-corona world.

Yes, you know the economy shut down for what felt like an eternity. You might have had to lay people off that you hope to soon rehire. Some of you chose that time to retire because it was a simple sidestep that you'd already been considering. Whether your business has been pushed back to ground zero or held tight to its former position on the mountain during this time, you know that the new normal is looking very, very different. Let's dive into what happened and what to expect.

Back in episode 73 of this podcast, many of you heard me describe how I was preparing my business and my team for my new role as a mom. Now that my daughter Sadie is six months old, I'm reporting back with what worked, what didn't, and what I'm doing differently.

Let's talk about business and babies.

P.S. Shout out to all the mompreneurs who have reached out to me since I made my motherhood journey public. The struggle is real. The joy is real. Thank you for letting our stories mingle.

I never thought I'd be here. To be honest, I started podcasting with zero expectations. One HUNDRED episodes later, I've learned a few things and even landed in the iTunes Top 200 Business Podcasts accidentally. If you're up for an honest little chat on the pros and cons of podcasting and the tremendous impact it can have on all things business and marketing, stick around.

Well, this was fun! I asked you all on social media to send me your burning questions about marketing, about growing your business, and my personal life.

If you're curious about my leveraged, passive income model, the team that runs it, and why my business was built for motherhood from day one, you'll love this episode.

As a business owner who has become very open about faith and business over the past couple years, I’ve gotten a radical perspective on faith and business.

Here is the tale of a girl who came from nothing, who believed she was nothing, who felt unloved, unsuccessful, and trapped in an endless cycle of try-fail-repeat.

Spoiler alert: You'll love the ending. I made one "simple" mindset shift that redirected the trajectory of my business and, more importantly, forever changed how I view myself.

Get ready for some intense mindset work and a new (perhaps polarizing) perspective on the age-old problem of profits and imposters in business.

As you likely surmised from the title, this episode is a personal one. I'm excited to share with you the results of my recent diagnosis--not because I'm "healthy" but because I have answers. Answers are everything.

Today I'm taking a break from hardcore marketing topics to get personal, real, and raw with you. I started my business four years go, and it has been quite a journey. In year one, I was a newly wed, a college grad, and I had four thousand dollars to my name. In year two, I rebranded, refocused, and basically started over. In year three, my husband was able to quit his day job in order to pursue his own dreams, and I was finally able to say adios to the many part-time jobs I had.

Now it's year four, and we are building our dream log home. How did I get here?