Hail Mary In Heels - Coach Mikki

The Grill, the Grit, and the Great Pivot - Katrina van Oudheusden- S1E3

• Coach Mikki

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A packed dinner table planted the seed; a roaring Disney kitchen forged the steel. Chef Katrina joins us to share how a love for bringing people together became a career built under pressure, precision, and relentless standards—and why claiming the grill on New Year’s Eve changed everything. From feeding thousands a day to mastering stations and earning respect, her story shows how self-advocacy, preparation, and calm under fire open doors that gatekeepers try to close.

The journey didn’t stop at the pass. When business books started outnumbering cookbooks, she drew a 90-day line in the sand and pivoted into the digital world, carrying Disney’s guest-first mindset into community management and client experience. Within months she rose to lead programs, curriculum, and support, proving that operational excellence and care translate across industries. Along the way, she learned an underrated truth: entrepreneurship can feel isolating unless you build your huddle with intention.

That insight powers Create Her, Katrina’s planner and platform that helps women design their businesses and lives around natural energy cycles, financial clarity, and practical marketing. We talk about moving from competition to collaboration, setting goals that include rest, and leading with relationships instead of transactions. Expect candid lessons on advocating for the hard role, rebuilding community after a leap, and using structure to make courage repeatable.

If this conversation fires you up to ask for the grill, make the pivot, or simply plan with more kindness to your body, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review to tell us the bold ask you’re making this week.

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SPEAKER_01:

Hey, bring it in, bring it in. I'm Coach Mickey and welcome to my field and into my huddle. And uh, if this is your first time on my field, we are so glad that you're here. And I'm excited for you guys here on Hail Mary and Heels because I'm going to bring to you some incredible women that are going to share their comeback stories, their trailbrazers, their breaking glass ceilings. And they've been through a lot of things that we've been through, including myself. So I want to bring this information, this insight, and this love and cheer you guys on and bring the belief to each and every one of you that are here on my field and in my huddle. So, with that being said, let's lace it up. Let's lock it in. And I'm excited to have you on our field today, Chef Katrina. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm doing awesome. I love your intro for this podcast. On the field, lace it up. Oh my God, woman, this is fantastic. I am so honored to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I'm excited to have you. And as we shared uh in prior podcasts, I knew you had a story in you about being a chef at Disney, Disneyland, Disney World. It was, uh I know regardless, I know your journey is going to be something to share that I know other people can probably take away something from it.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. Well, let's dive into it. What questions do you have for me?

SPEAKER_01:

So, well, first of all, I guess my first question, just like anything else, is when did you decide or when did you discover that being a chef was something that you really wanted?

SPEAKER_00:

So what was interesting is I loved taking care of my family. Like I grew up as a child of six. Um my parents have been married for 50 plus years now. And so one of the things when you grow up with a lot of kids in the family is that dinner time. And my parents were fairly rigorous, especially when my mom went back to work, that dinner was always to be at six o'clock every night. Table was to be set, and all the kids were to be there. And so I grew up with a very like just fun and engaging dinner time. And so for me, I always thought, well, this is great. This is how you bring people together. We would have the kids from the neighborhood come in and out. And I was like, you know, I want to be a chef. I really want to figure out how to get into culinary school. At the time, I was like scared and petrified of it. I also played a sport volleyball. And I was like, well, can I get a full scholarship, play volleyball and you know, major in culinary? Like, is that possible? Um, and so that's really where my journey began is like I really fell in love with cooking as a process of bringing people together. Because I will be honest, leaving my parents' kitchen and stepping into a corporate or into a culinary kitchen to learn, I knew oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, very limited. I had like very few spice skills. And so when you walk into a commercial kitchen in the culinary industry and all of a sudden there's like rows of spices, I was like, oh shh, Nikes. I think I'm in over my head. That was my first experience of stepping into this.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, and that's yeah, and that's stepping out of your comfort zone. And so many of us are like, you know, they won't even get that far because it's something completely different. So again, I celebrate you on that. So let's skip ahead. So you obviously you finished culinary school, you went on, and then uh, where did that journey bring you next? I mean, and it was it and was it what you expected once you left culinary school?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, there's a there's a safety in going into school and being in a classroom environment that I don't think we talk about enough when we go through college. There's this almost safety now, right? You're in a safe place, you see the same people over and over again, you're in a controlled environment in which you're cooking, then all of a sudden you're thrusted into the world of a of a true kitchen, fast-paced, cooking for people that are coming and going. Um, I would say I was prepared and totally unrepared. So I actually went over to Walt Disney World, Florida. So I drove 3,000 miles from California, did not go to Disneyland. That was my playground, and drove all the way over to Orlando, Florida to start my first career in uh the kitchen. And I will say, you know, what was interesting is that it's very much looking back, a male-dominant experience, still even to this day. It is driven by a brigade, it is a military precision experience. Um and I I could I would definitely say I was not prepared um or had any idea that that's what I was walking into, to be honest, or that volume.

SPEAKER_01:

So, what was it like the first time you experienced that? I mean, what what was going through your head?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm not sure I'm cut out for this, to be honest. Um, I'm gonna screw this up. I hope I don't kill anybody, and I hope everything goes out like it's supposed to, because every recipe that you create has a specific like build played up to it. So you have to follow the certain ingredients, the certain thing, because it's got to be the same dish, no matter who cooks it in the kitchen, to go out to the guest. So you're just hoping you don't screw it up, to be honest. And to be to also be honest, the volume that Disney does is incomprehensible to most small business and restaurant owners. You will never experience feeding 9,000 people in a single day in a traditional restaurant, even in a cafeteria or a buffet. You're just never gonna see that type of volume that you do daily as you do at Disney.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, that's huge to jump from college into something that's that intense and and uh of that volume. Yeah. So so now did you find that? Is this something where you just jumped in, or I mean, was it uh was it something you felt overwhelmed with? I mean, so so kind of walk us through what was kind of happening once you got to that that beginning stage, because I know there's always that element of like, what did I get myself into?

SPEAKER_00:

Always that element to be honest. Um, you know what's really, really nice about you know, going, I guess, with Disney and a big company like that is they do have trainers. So you're never left to kind of figure out the recipe on your own. You're given some of the restaurants that I got to work at actually gave me a binder of all the recipes prior to my stepping in into the kitchen. So I had something to reference. Uh, there's always a recipe book nearby. So anything you have to create, you're following the recipe to a tea. So we kind of give you that safety once you kind of figured out where everything was. I think the hardest thing wasn't the food. It was trying to figure out where everything was and what container it went into. Because in at home, you guys have plates, you guys have small measuring cups. We have like six-gallon containers, you know, huge ginormous pans of cooking food, sheet trays that you'll never see in a house kitchen ever. It's just like figuring out the volume size and then matching the product to it, I think was the more challenging piece of being in the kitchen, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01:

How was it how was it when you said, I know you said it's more of a male-dominated area, you know, to walk into this. Uh, were you one of the one of the few or only uh females to be part of this? Or how did that work pan out for you?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, it was interesting depending on the kitchen. So when I first got there, I actually said I preferred an all-male kitchen to an all-female kitchen. Um, the cattiness that would take place in the kitchen and the undermining and the sabotaging was really a shocking piece to find in the kitchen. Uh, and I what I I would say looking back is because we're all competing for that next level that wasn't available to all of us as women. So we were like cutthroat with each other. It was now that I think about it.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. I mean, I mean, can are you at liberty to share a story of something that you can that you can think of off the top of your head that sticks out?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, it's not just one thing, it's a series of things. It would be like somebody not prepping your station or helping you to make sure you succeeded the next day. It would be somebody said, Well, I'm too busy to help you. It was, it wasn't like in your face. It was a more of like ignoring you, and I want to see you fall in your face before I ever give you a hand. Not recognizing that the the most harm you were doing is to the guest, not necessarily to me. Right. But it added a layer of stress to always be at like a performance level, always to be on, always to be striving to do better, always staying late, always picking up extra hours, um, you know, being really asking and like for training and stuff where I feel like a lot of the guys just were automatically developed for the next step. I feel like I really had to ask. It might have even occurred as begging. Um, there was one situation that I distinctly remember, and it was actually New Year's Eve. Um, the restaurant that I was working in at the time, we did um, it was a higher-end restaurant inside the park. We did mass volume. We were expected to do, I think, 1200 in dinner service that night.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. That's a big number, by the way. It's huge, especially for New Year's Eve. Oh my gosh, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so and typically this restaurant does anywhere between seven to eight hundred at the time, right? And I really wanted the challenge of the grill. Like I was working on my grilling skills, and it was like filet mignon, lobster tail, salmon. Um, you had your, and then the plate ups and everything else that came off the grill. And so it's not a one-person job, it's a two, especially for that volume. And I really, really wanted it. And they were like, no, you're not ready for it, you know. And I it felt like they were they're like any other station but that one. Like it had to be a guy that was on grill that day, right? And it was. So I walked in, I was like, what the flock? Like I specifically asked for that. And it was like I had to really plead my case to take over, and I crushed it that night. Like it wasn't even a thought process. I don't think I had but maybe one stake come back out of all of that service. So this idea that we weren't prepared or I wasn't prepared, I felt like I I had to prove myself. Like I couldn't do that type of volume. It belonged to someone else more skilled than me. That was like the fire that lit my butt because I was like, I'm I can do anything the guys can do in here. I can't lift a lot of the crap at the same level they can, but I can definitely have the skill set and the organization to pull off doing that type of volume.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and good for you. And the fact that you actually said you crushed it. You know, and isn't it sad that we have to prove ourselves when you know that your ability or knowledge or skill set is just as good and sometimes not even better than other people? And whether it's male or female, but the fact that you have to even put yourself in that situation in a place that you're already hired to work at and you've already proved yourself and you have to do it the next level. And I'm I'm so happy for you that you did it. So, what had did anything good transpire from that once you did that, or were you still always in a competitive situation where you constantly had to keep proving yourself through this time frame?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I think it's interesting because I feel like I showed proof that I could take care of and maintain my cool under pressure in that type of position and really provide extraordinary customer service from that experience. It gave me a solid a way of self-confidence. And I think it just opened the eyes around me that's like, damn, this this person, she can do it, right? And I would say I got more respect. I think I would I didn't have to prove myself as much. I mean, I actually ended up like moving up into different positions after that. I got to become a sauser and get to learn how to do that type of thing. It's like I showed them that I had mastered the hotline and I was ready to learn the other stations that are available in the kitchen, like butchering, sausier. There's other like different things that you can learn. And so I think that's one of the good things that came out of it is I got to expand my culinary skill in that environment.

SPEAKER_01:

And the fact that you stood up and been, you know, you were kind of your own hero. You had to stand up for yourself. I mean, and I always say a Shiro because we have to, we have to as women. A lot of times it's like there's nobody there that's got your back or or helping you out. And again, you were in a very competitive, you know, world because everybody's trying to get to the next level. And the fact that you stood up for yourself is that's another thing I celebrate with you because a lot of times that we're afraid to do that. I mean, and and we don't, we're afraid what are people gonna think, or I don't know, or you're second guessing. And I what I've learned and I've heard, you know, from from women like you that are extraordinary is that you've got to do it. You've got to, you've got to find the courage within yourself. Otherwise, you're never gonna get there. It's just never gonna happen. No one's gonna do it for you. You have to do it yourself.

SPEAKER_00:

You've got to be able to be able to push and advocate for yourself. I think that's the biggest thing I learned is that as long as I advocate for myself and I don't sit back and not use my voice, then I have the opportunity to step into that. But when I sit there and say, well, this is just the way it is, it's not like, I mean, there's definitely some some barriers that come up. I mean, I got called a bulldog when I switched from hourly into management. I was told I was a little too uh straightforward and I needed to soften my skills. I mean, so there's all sorts of different things that I, you know, bumped up against, but to the the Hail Mary fact, right? The fact that I I threw that wall up in the air. And I know that everybody was waiting for it just to get like collapse or fall, but it's like my team kept caught it around me. We all ran and we finished that night with like you know, high fives. And seriously, I probably went out for drinks. I'm almost positive.

SPEAKER_01:

That's awesome. I love it. I love it, and good for you. I mean, and the fact that people around you were celebrating you also, yeah, you know, and that's you know, that is so important because I think you finally see the people that maybe are too quiet to say anything because they they keep it very um uh suppressed because they don't want to rock the boat, but then all of a sudden somebody comes in like you and goes, No, this is not the way it is, and I'm not gonna accept this. And this is what I want, and this is what I'm gonna do, and I'm gonna fight for it. And then it gives people the strength and the courage to go, well, wait a minute, maybe I can do something else too. And then, you know, they're celebrating you because you become, you know, their their hero. And and I I I love that. And that is one of the things that I think that we need to do more of instead of just shrinking down, and like you said, saying, Oh, that's just the way it is. It's not, it's just we've just been mentally programmed thinking it's the way it is, and history, his story has not caught up with what reality is today.

SPEAKER_00:

Her story is still waiting to be written, uh, or finished documented because it's been written, it just hasn't been documented. Um, so I think part of what you're building here within this podcast is the documentation of what we've done as women in the different areas. And I will say this knowing what I know now, it's fascinating when I talk to women that are that are in leadership roles in the culinary industry, because I'm still really well connected. And what I'm finding is they're redefining what a kitchen is for all women. Instead of like everybody out for each other, like to as like I need to do it myself, they're really in it for each other. Like, how can I help you so that we all win, so that we all get promoted, so that we all learn together. And I find that fascinating that that is the evolution, you know, over 15 years later, that that is actually the conversation that's happening more and more in the kitchens as women are becoming executive chefs, as women are owning and dominating the kitchen environment. That was something that I didn't see a lot of. I only saw male leaders, and to be honest, I saw female chefs, but they were very masculine in nature. I couldn't just say what I saw. Um, but then you know, I just definitely see a more feminine um community approach to kitchen, and I and I see the difference it makes for everyone's morale. Instead of competing against each other, they're really creating a supportive environment. And production goes up, the guest experience goes up, like their ratings across the board are phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01:

That's great, and that's good to hear because I think together, when we come together as women and support each other and lift each other up, you know, we it's we complete, not compete, you know. And and I'm I'm sharing that. I heard that from one of the networking groups I belong to, so that's not mine. That's uh, but that's one of the things they say is that we don't compete, we compete. And I think we need to do that more when we're in environments, and and that you're right. I think when we believe in other people, then they're gonna believe in you and they're gonna lift you up. And again, you're surrounding yourself with with people that are on the same same track, same, same goal, same end zone that they want to get to, and you're kind of bringing your whole team with you. And and I I love that, I really do. So what moving ahead from that and and that that one situation, you know, to find that that self-courage and and belief in yourself. Did that was that a starting point for you to bring? Because I want to I'm gonna move on eventually to what you're doing now, but um leading up to that journey. What were some of the things that you found that you didn't realize about yourself once you started really evolving in that culinary situation?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I think that was the start of recognizing that I had a voice in so many different ways. It was the, you know, advocating for the next level of my education, of my promotion, right? I really stepping into it and then making it my own. I think that was the one thing is that even though I worked in a predominantly, I think my final kitchen that I worked in, so we managed a fast food restaurant, a family style restaurant, and a sit-down uh restaurant. So there were three different kitchens running out of one. And all of the chefs were male except for two of us. There were two of us that actually were the females in the kitchen, and I at that time was actually the only part-time chef. So the part-time positions at Disney were held exclusively by two females at the time. They actually, one of them, the first one, actually I'll bring her story in a little bit. Um, so one of the chefs that I worked with at a previous location, she wanted to go on maternity leave, but still wanted to, or she was, hadn't like she wanted, she was pregnant, she wanted to continue working, but she wanted to know if instead of doing it full-time, she could do it part-time. And they actually let that happen. Um I want to say either was before her pregnancy that she was took the part-time position, and then they brought her back because we are so short-staffed Disney as a part-time. She was the first, I think, female uh part-time sous-chef at the management level. And so it really kind of set the tone of what was possible that yes, you could still be a mother, yes, you could still be a manager in the kitchen and still like perform. And so it really opened the door, I think, for a lot of women inside of that too. So I'm adding that in because I think it's just interesting how it's evolved and the the women that I've touched and who've who've helped me in my journey, right? And so, yeah, I think throughout my career, that one incident like rippled into everything. I didn't hide, I just got more comfortable and confident in who I was, and I didn't let that get redefined by anything in the kitchen.

SPEAKER_01:

That's great. That is so powerful and good for you because a lot of times I like I said, people are afraid to do that. And then they then they wonder why they're stuck and their life is still going. I I have a saying for that stop sitting on the bench in your own life. You know, you can't get out there and play if you want things to change, right?

SPEAKER_00:

You're sitting in the stands as a fan looking down and screwing, gee, I wish I was playing down there. Like, get off, get down, like get on the field. If you don't take the if you never step foot on the field, you can't call yourself a player. And I feel like so many of us are not the players in our own life or the observers. It's tragic but true. You're right, you're right.

SPEAKER_01:

And and I love the fact what you've done. And you have you have not only taken this experience, but I know for what you're doing now, you have evolved. So walk us through. Okay, so you're with when you finally left being a chef or decided to make that change. You never leave being a chef. It's like I never leave being a coach. It's just that you're on you, you use that information and you evolve into something different. So, so when did you start? When did you feel realize, hey, maybe there's a little bit more to me than I'm than what I'm doing here, and I want to make that shift.

SPEAKER_00:

To be honest, I think one of the big shifts for me was when I recognized that I was reading more business books than I was culinary books. Yeah. And I think one of the biggest turning points that was an aha moment for me, and I remember this specifically, is Zig Ziggler had passed. And I walked into the kitchen and I walked into the office and I said, Man, I'm such a sad day. They're like, What happened? I said, Zig Ziggler passed. And every single one of them turned to me and said, Who? And I think that was kind of like the epiphany of like maybe this isn't where I am supposed to be. And yet what I needed, I got there. Like I understood how to talk to people. I understood about you know what the Disney marketing was. I started understanding production at a higher level. I understood how to run a multi-million dollar kitchen. I understood like business infrastructure. So yeah, but that I think was one of the biggest epiphanies. I knew I was in the wrong space. I had been there to learn a skill set to get some experience, but it wasn't my final destination. I wasn't meant to stay in that kitchen, especially when I looked around and I saw some of my peers and some of the people that I worked with in their 70s, 80s, still working. And I was like, I fast-forwarded in my future and I looked into it, peeked into it, and I said, no. This this isn't this isn't defining who I am for the rest of my life. And I think that was my ultimate decision. I sat down with uh a calendar in front of me, and I think it was the beginning of the year. And so I counted 90 days out, and I said, if there's to make a big change, it's gonna happen 90 days from today. I circled the date. I walked into the kitchen that night or that day for my shift. I looked at my chef. I said, How long do you need for me to give notice? He goes, three months. I said, Done. I said, My next day is like this. And he just was floored. He's like, You're actually gonna leave. I said, Yeah. I said, I've been building for something else, and it's time for me to step into that. Not knowing what it was. I literally didn't burn the bridge, but I knew that I wanted to close the gate behind me. And that's where I stepped into the new world of learning what it was to be a digital business, to um, to consult, to take the expertise that I had learned behind that Disney wall and bring it forward into the world. How do you treat people, you know, amazing? How do you provide extraordinary guest and customer service in a digital manner? And you talk about advocating. Remember what I did at the grill and I said, Hey, I want to, I want to fight, I want to do this. Well, I walked into a digital marketing company and said, You need to hire me as your community manager because you don't have anyone that's actually doing this, and I know more about your community than you do. Well, how'd that go? They were like you do, because they actually saw me in the community answering a lot of questions. I knew their course curriculum that I that they were teaching inside and out. I knew where every product was, I knew where every training was. I could direct somebody to a specific course within a or module within a training. And they saw me answering questions and they saw me engaging, and they're like, Yeah, we'll take you on. We'll take you on a 30-day um no-pay kind of apprenticeship type of a thing, right? I was like, that's not what I wanted. Um but you know, you stick with it and you stick with it, and you show up and you do the work and you you continue to provide service. And what ended up happening was really just a blessing. I ended up coming in as their community manager, and within probably less than seven months, I was their director of client experience. I was helping to manage their uh coaching program, their curriculum, their website, their community, their customer support. Like I was in the middle of it all. And I was like, you guys took a chance on a chef, but they didn't take a chance on a chef. I took a chance on myself and I knew what skill set I was bringing to the table. And they were lucky to have someone like me come in and just do what I naturally do, which is take care of people and look for where their gaps are, and then try to find ways to fill in those gaps or minimize those hiccups inside of the whole entire process of somebody's experience with that company with the and with their products.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. And the fact that you had that self-belief and that courage, you know, to go and you know, I I I think there's a fine line. And and this is what I've noticed. There's a time where you have to have courage to go, I'm gonna do this. I would say what you did stepping up with the grill took courage because you're like, I have to step out, I have to make my well myself known. But then there, I think it flows over into self-belief. Because I think when you have that self-belief, that's when you become unstoppable. And and I think what happens is people have trouble going from those, each and every one of those steps, and they get stuck, and then they feel like, oh, maybe I can't, or it's not enough, or whatever. And instead of just constantly keep going, because the the belief is already there, otherwise you wouldn't be doing what you're doing. It's just a matter of getting it set in here. Um, and did you find I mean, because that's pretty bold and it's very strong, and it's also very committed to yourself to say, I deserve this change, I know what I'm doing, and I know that what I'm bringing to the table is gonna be better than what you have because you don't have it, and I'm gonna be able to bring something that is going to not only be successful for you, but internally it's gonna be you're gonna succeed within yourself. And you know, so when you when you went to that change, uh would you notice that there was a difference from uh the time, I guess looking back, I may rephrase that question. Looking back, when you went to the grill and said, I'm I really want this, and you were you were pissed off about it because you they were, you know, had somebody else to the point where you walked in and said, Hey, you really need me. What was the what was the shift? What do you think is the shift?

SPEAKER_00:

I think there's two things that happen, right? There is the courage to step up, and then as you're going into that, being supported in that courage, right? And surrounding yourself with people that you support and that support you. There was definitely a friendship to this day that's cemented in from people that I've worked in the kitchen for. I mean, that is that is the essence of who I am. And I think when I left Disney, retired from the kitchen, I still had that strength around me, that community, even though they weren't in the world I was about to step into. So I really felt like I could own this. Like I they were all cheering me on in my new venture. They were all there, like saying, You've got this chef, you've got the skill set, you can go do this, right? And so there's this community support that really lifts you up in that beginning. And then I will say this if you don't continue having that support system and staying in contact with those people and letting them know exactly what you're doing, there is the sense you will fall flat on your face again because that's what happened to me. Is that when something happened, when something went wrong, I didn't have anyone to lean on or anybody to say, okay, dust yourself off, get back up, you've got this, and go back in there. I had actually gotten smaller in my world because of what I was doing on the digital space and online. I wasn't as well connected with my community. I felt like I was more of an outsider than an insider. So I think what was interesting looking back now is that while going from an employee into entrepreneurship, if you have the group that's cheering you on, it's almost like you're fearless. If you don't keep that cheerleading team, if you start saying, well, they don't understand where I'm at, this was the conversation I was having. Well, they don't understand where I'm at. They don't understand what I'm experiencing. I'm doing all this self-development growth. I'm changing and I'm evolving, and these people no longer serve my life. Because you hear that in the business space. Like you're gonna lose friends because you're gonna change. The thing is, is today if I picked up the phone, all those people that I thought wouldn't understand what I was doing would support me in a heartbeat. But I left with the belief that they weren't there, that they weren't in the stands cheering. And I think when you get to a place where you find yourself small again, it takes a lot more to pull yourself out, and then you're really reaching out again to just establish, re-establish um a community base. And that's part of my journey that I don't often, I don't think I've ever shared outside of this episode. Because that's the pain point. It is, it is like you're so revered as a chef, and you know so many people because you've worked in so many kitchens and you've touched so many lives. Then you step into the digital space and then you're not physically in your realm. They're digitally in your realm, but not physically in your realm. That same support does not feel um as authentic as it does when you're standing in a physical space and you can touch somebody next to you. That has definitely been one of the struggles that I've had to overcome in this whole entire journey of being an entrepreneur and being a business owner.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's gonna lead me to the next thing because I know what you're doing currently is extraordinary and I love it. Is that was that your deciding factor or is that where you looked at something different and said, okay, this is I'm gonna create this to surround myself with like-minded people, like-minded women, and bring that that camaraderie and love and embracement together. Is that did that lead you to where you are now?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think there was this sense of being alone. I just remember getting off a call with one of my mentors at the time and just feeling exhausted mentally, physically, because I felt like as a when you start coaching people, you start putting up this wall because you're told they're a client, not a friend. You don't want to like, you've got to treat them as if they're here to get it. It almost felt like it was very transactional. Right? In the world of coaching and high-ticket coaching, like don't build the relationship, you've got to say goodbye at some point, kind of a thing. Uh, or the lines get blurred. And the thing is, is I'm a I'm a female. The lines are always freaking blurry, right? I want to hug everybody. I want I want to be friends with everybody. I want to share the knowledge and not have a price tag on everything that I put out in the world, right? And so there is this sense of with what I'm doing now, especially with create her, is I want us to be creators. I want us to be bonding together and learning together. And so, yeah, I would say more so now, I am advocating for more community, more in-person, more connection, more um relationships. And to understand that I think as a woman, we need to just reconnect first to our bodies. That was my biggest aha. Because once I started loving myself and really understanding what my body was doing, friendships came easier, connections became easier. Um, I felt like I could communicate better. I didn't feel so small anymore. It was like, it was like opening back up from the bro marketing, the bro business mentality, where I just felt like I was getting smaller and smaller. And I guess this is my battle cry of stepping back up to that grill and saying, you know what? I can do this and I can do it differently, and I can do it just as well. And so I feel like I'm doing it all over again in a different way. So I and that's I think part of the journey that we all are on as we're building businesses, as we're stepping out and as we're challenging the traditional norms.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's that's very powerful, especially when you you already recognize it and you know it. Uh, but what you're building is extraordinary and it's changing so many people's lives. And and and you, I mean, you have found what makes you shine and get up in the morning and and you know, hit the like say hit the ground running, right? And and it makes you makes you happy because every time I talk to you and you're sharing it, and you've you've had an opportunity to do things with this, you're oh, you've got this glow about you, you've got this smile on your face. I mean, I can tell you're create her. That's it. That was what has led you all all those things, all those obstacles, all those romance events, all those things that have happened have brought you to where you are now. And and it's now, and that's that's gonna, that's what lights you up. That's what makes your heart sing. I mean, I see it on your face. I see it talk to you.

SPEAKER_00:

I got to meet like Coach Mickey, and we've had great conversations. Like, oh, and and and and just to to point out too, I know we had a conversation on a previous podcast. Um, we've actually only known each other since February this year, because we went back through my business partner and I. I was like, holy crap, it's only been a year, less than a year. Um, but these are the friendships I want to continue to cultivate. Like, this is, I don't want to just have a podcast and have people on there and just like, okay, I'm done and moved on to the next. Like, that doesn't excite me as much as what's the friendship that we're cultivating? What is the collaboration that we're building together? Like, even for this podcast, right? It's like, how can I bring like who do you want on here? How can I help you bring on extraordinary women and guests onto here? So that for me, it isn't about the transaction, the financial, it's about the connection and collaboration. That's what truly lights me up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and and you do that very well. And I'm extremely grateful for everybody that you have introduced me to. And and again, same here, you know, anything I can do for you to help you. And that's what it's all about, you know. And that's why I created this. This is about lifting each other up. This is about supporting each other. This is about having a team and being able to step into a huddle and go, I don't know what play to call next. Help me. Somebody help me. This is what I'm up against. This is my defense. It's like, all right, let's see what you got. But here we go. And sometimes he is just so in the Hail Mary and hope to hell. Everybody that's supporting you is down in that end zone to catch it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Somebody catches about to throw it, and it might be someone I've never met before, but here it goes, right? Like that, I think, is is part of the Hail Marion heels. Because sometimes we lob it and we're just not even sure who or what is on the uh the end zone that's waiting there to catch it because that person can literally, I'm getting gist pumps thinking about this, will literally transform your life.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I love you. You are so awesome. You are so awesome. So I would like you to uh let everyone know what you have and that way they can reach you. And again, if you guys are listening to the podcast, uh please click on uh Katrina's name and you'll be able to take right to her website. And if you're watching this YouTube, please uh the link below, you can click on it and reach out to her here because it's extraordinary. She's gonna connect with you, she's gonna help you, she's gonna make you realize what you need, how your body's working, what things are changing in your life, and why. And uh that is just an incredible, incredible asset. And I know you are going to change so many people's lives. And I appreciate you so much.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, Chef Coach Mickey, I almost called you Chef Mickey. Oh my gosh, I think we've done it before. Um, you know, I love you. I love everything what you're doing. Uh, for those that are listening, Truth Bomb Marketing is my brand, is the business. Um, I've been chef for so many years that it's kind of, you'll even look for Chef Katrina, you'll find me out there. Um, but today, moving forward, it is truthbalmarketing.com, is where you can find me. You can learn about the Create Her Planner, which is the tool that actually helps women design business and their lifestyle, not only around their natural energy flow, but also we dive into the world of financial education and marketing education as part of this planner, which is unique to this planner. Because typically it's just like a bunch of to-do lists, but we're supported in this process. And I think that's the best part is I don't want you doing this alone. I don't want you planning alone, especially as us women. We need each other to lean into each other to find out what our energy cycle looks like. What are the tasks that align to it? How do we feel good about what we're creating, still take care of ourselves, still show up for our families and still be present in the moment? And as I always tell Coach Mickey, take time off to rest. Because it's critical for our female development and our mental health to literally create a day or two where we're doing the minimal amount of work and really just being a kind of like a blah, like enjoy it. Just say.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I am so glad that you were with us today. And thank you for taking the time and sharing your story. You know, sharing your story. And I know it's going to help someone that is listening to this. I said, I needed to hear that today. I mean, I need and they needed to hear it from you because only you could have brought your story to what someone needed to hear. So I thank you for that. And and I celebrate you. And you are a wonderful person. I love what you're doing, and I'm here to support you in any way we can. And also, I would like to invite you, as uh Katrina was saying, that we do, you need a community to surround yourself with. So if you are looking for a community also for support and uh a field to be on with like-minded players and like-minded women, please, you know, that'll that link will be also below. But until then, I'm excited. So um I'm gonna let you break break it. So I'm gonna have you bring it in and break everybody on three on whatever you want to say for your breaking word.

SPEAKER_00:

So go for it, Katrina. All right, everybody, huddle in, huddle in, listen up, all right. As a female entrepreneur, the best thing you can do after all these years, okay. I'm talking being in a kitchen, I'm talking learning how to run for other people's companies, consulting, doing it yourself. The one thing I gotta tell you, the one thing that's gonna make it and break it, the one thing that Coach Mickey's gonna tell you to do, put on your heels. Take that ball of confidence, take whatever dream you have, chuck it up in the air. Let the world experience it because on the other side of that throw is pure magic. You have no idea the ripple effect you're about to cause. You guys ready to create create a ripple? All right, one, two, three, ripple. See on the other side.