We were lucky to catch up with Brooke Thies recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brooke, appreciate you joining us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

Inclusivity in the entrepreneurial space is definitely essential for us to focus on if we are going to truly grow as a society! Running a women+ networking group in Kansas City (Badass Women+ Today), one of our core values is to bring together an inclusive community. The more we welcome everyone to the table, the more we learn from each other.

My journey to inclusion was really jarring for me. I grew up in southern Nevada, on the border of Arizona and Utah. Majority of our population in our small town was either Mormon or Hispanic, and we were pretty sheltered from more liberal and progressive viewpoints. So, when I moved to New Jersey for college, I was pretty shocked when I quickly learned that there are so many different viewpoints and cultures out there. Even though I wouldn’t have any ill intention, even using a certain phrasing or word could genuinely hurt someone.

From there on, I just absorbed experiences where I didn’t feel like I belonged. I couldn’t, and still can’t, even fathom having to feel that every single day. Knowing that I am part of the majority, I knew that I had to help facilitate inclusivity in a way that comes from a true place of love and acceptance.

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.

I am the CEO of Badass Women+ Today, a rising networking and community organization focusing on bringing resources, collaboration, community, and inclusivity to the entrepreneurial space in the Kanas City area. Many entrepreneurs, especially women, lack the knowledge and access to resources that would help them excel in their businesses; we are fixing that gap and bringing a welcoming environment, free of judgement, for women to show up as themselves as they are growing as entrepreneurs and people.

My entrepreneur start begun with marketing consulting! I’m a marketing strategist that specializes in creating custom marketing plans for women+ entrepreneurs. I focus on crafting a marketing strategy, diving into social media, lead generation, digital marketing, event planning, and even networking that is authentic to the individual and their business. My passion lies with helping women dive into the mindset of their business to overcome mental blocks that prevent them from truly sticking to a marketing plan that works for them.

I am so proud of being able to empower other women to find their voice, their confidence, their tribe. I can’t wait until we can expand and spread this amazing group to other cities, fostering an abundance mindset, and banding women together.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My first marketing experience happened when I was 16. After going through a bad breakup, I did what any normal highschool girl would do: started a Pokemon Facebook fan page. In less than a year (in like 2012), I grew my followers to over 10k. I took a lot of small steps to build a foundational and interactive community: I visited other pages that were around my size, started building friendships (who knew I was networking), I interacting with their fans, as a positive cheerleader. Naturally, people checked out my page!

I then created stronger relationships with pages that were slightly bigger than mine and repeated the same process. Eventually, enough people are chatting and see your name enough that keeping up with providing content was the next step (times were easier for algorithms back then).

When I received a Facebook group that inspired Badass Women+ Today, it was pretty silent, engagement was low. I repeated that same process. I slowly started making friends with individuals and reacted with them in public, being a cheerleader. I followed their pages and boosted them up. Eventually the energy started spreading and in less than 6 months, we turned this Facebook group of 3200 into a group with 4300 women+ entrepreneurs in Kansas City AND it is now making money.

Making those genuine but intentional relationships not only helps spread positivity in the world, but people begin to recognize your name, want to be nice and comment on your stuff, spread the world, help you out in any way. (Heck, someone just offered me a free branding session because I celebrate her work to people!)

Have you ever had to pivot?

This last year and a half has been absolutely insane for me in my life today. I had a baby, less than two weeks of maternity leave (PTO) after an emergency c-section, and then went through a hold realization that I can’t work 50 hours a week in person while having a baby less than three months old.

I tried to quit, got a raise and every wish I could ever get, but I started to notice it slipping back. I relaunched my marketing consulting side gig and started Badass Women+ Today (BAW+) while balancing my full-time job. My boss started to tighten the grips on me, becoming more controlling and toxic. I lost 10 lbs in less a month in a half from not eating due to stress, mostly from my full time gig. I took a vacation, came back and got scolded for being behind on my work, and I just broke down.

I quit without having a backup plan. I decided that I was going to make my businesses work, give myself 60 days, then just get a job back in food management if I had to. Remarkably, the pivot towards something I was more passionate about has accelerated my personal and professional growth!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brookethies.com
• Instagram: @brookedthies
• Facebook: Thies Strategy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookethies/

Image Credits

Maegan Kabel from Gumball Revue