Five Bits and pieces from March

Happy (almost) Easter!  What a month I had!  Here's a recap of my month. I did this in January and think it's fun. Let me know if you like it and I'll try to keep it up!
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One Win: This was an emotional, big change! Some of you may know that I started Eli’s Coffee Shop when I was 24.  This had been a ‘retirement dream’ from the time I was 16.  But, when I was 24, the PERFECT building for it came up for sale in Morton, Illinois and I jumped on the opportunity. At the time I was working a full time, VERY busy job as a loan officer during the mortgage boom of the early 2000’s.  I was already working 50+ hours a week at that.  For about 18 months I did both; my day job and also starting and running this new busy coffee shop.  I was married to my first husband at the time and I firmly believe that opening Eli’s was the final straw that led to our divorce.  It brought all of our struggles and issues to the surface to rear their ugly head. Needless to say, it was an incredibly stressful time but I’m still so, so thankful my 25 year old self went through those challenges.  


Eli’s ended up being really successful. It’s not often small businesses, let alone food based businesses, make it for more than a few years. It is HARD. Margins are low, you’re relying on lots of (usually) young employees that you need to mentor and it’s a lot of long hours.  I had wonderful employees but many of them were still teenagers with big emotions and learning to do.  One employee in particular, Rachel, was whip smart and although she was valedictorian of her high school class and in college, just kept coming back to work for us.  By this time we had our son Finn and I was REALLY struggling to do it all.  He was super active and I didn’t make enough to justify daycare, nor did I want to go that route with him.  I was trying to be a stay at home mom while also running Eli’s.  

I was exhausted.  

Finally the conversation opened up between Rachel and I about her and her husband purchasing the business. This was the best case scenario. She knew the business really well after being there for so long and was motivated to take it to the next level.  Over the next couple of years, they bought the business from us so I could step back.  They’ve been running it now for about nine years and it’s so exciting to see it growing and thriving!  This entire time though we still owned the building that the original location was in at 205 W Jefferson St in Morton.  It’s just the sweetest house, built in 1860.  Cozy and cute with tons of character.  Last year though they approached us about purchasing the building to make some major renovations. The selling process took a super long time due to their busy schedule and banks being really backed up but finally, this March 15th, we finally closed on the sale.  I was pretty emotional at the beginning when we first signed the sales contract to begin the process but over the past few months have grown very comfortable with it.  It’s nice to finally have that full separation and just be able to enjoy Eli’s for what it is: a wonderful coffee shop in a small town.  

Eli’s changed the way Morton’s downtown looks and the entire vibe. When I decided to open it, we were definitely on the outskirts of downtown.  Nobody really went down Jefferson street for any purpose.  Now, it’s lined with other businesses and a new multi-use development.  It’s vibrant and looks completely different.  I have a lot of pride in what I did, taking that big leap and risk and working as hard as I did, but it’s nice to close that chapter and enjoy the fond memories.

A Quote I’m Pondering: “What would I do if I knew I wouldn’t fail?” When I opened Eli’s I found this quote on a small, tin sign and hung it in the restroom. I felt it was so fitting. I knew that the answer for me was “open a cute coffee shop.” As I have moved on from that I have found myself asking that question again and again. I’ve done this from time to time in my life and of course did it when I decided to come a Certified Divorce Coach.  It’s such a great way to align our motives.  For example, if I asked myself today, “would I run a marathon if I knew I wouldn’t fail?” and I have to say, the answer is a resounding “No.”  That does not interest me.  “Would I climb Mount Everest if I knew I wouldn’t fail?” Again, nope. “Would I homeschool my kids if I knew I wouldn’t fail?” No.  

I think it’s a great question to ask ourselves to check if we are having a fleeting, random idea or if it’s a deeply rooted goal of ours.  It also gets us thinking about what success, or NOT failing at a goal looks like to us.  I made LOADS of mistakes with Eli’s. Hundreds. Too many to count.  In the beginning I didn’t understand how it worked to use suppliers for items and I spent hours at the grocery store and running back and forth.  Many times I underestimated how much some of my employees needed me to be their role model and as a substitute parent, although frankly I did not have the extra energy usually and not sure I would have been able to even if I had realized it then.  

But what if every time I made a mistake I gave up? What if I quit? Failure of Eli’s didn’t look like small mistakes to me because I had a strong vision in mind of what success looked like to me and I didn’t let the hiccups get in the way.  

I ask this same question during my free consults. “What results do you want the most?” “What does success look like to you?  It’s easy to give up during the process. It’s easy to get frustrated with the small hurdles and hiccups and wonder if it was just easier to not have ripped off the proverbial band-aid in the first place. 

Do you have any goals or dreams nudging you? Ask yourself this question. Send a message to me. I'd love to hear about it!

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What I’m doing when I'm not hiking: My sister recently organized a small book club of professional women and I love the structure. I’ve been part of book clubs before but they always meet at night and usually involve a lot of wine.  We’re meeting over lunch and everyone has to get back to work so the drinking will be zero or kept to a minimum I’m sure.  Our first book is Happiness Falls and we actually will meet today to talk about it.  I’d probably rate it a 7 on a 10 point scale. Not sure I’d recommend it out but it is captivating and I actually learned a lot about people who are non-verbal.  

I tried really hard to read the Sand County Almanac. I wanted to love this book.  I’m a big naturalist and this book is referred to so many times by other authors and nature lovers.  But I just couldn’t get into the rhythm of it.  I finally stopped at about 85% and returned it.  

Our next book is Cloistered which I heard about on NPR.  It’s the true story of a lady who joined a convent after her father died but then left after a decade or so. I’m anxious to hear about her experience with two contrasting lives!

What are you reading right now?  I’m always looking for good books to add to my rotation! Leave a comment and I'll check it out!

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Personal Note: Speaking of convents, my husband and I have started a new passion project (how’s that for a transition??)  We don’t currently attend a place of worship but for a few years now I’ve been curious what it would look like to attend a different place each week and blog about it. I mentioned this to Ben around the New Year when we did our modified, joint vision board. My problem was that I hated to leave my family every Sunday morning to do this.  He encouraged me to try it for a month and see how it goes, which felt attainable.  A few days later though he told me he’d like to join me and wondered how I’d feel about doing it as a podcast. I had not even considered that idea because of the technology side of things but loved it!  So, we now have ‘Branches of Faith’ where we visit a different place of worship each week (usually) and talk about it. We have interviewed a few church leaders and hope to do more. We’ve hit a few snags with illnesses, travel and one lost episode but love the direction we are going with this. If you check it out, let me know!  And if you have a place of worship you think we should definitely visit, please send leave a comment and I’ll add it to our list!

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Client Review: “I am so, so thankful for a friend’s referral to Katie! I felt I had a pretty good grasp on the divorce process but did not trust my ex enough to not throw some curveballs.  I hired Katie to be another set of eyes and ears, to reassure me that I was not overlooking anything. She ended up exceeding this expectation! She gently nudged and kept me on task. She suggested other options to consider when I was uncertain.  She provided recommendations for great, local resources. She listened through my tears, my frustrations, and my worries!  She was so easy to work with and to talk to!  She has been a true blessing and calm through the end of my (marriage) storm!”

I’ve been really busy this year with new clients and I finally got my cWork With Katieourse moved over to be hosted completely on my website!  I’m pretty proud of all of this because of the tech side of things and I think it’s pretty slick.  My course is such a reasonable way for men and women to understand the divorce process if they need information BEFORE they make a decision to divorce or if they need a much more budget friendly way to work with me.  I know a lot of times people are nervous to start the divorce process because they don’t know what’s ahead or what to expect. But it also feels scary and expensive to meet with a lawyer to ask questions. It just makes it so much more ‘official.’  Or they don’t know what to ask of the lawyer.  Or they don’t have the money to even pay for a consultation.  My course is only $299 and goes over EVERYTHING.  That way anyone who is thinking about divorce can have a clear picture of what the divorce path looks like in a confidential, budget friendly way. 

Even though I’m located in Central Illinois, I still have clients all over the country.  It’s so fun to see where people live that find me, and once they do, I end up with a pod of referrals (Bismarck, North Dakota, I’m looking at you!) It’s such a cool experience to then be connected to lawyers, therapists and mediators in an area that I’ve never even visited, although I'm hoping to plan a stop on a summer road trip this year!  

Well, that’s it for March!  Thanks for reading and leave a comment to let me know what you've been up to! I always love hearing from people who read my blog!

XO
Katie

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