Meet Katie Thompson

We were lucky to catch up with Katie Thompson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Katie, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

When I was in junior high school, I enjoyed reading and became engrossed in a book about a young woman who volunteered for a medical mission trip abroad. The idea of volunteerism rooted itself deeply in me, and I started doing what I could in my small community of 300 people. I spent afternoons and weekends at the nearby nursing home and organized toy drives at Christmastime through the local crisis center. I knew I loved helping people from a young age, but I had no idea where that book would carry me in life. I told myself I couldn’t go on a mission trip and leave my family behind for months. I told myself I would only be able to contribute to my local community. I told myself I likely wouldn’t explore the world. Admittedly, I was curious but also afraid of the unknown.

In high school, I decided I would go to college to become an elementary teacher. I spent many hours during my junior and senior years helping in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms, where I fell in love with the idea of shaping young minds. Once in college, I observed classrooms in school districts much larger than the one I grew up in that served students speaking many different languages and instantly I thought, “There is no way I can do this.” I changed my major to business management and thought I would never look back.

Shortly after graduating from college, I found myself desiring to return to an industry that helps people in unfortunate situations. I craved a job I was passionate about. Luck would have it that my aunt was volunteering for an after-school program, and they were hiring a part-time program coordinator. It was a small, grassroots nonprofit agency nestled in the heart of Rock Island, IL, that would open my world back to where I belonged—a life centered on volunteerism and providing opportunities to kids. The irony of this job was that I soon found myself developing programs for English language learners, the exact reason I thought I couldn’t be a classroom teacher. I fell in love with the cultures of “my kids” and loved learning about their native languages, birth countries, and journeys to Illinois. At the time, I didn’t realize that my brain (and heart) were connecting me back to that book I had read so many years prior.

As with most jobs that someone loves, I advanced to the highest position possible as the Executive Director, ran the organization for several years, grew it to serve hundreds of children at multiple locations, and then decided it was time for a change. I joined another local nonprofit focusing on providing out-of-school-time meals to kids. Within a short period, I discovered that the Executive Director was making false claims for the federal grant that supported our program.

I had three choices:
1. Confront her and hope she changed her ways.
2. Quit and never look back.
3. Go to the Board of Directors and share the knowledge I possessed.

I chose option three, not knowing it would lead to some of the most painful and stressful years of my life. I had built my life around giving to people and providing for others. With the path my boss had paved, we were forced to close the program, meaning 30 people would lose their jobs. I knew all these employees well, and knowing they would lose a reliable job was the most painful thought I had. Being from a smaller community, I knew it would be hard to stay in the nonprofit sector, and I had a newborn at home. My husband said, “You should just take some time off, decide what you truly want to do, and bring it to life.”

I decided to put my degrees to use and within months I opened an indoor makers market shopping center that hosted 40 small businesses under one roof. I decided that if I couldn’t work in the nonprofit sector, this would be my way to boost people and give my love to others. I threw myself into the shop and its development.

After a few years of business growth and success, I still felt a gap in my heart. I thought, “I’ll teach. I’ve always been interested in working with college students. I can find an online adjunct professor position,” so I started the job search. A job for a part-time Executive Director of a foundation kept popping up.

I kept ignoring it.

It kept reappearing, and I finally decided, “Whatever, let’s just try it.”

The job description was vague but filled with things I knew I could do, hinting at leading and creating volunteer opportunities in a virtual work setting. After two months of interviewing, I was offered the position.

The primary function of this organization is to lead volunteers on international mission trips to build homes for people in need. The goal is to inspire volunteerism in entrepreneurs and show them different parts of the world, how people live, how we can be go-givers through our businesses, and how to live a life of intentionality.

Can you believe that I am living the life I thought I couldn’t live, inspired by a book I read in junior high? Can you believe that the story was so embedded in me that it became a reality even though I tried to quiet the dream? I found my purpose through reading, being enamored with possibility, and doing my best to live it in a way I thought was feasible. Then, without trying to control the possibility, my purpose smashed its way into my life.

In March 2025, I will lead a 60-person team to Costa Rica to build three homes on my fifth mission trip in less than two years. I had to endure some pretty painful years, a federal trial, the opening of a business (and surviving through COVID shutdowns), and ultimately trusting the journey.

I’m living my dream.

I’m living my purpose.

All because I read a book and fell in love with a story.

P.S. The medical mission the fictional character participated in was based on a real organization. The organization I partner with to build houses was a founding partner of that exact medical mission. Nothing in life is ironic—it’s all part of a beautiful design.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am the owner of a retail shop in LeClaire, Iowa, called THE Clothing Co. The shop’s focus is to provide a space for small business owners to sell their goods in person while keeping overhead costs low. By sharing these costs, including staffing expenses, the business owners can maintain their lifestyles without being tied to a storefront. We specialize in women’s clothing and accessories, and we pride ourselves on creating a multi-generational shopping experience where both a grandmother and a grandchild can find something they love and feel good about.

I envisioned the shop as a space for business owners to test out a brick-and-mortar location, potentially blossom into their own storefront, or stay with us to amplify their sales while selling online or through pop-up locations.

Having an incredible team of staff members allows the shop to stay open seven days a week while giving me the opportunity to work with the 7 Figure Foundation and Global Impact Initiative. Working in the nonprofit sector breathes life into me. After every mission trip, I return with renewed energy to do even more good in the world and to open doors for others to experience the world with me.

Mission trips aren’t about “feeling bad” for people in unfortunate situations; they’re about empowering communities, giving hundreds of people a vision for the future, and providing families with safer living conditions. It’s not about the glamor of international travel—it’s about giving from the deepest parts of your heart to make a meaningful impact on others’ lives.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

My journey has been one of determination and knowing that I can persevere through the cloudiest of cloudy days. I have always had a desire for all people to be respected and treated in love and fairness; my dad taught me that you treat the janitor and the CEO with the same dignity and respect. My time in school from elementary to my masters program instilled in me that we all learn differently and when you are teaching (and leading) to remember that individuals will all hear your words differently and perceive you different as an example. And, finally, in adulthood I realized I won’t be everyone’s shot of whiskey (heck with the cup of tea analogy). Some people love the slow burn of a whiskey and others will instantly turn their head, some people will savor the sips while others shoot it back. Always remember that you might not be everyone shot of whiskey but you will find the people that savor the slow burn.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I am a firm believer that everyone is a different tool in the tool belt. Maybe that contraption where one tool is multi-functioning makes my theory a bit vague and that is fine but even it can’t be every tool needed to complete a job.

I love learning new things and do believe you can be talented in multiple areas but once you find your burning passion and the thing that brings you to life in a great big way then invest yourself in perfecting how to live that life filled with passion. In my life as an entrepreneur and my life as a nonprofit Executive Director I have to do tasks that I don’t love or I’m not as skilled at. There is a time to look at the task and ask yourself “is this a task that I don’t love and that’s why I’m not good, do I need to be skilled in this area, and finally is it time to hire someone who possesses this craft.” You can posses knowledge in an area and choose not to develop it because it doesn’t bring you to life. Life is to short to now live it loudly, passionately, and freely.

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