Meet Brooke Koeninger

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brooke Koeninger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brooke below.

Hi Brooke, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?

Self-care is so incredibly important and has been an evolution for me. I talk about how I had outsourced my identity to 1) being a mom and 2) my professional identity (i.e. – my title and company I worked for). But, I had lost complete sight of who I was, and what I wanted. At the heart of it, that is what self care is. REAL self care is about knowing your needs and wants, and working towards making sure those needs are met. I had lost sight of what I wanted, and joked that I had no time for a hobby. I’m a mom of 3, afterall. But as I did my own internal work, I realized that was a poor excuse. I wasn’t showing up as the best version of myself for my family or for my job. I was bending myself to please others, but at the end of the day, I was burned out, frustrated, had little patience and found myself in a constant state of reactivity…instead of a calm, proactive approach to my relationships, and daily actions.

Enter my internal work, which kicked off around the pandemic. I started to learn what I enjoyed. What activities filled me up, which drained me of energy. I learned not to judge myself when I didn’t want to do something, or when I felt tired. I listened to my body. I learned that by giving myself what I needed, I actually had MORE energy, MORE creativity, I was happier and ultimately, more productive. This is why understanding yourself is at the core of my methodology at Scale With Clarity. The clarity piece doesn’t just apply to clarity in how to grow your business…it also applies to being clear with your needs and wants. Because as I’ve learned, without it, you’ll work yourself ragged trying to obtain what you think will bring happiness…and ultimately burn yourself out in the process. And oftentimes, it may not be what you want in the end. Knowing yourself and ensuring those needs are met is also so important as you grow a business, because it allows you to know what areas you want to lean into within your business, and what areas you want to outsource or hire for, when the time is right. And with that knowledge, you’re a better leader, role model and parent.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

After years of climbing the corporate ladder, while simultaneously growing my family (3 kids), I realized I had completely lost myself in the process. Maybe I never really knew.

In the spring of 2021, I left my corporate job, after decades of checking off professional accomplishments that I thought would bring ultimate happiness, taking on more responsibilities at work and home, constantly prioritizing my job and parenting responsibilities and slowly losing myself in the process.

I was feeling burned out, overworked and certain that work could feel inspiring and not draining. It was then that I began a journey to rediscover myself and work that made me feel fulfilled, motivated and happy. Because I’ve always believed that when women live their most authentic, fulfilled lives, they can be unstoppable.

I launched my consulting practice, Scale With Clarity, in April 2021, with a focus on leveraging my background in strategy, finance and operations to help female, passion led entrepreneurs grow their small businesses from 6 to 7-figures. I focus on helping them get comfortable with their business financials and plot a tactical path to growth, that aligns with their true nature and passion, while prioritizing self-care.

What I’ve discovered on my entrepreneurial journey was that following your passion and prioritizing yourself and your happiness creates a ripple effect. I am more peaceful, my stress is lower, my relationships are better and I’m doing work that I love.

By leaning into my happiness, my authentic nature, and what really interests me…I’ve grown in ways I couldn’t imagine.  I’ve met people who are completely aligned with me professionally.  I’ve had way more impact that I ever could have before.  And best of all, my relationships with my kids, my husband, and myself are better than ever.

I want that for every woman.  And I know it’s within reach.  You just need to start.

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?

1. Know yourself. Spend time with yourself. Go inward each day and ask yourself what you REALLY want. This has been an ongoing journey for me. Tactically, completing a values exercise started me on the path. It showed me how far off I was in certain areas of my life, based on what my true value system needed. It gave me a place to start. I also need to remind myself daily to check in with what I want. My natural tendency is to crowd source decisions, especially the difficult ones. But that has shown me time and again, that never ends up with me heading down the right path for me. Listen to your gut. It will be very quiet at first. But you’ll get to know it more and more. Finally, understanding my human design (a relatively new assessment to understand your natural tendencies and responses), has helped me to navigate decisions, as I was still learning to go inward.

2. Surround yourself with community of like-minded women. Once I understood what I really wanted and valued, I picked tactical goals that I wanted to accomplish either personally or professionally, and purposely surrounded myself by women who were on a similar journey or even a little ahead of me, and trying to accomplish similar things. Community in any aspect is a core human need, so consciously surrounding yourself with a community that will motivate you, keep you accountable, lift you up when needed and teach you has been one of the most impactful growth levers in my journey.

3. Finally, get used to discomfort and look at it as a sign of growth and evolution. Every person’s journey to professional happiness and fulfillment will have periods of discomfort, uncertainty and lack of clarity. But you choose your discomfort. If we shy away from that feeling, we keep ourselves small, and ultimately not fulfilled. No happy, successful, content person has ever avoided discomfort, but if we lean into it, learn to understand what it is telling us, it will be our guide to the most expansive, fulfilled life.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

I love working with passion led, female entrepreneurs, who are looking to scale past 6-figures. Those women who have a deep desire to deliver their service to the world, whether they be creatives, coaches, consultants, healers, etc. They’ve found themselves with some professional success because they’re really good at the services they provide. But now, they find themselves with a need to really look at their business and focus on some of the areas that maybe drain them of their creativity and energy. The finances, the operations, the systems.

That’s where I come in. I partner with women to help them get clear on their business finances, and create a solid plan to build the business of their dreams while still keeping focus on what their personal needs and desires are. Because getting to know the person behind the business, their dreams, their fears, their struggles is as important as the tactical steps we will take to support the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scalewithclarity.com
• Instagram: @brookekfinance
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-koeninger-2368b35/
• Other: Podcast: Embracing the Messy Middle