Behind the scenes

Sam. Hello and good afternoon, or I'm sorry. Evening, everyone. It's been a very long day. I am Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach, coming to you live in a bunch of different places. Tonight, we are on the Facebooks, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram, and of course, over here on my phone that's propped up in front of my computer on Tick Tock. Hello, everyone. Good evening. Tonight I want to give you guys kind of a behind the scenes look of what is kind of going on in my life, in my work, and in my activism. Because I feel like, so easy when we see someone online and we come across them and we see their content and we, you know, get this idea of this idealized version of their life. And it's so easy to play the compare game and to think that maybe you're not measuring up in some way or that they have it all figured out. And I never want you guys to think that I have it all figured out, because I don't. Okay. I've figured out just enough that I can be successful at what I do and help my clients be successful, what they want to do. Other than that, like, I'm just like anyone else. I'm making it up as I go along. Right. So anyway, so tonight I just want to break down, like, a few of the projects that I'm working on. Hello, Girl Knee. Welcome. Hello. Mazu over on TikTok. Welcome. Hello. And if you have any questions about any of this stuff, like, I'm more than happy to talk about it now, feel free to ask. And if I say something, you're like, oh, wow, I kind of want to do that. And you want to get some brainstorming going on that, then please do pop it in the chat. Anyway, currently, right now, the big project that you might have noticed by some of the chaos happening behind me is that I'm actually going through a major rebrand of my business. And so part of that, you'll notice, is kind of redoing my accent wall. So I took down my normal calendar and I've been amassing a bunch of art and little sculpture things. Hi, bird. Welcome. And I'm going to be redoing this. And I have built little tiny shelves that I'm going to be putting up so that all this stuff can have a place to live just kind of all over here. And is another part of that this pile of clothes? I was showing it off to a friend earlier today. I am doing a full rebrand photo shoot next week in Boston. I'm super, super excited. I found this really talented photographer whom I haven't worked with before, but I love her work. Hello, Marcio. I think I'm pronouncing your name correctly. Hello. In Brazil. Welcome. But I'm really excited. She did some really beautiful art boards for my new brand photo shoot and I had a lot of fun going shopping this weekend to get stuff. Hello, Mariah. Welcome. I know. Hello, Hamil. Hello, Alexandria. Welcome. And so I have been going through and kind of like coming up with the different outfits that I'm gonna do in the different looks and it's honestly so much fun. I have completely half assed my brand on my own from starting my business. I am one of those big believers that like, you know to have a business what you need is clients. You need clients and you need to be making money. And I'm very good at getting clients and making money. But I kind of put things like building the actual brand on the back burner because it wasn't necessary when I first started. And you know, and then after you start and you start like building your business full time and you start seeing some success, you know, it's really easy to kind of like keep kicking that can down the road because you know, if you're being successful, then who cares? However, there comes a point in the business where your business can only grow so big based on your brand. Right. And so I've kind of come to that point in my brand where it's like right in my business where the brand that I've built, you know, it's very obviously self done and it's fine up to a certain point, but it won't support me as I continue to grow. So I've actually started working with a brand coach who's actually a client of mine, Michelle McCarthy. She's absolutely incredible. She is designing my logo and actually designing like a whole family of logos for all my different offerings that are, you know, going to be in the same family and be the like the same, same main ingredients but different flavors if you will. And I'm super, super excited for that. So she's working on those things. I'm going to be doing the brand photo shoot and then we're going to be relaunching my website in the months to come, hopefully by mid April. But of course ADHD might mean that that happens sooner or later, who knows? I also have a few other things happening in life, so. So, you know, I'm hoping to get that done fairly soon. Hi Ben. Hi Collie. Hi YSK welcome, everyone. Yeah, so, like, you know, when you. When you're running your business and you're doing a rebrand, it can be really tempting to, like, want to pause everything and just, like, change everything over. And this has honestly been the hardest part about it, is that I'm not going to pause my business because that would be a major disservice to my clients. Um, but it's like that slowly but surely, like, transitioning this piece and then this piece and then this piece and then this piece. And I know for me, one of the big challenges I face is I am not the best at finishing projects. Like, I have a lot of talents, and finishing projects that I've started is not one of them. If. If we have any knitters watching, you'll know. Like, I have a lot of works and projects progress. I think I have, like, 20 different projects that are just in bags right now in storage that I'm honestly probably never gonna finish. I got excited for starting it and never. And then lost steam halfway through, but that is okay with hobbies, but not your business. But anyway, that is the chaos that I'm kind of living in right now with the clothes and with the. The art and the accessories and. And all the things. So you guys are going to be seeing that come through over the next couple of months, and I'm really, really excited for it. Another thing that I'm working on that I've talked about a little bit, but I haven't fully launched because I haven't had the tech set up for it to be able to actually launch it into. The thing that it needs to be is I started a nonprofit this year, and I'm so insanely excited for it. I have this incredible board of people that have come together who are excited to, like, you know, contribute and. And make this nonprofit actually have a big impact in the world. The nonprofit is called the Gay Birthday Club, and our mission is to call anyone who's in the LGBTQ+ community who doesn't get a phone call from loved ones on their birthdays. If they. If they want to call from us, they can sign up and we will call them and we will sing Happy Birthday to them. Today I finally bit the bullet, and I booked a call with IT Moon, which is this insane, insanely talented IT company out of the UK Leah Turner referred me to them. They just honestly cleaned up a bunch of stuff from my old ops team that they kind of didn't do so great on. Anyway, they're going to be building out all the tech around the gay birthday club so that we can actually have people sign up and start calling them. And so I'm, I'm ecstatic that that's getting underway because it's been something that I've been talking about for so, so long. And honestly, like, haven't had, like, the technical know how to get this up and running. And it's one of those things that I'm sure I'm not alone in this. And I actually, I say that, and I know I'm not because I talk to my clients about this all the time, is that I kept telling myself and telling other people, like, oh, it's okay, I'll figure it out. Like, I'm smart, I'm capable. I will go and, like, do the research and figure out how to make this happen. Hi, Mark. Welcome. But the problem with that is I don't want to figure it out. Like, the tech stuff that I would need to figure out has a lot to do with, like, Excel and spreadsheets and me. That doesn't seem sexy to me. And I like, with what time am I going to try to figure that out also? I don't know. What. I don't know. So it became like this big, intimidating task that I was just procrastinating, doing. And all the while, I'm feeling more and more guilty that I'm not doing it because I've started this nonprofit and, like, I have people involved and I want us to start getting to work. And so finally, I'm just, just throwing money at it. Honestly, like, money is one of those amazing tools that it can make your life so much easier. But honestly, once they have that set up, we'll be able to start rocking and rolling. And I'm really, really excited to start supporting folks in the LGBTQ plus community. Not just like. And here's the thing, like, this is the other side of it that maybe hasn't been overtly holding me up here, but it has been a consideration that, you know, everything going on in the United States right now, there is a concern that this might be seen as kind of like a fluffy thing to do to support the LGBTQ community when, like, their human rights are at stake right now. But I had a conversation with one of my board members about a month ago, and we were talking about the mission of it. And, like, he asked me what I saw the organization, like, as its purpose. You know, what. What was its mission? And it's really to, like, tend to the spirit of folks and not just their day to day needs. Not Just their human rights. And there are a lot of organizations that are tending to the human rights of LGBTQ community. Community. There aren't a lot of organizations that are tending to the spirit. Right. And I think it is such an important part that does get overlooked, especially in the nonprofit space, because nonprofits, like, are there to be that stop gap when there are services that aren't being provided or when things, like, aren't happening fast enough to support, like, a community. But really, like, we do have to tend to the spirit. We do have to foster joy and belonging. And I'm just super stoked that that's gonna start getting off the ground. And then I'm just getting out of my own way and just admitting that I don't know what I don't know. Hi, Chelsea. Hi, World's cutest core. I love that name. Hi, Tiny Carter. And hi, Wally. Welcome. So that's another thing. And then. I don't know. I've posted about this a couple times, and if you're watching this on TikTok or Instagram, you won't see it on the accounts that I'm going live to right now. I have separate accounts for this because they don't really cross. But I'm actually running for office. I'm running for office. I'm running for Select Board in my small town of Harwich, Massachusetts. We have about 12,600 and change people and 10,000 voters, and the election is on May 20, and I literally have my kickoff party for my campaign tomorrow. I spent all evening tonight at fundraiser for our district attorney and, you know, just meeting people and getting out and dressing up. I actually am going live right now because I was like, I put on an outfit, and I don't look like a troll. Okay, well, I can't waste that anyway. But it's been fascinating going through this process. If you're anything like me, I bet you have been, like, paralyzed by fear and stress and hopelessness of all the things that are going on in the world. And I got to a point a few weeks ago where I was like, I can't do this. I can't sit here and just be stressed and not do anything. And I just felt this calling to go and run for something, so decided to run for Select Board. And I have to tell you, from the very moment that I took out my papers and started doing all the things. Hi, Michelle. Welcome. My anxiety levels dropped. I mean, it's not gone. I'm still a little anxious. Hi, Danielle. Welcome. I'm still a little anxious. About like what's going on, like any sane person would be right now. But the act of actually doing something like, has empowered me and I feel alive and vibrant and like I have a purpose like beyond what I do with my work and I can't recommend it enough. And so if you want to go and follow me and the campaign, I'm actually documenting each and every step. If you want to go follow Katie in Harwich on either TikTok or on Instagram. But I'm sharing all of that. Oh my God. RT Garcia, I. I'm so sorry I didn't see you, but hello and welcome. No, I just. Oh, gosh. Oh. And I also didn't see coach levels. And Madison and Chelsea, welcome everyone. Thank you. Thank you for being here. And Sam, hello. Oh my gosh. I. There's a part of me that like hates, hates when I'm accidentally rude and I like cringe inside and like I just had that moment inside when I saw that message. So again, RT Garcia, hello and welcome. You are welcome here. Anyway, get so self conscious about, about the silliest things. Anyway, but if, if you feel so called, if you've ever wanted to run for office, I have to tell you, now's the time. Now is the time. Go and run for office. It can be small. It can be in your sp. Small town, it can be in your city. It doesn't have to be on the state or national level, but get involved. If nothing else, you can make a difference in your small town. You can make a difference in your community. And in doing so, you can lower your own anxiety. You can actually start contributing into, you know, making the world a better place. So that's another thing that I'm working on right now. Hi Matt, Welcome. And then, okay, so we've covered my business, we've covered and the rebrand, we have covered the non profit that I'm doing, the gay birthday club. My campaign. On a personal level, everyone, I'm very excited to announce that I'm getting ducks. And that's not a metaphor. That's not, that's not like a weird saying. I'm actually getting the. The ducks that go quack, quack and waddle around and probably a goose because the goose is supposed to protect the gut, the ducks. And I'm super excited. I've been doing a ton of research on different breeds and I think I'm fairly decided on getting about six Runner ducks. Hi Chris, welcome. Six Runner ducks. Some harlequins, which are apparently just absolutely gorgeous and then they're called buff ducks. B U, F, F. Hello. Welcome. Yeah, so buff ducks. And then I'm. I'm debating between if I want to get. I think they're called American buff geese if I want to get one or two of those, or if I want to get a Sebastopol goose. And if you look up Sebastopol goose or geese, whatever, they look. They're so pretty. They're so pretty. They look like they're wearing, like, goose tutus. Like, their, their feathers on their body just kind of curl out and they look absolutely gorgeous. But they're supposed to be like the big honking ones that, like, you know, protect the ducks from predators and. Yeah. So anyway, but, you know, like, I'm doing all these projects and I'm dropping balls, and I don't want you to think that I'm doing it perfectly because I'm not. And I have a lot of help. I'm so grateful to my team in my business. Hi. Pamela. Welcome. Oh, and Charlie. Hi. Yes, welcome. And Chris. Hello. And Matt again. Hello. I'm super grateful for my copywriter who helps me with my email marketing, because there's no way I would be able to do that along with everything else that I'm doing. Actually, I was never able to stick to email marketing. I am a prolific writer over on LinkedIn and for some reason, like, email is just so out of sight, out of mind for me that I never got my together to be organized around it. So I'm really grateful for him. I'm also incredibly grateful. Hi to Gazelle for Olive, who's my new va. She has really hit the ground running and she's had to because I had to replace my whole operations team earlier this year because they were problematic in a lot of ways. And I won't say more about that right now, but she has honestly just made my life so much easier. I'm super grateful to Carrie, who's my PR coach, who's been helping me pitch myself to the news for all these different things that I'm doing. And hopefully some of that starts getting traction. And I. I say helping me pitch. We haven't actually pitched yet. We've been creating our strategy and coming up with pitch stor and like, identifying people we're going to send press releases to, but that's all underway. The other person that I'm really grateful for, Michelle, I already named. She's been helping me with my rebrand. And honestly, like, I. It's wild how you can be an expert at what you do. And, and, and have what you do be so closely related to another expertise, but actually have no idea. So I have never in my life been able to dig in and understand branding on the level that I have. I've been able to while working with her and being able to dig into my own branding and how I show up with my audience and with my clients and like what attracts people to me and like how to enhance that and highlight. It has been really a transformational experience. I, I don't really know how to explain it beyond that. It's just been, it's honestly been so confidence building in what it is that I do. I don't know. I can't recommend you doing it enough when you get to the point where you need to grow your brand. So really, really grateful for them. And then of course for my campaign. I'm super grateful for my campaign managers, my campaign chair, my treasurer, my father, who has been an amazing advisor. He was board member for like 15 years. And then of course the board for the gay birthday club. Really grateful for everyone who's been doing incredible work and helping us pull everything together. And of course, the IT team who is going to be helping us finish every. Finishing everything up. Emma, welcome. Hello, Jennifer. Hello, Pamela. Hello everyone. But yeah, like, life isn't perfect. I just want to share that. Life is not perfect. Business is not perfect. I'm a big believer that like energy and speed are what like money and influence are attracted to. So whatever it is that you want to do, just get out there and start acting. Just get out there, do it imperfectly, put yourself out there and clean it up as you go. That's what, what I've, that's what I've been doing my whole life and it seems to be working really well. But yeah, let's see, what. Who do we have over on Instagram? There's so many places I have to look. I also don't normally go live this late anymore. I used to all the time back in the, back in the pandemic days. But then I started getting up early. Oh, that's the other thing in my personal life. My personal life, this isn't that personal. I've been taking French classes almost every day for almost a year. And come in June, it'll be a year last, last week and a half, I slept through every single class because the time change has completely with me. But I have to say, like, if you want to learn a foreign language or if you know a foreign language and you want to become fluent and a lot better at it. Do it every day. Do it every day. It'll make a massive difference. Yeah. Anyway, that's kind of the update here. That's a little behind the scenes, and I'm just realizing that my. My energy is lagging, so I think I'm gonna wrap up from here. But to Matt and who am I? And Emma and Jennifer and Chris and Pamela and Sam and Charlie and Michelle and Artif Garcia and coach levels, Madison and Chelsea and everyone else on TikTok, there are too many to name. And to Marcio and to the Gazelle over on instag LinkedIn, thank you so much for being here. Whatever it is that you're working on, your life, like, just keep going. Just keep going. If there's something that you want to do that you're afraid of doing, just go for it. Like, the worst case scenario is you change your mind. Right. Like, I think the messiest part of what I'm doing is that, like, if I change my mind about, like, having ducks, like, I'm gonna have to find a new home for the ducks. Right? And that's fine. Like, the ducks will be fine. We'll. We'll work it out. I don't think I will. I really. I've wanted ducks for a really long time, and I have done a lot of research, so I'm really excited for them. But, like, to the point, like, you get to just throw yourself full force into whatever life you want and just work it out as you go. Right? And do not hold yourself to the comparison that you're making up about how you're doing versus how other people, you know, on the Internet are doing. Right. We're all just making it up as we go along. Right. And your life is 100% up to you. There's something so inspiring when you talk to someone who is fully in their power as the narrator of their own life. And I think we look to other people to be this, to inspire us, and we forget that we can be that, too. And so I'm really excited for how I'm living my life right now, because I'm fully in that, and I invite you to do this with your life, too. Anyway, everyone, I'm Katie, your practical business strategist, and I'm going to sleep now because it is almost nine. It's bedtime. But thank you all so much for being here. I hope this was at least interesting, insightful, gave you some ideas, and I will be live with you again tomorrow, so stay tuned. All right, much love, everyone. Good night.