Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamilah Martin.

Hi Kamilah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I look back on myself as a kid, I was always trying to figure things out, trying to make things “better,” wanting to make sense of why things were the way they were…and if they didn’t make sense to my 7, 8, 9 year old brain, would question why they couldn’t be done differently.

That curiosity and precociousness stayed with me throughout life–for better or for worse–allowing me to experience, build, create, fail at, learn from so many incredible experiences.

I was a business major as an undergad, and went on to spend over two decades of my career in the nonprofit sector, tinkering and toying away with my entrepreneurial spirit by my side the entire time. Following earning an MPA through the National Urban Fellows program, I worked my way up to the executive level in the nonprofit space. I started my own nonprofit and several businesses over the years.

I now find myself in full-on entrepreneur mode as the founder & CEO of Katalyst.

My live as a whole has been quite a journey.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenge for me as a solopreneur has been bootstrapping investment into our growth.

It costs money to grow and scale. That’s a fact. The money I earn from my consulting work, goes towards paying for me and my kids to live, and the rest has gone towards investing into Katalyst (our retreats, our administration & operations, our infrastructure), while we figure out our early stage growth.

What we haven’t earned yet to keep up with our fairly lean expenses, has come out of my pocket…from my savings and retirement. We are currently in year three of entrepreneurship (year two doing it for REAL), and we’re forecasting for solvency by the end of the year.

Some get help from family & friends, some get support from grants, some do traditional bank loans, some do crowdfunding, some attempt VC (though the statistics for anyone but white males looking for VC is still abysmal…improving, but still pretty vastly gross disparities).

The fact of the matter is building a business costs money the first several years. Often times more than you will be able to bring in as you’re figuring things out. If I were to do it again, I’d focus on cashflow and keep a keen eye on profit–not only revenue, but profit.

There’s a lot of mindset things that you MUST work through constantly around all of this.

We’ve been impressed with Katalyst, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Katalyst is the premier global membership community empowering Black women and women of color in their transition from nonprofit 9-5 employees to independent consultants.

Imagine the impact of being part of a community where every member is dedicated to lifting each other up and driving one another (and the clients we each support!) towards ‘thrivation.’ That’s the ethos we embody at Katalyst—a culture of collaboration and camaraderie that sets us apart from everyone else.

With a mission to address the disparities faced by Black women and women of color entrepreneurs, we provide a safe and nurturing environment where members can find their people, share expertise, and build together.

In the company, I work on the big picture vision; the strategy; making sure our members and clients are taken care of; and our measured and intentional growth.

As a consultant, I also support organizations as an interim executive consultant when a senior leader resigns or is fired and, having led successful global, remote teams and partnerships since 2012, I also have a 5-day offering where I advise on remote/hybrid team optimization using my tested and proprietary framework.

We also host affirming events globally for our community, where the #1 goal is to curate spaces that center our elevation, our peace, and our joy.

My biggest core values are community, integrity, compassion, equity, ease, and fun.

The world is tough. I want Katalyst to be a sanctuary where folks can exhale while doing the work. I am most proud that everything we do creates safe space that invites everyone we come in contact with (our members, our clients, our partners) to be who they are…be fully human, try and fail, grow, and hopefully learn what it means for them to be their best selves and thrive.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
One of the #1 challenges facing the nonprofit sector as a whole is retention. “The Nonprofiteers” (https://www.thenonprofiteers.com/sisr) launched a Social Impact Staff Retention survey in 2023.

“When respondents were asked if they are looking for a new job, or will be this year, 74.2% said yes — compared to an all-industry average of 65%. Only one-third (34.7%) of those who responded “yes” definitively plan to stay working in nonprofits; the remaining 65.3% said “no” or were “unsure.”

Of those with fewer than 10 years of professional experience, 82% are/will be looking for new jobs. For those with more than 10 years of experience, that figure drops to 69%.”

This is a big deal. People in the social good sector are looking for options, and the truth is, many people have more of them now than ever before.

I believe that the way we work is changing. I see it everyday at the executive levels inside of all of the organizations I consult with. Organizations can either try their best to hold on, white-knuckled, to the ways of yore, or get with the program and evolve. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It can very much be a “both, and” as we figure out how we’re going to emerge from this transition.

We need to embrace that holding on to traditional models and work systems is going to make organizations miss out on talent that still have a lot to offer (and who want to offer it), just not in our outdated &, frankly, unhealthy models.

Contact Info:

• Website: katalystconsult.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katalystconsult/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamilahmartin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katalyst6178

Image Credits
Kevin Buford Eviana Vergara