What Happens When You Follow Your Passion in a Small Town?

Hey everyone, welcome to another case study. I'm here with one of my rockstar clients, Katherine Palmer. Katherine, welcome to the broadcast and thanks so much for participating in this case study. Um, just to begin, tell everyone a little bit about who you are, uh, what you do, and where people can go to learn more about you and the difference you're making.

My name is Katherine Palmer. I live near Vancouver, British Columbia, just recently moved to a cute little town called Mission. BC. I am a horticulturist, herbalist, and aromatherapist. And my venture is to combine the three loves of my life into one business. And so what I am doing is helping people to grow and use medicinal herbs.

Fantastic. Well, we just recently wrapped up a little bit of coaching together through the Inbox Catalyst program, and I'd love to just have you folks what the challenge was that you were experiencing before you reached out to work together?

So before I reached out to you, I basically— my business was living inside my head. I hadn't actually got off the ground yet. We were living in a condo, and so I was just imagining what it would be like to have this business. And then after our interaction, I was able to actually bring that business to reality, like to get it out of my head and into the real world and be able to talk about it, because I wasn't able to like get the right words to say so that people could understand what I did.

It's one of the biggest perils of solopreneurship is this idea that we spend so much of our time doing what we do on our own by ourselves and very often in our head, and if it, it doesn't actually mean anything until it gets expressed and gets to, to breathe a little bit and see the light of day. So I love that reflection. Why was it that you chose to work with me over the other choices that you had to, to, for coaching?

The most important part was because I really connect with your philosophy and your, the, the, um, I really related to how you run your business, and that is what I would like to emulate in my business. And also your values that you bring to your business are what I would like to see in my business. So there, there was that piece of it. And then also connecting through, uh, our Monday and Fridays On Purpose, I got to know and trust you as opposed to just seeing someone online, seeing a video of them And then not knowing if that's the real person. So with you, I knew that was the real, the real deal.

Yeah. And just for transparency's sake, Catherine is a longtime member of our Circle community, which is the paid community of paid subscribers to the Transcendent Solopreneurship Substack. And, and we appreciate all of your participation and contribution to that community. Was there anything in particular about the coaching that we did that helped you and why do you think it was so effective?

I was able to really get clarity on what it was that I wanted to do. So I, in being in my own head, I, you know, in my imagination, it all looked right, but then trying to say it out loud, nothing ever made sense. So going through the specific questions you asked and then the reflections that I did, I'm now able to say, this is what I do and this is how I'm going to do it, which I wasn't able to do before that. So valuable.

What I'm hearing is that you, you actually came up with a sort of a beginning articulation of what you, what you can offer and what you can act— the promises that you can make people that you can actually keep. How has that changed just the way that you show up in your business since, since you've kind of dialed that in?

Well, now when people ask me what, what do I do, it's the first thing that I say is I have a business that I help people to grow and use medicinal herbs. Whereas before I would say I'm an aromatherapist, I'm a horticulturist, you know, I would start with that all the time. And in retrospect, that doesn't make a lot of sense to, to not start with like how I can help people. So now I start with how I can help people And also, I'm actually doing the things I need to do to make this business real, as opposed to just imagining how it would go.

Well, what I also am hearing is that you used to talk about what you do as opposed to what you can do for other people. And I love that, that you've begun to reflect that a little bit more in your messaging, and that you came to that realization while we were working together. Has that had any impact on your life in general, the, the, just the, the refinement and the way you show up in your business, has it bled over into your personal life?

I am now— well, I'm actually like creating a garden for someone, a family member, but it's going to be the, uh, example that I'm going to be able to use to, to gain further clients. So there's that. So I'm actually busy with my hands in the dirt, which feels really good. And also that I'm more confident in how I speak about it. Before, I must have sounded very wishy-washy, like not really— oh, I don't— people would say to me, I don't really get what it is that you want to do. So now I'm clear, like it's one sentence, this is what I do. And sometimes people say like, oh, how do you do that? Or what exactly does that entail? But most of the times people are like, oh, that's cool. So it's, it's far, far more clarity.

Well, what I love about that reflection is the best way to grow your business is to actually be engaged in the business that you want to be doing, as opposed to what we are usually told by the gurus and digital marketers, which is we have to build an audience and grow an audience and get an audience to click our things and opt into our lists and our lead magnets and so forth. But you're actually beginning your business by be getting a garden for someone, and that will beget more business. It's a living example of what you do. Where do you think you would be right now if you hadn't trusted yourself enough to invest in yourself and in the work that we did together?

Well, I definitely would not be able to speak with clarity about— so I wouldn't have a clear offer that I I can share with people. So probably I would still be struggling for words every time I met a new person. And it gave me the confidence to actually approach someone and say, hey, can I do this for you? And it was a family member, but sometimes family are hard to convince to do things. So I feel like it gave me confidence now that I could approach someone who is less familiar and ask and let them know about my offer to hopefully be able to work with them. So confidence for sure.

Yeah, well, and just circling back to what you said before, it's not a thing that lives in your head anymore, it's a thing that's actually living in a garden that you're creating. And, and so that whole idea of going from stuck in planning mode or imagining or visioning mode to actually doing the— becoming the thing by doing the thing is, is the way we often articulate that. So I love that that is unfolding for you. If anyone is watching this right now and they're kind of on the fence about their next steps and whether they should explore any, any further engagement with me, our exchange obviously began in the community conversations that we had. But in terms of the coaching, it actually all began with the free Catalyst Exchange, just answering a few questions to get an idea of what it is you're trying to accomplish, where you are, and what you're starting with. And in that little back and forth, you opted to continue that in the Inbox Catalyst exchange. For anyone that is looking at that and wondering if it's even worth it to just start with the free Catalyst exchange, what would you tell them?

Well, the free Catalyst was probably enough. If I had had more of a sense of my business, I might have, but honestly, like, that was worth every penny to do the Inbox Catalyst because it helped me get to a place that would have taken me probably months to get there if I had struggled with it on my own. And maybe I would have reverted back to the place that I tend to go with businesses that I have ideas for, is that I would have just given up and talked myself out of it. So I think the confidence that I got in that one week of exchanges was worth every penny that I spent, and I would Highly recommend. It's such a small amount for such a big gain that I hate the term no-brainer, but it really is.

Yes. Well, we're definitely not looking for people with no brains, and you are certainly not one of those people. But, um, it is a pretty— even, even just the free Catalyst Exchange can, uh, is more than worth the value of the time that it takes to answer that. And then the inbox is proving to be something that is kickstarting a lot of solopreneurs into actually, uh, engaging in the field and beginning their business. So I appreciate that reflection very much. It's certainly been a privilege to work with you through the Inbox Catalyst and witness your, your business actually starting to be birthed into the world. And of course, really appreciate all of your participation and contribution to the, to the Circle community. And I'm looking forward to seeing your continued progress. Thank you so much for your time, Catherine.

Well, thank you so much, Scott, for everything you do. I really appreciate it.