Road to Radical Visibility Show/Podcast
Road to Radical Visibility Show/Podcast
TWO MUST HAVE ingredients for biz success! With Kathryn Thompson
These TWO ingredients are a MUST HAVE to create lasting success in your business.
In this episode of Road to Radical Visibility my guest Kathryn Thompson and I explore the two foundational ingredients that you need to create a successful business.
You might have heard how it is so important to be "yourself" in your business and show up "authentically" but what does that really mean and how do you do it.
So many people (including me) were taught how to be in the world and to find out how you want to be and interact in the world is a journey. A journey we all must take to create the life we want to be living both personally and professionally.
Kathryn and I deep dive into:
🔥 what it takes,
❤️ how it may look (it can be messy) and
🦄 the rewards of finding our authentic selves (I also call it our true selves) to create the success we want to have in our businesses. (Note: this does not always include a monetary amount, it can also look like ease, flow, energy...and more).
Have you ever felt the transformative power of being your authentic self? That's a journey our guest, Kathy Thompson, founder of Creatively Owned, knows all too well. With over 15 years as a marketing maven, she turned the spotlight onto herself, choosing to embrace radical visibility and inspiring others to do the same. Listen as she reveals what it truly means to show up as your most authentic self, without the fear of judgment, and propel your business towards unprecedented growth.
In this dynamic conversation, Kathryn gets real and raw (cause that's what we do) as she unfolds her journey of shedding her 'vanilla' persona to become unapologetically herself. She takes us through her transformative journey from camouflaging her identity to proudly owning her narrative and her business.
It's a story of persistence, growth, and authenticity. Hear firsthand how a personal transformation can spark a revolution in your professional life and why it's more essential than ever to be true to yourself in the realm of entrepreneurship.
Kathryn and Rachel offer up their wisdom for overcoming these challenges, particularly for those who are neurodivergent, in minority communities and have felt "othered" their entire lives.
🔥She passionately discusses how radical visibility has become her driving force towards success. Get ready to be inspired by Kathryn's journey, and prepare to be empowered to embrace your own authenticity and light up the world around you.
Want to learn more about Kathryn? Click on the links below.
Website: https://creativelyowned.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/creativelyowned/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/creativelyowned
Pinterest: https://ww
Did you have an Ah-Ha moment from this episode? I would love to hear about it! No seriously, I want to hear from you! Send me a DM or email at rachel@rachelfreemonsowers.com.
Watch more self-empowering content on my YouTube Channel.
Want more inspiration and empowerment connect with me on social:
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#LGBTQ+ #LGBTQ+business #visibilitymatters #timetoshine #RoadtoRadicalVisibility #RachelFreemonSowers
I was grinding, like literally showing up the five days a week because everybody told me I needed to. I was selling in the way that everybody told me I needed to and I went to a retreat in Lisbon in October of 2022 and I walked into that room being like why the hell am I here? Because I was ready to give it all up. I was like I can't do this, like it's such a grind. It's not me, I don't sell this way, I can't. And I walked out of that room and I said, eff it, I'm not listening to a single person. I muted everybody on the online world and I literally just did whatever the hell I wanted to do and with I'm not kidding you within months I just wanted to sell. My business skyrocketed because I finally started to just speak, the way that I would sell, the way that I would deliver the thing I actually wanted to deliver, which is helping people express themselves in their business in an authentic way.
Speaker 2:Hello, beautiful people, just a little warning listening to the road to radical visibility podcast may result in you feeling confident, af, free from the expectations and opinions of others, and give you the ability to create ultimate self trust in who you are, what you say and how you show up in every part of your life. I guarantee you this episode will empower you to be 100% yourself 100% of the time. No shame or guilt needed now let's dive in. Hello, my beautiful friends, and welcome to another episode of road to radical visibility. My name is Rachel Freeman Sowers, also known as the break free bitch, because I am passionate about helping people just like you break free from the toxic social constructs, expectations, opinions and beliefs that have been holding you back from experiencing your life exactly the way that you want to. And if you've hung out here for very long, you'll know my professional and personal motto is being 100% yourself 100% of the time. No shame or guilt needed today. I just love having guests on this podcast in the show. I can't tell you like if you're watching the YouTube, I'm leaning in, I'm just all excited. One of my favorite things is to tell and expose and I don't know, just communicate the stories of people that are empowering and encouraging, and the story of my guest today is no different and is absolutely will be powerful and empower you to continue being yourself 100% of the time. So let me introduce her now.
Speaker 2:My guest is Catherine Thompson. She's a Canadian based entrepreneur who inspires people to use their stories as a way to create change in the world. Now you know why she's here. She's an award winning marketing and community communications expert with more than 15 years of experience. After growing one of our businesses to close a million dollars in sales in less than four years, she sold it with a single email. That's some business goals. When I'm ready to retire, I'll be hitting me what. My friend, catherine, is now the founder of creatively owned, a marketing and communication firm that helps entrepreneurs use the power of words to create instant appeal for what they are selling. Welcome to the show, catherine. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me. So I told Catherine before. It's like we're going to go raw and real and vulnerable, and she is here for all of it, so I cannot wait. So that starts with this very first question that I ask all of my guests what does radical visibility mean to you? I?
Speaker 1:absolutely love this question because, if you'd asked me, even like 10 years ago, five years ago, it's always changing this definition of what I think radical visibility is, and I've done again so much work to become more and more and more and more of who I am, or not become reconnect with who I always was. Absolutely radical visibility, yeah, radical visibility to me is really just showing up as your most authentic self right now, in this moment, without the fear of judgment, rejection, what others are going to think, your family is going to think, the world's going to think, is expressing yourself in the most creative way with who you are right now, knowing that that message, that voice, that story can evolve as you evolve.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, like that, that is such, like it's so meaty in this container that you've just kind of given and it's not easy. I mean being authentic and you and I both know being an entrepreneur in the online world and this kind of you very, very focused me, very personal growth and development focused in doing some of that in business. That word authenticity has been this word that has now been thrown out there and like what is your authentic self? Be your authentic self and you can do this and you know it's kind of gotten that kind of phrase to it. So how do you view Authenticity, like if, like what is your definition of being authentic? And I know you kind of mentioned it, but can you go a little bit deeper there?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So authenticity to me is like you know, it's not about being perfect Polish poised, it's not about having all your shit together. It's not about it's like literally showing up in all the facets of who you are the messy, the raw, the real, the. I have no freaking clue what I'm doing, but I'm just going to do it. Or I have this really deep call that I want to share this message, and I have no idea what that's going to freaking look like, but I'm putting it out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that real and raw that's often not interpreted in social media. I mean, I think it's becoming more than ever, but there is a lot of room left to grow. I was just talking to a colleague who I'm working on a multi authored book project with and about my experience of hiding who I was in my career for several years because of fear of discrimination as an LGBTQIA plus person and all the things that that kind of made me believe that I couldn't see my authentic self. I couldn't see who I really was and we get covered up by a lot of stuff. So you've recently been transforming, you've recently been creating more radical visibility in your personal life, in yourself and therefore in your business. Tell me about that journey for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's so crazy because I was somebody who definitely was like that. I don't want to say vanilla, but I was very much like that poised, polished, very buttoned up, like say the right things, have the right words, and all of that so that you don't like ruffle feathers or people don't think you're freaking weird. And so I spent 15 years in corporate being this like really polished and poised person with the right words to say at the right time to the right people, to get the promotions, to move up to whatever. And then it caught up with me. There was a time where I became I don't want to say it was you know, deep, deep depression, but definitely low level depression, where I was like who the hell am I? You know, this isn't me, and it was like this I just recorded a podcast on. My podcast was like this alter ego. You know I had this.
Speaker 1:I was very serious in business, I was very, you know, put together, and then everybody in my like, in my family, was like that's not you, like I'm so free, flowing, I go with the flow, I'm quirky, I'm weird, I have dry sense of humor, like there was just this two different people, that I was trying to play this part in, and so I ditched my corporate career, opened that wine business, as you mentioned in my bio. That wasn't it for me, and I've now really stepped into my personal brand in the online world, but that took a long time to do Again. I came into the online world very vanilla, very curated, very. You can't say this, you have to say this and I've shed a lot of that and, like I said, the road hasn't been easy, but I've done the work too and I'm still doing it, like I'm still doing it and yeah, let's not pretend it doesn't stop.
Speaker 2:I had a client say to me she's like you know, the interesting thing is I can't go back now. She's like we've learned all this stuff with you, and I think it's very true in when we start coming more, becoming more of ourselves and putting more of ourselves out there in our marketing and our business, and it's like you can't go back. You can't go back and be like, okay, well, because everything inside of you is going to this is not what we're doing, my friend. They're like, oh hell, no, no, thank you. You're going to say the yes, please, to the continuing moving forward. Tell me one pivotal moment, like maybe a thing that you were doing, and in that moment you're like, oh no, I'm moving towards this more authentic way of being, more radical visibility for myself, like what was one of those turning points.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. It's actually quite recent, but the growth that has happened in life and in business is actually quite magical. When people talk about that quantum leap and you kind of roll your eyes like I've been grinding for two years and you're talking about these bloody quantum leaps, like, screw you, they're not real, but they, it can be real. And so I had literally spent a year building this group program in my business. I was grinding like literally showing up the five days a week because everybody told me I needed to. I was selling in the way that everybody told me I needed to.
Speaker 1:And I went to a retreat in Lisbon in October of 2022 and I walked into that room being like why the hell am I here? Because I was ready to give it all up. I was like I can't do this, like it's such a grind. It's not me, I don't sell this way, I can't. And I walked out of that room and I said, eff it, I'm not listening to a single person. I muted everybody on the online world and I literally just did whatever the hell I wanted to do and with I'm not kidding you, within months, my business skyrocketed because I finally started to just speak the way that I would sell the way that I would deliver the thing I actually wanted to deliver, which is helping people express themselves in their business in an authentic way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, and I'm wondering how many of the listeners right now, or if you're watching on the YouTube channel, can relate to what Catherine is saying. There's a tension inside of you. That tension equals depression. It can equal anxiety. It equals unhappiness, it equals overeating. It equals addiction to numerous things. It equals all of these things. Those things are signs that something in you is battling to say I don't know if I really want this. And you and I met through our mentor, morgana McCabe-Allen, and she is someone who has been an advocate for people who don't want or who don't do things the way everyone else. And in the online world you can sell, selling like that, you can. People make money all the time, but if it means that you sacrifice your soul, I don't know what the million dollars is for. Then Right, you know what I mean. I mean any any right.
Speaker 2:And so that moment, when you walked out of the room, tell me all the thoughts you were having, because our listeners will be able to relate.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I walked out of that room. I don't even think I had the thoughts of what was gonna be next. I was gonna burn it all down. I literally got on the plane back to Canada.
Speaker 1:I was in the midst of in and out of wake from Jet leg and these ideas kept dropping in and I kept saying, no, I'm done, I'm gonna go and coach leaders in it, like executive leaders, you know. That was like I'm gonna go do that that. So I was fighting. I was fighting these intuitive hits and these downloads and this idea dropped in the name of it, the structure of it, what I was gonna teach all of it, and I just was like no, no, no. And then it was so loud that I was like, okay, I'm gonna give it one more shot, I'm gonna give it one more shot. And Literally that month of November I got it ready, put it out there and I had ten people sign up, which is like the highest Number of people I've had in role in like a couple week period.
Speaker 1:Usually it was like I'd get a client here, a client there, a client there. They would trickle in, so to speak. This was like boom. And then, if you listen to my podcast. You can see the difference in my voice and the inflection and the stories. Like now my podcast is like Sometimes I don't even know what I said anymore because I'm just like riffing, you know, and I'm just literally channeling and sharing Yep, and I'm like what did I say? And my mum will message she'll be like great episode, really spot-on, and then she's like I love that story and I'm like I don't even remember what I said.
Speaker 2:That's, that's what I love about it yeah.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, for those of you listening, what are you fighting? And by the time this episode comes out, it'll be a couple weeks after I've done the Unleashing the power of receiving rate, and what you did was you were receiving the message, but at one point in time you're like, okay, I'm gonna take it in, I'm gonna take it in, I'm gonna own this thing and I'm gonna give it another shot, like that was your. Yeah, what I call the true self, the wise one within you. That's like nope, we're not stopping yet.
Speaker 2:And to know how to tune into that voice, instead of the fear that you and I have experienced in the online world, there's a lot of things that tell you, if you don't do it this way, and then let's just break it down in marketing, in the marketing world, you have to do this and use this formula and damn this and it removes all of you. And People say like, oh, you know, you know, you know, put yourself in there. Um, not really, no, cuz it can't just be 10% you and 90% somebody or something else. That that that was that makes up the hundred. You know you be the 90 and they be the 10.
Speaker 1:It's more difficult when you're not showing up as your fullest self in your business 1,000% and the voice at different stages To to run, to be scared, right, like I launched the program that had no curriculum, right, everyone's like you've got to have this curriculum and that's what people pay for. And I was like, do they pay for that or do they want me to help pull out of them what's already within them, instead of me giving them a curriculum that has these steps? That is still kind of not Having them fit into some type of box. Yes, and so the whole time as it's launching, I'm like they're they're not gonna find value in it. My inner critic, they're not gonna find value in it. They're gonna wonder what the hell they signed up for. They're gonna wonder what the hell they paid for. And and that happens all along the way because my inner critic and ego wants me to not do it right, but my higher self's like no, this is what people are freaking craving well, and it's.
Speaker 2:It's that those very two different things that were taught to keep very separate, right and the inner critic, and and all of those things, those are, those are parts of us that have been shamed, guilted, all the things, and and you and I both know it's about how do we make, and I'm sure you do this with your clients, or it wouldn't work, so I'm sure that you do yeah like how?
Speaker 2:how are you creating a calmer nervous system To be able to put yourself out there? How are you creating a different way of interacting with yourself so that you can act with other people, interact with other people differently? It changes, yeah, and shifts your business 100%. So, that being said, what are two Things that you shifted from the download on the plane? No, no, no, no, no. You're like, okay, I'm doing it. Give me two things that you shifted that equaled you feeling Just fucking awesome about what you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the biggest shift was is I? Literally every part of what I put out is me right now, in this moment, and I think what resulted in was this inner conviction and belief in myself, because I Was trying to do it all the other ways. That never really felt authentic and therefore I doubted myself. I didn't have the confidence I was like I don't really actually sound like that. I would never sell like that. And I'll just give you an example. I was told many, many, many times that if I Transparenly shared what I do, why I do what I do, the price, the details, all of the things, it would turn people off and they would, you know, make an excuse for they can't afford it.
Speaker 1:I was told that and I was like I can't, yeah, and I was like I can't sell like this, like so. Then I tried to do the sales tactics that way and they always felt clunky and weird, like there was an elephant in the Room and I'm like my people are smart, they're freaking intelligent. I know that they want the details and that I'm gonna just be Transparent. I'm one of the most transparent people. Ask me anything I'll answer Transparenly. And so it was like I just have to do it this way. So that shift of just doing it my way and like literally tuning out Created that like deep inner conviction that I was missing for the two years prior in selling, in promoting, in marketing, which is why I had huge success in the offline world with my first business, because I didn't have a mentor, I didn't even know what the online world was, I couldn't follow anything.
Speaker 2:I was just making it up as I go. Sometimes I think it's better for us not to know. Sometimes you know, like you said, right, you shut that, yeah, shut that off. So you, you listen to your own conviction, you start putting that stuff out there it becomes successful. Now, success to each person is different.
Speaker 2:The reason I said the two things that you did to make you feel fucking awesome about your business is because that, as One of the biggest results that will help you sustain the momentum and the success you want, it's not how many sales you make that will help you sustain. It's how you feel about yourself and how you're interacting in your business. Right? So, totally what. You and I have a lot of language around, intercritic and all of those kinds of things and an internal kind of way of being. You and I understand that and for the audience, what we're talking about is within, it's knowing yourself so well that you have been into these deepest parts of yourself, those beautiful deep parts. You've explored all of these areas and you've really learned how to nurture yourself and how to care for yourself and heal yourself from the inside out. What is one of the most one?
Speaker 1:What is one of your personal revelations that that allowed you to shift into a different way of being the biggest of revelation for me would have been that like is my instinct, and knowing that deep, intuitive knowing that I know, like I know instinctively which direction to go and how to go.
Speaker 1:I don't need someone to tell me that, but I was listening to all the other voices tell me that so I shut that part of myself off and I started to lose trust in who I was and what I knew, and so I doubted my own inner trust, I guess, which is the thing I cut off when I entered in the online space. It was like I went through this vortex of like looking up to gurus and chasing these gurus and what they were building and all of the things. And so the biggest revelation for me, like I said, was like that, coming back to that intuition and that inner instinct that I why I was successful in the first business, because I just followed that with no Like hesitation. It was like I was. It's so funny because it's like you're going through the motions in a positive way. You're just doing things. You're like I don't know how I got here. That's where I create success.
Speaker 2:It's not what I'm trying to think my way to success yeah, I, I relate to that so much because the minute I sit down to write a post and I'm wondering, oh, how can I write it so people will want to read it. That is a sign. Be like Rachel, you drop down into your heart right now and you speak from there, and that is what people will read. The people who are meant to see it will see it. You know all of those things.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I don't normally do this on any of my podcast episodes, but I'm doing it this time because I'm yeah, I'm channeling this. What's supposed to happen? You know? I mean, you've heard some of my story. I've struggled a long time, being neurodivergent. You know all those things in the online world that tell you that you have to do it this way to be successful. Um, and what? How do you Give us the top I don't know the top three ways, the top three things you would tell someone who is neurodivergent and is struggling To feel like they know or they're allowed to write their message. What are the three pieces of advice you would give them?
Speaker 1:Yeah, great question. I think the biggest thing that I would say is that, again, it's less about the doing, it's less about like I have to have five posts. I think a lot of times we get hung up in the five posts. Two emails a week. They go out at this time Like literally, I'm not kidding you. I send one email a month. I post twice on social, but I literally am only posting what's coming through in my heart.
Speaker 1:I don't think about it, and so it's so inconsistent and I'll say that I'm the least consistent human on the planet and for somebody in the digital space guru, that's like you have to be consistent to be successful. I'll tell you that's total BS. So it's literally tuning into who you are, whether you're neurodivergent or whatever, and literally knowing it can be that simple, like we don't need to overcomplicate it. It can be that simple and your story and what makes you unique as neurodivergent are the things that's really going to resonate with your audience. I just was reading a post recently. I have a client who's. I have a lot of clients that come to me that are neurodivergent and one she was like I'm sitting here cleaning my bedroom and I know that I should be working.
Speaker 1:What the hell do I do? You know, like I know, I should be working, and I'm going to tell you this that, like I said, you can send one really potent email that could sell out a program or your one to ones. You can send one potent social post, but when you can relate it back to your own story from the heart and ditch all of the other shoulds of what is a successful business, that's what's going to transform and you only know that. You only know what you get, what's what's true for you, and follow that, I promise you. I used to post consistently five days a week. I'd send two emails. I would do all of the things. I would show up live. I do none of that anymore and my business is doing literally three times better than it's ever done. As a result of it, you can do less.
Speaker 2:Well, and in that state you show up differently, you show up in a totally and and you build the trust you allow the nervous system to know that you can be 100% yourself and experience the things you want to in your life, because so many of us have been told that we can't and that that's not how it's going to work for us. So, yeah, this has been our episode is hit on so many different things. You know, just in 20 and it's been 24 minutes and we've hit on so much goodness and so much juiciness. If, if you are saying that rings true with me, make sure to put a comment in the YouTube comments below if you're watching it, if you're on the podcast and something hits you, I'd love for you to DM me.
Speaker 2:I'll definitely forward any messages to Catherine, because what we're talking about is common and we need to be talking about it more and more, about how we know and how, when we start trusting ourselves in an internal way and seeing ourselves through our own radical visibility, whatever that means to you like, when you start seeing yourself and, as corny as it sounds, loving all of it, something, something huge, like shifts inside of you. So how can people reach you? Or let me ask you this first I don't know if I'm supposed to go there yet. Do you have anything else that you want to share about your journey and about you know, about how you are living and being now. So is there anything else you want to share about that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wanted to share the whole like marrying of, like we talked business and that sort of thing, but like it is really about that, like that whole essence of who you are, not just in business, but like just a way of being, like I'm just a different person in my relationships, whether that's with my husband or friends. Right, because I you talk about the nervous system and that calming I was always in that sort of flight or fight. Right, because I wasn't really being myself and so I was trying to escape. Everything I was doing was trying to escape ditching corporate buying, the wine business that wasn't not not aligned for me. I was trying to escape every decision I made. I was trying to escape the life I was building, which is really weird. And I've come to this calm place now where, like, I'm no longer trying to escape, which is just really beautiful. You know, I'm just literally a lot more present, a lot more appreciative, grateful.
Speaker 1:Again this might all sound really corny, but it's true, like I just am, I'm not binging Netflix like I used to, I'm not stuffing my face with food to like numb the emotional pain. I'm like sitting with the uncomfortable things that come up, which they do. It's we're human right. So it doesn't mean because I'm living like this now that I don't face inner critic ego, uncomfortable things, people saying things about me that aren't true. You know, I just had that experience recently of somebody accusing me of something, that I was ghosting them, and I wasn't. I was just on holiday for two weeks and my past self would have just spent so much time trying to defend it and I just noticed how much work, how the work is paying off. Because I wasn't triggered. I was like that's your perception. I'm sorry you feel that way, but I didn't go down the rabbit hole of like trying to make it. Is she right? Am I a bad person? Am I not doing good enough? Like it's just such a different state of being.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm so glad I stopped myself from ending this episode. Yeah, I mean like again, this is how you learn to trust yourself Ultimately and just go wherever, because you know, catherine and I haven't rehearsed any of this. What you talked about, though, is people escaping their life that they're creating, and they don't even know they're trying to escape the life that they're creating. Yeah, because there's not an awareness, and the awareness that you and I both know is the first step, but an awareness without the judgment, the shame and the guilt is the healing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, now.
Speaker 1:I know I'm getting chills.
Speaker 2:now there's a fucking gorgeous place to end it. Right. If you are listening to this podcast and you're like I want to stop escaping the life I'm quote unquote intentionally building, then you can reach out to me. You can reach out to Catherine. If you're a business owner who is struggled with writing your copy, with feeling like and I have felt this feeling like everything you write is not enough, that you didn't write use the right words and that's why people aren't contacting you, that you didn't put the right picture or you said too much or you weren't professional enough. All of that is bullshit. Reach out to Catherine because she can help you.
Speaker 2:It is imperative and you all know this about me. We need to use our voices as ourselves, because it is what makes the world a better place Bar 100%. Everything. It is everything in your life, just like Catherine said and just like mine, will change in all the areas. It's like a. It's a one size fits all for you and it changes and it helps you create the way you want to experience your life, right? Okay, so if people want to find out more about you and reach out, can you just let us know where they can find you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm over on Instagram most of the time at creatively owned. I have my website is also creatively ownedcom, but drop me a DM. I'm there. I can talk business stuff. I can talk life stuff, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's fantastic. I hope that you reach out to her and let her know also how much she's empowered and encouraged you on this episode and show All right, my friends, who I just my heart just feels so grateful it almost makes me emotional yeah, interesting. Okay, my friends, I will end this episode like I end every single episode. Just make sure to stay true to yourself, be kind to others and always, always, always, honor the wise one that is within you. I will see you all on the next road to radical visibility. Until then, bye, hey, hold up, don't go yet. If this episode inspired and empowered you to be a hundred percent yourself, a hundred percent of the time, no shame or guilt needed, even just a little bit more. Please rate and leave a review. I'm here and I know you are too to leave a positive impact in the world. So please share this episode with your friends, family or that random stranger, because you never know who you'll inspire by just being you. I'll see you on the next road to radical visibility. Bye.