Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathy Young. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kathy, 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.
I think “finding purpose” can be a loaded term. It’s positioned as if it’s a defining, all-inclusive, one-time answer that we submit to for the rest of our lives. I say that because it’s something I used to believe for the longest time. It’s even more dangerous to believe that our purpose is somehow directly tied to our vocation (also not true).
As humans, we are much more nuanced than that. We are constantly growing, changing, and evolving the further we venture into our work endeavors. We find purpose less in the work we do day in and out, and more through the person we’re becoming *through* our work, our interactions, and, our relationships.
For me, it’s been helpful to have a time-bound, seasonal purpose rather than an all-encompassing one. That usually means asking myself questions like, “In this season of life, what should I be focusing on?” This is usually centered around what’s going on personally, and how I can be deeply attentive to it.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
As a website copywriter and brand messaging strategist, I help you find connections between your story and your ideal client’s story. Then I use those insights to help you express that story through online marketing and throughout your website. This typically takes place in three stages:
1. CRAFTING YOUR BRAND STORY
To understand your story, I start by asking a lot of questions. Sometimes you’re so close to the work you do, that you don’t think it’s special or significant. You don’t realize how different your work is because you’re in the business and doing it every day.
I bring in a different perspective that takes note of interesting parts of your process or the story behind why you started your business. From there, I help you figure out how to communicate your founder’s story in a marketing version that connects with your ideal customer.
2. HELPING YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
Getting clear on your ideal customer is also a huge part of what I do. If your message doesn’t have your ideal customer in mind, no matter what you say or promote, it won’t inspire them to engage or buy from you. That’s why I gather market research to understand what people are actually saying about your product or service.
I literally get to hear other people’s experiences, their needs, their pain points, and their desires, so that through your marketing, you can address them directly.
By the time someone reads your content, the goal is for them to say “Yes, they get me! This is exactly what I’m looking for.”
3. GETTING YOUR MESSAGE OUT THERE
Once we’ve crafted your story and conducted research to understand your ideal audience, that’s when I help you come up with the words to market yourself online.
For the most part, I specifically help people do this by writing the words on their website.
But my services range anywhere from full-service brand messaging + website copywriting to auditing your current website and content strategy to see what’s working and how it can be improved. Overall, what I do isn’t just putting words on a page or screen. It’s pulling your audience into an experience that gets them excited to engage with you and become loyal customers of your business.
The part I love most about my work is, well, getting to hear other people’s stories.
I know that sounds so cliche. But it’s so inspiring hearing why people do things the way they do and to understand the passion behind their work.
For me, coming alongside a small business owner to reassure them that yes, the work they do is indeed special — and helping them communicate their story so other people know how special it is — never gets old.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Oh goodness, it’s so hard to nail it down to just three. But if I must, I would say these three make it to the top of my list:
1. PURSUE YOUR VERSION OF SUCCESS, NOT SOMEONE ELSE’S
Everyone is pursuing the version of success that best suits their lifestyle and personal aspirations. Stick with yours.
And it should serve as your internal compass with literally every action you make in your business or life. I can’t tell you the amount of time and money I wasted trying to follow someone else’s “templated” path to success because I never took the time to really define my own. Or how many times I attempted things in my business that I was told by others would “get me to the next level”, only to feel a gnawing discomfort in my chest because I knew it wasn’t right for *me*.
Owning a business is the ultimate test of integrity and values because it constantly will see how far you’re willing to stray from your original definition of success. In my favorite musical, Alexander Hamilton, he says to a flakey Aaron Burr, “If you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?”
And it’s true. Our values, definition of success, and personal convictions act as a North Star that guides us forward. Without them, we don’t really stand for anything (and will likely fall for everything).
It’s helped me to have a group of people in my corner grounding me when I’m tempted to go down a spiral or chase the wind. Because the truth is anyone can reach success with numbers, revenue, or recognition. But unless your success is an overflow of what aligns with you most, it doesn’t matter.
2. IT WILL TAKE LONGER THAN YOU THINK
Sometimes, people are lucky in that they have a clear picture of exactly what they want, they follow through with it and achieve that vision on time (or in record time).
But most of us are prone to wander down a wrong path or two until we really know what it is we *want* and *don’t* want in our lives and businesses.
Detours are normal. Unwinding paths are necessary. It’s tempting that they lead to nothing but bruised egos and wasted time. But really, they allow us to become more of the person we’re meant to be in preparation for the season ahead.
Be okay with uncertainty. Learn to thrive in it. That’s where the breakthroughs happen.
3. FUN, WHITESPACE, AND PLAY ARE MANDATORY
I honestly had no idea how necessary this was until my last year of business when I booked a spontaneous trip to Arizona for a business conference to meet a now dear friend in person (one that I had only met online a few months prior).
There’s this assumption that solid work comes directly from the hard-earned sweat on our brows. And don’t get me wrong, there are aspects of our work that won’t necessarily leave us feeling inspired. The saying “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”? Totally false. You will work, constantly.
But at the same time, we can’t forget to smile, laugh, and enjoy the process along the way. We can’t forget to leave space for serendipity to tap us on the shoulder. Pursuing an entrepreneurial lifestyle should be joyful and pleasurable. It’s up to us to be good stewards of our time and gifts to make that possible. Otherwise, why would we go through all this trouble of owning our own business in the first place?
Tap into that childlike wonder in your work. It’ll keep you curious, light on your feet, and thinking in ways you never thought of before. Plus, a good story is bound to come out of it.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I’m not quite sure I’m at the full growth and improvement phase quite yet, but rather, happily in the messy middle 🙂
At the time of submitting this, I’m currently pregnant with my first baby girl. A huge reason why I became an entrepreneur is because I’ve always dreamed of my business holding me through life transitions, much like this one. And I’m grateful I can reap the fruits of my labor over the past four years, seeing how far my business has come.
However, now that this time is finally here, I’ve had a lot of “come to Jesus” moments in terms of being brutally realistic about what I’ll actually be capable of once my little girl arrives. In many ways, the business I’ve built will primarily at its core stay the same, But it will also need to change in terms of capacity and overall vision (which is something that I honestly wasn’t expecting). Here I am thinking I’ve built a pretty spacious business model, only to realize this white space will soon be taken up by this new season of parenthood (and for good reason).
It’s tricky being in a season like this. Because while there has been plenty of brainstorming, there’s only so much you can plan. You won’t really know what a “new normal” looks like, or how to settle into one, until you’re in it. But over the past several months, I’ve learned to be kind and gracious toward myself. I’ve learned to sit with the discomfort of the unknown. And rather than be riddled with anxiety, I’ve learned to joyfully anticipate the beautiful moments I have in store for my changing business and growing family.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rekindle_communications
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-young/
Image Credits
Rachael Leigh Photography – https://rachaelleighphotos.com/
