Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katie Wires. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katie, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I love the flexibility that being a business owner allows me! I love being my own boss and getting to set my own schedule. However, being a business owner can be difficult in terms of motivation and responsibility. As far as motivation goes, when you are your own boss, no one is giving you a deadline; you are responsible to set your own deadlines and goals, and then make sure you stay on top of them! Time management is crucial in this area. With responsibility, you really do carry the entire enterprise on your own shoulders. Especially in a young company, I am the CEO, Social Media Manager, writer, creator, tax official, keeper of the finances, etc. I have people who I can reach out to for their expertise, but it largely falls on my shoulders, and that can be overwhelming at times. Again, time management is key, as well as, not being about the business all the time. You need to have healthy rhythms and know when to walk away or take a break. My goal is definitely financial independence, but it will take some time to get there. You really have to know your “why.”

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Our clients have always come from networking. I live in the South, and I have learned that the phrase, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is frustratingly accurate. I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, so walking back into professional spaces was daunting. In addition, many conservative, religious spaces struggle with seeing women as authority figures. So, I was definitely at somewhat of a disadvantage when I was trying to make connections and work towards a sale.

My clients have ended up always coming as a recommendation from someone who knew me – a pastor friend, a professor from seminary, someone else in this field. Very rarely has a cold call resulted in a sale. Which is why it is so important for me to recommend other women, and especially, women of color, as often as I can! I want to be able to do for other women what others did for me.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I have only one business partner, but we were friends first. To a small extent, I can see why people would say that being friends first may complicate things and make difficult conversations even harder, but in this field, being friends first was vital. I am a white woman, and my business partner is a Black woman, who also happen to be about ten years younger than I am – we have cultural difference, racial differences, and age differences. If we didn’t have the basis of genuine friendship first, we would not have been able to navigate the inevitable tensions that arise in DEI work. We have each other’s backs, even when we disagree, and we are each other’s safe space. We know that our friendship will extend far beyond anything that happens with this business.

Contact Info:

• Website: TheReconciliationGroup.com
• Instagram: @TheReconciliationGroup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-wires-25a54321b/