Ep. 76 The Stern Truth: How to Build Sustainable Growth With Katie Eberman

“Simply by Katie” is what Katie Eberman goes by online. What she does in her business and her journey as an entrepreneur, however, is anything but simple.

Like most of us entrepreneurs, she had a persistent idea—supporting small businesses. Even with caring for little ones at home that she was taking care of, Katie still missed the kind of fulfilling work she used to do. She eventually landed on doing website design and copywriting, specifically for women in the small business space. 

Katie talks passionately about helping female entrepreneurs, seeing it as a reflection of herself. What she really wants is for women to feel proud to send their clients or prospects to their websites. 

Katie also notes that business owners don’t want to say they’re building a brand because it sounds too big of a vision. To me, this brought up another reminder to get clear on your “why”; the “why” is what’s powerful enough to get you to do what you do. 

We get into the systems that Katie uses so that she can be there in both her work and life. This brings up a challenge that I have for you, my friends. I want you to send me an email at marshall@marshallstern.net and let me know your strategies for separating your work and life. 

Katie has golden nugget after golden nugget in this episode, but she gave us one that might be the best golden nuggets yet. Katie says, just start. Don’t overthink, because when you’re in the action, you’re not worrying about what will go wrong. An incredible reminder that we can all build on.  

Connect with Katie here:

Website: simplybykatie.com
Email: hello@simplybykatie.com
Instagram: @simply_by_katie 

Join the ONtrepreneur Inner Circle group. It’s a community of your peers that can help you break through your challenges. Get practical tools, accountability, honest dialogue, and more: https://marshallstern.net/page/ontrepreneur-inner-circle

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Join my Business Inner Circle Community for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebusinessinnercirclegroup

Book your complimentary business blindspot assessment with me here: https://attractwell.com/MarshallStern/landing/breakthrough-session

I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

Get in touch in the comments or head to...
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Email: marshall@marshallstern.net

Transcript

[00:00:00] Marshall Stern: I think today's episode is one that will resonate with many of you, whether you have a young family you're raising, and of course your business, or you have aging parents and you have other responsibilities, and you try to juggle the business with those responsibilities and grow your business. Our sit down today with the amazing Katie of Simply by Katie. We, we talk about, really, how to grow a business, how to build a business for sustainable growth so that we can have those times with the people we love doing the things we love.

[00:00:36] And Katie has an amazing way that she does it and provision for what she's pulled to do in this world. And I just want you to meet this person so. Like I always say, grab a pad of paper and pen. Take some notes. There's lots of golden nuggets and Stern Truths from this episode. Also, there's still some spots available in the ONtrepreneur Inner Circle. If you want to have some sustainable growth in your business and you are tired of being alone and you want some support, some mentorship being around other business owners.

[00:01:10] Send me a message to Marshall@marshallstern.net in the show link. You'll see that as well as the link to the Entrepreneur inner circle. Come check it out. Come as my guest. You won't regret it, and you'll get to meet some other amazing business owners and entrepreneurs now. Enjoy this episode with Katie.

[00:01:31] Hi, I'm Marshall Stern and I've spent over 35 years leading and growing multiple small businesses. I know firsthand the struggles of entrepreneurship, feeling isolated, lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling like you have to do it all by yourself. I've been through multiple recessions, and I have felt the highs and the lows.

[00:01:51] I've been there, and I get it. This podcast is here to change that. Every week I will bring you straight talking advice, real world strategies, and honest conversations about what it takes to succeed in business without the fluff, the gimmicks, or the sugar-coated. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress, then you are in the right place. 

[00:02:14] This is the Stern Truth. 

[00:02:19] Marshall Stern: Welcome back everyone, to another episode of the Stern Truth Business Unfiltered. And I have another amazing guest here with us today, Katie. How are you? 

[00:02:28] Katie Eberman: I am doing so well. How are you doing?

[00:02:30] Marshall Stern: I’m doing fantastic. It's not raining yet, so I'm doing even better. 

[00:02:35] Katie Eberman: Oh yeah, I know. It's sunny here. So, whenever I see the sun, I'm happy. 

[00:02:40] Marshall Stern: Where, where are you again? 

[00:02:42] Katie Eberman: Just outside of Edmonton in Stony Plain. 

[00:02:45] Marshall Stern: Right. Yeah. So, you get a lot more sun than we do on the wet coast. 

[00:02:49] Katie Eberman: Yeah, on the wet coast, yes. 

[00:02:52] Marshall Stern: But yesterday we had a nice day. We celebrate those, those days when it's sunny. 

[00:02:57] Katie Eberman: Yeah, it's so true.

[00:02:59] Marshall Stern: So, for context, before we get into your whole entrepreneurial journey and all the golden nuggets you're going to share with us today – no pressure – tell us a little bit about who Katie is.

[00:03:10] Katie Eberman: Yeah. I'll tell you a little bit kind of about how I got started. Because I feel like that's the best way to kind of tell, tell everybody about myself.

[00:03:19] But I really started my – I guess I'll preface this with, I started a business about four years ago. I was at home with two little kids at the time. They were one and three. And I kept having this persistent idea. I kept coming up, like, there's more for you. I want more. Like, I loved being at home with the kids, but I also really missed being in the corporate world, like, having a job and making an income.

[00:03:48] And after I had kids, I found that, like, I really didn't know where I fit anymore. I didn't really fit in those spaces that I was before. I was coming from the corporate world where I did a lot of admin. I was in these small, supporting small businesses and I really loved it. And I loved that community that's built within those small businesses.

[00:04:12] Because a lot of the businesses that I worked with, they felt like a family outside of home. So, I felt like I didn't fit there anymore. I was mom now and I had been mom for about three years at that point, and I really took on that role. I think, like, as a lot of women, as we become moms, that becomes our whole identity and we forget that we are actually these people outside of these little humans.

[00:04:39] And then when I started to look for other roles, say, like, part-time roles, they were often at a lower pay or they're at a very different skill level. And I had this mindset for myself, if I was going to be away from the kids in the, in the family, I, I needed to be doing something that felt fulfilling, number one.

[00:04:57] And it also made sense financially. Like, I didn't want to be going out of the house, only making a few hundred dollars a month and just not feeling – I think at that point I was really looking for a little bit of meeting outside of motherhood and family life. And so, something that was really important to me then, and even still now, is having that flexibility and to work on meaningful work.

[00:05:22] Yeah. And, and kind of build a career that, that I really loved. 

[00:05:26] Marshall Stern: So, what do you do? 

[00:05:27] Katie Eberman: So, now, so, I started out as a VA back then. That felt like a natural progression in my admin skills. And then I built my first website and I fell in love with it. Like, I just wanted to build them for other women. I loved that I had this space online that was truly mine.

[00:05:45] And I could build a community, and I could have really, it, it, it was this place where I wanted to look professional on the outside world. I was doing this business, and it didn't feel like a hobby to me. I felt like this is a career that I'm building for myself and I wanted to show up professional.

[00:06:02] And so, I knew one of the main ways to do that is, you know, have a website. When people meet people or you talk to people, they're, like, so, what do you do? And, or, like, how can I find you? And so, they're going to Google you. And so, now, I just love creating that same freedom for women entrepreneurs, you know, where they're looking to build something for themselves outside of social media.

[00:06:28] And I just really want women in particular to feel proud to send prospective clients to their website and, like, show themselves off as a CEO of their business or of their brand. I think a lot of times we don't want to say we're building a brand because that feels so big and, like, it's a big vision to hold.

[00:06:47] I mean, a lot of women entrepreneurs, that is what they're building. They're building themselves up as a brand and part of that is having that, having a website journey. And so now, If I can have any part in helping a woman entrepreneur, you know, find visibility for their business, like, I'm so happy to be able to do that.

[00:07:11] Marshall Stern: I love that. I love that. Although I, and, and for our listeners, they know they've listened to enough. These episodes I talk a lot about, really, what I work with my coaching clients on is like, really getting clear on your why or what. So, like. So, we're talking about your why. The why has to be powerful enough, why you do what you do.

[00:07:29] Because a lot of us, you know, start going to business for that flexibility, as you mentioned, the freedom. But let's face it, like, it's hard. It's not, like a, you know, walk in the, you know, walk in the park and, and some days it is, but it's hard. There are a lot of hard days and you have to sometimes do, you have to do the hard stuff.

[00:07:51] And when you're passionate, like, you are about making a difference with a specific niche or you know, like, your clients in this case, like, women entrepreneurs, that's powerful. 

[00:08:03] Katie Eberman: Right? 

[00:08:04] Marshall Stern: Right. And that helps you. Like, that's part, that's your why, like, that helps you get out of bed in the morning other than your small kids, which –

[00:08:11] Katie Eberman: They're a big reason. But also, like, once I drop them off at school, I'm like, okay, like look at the work that I get to do. Look at the, like, it feels meaningful. And that really just kind of fuels me to keep pushing forward and keep pushing through. I mean, there's, like, you were saying, I mean, there's so many hard days and there's so many obstacles that you'll have to go through, and there's lots of pivoting and lots of learning.

[00:08:34] I had no idea four or five years ago what I was signing up for. I was like, oh, I'll just start a business. Okay. So, and as you get in, you're like, okay, learning the skills isn't that hard, you know? And as I'm learning through my own story and my own journey in talking to other women entrepreneurs, it's like having a business is a reflection of yourself.

[00:08:59] So, a lot of the blocks that you come up in in your business are things in your personal mindset or things that you need to grow and overcome in order to reach, say this big vision that you have for yourself. So, I think a lot of people in business are women in business. All we have a big vision of where we want to go and we don't always know how to get there.

[00:09:20] And, but by being willing each day to learn something new, to build a community around you, pass these questions, are you able to move forward and actually get closer to your goal? Sometimes you land so far away from what you thought your goal was, but it's, like, in more alignment, if that makes sense. For example, like, I started, I was a V.A.

[00:09:41] I had no idea I was going to be transitioning to web design and really empowering women to have a voice. 

[00:09:47] Marshall Stern: No, a hundred percent. Hey, I started in 19 – I’m aging myself – 1994 in my, you know, my sign graphics business. 

[00:09:53] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:09:53] Marshall Stern: You know, and then it wasn't until 2012, I really started to do this. Like, I had no idea back then that I was actually going to help transform the lives of business owners

[00:10:05] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:10:06] Marshall Stern: But, and I'm sure with you as well, there were signs along the way even in, in, my childhood where this was my calling, I just didn't see it at the time. 

[00:10:16] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:10:17] Marshall Stern: My calling was to help, which is my why, to inspire and empower. Similar to you, others. And I did it all in my life. I just didn't realize I was doing it.

[00:10:26] Katie Eberman: Yeah, and it's nice. I could think it's powerful when you can kind of merge your career with something that you're naturally good at. Not that like you make it, not that you make something like a hobby or something into a business, but when you can really tune into what you love. And build a life around.

[00:10:47] Marshall Stern: Well, it's interesting. So, I want to get into, this is all raw. Like. this is all fine. This is. like, beautiful what we're talking about. We're going to talk about the hard, hard shit. Pardon my language, it’s my podcast, in a second.  and how you got, how you get through it. Maybe got and get right. 

[00:11:03] Past tense, present tense, future tense. because it's going to happen. It does. You know, I went to see, I think I talked about this on the Stern Truth Podcast before I went to see Oprah.  she was here in Vancouver. My wife always wanted to go to the Oprah Show in Chicago, and it was always on the bucket list and we never did it.

[00:11:22] And she then retired or ended the show. So, she came to Vancouver, so, we got tickets right away and we went. And this is, like, probably about 10 years ago or so, I can't even remember, 10 years ago. And I remember at the beginning of like, and she was, like, we were up in, like, the nosebleeds, so, thank God, they had a big screen because she was, like, this big for us without the screen.

[00:11:44] But I saw her on the big screen, and she said, she, and I was going through actually know it, you know what it was before I started coaching, so, probably 20 2009, maybe 2010 around then. And, not 2010, because I was the Olympics, maybe 2011, because everything was shut down building up for the Olympics.

[00:12:01] So, probably 2011. Okay. And I started just right after that. I was on this whole personal journey myself, of finding my passion. because I'd kind of, you know, in my sound graphics business, I had been there forever. I had done it and I, and I searched and I searched. I took programs. I read, read, read books on finding your passion, the passion test, and she said at the beginning of her talk that she said, she believes everyone is born with a purpose.

[00:12:28] Marshall Stern: God, whatever it is, every has given us a purpose and it is our real job. Like, could have a job, could have a business, whatever, but our real job is to find out what that purpose is. And she said, and live it. And she said, it might not be monetized, but she said, if your purpose and your passion, if you can monetize it even better, like, it can be your career or whatever it is, that is even better.

[00:12:53] But she said, that is our, our purpose. And it might just be philanthropic. It might be going to, you know, homeless shelters or food, you know, handing out food to the need or whatever. Or it could be doing like what you and I do, and that is actually getting paid to help empower others through websites, through standing out and standing into their, it sounds cliche-ish but stepping into their power.

[00:13:17] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:13:18] Marshall Stern: Right. 

[00:13:19] Katie Eberman: It's cliche, but I think a lot of people resonate with it. 

[00:13:22] Marshall Stern: Yeah. Yeah. Or growing their business, that sort of thing. Okay.. Tell us – that's all, beautiful. Tell us, tell us some of the challenges that you've had to face in growing your agency. 

[00:13:34] Katie Eberman: There's two that really stand out for me. The first one is I have three kids, and so the balance can be and is on a daily basis.

[00:13:46] Something that I have to navigate and figure out because, like, earlier this week, the kids had a 24-hour stomach flu, and so that really just changed my whole day for work. Like, I still show up in the, in the ways I can, I, like, check in on emails or do the things are going to move my business forward by this is something that I'm working on.

[00:14:07] Now and always there’s separating myself as mom and the business owner and I'm, I'm getting better that when the kids are sick, I go into survival mode just naturally and say, okay, business, you're over here kids. Okay. You're number one, let's get you healthy. I'm there for you. So, I'm really figuring out how do I make my business a little bit more life proof?

[00:14:32] How do I plan ahead, because they, they are going to get sick. That's just, they do get sick a lot and they do need me. You know, I do have these support systems around me for when they're not sick. And I'm figuring out, okay, how do I have more support when they are sick so I can still show up the way that I want to show up in my business?

[00:14:51] Or can I batch work a lot of things ahead of time so that if that happens and life comes up, which it always does, like, I'm okay, my business is okay. That's when a major one. So, and yeah, that's just been a very major one. 

[00:15:07] Marshall Stern: So, I know this is not a coaching session, but I'm going to ask you the question.

[00:15:11] This is, like, a coaching kind of question. What do you think, what do you think? Because this is really, like, for our listeners too, because I work, you know, and we've talked about this, I work with a lot of people who have young families. 

[00:15:23] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:15:24] Marshall Stern: Or aging parents, men or women. Okay. 

[00:15:27] Katie Eberman: Yeah, right. You're totally right. 

[00:15:28] Marshall Stern: So, what do you think you need to put in place in order for you to not have, because listen, we start a business.

[00:15:37] Why do we start a business? You talked about it, right? Flexibility. 

[00:15:40] Katie Eberman: Flexibility. 

[00:15:40] Marshall Stern: That's great. So, you have the flexibility, freedom, but it's freedom. There's a dark side to the freedom. Having the freedom, because now if it's you, you got the freedom, but now you got to go back and nothing's been done. 

[00:15:52] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:15:53] Marshall Stern: So, what do you think you need to put into place so that you can actually, and I, I love the, the, I love, so I talk a lot about the struggle of the juggle.

[00:16:00] Because I, I work with a lot of women who actually have young families and or, or aging parents or men who have aging parents. You said separating mom and business owner. 

[00:16:08] Katie Eberman: Especially because I work from home, so physically I don't have those separations.

[00:16:12] Marshall Stern: Yes 

[00:16:13] Katie Eberman: Separations, and I, I, I never really got that as much because I un until I started, until I sold my assigned company and I started working from my home office, right.

[00:16:23] Because I went in, I had a building, I had a place, I had staff, I had all that, and it's different when you're at home now. My kids are older now, but you're still at home and you're still suffering the house. And my wife works as out of the house. So, it's just me and my little dog during the day and people like you.

[00:16:41] So, what do you think you need to put into place so that you can actually have that separation without either side? Well, we're talking about separation, so you can be with your family, take care of them and your business. What systems or people do you need to put into place? 

[00:16:55] Katie Eberman:  I know, like, system-wise, I need to, when I step into my office kind of, like, okay, I'm putting on my CEO hat.

[00:17:03] This is what I need to focus on. And I have, I do try and work during certain hours, say, whatever that is, every single day, and have structure that way. And then another thing is, especially when it comes to, well, I'm still in growth phase, so it's, like, reaching out to people even if I, even on a day where I need to be more flexible because the kids are sick.

[00:17:25] Spend 50 minutes to half an hour no matter what. Doing that outreach and connecting with other business owners make that, like, a non-negotiable, because I know that's something that's going to help me in the long run. And it also two ways it's going to help my business. And it helps me because I, like, I'm a social person and I like to have that connection, outside the home.

[00:17:46] And then the next thing would be to bring on either a contractor or some kind of teammate who can help support me. On those days, or, well, honestly always, but especially on those days, I can turn off my brain and be like, oh, I have someone, and my business is still working for me. 

[00:18:04] Marshall Stern: A hundred percent. A hundred percent.

[00:18:05] Okay. Yeah, I think it's really, really important. And even just, like for our, our listeners, whether it's their listening or watching on YouTube – well, I'm going to actually challenge them. I, I'd like to know from them, and I'm, I'm actually putting this on them – I'm putting it onto you. All of you, actually, I'm talking to you.

[00:18:22] If you're listening, you can't see them pointing at you. I want you, I want you to actually, here, I've never done this before. I want in the middle of a episode, I want you to actually email me toMarshall@marshallstern.net. Okay? What you do or don't do - talking to you, okay, in order to be able, if, if you're in a similar situation, I'd love to hear your strategies or just if you resonate with it, just say, yeah, I resonate with it.

[00:18:51] It's a struggle because there are, and then I want you to just continue to listen because we're going to talk through some of this stuff, right? There are strategies that we can put into place, but I do love, but it's the mindset. The mindset is massive. And we've talked about this before, I think the whole –

[00:19:04] Okay. And I'm not going to go down that road, but we talked, like, I'm going to quickly go down that road for a second if I can. The mompreneur mindset, 

[00:19:11] Katie Eberman: Right. 

[00:19:12] Marshall Stern: Did we talk about that before? 

[00:19:14] Katie Eberman: Yeah, we did. 

[00:19:15] Marshall Stern: We did, right? 

[00:19:16] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:19:16] Marshall Stern: And there's a difference. It's still a thing. Mompreneur is still a thing and there's nothing wrong with it.

[00:19:22] So, I'm not devaluing what a mompreneur is, but it's a mindset. I think what you've talk, you're talking about is that separation. You are a business owner who happens to have a young family. 

[00:19:35] Katie Eberman: Yeah, 

[00:19:36] Marshall Stern: It's the identity. Use the word identity. It's our identity. A lot of people even have a dad pier, which is also a thing.

[00:19:43] To me, if I consider myself a dadprenuer, my identity is I'm a dad and oh yeah, then I have a business. 

[00:19:54] And it's almost like it's devaluing the business and it's putting the business sort of like, not just second, but, like, third and fourth, right? It's like, okay, it's a kind of part-time ish. I'm not totally, I'm not fully in, not that I'm, my kids aren't important because family's number one. 

[00:20:09] Katie Eberman: Right.

[00:20:10] Marshall Stern: So, there's a, there's a distinction. Family's always number one, a hundred percent.  But when you have that sort of other mindset where the mompreneur or the dadpreneur, you're kind of like, yeah, everything else comes first and then, oh yeah, then if I have time – 

[00:20:24] Katie Eberman: Then I'll work on the business. 

[00:20:25] Marshall Stern: Then I'll work on the business.

[00:20:26] Right? And so, you don't put those systems in place and you kind of get stuck in that mindset of everything else is more important, your significant other, your kids, your family, like, if the end of family, your friends, cleaning the house, everything else, everything else. And you're not taking it serious enough.

[00:20:43] I guess that's really what it is. 

[00:20:45] Katie Eberman: Yeah, 

[00:20:45] Marshall Stern: And I might upset some people by saying that, and, and if you're, if that, if you are in that position and you're okay with it, that's totally fine. But if you do want to build and empower others and build a business and you're passionate about building your business, then you do need to, I believe, step away from that mompreneur or dadpreneur mindset into what I call the ONtrepreneur Mindset.

[00:21:07] Big ON, right? We talk about a lot, a lot of that on this podcast or other people. I know of it as the CEO mindset or the leader's mindset, and that is your identity. You are CEO, entrepreneur, leader, mom, significant other, child, sibling, whatever. That's over there. But over here, you're this. Right.

[00:21:26] This is your business. 

[00:21:27] Katie Eberman: Yeah, and just like, as soon as you walk and turn on your computer, you're like, okay, I'm the CEO. How do I show up? And it's like a practice every single time. Like, how do I show up today? How do I challenge what I think I'm supposed to be doing? Or how do I show up differently?

[00:21:44] Especially if you're coming from, you know, the desire of wanting to create this really powerful business and not knowing how it's, like, first showing up and then just figuring it out as you go. Really. 

[00:21:56] Marshall Stern: Exactly. And then really it's all, I think the difference is it's sustainable growth. 

[00:22:00] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:22:01] Marshall Stern: Right. If you want sustainable growth, you, you, in business, we can't continue to do everything ourselves because it's not sustainable.

[00:22:11] Katie Eberman: Right. 

[00:22:11] Marshall Stern: Because life does happen. And you use the term I wrote down, you use the term, how do I make it life proof? 

[00:22:18] Katie Eberman: Right. 

[00:22:19] Marshall Stern: Okay. I don't think there's a way to make it fully life proof. It's Well, but seriously, Katie, it, it's, yeah. Work-life balance, I think, is a bunch of BS. 

[00:22:28] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:22:29] Marshall Stern: In any given day or any given week.

[00:22:32] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:22:32] Marshall Stern: Right. Some days, like earlier this week you were, you had your mom, your mom hat on. Mom hat, right. Okay. And business. There was no balance. Business was put to the side. 

[00:22:42] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:22:43] Marshall Stern: And then other days, all business. Right. During those hours, kids are at school, they're better and everything, and you're crushing it.

[00:22:49] Right. So, there's, in any given day, I, I don't think work-life balance, it's just too much pressure and it's not sustainable. 

[00:22:55] Katie Eberman: Yeah, that's what it is. It's too much pressure and it's not realistic, so you try and live up to that and you feel like a failure every and no matter where you show up, you know, like, the kids are sick, all as a failure because I didn't show up for my business.

[00:23:07] The next day you literally power through your business and you're like, oh, well I wasn't there for the kids. But I think it's giving yourself the grace that that's actually what you're building is something that's flexible each day. And some days you're going to work two hours, some days you're going to work eight hours.

[00:23:23] I don't know what that looks like. It. I also am finding that it's a really powerful too. Honour your energy levels. 

[00:23:30] So, like, if you're first thing in the morning, maybe you're more social. I am. That's when you schedule, like, the more social things in your calendar. Or you're more creative after lunch, for example.

[00:23:43] Okay. In those days, you schedule that time, be creative, go away, but, especially when you're a solopreneur, you'll have so much in your mind all the time you're in the business and you're also promoting the business. And so, it's good to have that, even that separation in your schedule. Actually, I have a business bestie we, like, to call each other that we meet up weekly.

[00:24:04] And we were just talking yesterday how we were feeling overwhelmed just by all the things, like, we're doing all the things that we're supposed to be doing and we're still feeling overwhelmed. But in talking to each other about that, being very honest and vulnerable where we're able to, like, help each other through things like, like, she's like, I really need like a schedule.

[00:24:24] When I sit down, I need to know exactly what tasks I need to know, or I need to do that day and nothing else matters. So, we kind of work together and we both put together our own calendars. And that really helped actually. It's like, okay, when I sit down on Mondays, this is what I'm doing from this time to this time.

[00:24:42] And I don't know, I tend to skip lunch, but I scheduled lunch in my calendar where I just get away from my computer. Either I walk, if it's nice, I eat stretch. And then you just feel refreshed when you come back. And I think that makes such a big difference to not feel like you have to perform all day long.

[00:25:03] Teah. 

[00:25:05] Marshall Stern: That's awesome. That's awesome. No, but I, I have lunch blocked every day, first of all, 12 o'clock. I don't even need to have it blocked for myself. because I know 12 o'clock hits and I'm, like, I'm hungry. Like, I'm just internal clock. It's like, just the way it is. That's why I can't, I can't, I, I don't know if I could ever work for someone again, like.

[00:25:22] Like, in an office because that was scheduled, because it's like, sorry, I'm hungry. Like, I have to – my first question to the employer would be, what time is lunch? 

[00:25:32] Katie Eberman: When’s lunch? 

[00:25:33] Marshall Stern: Oh, so, one o'clock, well, can we make it 12? That's, I get hungry. One doesn't work for me. So, but time, I'm all for time blocking. And, and the other thing with blocking the lunch is nobody, the good, the big, I'm really big into time blocking because no one else can take that time from me.

[00:25:49] Because unless I move it around, because it's my choice, I have control over my schedule. Right? And then I might move to 1230 and I'm pushing it. I'm pushing it Well, because you don't want to, like – hangry Marshall, you don't want to be around. 

[00:26:03] Katie Eberman: You don't want to see it. 

[00:26:04] Marshall Stern:You don't want to see Angry Marshall. Okay, so, you work on websites, you help primarily women entrepreneurs grow their business with a powerful website expressing their voice. 

[00:26:20] What would you say for all those women and men, all those business owners out there – a golden nugget. We love to share golden nuggets here on the star truth. So, a golden nugget. And maybe it's, it's, it's industry related specific, like, to websites or maybe it is just as being a business owner and, and maybe it's being a business owner who has kids one goal.

[00:26:42] It's a lot of pressure put on you one golden nugget. I’m sure you have many, many more, because you kind of shared some already, but one golden nugget that you would like to share with our listeners that's helped you. 

[00:26:52] Katie Eberman: This is a big one, and it's something that I've done in the last eight to 10 months. That's really building a supportive community around me.

[00:26:59] And so that started, actually, I found that there's this woman in business conference hosted last year in Edmonton called Trailblazer, and it's hosted by Selina Gray. She's incredible,  and, honestly, I had no idea what this conference is about. I just knew I had to be there. So, I showed up and women were so vulnerable in this room and there was just women of all different stages.

[00:27:23] There's women having million dollar brands with the team, so, like, women just starting out. And what I loved about what Selona did in that community was we're all equals and we're all here to learn from each other. And I think that just really helped me as when I left that conference. I started, I didn't see other people as, I didn't put other people on a pedestal where usually I would, I'm like, oh, they've been in business for, I don't know, 10, 10 years, 35 years.

[00:27:53] You know, I can't approach them or I can't ask them for advice. Having that mindset. And so, I was like, oh, we're all equals. Like, and, and also it's finding those people who are willing to, to help you and give advice and are willing, almost like mentors to you. And a second part of that conference was so many women got up and shared their entrepreneurial journey.

[00:28:20] And I don't think there was one story, I wasn't, like, nodding my head or I wasn't crying. There was lots of tears in this room over those, those two days. And I just realized just how powerful it was to listen to other people's stories and, and some, gaining some wisdom from the, from their journey and apply it into your own life.

[00:28:42] And that's just something that coming out of that conference I became so passionate about wanting to share women's stories. Excuse me. So, after the conference, I messaged the organizer and asked, we had this popup Facebook group where we could all connect for, like, 30 days afterwards, and I, I was like, I'm going to just ask her if I can interview women from the community.

[00:29:10] And she gave me, like, her blessings. I went in and within 24 hours, I had 12 women booked in my calendar to share their stories with me, and so that's in a project I'm working on and I posted a couple of the stories.  I think it's just so wonderful and beautiful to be able to hear other people's stories of their, you know, they had their business as a side hustle for 15 years and they were, you, they were juggling it all before they really stepped into, you know, that CEO version of themselves.

[00:29:42] Or it's women who really lost themselves in careers where they're helping other people, and then a big health scare came up, or they hit extreme burnout. And, like, at that point their bodies are saying like, this isn't sustainable. This isn't what I'm supposed to be doing. So, it's in hearing those stories of people doing what they feel like they should be doing.

[00:30:06] And then following kind of those whispers I've been calling it, there's meant, I meant for more.  that you get to follow that alignment, and kind of build a sustainable, not just business, but life for yourself, but you're so joyful and excited about and you're willing to show up every day no matter what.

[00:30:26] You have to go through. What challenges you have to kind of rise up and just, like, look back. This is what I always think of when I'm, like, 80. I want to look back at my life. I'm like, wow, okay. I did that. Like, and so I want to inspire other, other women to do that. I want to inspire my kids to follow whatever their passion is and kind of not feel like they have to – should everything in their life.

[00:30:51] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:30:52] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:30:53] Marshall Stern: I, I love that. I love that. And you are, I mean, no, but you are, I mean, you're doing it right. You, you know, people always say, oh, okay, I want my legacy to be this. Right? And then they, they wait. They wait, they wait. It's like, okay, this is what, but you're doing it. And, like, your kids are seeing you do this.

[00:31:08] So you're, you're modeling for them. Like, they're, they there's no more “shoulds.” 

[00:31:13] Katie Eberman: Yeah. They can't, they can't. That's a hard one to get through. I like, I don't want them to grow up thinking they should be this way. They should do this. And said, my son just said, said this back to me a couple days ago. He didn't want to go to school for whatever reason.

[00:31:30] And then he repeated back to me something like, if you put your mind to it, you can do it. And I was like, okay, I must be saying that to them about realizing it or I'm doing it. 

[00:31:43] Marshall Stern: How old is he?

[00:31:44] Katie Eberman: He's seven going on eight. And then I was like, well, if you go to school thinking you're going to have a bad day.

[00:31:50] You know what? You're probably going to have a horrible day. I'm going to be honest with you. What if you think your day's going to be amazing and wonderful? And then he is, like, oh. And then literally picked him up from school and he, like, I wonderful day. And I was like, okay. 

[00:32:08] Marshall Stern: That's, that's, that's amazing insights from a 7-year-old.

[00:32:12] Katie Eberman: Right. He gives me some really good insights. 

[00:32:14] Marshall Stern: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, kids are insightful, but for them to be able to communicate that, but that is very powerful and he's obviously got more, he's seeing what you do, like, he's seeing the difference you make in the world. Which is powerful. So, that's like, you're doing it so you don't, like, when you're 80, you're going to look back and, and then the story, the, the women, you know, you're far off of that, the women that you're empowering and the through the stories and through just your business, the, the web design and, and just you and your friends and your, I mean, it's, you're doing it right.

[00:32:44] You're doing it. I love, I love it. 

[00:32:45] Katie Eberman: Yeah. Some days it doesn't feel like it, but having that reflection was like, oh, I'm doing it. 

[00:32:51] Marshall Stern: Well, and that's okay. So, before we go, that's a very, very important point you just made. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Again, it goes to, we sometimes get stuck in our own way.

[00:33:01] We're in the weeds of it, and that's why, whether it's in the ONtrepreneur Inner Circle, which we'd run weekly, or with my one-to-one coaching, what we do is, the first thing is what is a win or celebration from the past week? It doesn't have to be huge. Just something, and then you, everyone starts to think about it.

[00:33:18] It's like, no, I don't have anything really. You don't have anything? Think. 

[00:33:22] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:33:23] Marshall Stern: And they think, oh yeah, they, or they hear other people's stories in the, in the Inner Circle and it's like, oh yeah, I forgot I did that. 

[00:33:30] Katie Eberman: Right, right. We forget to pause and be like, oh, that actually was a big deal. 

[00:33:34] Marshall Stern: That was a big deal.

[00:33:35] But in the moment it's like, it's just whatever, but it's like, oh yeah. I followed up with that, that prospect who had been ghosting me or, or whatever it was. And actually they just, they responded finally. Oh yeah, that's huge. because I could have just not done it. Not done it. 

[00:33:51] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:33:51] Marshall Stern: Or oh, I –  like with you, oh, I took the time to be with my kids and my business still survived.

[00:33:57] I'm stressed because I'm a little bit behind because I have to put systems in place and maybe people, whatever. But yeah. So, yeah. Okay. Before we go, what is one thing that younger Katie, the story that Katie now wishes, wishes she had known when younger Katie started the business. 

[00:34:15] Katie Eberman: I would say just start and don't overthink every decision because it's going to work out and it's going to work out better than you think it's going to. 

[00:34:26] Marshall Stern: Just start and don't overthink. 

[00:34:28] Katie Eberman: I'm a notorious overthinker, so when I'm in action, I can't overthink. I just do. And then. All these opportunities. Opportunities, every single time they, they come in for me. 

[00:34:40] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:34:40] Katie Eberman: Because I'm in the action instead of worrying about, oh, what, what, what's going to go wrong? Basically. 

[00:34:47] Marshall Stern: That, that. Okay. So, for our listeners, that is one of the most powerful things I think I've heard on this podcast. For you to take away, not just this episode period. Okay. In the over one year of this podcast. That was one of the most powerful golden nuggets that you just said. Wow. Giving it to you.

[00:35:03] You, you get, oh, you know what I should do? I should start doing, like, the Stern Truth, Stern Truth Awards. Golden Nugget. The Golden Nuggets Award. Oh, I love it. I have to do like the Golden Nugget Awards. Okay. Seriously. And 

[00:35:13] Katie Eberman: And it just came, right? 

[00:35:15] Marshall Stern: Just came. 

[00:35:16] Katie Eberman: Just came right at the end. 

[00:35:17] Marshall Stern: Golden nugget. It's beautiful because it's, I always talk about that, but the way you put it, action.

[00:35:24] I always say action builds traction, right?. But it builds the opportunities. If we are, if we are staying where we are, it's, like, the whole growth. If you're not growing, you're not dying, but you know, you're not growing, you're just staying where you are. But if you're just staying put, you are not seeing the opportunities.

[00:35:42] You are not out there. You're not going to everything. It's an old saying, you know, nothing changes if nothing changes. 

[00:35:48] Katie Eberman: Yeah, 

[00:35:49] Marshall Stern: But when you have movement, that's where you start to see opportunities. That's where you start to be seen. That's where, first of all, it feels good, but action builds traction, which builds momentum and moment.

[00:36:04] Katie Eberman: And that feels good.

[00:36:05] Marshall Stern: The momentum just can take you so far. But only when you do something, like, my men, one of my mentors said, jump and build your wings on the way down. Which is exactly what you said in a different way earlier, a few minutes ago. 

[00:36:19] Katie Eberman: And I'll just add one. One other thing is that as I take these actions, my nervous system does go in overdrive.

[00:36:26] Like, I'll, I'll, I don't know how to explain it. It's, like a full body feeling, like excitement. But I'll go like, oh, I can't believe I'm doing this. And so sometimes after I do a big action. It can be small action. It can be reaching out to someone who I really admire. I like to kind of ground myself a little bit, whether that's take a deep breath stretch or something like that.

[00:36:46] I don't know if other people experience that, but for me, as I'm growing and I'm growing so rapidly, my nervous system is having to catch up and my body is having to catch up with what my mind is creating for myself, I think is the way that I'd explain it. And so, like, I have to ground my actual body, like, breathe, dance, move, whatever, and then that helps me realize this is a win. 

[00:37:10] Marshall Stern: That is another gold nugget. 

[00:37:11] Katie Eberman: In the moment.

[00:37:12] Marshall Stern: That is another gold nugget. Yeah. 

[00:37:14] Katie Eberman: If I have to dance or whatever though, I'm like, okay, that this is a win. 

[00:37:20] Marshall Stern: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We have to, we have to. I always, another thing I always say, slow down in order to speed up. 

[00:37:27] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:37:29] Marshall Stern: You have to, while it's going back to like, it's like the car and out, like, filling your tank, you need to slow down and you need to see what's around you.

[00:37:37] Anyways, this is for another episode. This has been a – because I'm sure our, I hope our listeners are taking notes on this. If not, go back from the listener. Watch us again, because there's been so many gold nuggets you've shared. Okay. So, I'm going to put your info in the show notes, but if, they are driving, what's the name of your business?

[00:37:57] Katie Eberman: It's Simply by Katie. 

[00:37:58] Marshall Stern: Okay, and what's the easiest way for them to get in touch with you? 

[00:38:02] Katie Eberman: I would say, I'm going to say Instagram and then you can just send me a DM. Like, I'm always open for new connections or conversations or answering. One of my favorite things is answering anything visibility wise.

[00:38:19] So, like, websites, Google business profiles, keywords, all those things I love answering questions about. 

[00:38:26] Marshall Stern: Well, I might have to have you come back and talk about Google Business profile because that is whole episode in itself. There's so many different, yes, 

[00:38:32] Katie Eberman: There really is. 

[00:38:33] Marshall Stern: Right. That you, strategies you can give them.

[00:38:35] Okay. Katie, it's been awesome. I, this is, you have shared so much, and I've got, like, a couple pages of notes here. That's why I love doing this because I get to meet amazing people like you and I actually learn. Yeah. 

[00:38:48] Katie Eberman: Yeah. 

[00:38:49] Marshall Stern: So, thank you so much. 

[00:38:51] Katie Eberman: Thank you for having me. 

[00:38:52] Marshall Stern: And thank all of you for listening and please couple things.

[00:38:55] This episode, I know I said it before, give us a five-star review or whatever number of reviews you can give. Give it all the reviews you can the highest, because people will, on the podcast, people will then find this episode and they will learn these golden nuggets from Katie. And if you have someone who else in your world that could actually benefit from these golden nuggets, which I'm sure you probably do share with them.

[00:39:19] We will see you again next week. Thank you for being with us. Have an amazing week. We'll see you next Tuesday on another episode of The Stern Truth Business Unfiltered. Bye for now. 

[00:39:30] Marshall Stern: Thank you so much for tuning in to the Stern Truth. If you found today's episode helpful, we would love to hear from you. Please like, share, and leave us a review. Also, if you'd like to be a guest in an upcoming episode or join us in one of our Moment Accountability Group sessions, simply email me to marshall@marshallstern.net.  

[00:39:50] That's marshall@marshallstern.net. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep pushing forward and leading with confidence.