We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kate Rogers. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kate below.
Kate, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
This answer could go in so many different directions but I believe that there are three keys to women finding their confidence and self-esteem. First and most importantly, it takes inner work. The work that you do to help yourself grow, love/believe in yourself is the catalyst to everything that you do. Through books, retreats, podcasts, prayer and deep self reflection I have been able to grow through imposter syndrome and build my confidence. Second, a community of like-minded women. Once you believe in yourself and do the inner work, you need community. Women who cheer you on, mention your name is a room full of opportunities and support your growth. You can do anything alone, but you can change the world with others! Last but not least, you have to let the opinions of others go…there will always be people who support you and there will be those who don’t but when you believe in yourself and have people in your corner, you can let the negativity go and release the pressure you feel of opinions that don’t really matter!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi, I’m Kate a wife, mother and multi-business owner! I have a deep passion for helping women be confident (rooted) in who they are and seeing them chase their dreams freely.
After years in jobs that I liked but didn’t love I decided to finally chase my dream and open up an online women’s boutique, Shop Rooted and Free. My goal is simple, help women dress for their everyday so they feel confident to crush whatever is thrown their way. I know the power of a good outfit and my hope is that women would be able to find pieces that are easy to style but give them the energy and boost they need!
Once my boutique was seeing success I realized that I needed more women around me who were also building businesses. I started to gather female founders together each month for community and quickly realized that my love of empowerment coaching was where I wanted to spend more energy. In 2023 I co-founded Gathered, a space for female founders to gather and grow together.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First and foremost, you must be passionate about what you are doing. When you are passionate about your mission and purpose, the work while hard (and sometimes heartbreaking) will feel exhausting and you will struggle to push forward in hard times. Building a business with passion and purpose is the key to success because you will let nothing stop you even when it gets hard (and spoiler alert, it will get hard at some point).
Second, you need to be a learner. The most successful businesses are built by founders who are always learning and growing. Believe me when I say, there is always someone doing it better than you and you can and should be learning from them and what they are doing. Self development and business development go hand in hand, they work together to create the business you want with sustainability and profit.
Last but not least, rest and downtime. I know that I can work 24/7 but I don’t need to and neither do you. Rest is such an important part of what you are building if you want it to last. Be sure you are creating white space in your calendar, time to decompress and do things that fill up your cup!
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The economy! Building a retail business isn’t for the faint of heart especially in today’s uncertain and declining economy. Learning to scale my business while cutting as much cost as I can has been a challenge but is also such an incredible opportunity as well. Focusing on investing in ways that will build my business versus cost my business has helped me see profitable sales without fear!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rootedandfree.co
- Instagram: @heykaterogers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heykaterogers
- Other: www.shoprootedandfree.co
www.gatheredbyrf.com
