We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kasey Marie a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kasey, appreciate you joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

Navigating the unique business path within our Christian Women Entrepreneurs community, we adopt a different approach than the norm. Our ventures are more than just businesses; they reflect our divine calling, an avenue to channel our spiritual gifts to those the Lord has called us to serve.

Reflecting on Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:57, “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house” (KJV), it’s clear that seeking recognition or support from our closest circles may not always align with our mission.

More often than not, our friends and family may not fully grasp the depth and beauty of our calling or the incredible gifts we’ve been blessed with to serve God’s kingdom. This isn’t to say they don’t care for us, but rather, they may not be the audience destined to benefit from our work. This is why I passionately believe in looking beyond our immediate circles, casting our nets wider to connect with the hearts we’re meant to touch—those we’ve been called to serve.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

At the heart of my mission lies a deep passion for empowering Christian women to discover their true calling. Through this discovery, they create community-based and online programs that not only resonate with their core values but also illuminate their path. Being a personal development coach, my own spiritual growth taught me an invaluable lesson early on: We are infinitely more than our past experiences. Indeed, it’s the trials we’ve survived that sharpen our purpose. They are a training ground for our true calling.

For many Christian women, the genesis of their businesses is rooted in their most challenging moments. During these times, their faith was all they had to hold onto. It’s a common misconception that validation from external sources — be it family, academic institutions, business circles, mentors, or even social media metrics — is necessary to mark our achievements. However, true fulfillment of our life’s calling comes from an internal affirmation. A declaration that we are qualified simply because we have persevered. Despite the ordeals we faced, we retained our sanity and our lives. This makes survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault the best advocates. Similarly, the woman who once faced homelessness yet mastered budgeting and hard work to secure her own home stands as the ultimate guide for others navigating similar paths.

The epiphany that birthed my approach sprang from understanding the message of John 10:10, a scripture dearly cherished by us at Women Dream Builders. It speaks of an enemy whose intent is to rob us of our essence but contrasts this with Jesus’s promise of life — a life overflowing with abundance. This abundance isn’t reserved for the afterlife or a distant future when Jesus returns; it is available here and now, as affirmed by Jesus. This principle of living abundantly through our calling and not merely viewing entrepreneurship as a business venture sits at the core of Women Dream Builders.

Our primary aim is to guide women toward a life of abundance, aligning entrepreneurship with their divine calling and spiritual gifts. Thus, we emphasize identifying one’s calling and purpose before venturing into product or service development. It’s crucial to ask oneself: What is my calling? What purpose does it serve? Who has God anointed me to help? These foundational questions guide our mission to inspire, empower, and transform lives through purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

We’ve all experienced the disappointment of sharing something deeply personal or investing considerable time in creating content only to be met with silence. Yet, based on my experiences, I’ve learned that your audience is paying attention. In the early days of my growth journey, long before my calling morphed into a business, I started an online prayer group.

Through a single social media post, a woman I had never met attended our first Zoom meeting and remained a steadfast participant. It took her over a year to hire me as her coach. Despite the initial struggles, she steadfastly supported every initiative, joined all my groups, followed my business pages, and actively contributed to our private community discussions.

In a touching moment of affirmation, a former supervisor from my early career in child welfare sent me a picture of a sticky note with quotes I had shared about goal achievement she kept on her computer.

Darling, I know it’s a struggle. People are doing all kinds of social media tricks, and here you are coming with a hope and a prayer, but People are watching, absorbing, and will respond when the time is right. Stay true to your mission, and the clients you are meant to serve will find their way to you. We are not looking for vanity metric, we are looking for those God called us to serve. Remember, it only takes that one client and that one opportunity to change the trajectory of your business. Stay committed to the outcome.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In Episode Four of the Women Dream Builders Podcast, titled “Spiritually Sustained Success: Overcoming the Five Pitfalls of Christian Entrepreneurship,” I dove deep into a critical barrier many Christian women entrepreneurs face: the deceitfulness of the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 warns us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This scripture highlights the challenge of navigating our callings with a heart that can often mislead us.

My personal journey taught me the significance of the heart-mind connection—a force that can be both a hindrance and a helper. It’s easy to become entangled in negative self-talk, with your inner voice convincing you of potential failure, questioning your qualifications, and suggesting you’re better off indulging in distractions rather than working on your business. Overcoming this means doing the exact opposite of what your heart suggests.

Many budding entrepreneurs believe a lack of creativity or know-how holds them back, but the real shortfall is in fortitude. The ability to stand firm and say “no” to your heart’s misleading impulses is crucial. Despite the common advice to “follow your heart,” I’ve learned that this can be dangerous advice. Your heart can undermine your dreams and calling if you allow it to have too much power.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://womendreambuilders.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachkaseymarie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womendreambuilder
• Other: Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/women-dream-builders Blog: https://forimperfectwomen.com