Mama Feature ▴ Katie Wussow
Katie Wussow is a mama to two sweet little girls - ages 5 and 7! She runs a successful consulting business that focuses on providing creative women with the tools and mindset they need to grow their business in a meaningful way. Katie has a great perspective on combining motherhood with entrepreneurship - she believes that each season will bring new things. It is okay to adapt and change as life goes on! Read more about Katie in our Mama Feature below!
Tell me a little about your business
I'm a business consultant that helps creative women confidently lead growing businesses. I help put solid business plans and goals in place through my one-on-one coaching program, the Thrive Program.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received about starting, owning, and/or thriving as a small business owner?
Big things take time. It's so important to stay consistent and not get discouraged when things take longer than you think.
How do you blend motherhood and building a business?
There are so many answers to this question, but I try to take things one season at a time. Kids, business, and life are always changing, and something that worked last year may not work this year. My business looks totally different now than it did when I had two kids under two. I imagine it will keep looking different as our kids get older and the needs of our family and my business continue to change.
What has surprised you most about motherhood?
I'm constantly so surprised watching my kids grow up! They are so funny, capable, smart, and independent. It's such a joy watching them grow.
What's your morning routine?
I try to get up before my kids every day, even on the weekends. It really helps me feel like I'm starting the day on my own terms and not immediately jumping into "mom-mode." On weekdays, I get up at 6:00, make a cup of coffee, and sit on my couch and read the bible and pray for about 45 minutes. Then I get myself ready (not a glamorous process) and start making breakfast and lunches for the family. The kids get up around 7:30 and we are off to the races!
How do you define balance?
For me, balance is about making sure that everything I'm doing, whether in life or business, has an intention behind it. I need to know why I'm doing the things I'm doing, or I need to stop doing them. As a working mom and wife I don't have time to waste with things that aren't important or meaningful.
Balance also means that my life doesn't revolve around my kids, but also their lives don't revolve around me. If I'm the only one making sacrifices, then that's a problem. But, if they are always the ones sacrificing for me, that's a problem, too.
When life gets crazy and balance is not possible, what core values do you hold on to?
I try to stay faithful in every season. If things are crazy and I don't feel like I'm able to "balance" things the way I want, if I can still say I'm being faithful, then that should be enough. And lots and lots of grace.
If you could take a look at the future, what do you see for not only yourself personally, but also for your business?
The big picture behind my business is to help women become confident leaders. Right now, I mainly do this through my consulting program, the Thrive Program. But, I am (slowly) working on a more comprehensive suite of resources and services to help women lead growing businesses. I have a lot of work to do!
3 Pearls of wisdom you can share about motherhood, business or blending it together?
I wrote a blog post about this! (Check it out here!)
Some high points are:
1) take care of yourself. the life of a working mom requires a lot of energy, and you won't have that energy if you don't pursue healthy habits. (I'm NOT saying that you need to get in the gym 5 days a week when you have a newborn. Keep things realistic and doable.)
2) embrace different seasons. Like I said before, different seasons in your life and business will feel different and require different approaches. Embrace this!
and 3) get some perspective. God willing, we all have 40-50 years to work. Our time with our kids at home will be much shorter. Don't panic if you feel you need to step back from work for a season to enjoy motherhood. You have plenty of years left to do what you love.
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with her biz happenings and mama moments!
