Activism, Education, and Entrepreneurship with Karen Bartlett, Host, Now & Center Podcast; Partner, Kite + Dart Group

00:15.71

kitedart

Hello everyone and welcome my name's karen bartlett I'm 1 of the partners at the kitit and dart group and I'm the host of the now and center podcast and I am here today with Karen hibner and I have the fortunate pleasure of getting to work with Karen in a lot of capacities. She is part of the marketing collective here at the kit and dart group. She is my podcast coach extraordinaire and an all around amazing human being that I just enjoy all of the all of the ways we get to interact and and be in space together. So thank you for being here karen um. Today we're going to do something a little different where karen is going to interview me so that I can share a little bit more about my story and who I am and how I got here and you all can get to know me a little bit Better. So thank you for being here karen to to talk with me.

01:06.36

Carin Huebner

Thanks for having me I'm thrilled to get to showcase you a little bit and have people get to know you and your story a little bit more. Also.

01:13.98

kitedart

Great. Thank you So I'm a note from here I will let you take it away and um, ask ask what you will.

01:23.20

Carin Huebner

Ah, right? Okay so I know a little bit about this but tell me about your business and more so tell me about the difference that you're committed to creating in the world and for folks.

01:36.84

kitedart

Yeah, sure. So my business is the kite and dart group I am 1 of the partners I am not 1 of the founders I actually came to kite and dart as a client in early 2018 but I I've been partnering. With kite and dart sense later in 2008 I think I said the wrong year can I start over ding it I literally don't know what I said I'm like dang. Um.

02:00.22

Carin Huebner

Start over now always start over. Ah.

02:11.15

kitedart

And that's so hard because now I can't even I can't There's no way I can say that's the same. So can you just ask me again. You can make it abbreviated if you want.

02:17.46

Carin Huebner

Yeah, absolutely tell me about your business. Um, and the difference that you're committed to creating in this world and for folks.

02:25.45

kitedart

Yeah, got it. So I am 1 of the partners at the kiten dart group I did not I was not 1 of the people who founded the company I actually came to kiten dart as a client in early 2018 but I've been partnering with kitten dart since later in 2018 and joined over here full time March verse 2020 and at height and dirt the work that we're doing I really like to look at it like kind of to sum it up in the language that people I feel like are speaking today as you know on this mission to decolonize entrepreneurship. And what I mean by that is that the clients that we work with are really committed to making a difference with their business to being a contribution to the world to transformation and 1 thing that we know is that people who really are operating from this place of contribution and. Coming from values and and the mission that they're on is that they can be really reluctant or resistant to taking part in business like the way we've been taught the way our capitalist capitalistic society a very. White male-dominated you know patriarchal system of business the way that that has been done for a long time It's not how we people like myself want to do business and so what ends up happening is a lot of times people are reluctant and resistant to. Doing things like active business development marketing sales. The things that will allow them to actually go out in the world and and make the biggest difference that they can through their business and so the work that we do here is we we work with people through. Ah, combination of education coaching consulting. It's facilitating like we kind of wear all of the different hats in order to guide people to find like their most authentic their most authentic way of doing business and that. Really goes from. You know what? what difference they're committed to creating there's you know the skills and talents and passions and expertise that they that they bring to their clients or to their customers every day what they're selling how they're marketing how they're selling. Um, all of these things but coming from a place of like how can you grow and scale your business so that it's 1 hundred percent in alignment with who you are as a human which is just a really different approach than than the norm that we've you know what? we've been taught right.

05:09.70

Carin Huebner

I.

05:11.76

kitedart

Um, and I and I do think that we've all had this very strong sort of business. Um education from the time we were young. You know from the time that we were little and we went to the grocery store and looked at the box as a cereal on the shelf right? and.

05:19.30

Carin Huebner

Me.

05:27.50

Carin Huebner

Normal.

05:30.20

kitedart

You know, just all of these day-to-day ways commercials and everything that that um what we've been top business is about.

05:36.76

Carin Huebner

Yes, yeah, absolutely that makes sense and um so with the work that you do with other people I'm assuming that the work that you do is incredibly and aligned with you and who you are and that it's very authentic. And so I want to know a little bit about how you've got to this place because I know that your background hasn't always been in business coaching. It hasn't always been in Business. So tell me a little bit about just where you came where you come from in getting yourself to like kite and dart in this work that you're doing with folks.

06:09.77

kitedart

Yeah, sure. So honestly, like ah 1 of my big commitments at Kite and dart is activism So I kind of like to like bring in the beginnings of my activism and that really was in college I did this leadership development program in college that was all about, um. Creating social change being a community organizer that kind of stuff and that really started my passion for all of the work that I've done since then and is what really gave me direction it professionally period like before that I don't think I really knew what I wanted to do so um. That got me started in terms of Activism and I kind of did some nonprofit work and some some work around conflict resolution mediation different things like that and then I decided I really wanted to go into education and I I've always had a passion for youth. And for for working with youth and for me I think a big like like learning has always been something that I just love I Love to learn all the time I'm just naturally super curious and I I Love to explore things and uncover things and all of that and so I think a big part of my interest. In terms of going into education was was working with youth and and also I think part of my passion for youth too is like that they're less cynical. A lot of times and they're like there's there They can be just idealistic and they see so much possibility and there's so much joy and um. I Don't want to say purity that sounds kind of weird but like I don't I don't know the word I'm looking for but there's just like you know they haven't they haven't had all of the influences yet you know what I mean and so it's it's almost like you know sure they've all had their experiences and everyone's is different but you know it's.

07:55.64

Carin Huebner

And here.

08:05.32

kitedart

It's like kind of like how can we help this human uncover like who they are and learn like what's special about them and what they're great at and what they love to do and how they can. Be connected with people and be in community and and all of these things and in it. It's like I just helping helping youth like figure out who they are um has just always been a really big part of what I wanted to do with education.

08:38.45

Carin Huebner

Um.

08:40.42

kitedart

so so I went into teaching and I actually I started I didn't go to school in education. So I did the teach for America program and started teaching in compton california taught there for 4 years um

08:48.75

Carin Huebner

Oh wow.

08:54.51

Carin Huebner

Wow.

08:57.60

kitedart

Anybody who wants to have a conversation with me about that like there's there are some problems with that and I will totally wholly own that um, but it was a way that I could get into education and you know at a time when I couldn't afford to just go back to school for 2 more years. Um.

09:04.22

Carin Huebner

Chair.

09:12.30

Carin Huebner

My.

09:15.82

kitedart

And it's I don't know it's kind of been a love hate relationship ever since? Um, honestly like I I've always loved working with the youth and and that kind of thing I've always loved.

09:23.43

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

09:34.50

kitedart

Collaborating with the other adults in the building. The other teachers that kind of thing like I you know was on like leadership teams at every single school I worked at you know, um I was always the 1 who was like getting my grade level or getting people to come together and collaborate and work together to to get better outcomes for for students. Um, but it. It also is a really I feel like it's there's there's just it's just highly problematic education I think that that what's being asked of the adults is too much.

10:01.20

Carin Huebner

M.

10:07.36

Carin Huebner

So.

10:09.51

kitedart

Um, so I definitely ended up going in and out of education some extent because of that and and the overwhelm and exhaustion. Um, there's also some other challenges I've had with it that I'll talk about in a minute but um.

10:17.54

Carin Huebner

Um.

10:28.47

kitedart

I did um, let's see I I had my first entry into entrepreneurship though after I taught for 6 years so I taught for 6 years and then I had my first child and I wanted to. Be able to spend time with her and I felt like being a teacher didn't really allow me much space for that. Um, and so I ended up kind of randomly starting my own child care business. So that was my first foray into entrepreneurship.

10:49.60

Carin Huebner

Um.

10:57.72

Carin Huebner

Wow.

10:59.66

kitedart

And I will call out too that my dad was an entrepreneur when I was a kid growing up and stuff he was an educator. He was a college professor. He also ran his own company multiple times he had his own companies multiple times so it was something I definitely grew up around. So.

11:08.26

Carin Huebner

Wow. Okay.

11:16.55

kitedart

Um, yeah, so I started that business I ran that child care business for 6 years I believe and then I just got pretty burnt out on that like I was at home ten hours a day with you know four to 5 kids under the age of 4 or 5 So um, yeah, yeah.

11:19.65

Carin Huebner

Wow and enough. Um, yeah, yeah, that's tough.

11:35.11

kitedart

It was. It was a lot I'm glad I did it that was ah it was amazing and and I got to be you know I got to be with my both of my kids when they were little I got to learn a whole lot more about early childhood education I actually started teaching adults at that time too. So I I taught a.

11:35.56

Carin Huebner

Six.

11:46.52

Carin Huebner

And.

11:54.70

kitedart

Course for other child care providers in collaboration with a program from the department of Ed and a community college so that got me working with adults or continuing my work with adults but you know in that educational capacity. Um, anyway after I stopped that I was gonna start a nonprofit.

12:04.61

Carin Huebner

Near.

12:14.11

kitedart

Started a for profit instead. It happened to be in the construction industry when we talk about alignment it wasn't the most aligned business ever and then the market tanked and construction was not a place to be so it was like okay I'm dipping out I'm going back into the classroom. Um.

12:21.86

Carin Huebner

Oh my goodness right. Yeah.

12:33.43

kitedart

So sorry I'm like this is super long winded I don't know if that's bad, but um so I so ended up going back into the classroom and I taught reading intervention for 6 years which was actually truly amazing and.

12:34.76

Carin Huebner

No, this is perfect.

12:50.20

Carin Huebner

Oh.

12:52.74

kitedart

Thing I loved about that again, kind of a love hate but getting to focus so specifically on 1 thing helped me like really um, improve my craft get really really good at it I was so confident I knew exactly what I was doing and I knew how to really.

12:58.59

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

13:12.47

kitedart

Be responsive to each kid and and look at every single kid's strengths and what was gonna help them be able to learn to read so when you know the method in the classroom wasn't working 1 2 3 I got to play around with and dive into how do I help this kid read.

13:16.34

Carin Huebner

Um, yes.

13:29.67

Carin Huebner

And he.

13:32.90

kitedart

And that was such a great experience because it it so reinforced my belief that when we feel really confident at something when we really go with our strengths our natural talents and abilities and I don't mean it like we're taught like you can be anything when you grow up and you just have. Work hard and did Ith Ah, but like we also have natural talents and abilities and gifts and and I think they are gifts and so why not use them. We don't have to always struggle and toil and do everything the hard way we can lean into like.

13:51.96

Carin Huebner

Um, yes.

14:02.50

Carin Huebner

A.

14:10.44

kitedart

Strengths And what we're really good at and and that was super cool like that was a great thing to really get to dive in deep with that. But it was also super frustrating because I kept being told that I had to try to do things in a certain way and I could see how.

14:16.74

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

14:25.32

Carin Huebner

Human.

14:28.85

kitedart

Trying to shove phonics down the throat of a kid who had Dyslexia and couldn't couldn't work with phonics in the traditional way but had amazing comprehension and like could understand anything was like.

14:38.10

Carin Huebner

Yes.

14:48.10

kitedart

Doesn't make sense to shove this down their throat when this thing over here is working really well for them and and and to me that's kind of indicative of my frustration with education is that there's so much around 1 size fits all.

14:50.70

Carin Huebner

Single.

14:57.82

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

15:07.34

kitedart

And I don't I don't mean this as a criticism of teachers or principals or anything like that. It's really more the system. It's the testing culture. No child left behind those kinds of things but every every person is different and when we are.

15:12.69

Carin Huebner

Um, yeah.

15:26.62

kitedart

Create when we have a school system that was created to train people to go be workers in factories and that's still the model we're using today that is not creating space for for each kid.

15:31.75

Carin Huebner

Right? right.

15:45.16

kitedart

To learn in the way that's best for them and to learn about things. They really really care about and are passionate about and love and I know you know you kind of have to have a foundation of.

15:45.94

Carin Huebner

Um, right.

15:51.79

Carin Huebner

Um, yeah.

16:00.10

kitedart

You know, a lot of things. Everybody needs some reading and some math and some writing but like you know you you have to weed so long until you get to really lean into those passions and um, it just felt kind of soul crushing to me so that was that was really.

16:01.63

Carin Huebner

Right.

16:12.13

Carin Huebner

And home.

16:19.90

kitedart

I Don't know if I should say the beginning of the end because I don't know I don't know but you know I don't know the the beginning of the end may have been way before that. But you know again, it was always a little bit of a love hate thing. But um.

16:25.43

Carin Huebner

Ray.

16:31.38

Carin Huebner

I was going to say it sounded like that that the beginning of the end was like maybe the teach for America it's ah so.

16:37.77

kitedart

Oh my. Ah, that was incredible. I mean oh geez I used to carpool with someone to work when I lived in l a and my first couple years it was amazing like there were times where literally we'd pull up and I just be like do I have to get out of the car like. I can't do this today. I'm so exhausted and so overwhelmed and so out of like I don't know so um, yeah, but but but this you know this this experience with the reading intervention and and I loved that work.

17:03.40

Carin Huebner

And well I believe it.

17:14.82

kitedart

But it was like it really did teach me so well how having a school system um an educational system that's based in 1 the banking model right? where it's like the teacher is the imparter of knowledge to the students. And we know better for you and we're gonna tell you what to learn and when to learn it and how to learn it and what constitutes mastery and and again, that's not just the teacher. That's the whole school system. Um, and that it's about Conformity. It's about following the rules.

17:50.62

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

17:53.96

kitedart

And following directions and do what the teacher says and um, we want you to be critical thinkers but we're not actually gonna let you think like because if you start questioning things or pushing back on things like.

18:02.97

Carin Huebner

Right.

18:10.52

kitedart

That's not allowed. That's not being obedient. Um, so it just it just kept getting more problematic. My school actually went through a strategic redesign to implement personalized learning.

18:10.29

Carin Huebner

Right? right.

18:27.63

kitedart

And I thought that was going to be the thing that was going to like reinvigorate me and you know allow me to stay in education because the whole philosophy was you know, bringing in more of who the student was to the learning. Um and it and that was a really.

18:30.57

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

18:40.62

Carin Huebner

Right.

18:45.71

kitedart

Great experience. But it ended up being this kind of thing where it felt very much like we encourage you to take risks and we know you're gonna you know you're You're not going to succeed right out of the gate you're gonna there's gonna be some failures. Um and we want you to do this but then it was also like. You have to do everything you used to do before and you actually can't fail and scores can't go down and um, it just still felt very much like it was just about the data and there wasn't really the room to to take risks and. And learn and grow and figure it out and I it just got to that point where I was just like I just cannot do this anymore like it. It just felt like I I my my ability to to be complicit in a system.

19:29.40

Carin Huebner

New.

19:40.99

kitedart

That it felt like it was really dehumanizing Youth was just not okay with me, you know So that's when I left I started out doing career transition coaching kind of helping people with like career fulfillment and that kind of thing I.

19:42.68

Carin Huebner

A.

20:00.31

kitedart

Um I didn't really have a lot of focus when I first started with that and so I worked with some entrepreneurs I worked with some corporate people going from corporate job to corporate job I worked with some stay-athome moms going back to work I worked with some educators who were like also wanting to jump ship. Um.

20:11.00

Carin Huebner

Um, Wow yeah.

20:17.50

kitedart

And what I found through that was that I Really really really loved working with the entrepreneurs and I what I loved was that it's so funny I literally said this to my partner the other days like I am like the most. Like rule breaking rule follower you ever did Meet. So So I you know I live this life of like following the rules and being good and doing what I'm supposed to do and conforming and right like school worked for me as a kid.

20:40.79

Carin Huebner

Yes.

20:47.86

Carin Huebner

And. My.

20:55.71

kitedart

And the way I was implementing school was about that right? and it's not what I wanted but it's what as a classroom teacher. It's like that's I think the only it felt like the only way to survive you know, but um.

21:07.76

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

21:12.24

kitedart

But I felt like entrepreneurs have this unique opportunity to step outside of the boxes to like get rid of the box right? School's like okay, get in this night sneak box and you know let me define you and categorize you and label you in.

21:23.40

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

21:31.11

Carin Huebner

Man.

21:32.80

kitedart

And you know contain you and I feel like entrepreneurs have the ability to step outside of that to some extent and actually to a pretty great extent I mean it it varies. But I you know in the work that we do around here right? It's like this is what we're.

21:38.80

Carin Huebner

Yes. Then.

21:50.92

kitedart

This is what we're doing um and and that is that's just really empowering and exciting to me I did pivot my business kind of the beginning of me being involved with kite and dart. Not as a client but as a.

22:09.40

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

22:10.21

kitedart

Tisher was um I did decide through my work with kite and dart and the clarity that I got that I wanted to keep working with entrepreneurs but I also kind of wanted to have a go at like still making an impacted Education. So I pivoted my business. To be doing leadership development or leadership like leadership coaching and consulting and training in the educational world for educational leaders and then I started partnering with kite and dart and and leading cohorts of entrepreneurs at kit and dart as a side gig.

22:32.37

Carin Huebner

Okay, gotcha.

22:46.90

Carin Huebner

God Yeah, not in this detail. No yeah.

22:48.58

kitedart

Um, after a year and a half of doing that. Um I don't even know if you know this story but that's so funny. That's so funny. Um, yeah, and and it's so funny because I did that and after a year and a half like 1 thing I found was that I kind of kept like. Doing more work on the kiten dart side than on the ascension side and kind of like wait. Why am I doing that? Um, and and it's so funny because Nate actually asked me to sit in on a previous like ah like the second iteration of this course that we had called the line business strategy and he's like.

23:07.39

Carin Huebner

Then.

23:26.41

kitedart

You sit in you know he and I used to talk all the time about education and how we could have more more coursework for entrepreneurs more educational work. He's like will you come sit in on this course and put your teacher hat on and like help me make it better and I'm sitting in that course and literally.

23:32.40

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

23:43.00

kitedart

Walking through source commitments I think and that's Jargon but it's kind of like a values exercise and I was like collaboration like that's what's missing and it was like 1

23:52.45

Carin Huebner

A.

23:56.31

kitedart

Me being a solopreneur ascension I didn't have the kind of collaboration I wanted and I had that at Kititendart and I loved that. Um, and then also in the work that that nate and I started kind of doing um and talking about in late twenty Eighteen we started doing our own like anti-oppression work and identity work was that we were really coming to see how parallel that work was to the distinctions and context that we used at kit andart.

24:18.82

Carin Huebner

Yes.

24:32.66

kitedart

And you know we had a lot of conversations around that and so it really allowed that activism that I feel like I lost in education because I was so busy surviving and so busy dealing with all of the boxes and the conformity that I really lost that activism.

24:46.85

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

24:51.40

kitedart

So I just like being was like okay this is what's this is the thing right? And so at that point it was like okay I want to be at kite and dart full time. There had been an offer when the initial collaboration started.

24:56.19

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

25:07.44

kitedart

Um, for me to be over at kite and dart full time. But I really felt like I had to go try this thing in education and and I'm glad I did but after a year and a half I was like I'm having I can have a bigger impact with entrepreneurs than I can have with educators at this point like that system moves so slowly and with entrepreneurs it was like.

25:10.64

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

25:20.10

Carin Huebner

Got it.

25:27.23

kitedart

I I could see a difference in a short amount of time of working with somebody and it's not that it's all overnight by any means but it just again I think because we can be outside of the boxes. We we don't have to follow the rules. Um, it just felt like the.

25:31.10

Carin Huebner

Sneak in.

25:42.17

Carin Huebner

And he.

25:47.10

kitedart

Potential for impact was so much bigger. Um, and what I was seeing was so much Bigger. So um, that's how I got to kit and dart full time and of course that was march first 2020 and then covid hit and and it's just been a in. Um, work in progress ever since of like what that looks like integrating me and you know my authenticity into the business as well as growing this team with you and you know all the other folks that we're working with so.

26:17.42

Carin Huebner

Um, yeah, amazing. No thank you I mean it's your life. So like of course it's long like these pivots and these transitions are years in the making and us getting you know and tapping into that. Yeah.

26:22.45

kitedart

That was all long story.

26:36.16

Carin Huebner

That deeper space and like what's pushing on you and like all of those things and then ah also to when you look Back. There's so much synchronicity and there's so much of like what you were doing in your teaching work that comes out in your coaching work and how you've designed. These courses are not courses these groups and workshops and that sort of thing with kitened art. So absolutely makes sense that you would go back back to those days because it's also also along the whole way to like the systemic issues we're pushing on you which also led like you started out ah leading to like the ad advocacy leading to.

27:04.66

kitedart

And.

27:12.15

Carin Huebner

Also being in a different space than participating in 1 of the systems. Also probably even though desiring for change there. Um, So thank you? That's awesome. This is a little bit of like an interjection question but just for frame of reference for folks. Can you just do like a quick run through as far as Like. What kitened dart offerings are like what exists as far as a way that people can work with kitten dart and then we'll talk about what happens when people choose to work with Kiten Dart does that sound like a good transition. Okay.

27:41.88

kitedart

Yeah, sure of course sure no problem. Um, 1 thing I'd love to just pull out from what you said too though really quickly was you brought up synchronicities and I love that because I feel like I feel like there's like a co conspiring. With the universe right? or whatever you want to call it and that I do feel like ah even even in the places along the way that were really hard. Um, there have always been these synchronicities.

27:59.35

Carin Huebner

Yes.

28:14.92

kitedart

That have guided me and also you know you you and I talked about this all the time right? like intuition and the impact of intuition along the way of like knowing Okay, what do I do next and what and and I've done a lot of different things right? And even though Education's been present for so long.

28:18.56

Carin Huebner

Yes.

28:28.81

Carin Huebner

New.

28:34.84

kitedart

This is my fourth business and every 1 of the businesses have been really different and and just those synchronicities have happened and and I encourage anybody on their journey to like look for those places of inspiration and synchronicities and.

28:34.66

Carin Huebner

And.

28:53.24

kitedart

Follow your intuition and follow your gut like you can't get it wrong really because no matter what you do, You're gonna learn and grow and you're gonna figure out what's next from it. Um, but but those synchronicities.

28:56.68

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

29:04.20

Carin Huebner

Write.

29:10.66

kitedart

There's like all these little places that I could like point out these like you know things that felt like big synchronicities but it was just like yep, that's it. That's it. So anyway I love that you brought that word out because it's so true.

29:17.16

Carin Huebner

Um, not yeah I Love it too because I've been I wanted to really bring up intuition in this space with you because I know that that's a big so a big space that you like to work with with folks too. And not in like a super woowoo way but just in a like tapping into your own intuition and your intention like following your own leading which I Love hit so much on your like rule follower but Rebel side too and the out of your advocacy piece as well because um. So much of the predominant voices in our culture. Keep people really small. Keep them not listening to their intuition or keep our work against people's agency and authority in listening to their own intuition or their own inner ear. And so like the work that you're doing through coaching people with that intuition space is even like part of that like advocacy and part of that like um, debunking some of those voices and that a systemic oppression that exists within like demeaning and like crushing people's intuition too.

30:22.85

kitedart

Yeah.

30:24.50

Carin Huebner

To keep people in boxes and keep people in small spaces. So um, anyway, absolutely flows absolutely make sense. Um, but yeah, tell me a little bit about kit and dart and Kiten dart offerings and then we'll talk about what it looks like when people work with you.

30:30.40

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure so at height and dart we you know we we really want to 1 meet people where they are right? and. And we know that there isn't a 1 ne-size fits all for anybody and so again that goes so much along with the journey that I've been on is that you know every person is different. Every business owner is different and what they need and how they operate is different and so we really want to work in alignment with that. Um, we we have a variety of offerings and they kind of you know, have a few different buckets or lanes I guess you'd say like 1 is that we do have an educational track. We have a comprehensive six month program called the intentional entrepreneurship program at least this iteration of it. That's what is called um, and. So we have that comprehensive six month educational program. It's group work. It's very dialogical. It's very, um, it's even though it's coursework. It's not like 1 of these like magic system things because again that that comes from a place of false equivalency and. What works for you isn't going to be what works for me because we're not the same. So. It's really about guiding people to uncover for themselves. What their path is in in business and with their business. Um I could go into more I don't know how much more depth you want on that.

31:45.85

Carin Huebner

Yes.

32:04.87

kitedart

If it matters or not.

32:04.63

Carin Huebner

No I don't think it matters I think more more so than anything just that like um, there are opportunities for like the education side. There's 1 on 1 coaching so more of like the practical pieces of it of what it can look like there's does that make sense.

32:16.40

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, yep, Totally Yep yep, Totally totally? Yeah, yeah, so so at kit and dart. Yeah, we have we have some different tracks and again we want to meet people. We want to meet people where they are so we have an education track. Um, that is you know.

32:22.28

Carin Huebner

Is.

32:35.56

kitedart

Learning in groups you're working with a coach and consultant and you're really able to tap into the learning from that education standpoint and but it's a very relevant to your business like all the time like you're working on your business right? It's not just theoretical. Um.

32:48.20

Carin Huebner

M.

32:54.53

kitedart

We do 1 on 1 coaching and consulting and that again we we can custom Tailor packages for what people are really working on where they are in their journey and then we also have some we have ah we have a whole marketing division and so that that side includes. Um, marketing strategy as well as marketing implementation and then the last thing that we have is we have some clients who um, who are it's It's kind of like a fractional kind of um role like we we could. We could be fractional C O O Fractional Cmo. Where it's really about the strategy and the implementation of anything related to business growth and development.

33:37.26

Carin Huebner

Got it? perfect. Thank you just for a little bit of context of what it like logistically looks like for people to work with clay and dart. But what I want them hear more about is what you actually like when people choose to work with kite and dart.. What do they get or.. What do you see people experiencing through and and through working with you if that makes sense.

33:57.94

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So there's a lot of there's a lot of pieces to that. There's a lot of answers to that I do think that 1 thing we see people really get a lot of this just clarity right? and.

34:14.54

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

34:17.48

kitedart

There's a lot of those outside forces pushing on us as business owners and it can be really overwhelming and can just you know it can be overwhelming. It can be like Self-doubt Inde decision. All of these things because we just don't know what to do next and so 1 thing that they get is. Is a lot of clarity around literally Um, what to do on a day-to-day basis. Um, what's a good strategy for you personally to be marketing. What's a good context for you and and process for you to use for sales What products and offerings should you be selling.

34:39.57

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

34:54.71

kitedart

How should you be pricing them like really digging into all of those nuts and bolts of um of how to run your business What to sell how to price it how to sell it all of those things. Um, they also get a lot of so. Broadened self-doubt right? And again, there's so many like external forces telling us how to run things and it's it. Especially when we start comparing ourselves to others. It's super easy to bring to to have a lot of self-doubt and so. I Think what people get to is access to a way to make decisions in their business that are super authentic to who they are So. It's not just the clarity piece. But it's um. It's It's a way to get around that self-doubt because when you really know what's true for you then then it helps you get away from that self-doubt and comparison and those kinds of things. Um I mean on a really practical Sense. You know.

36:01.81

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

36:10.91

kitedart

People's businesses grow right? people get more clients they get more well-aligned clients. Um, they get to a lot of times people have been doing things that they don't really want to do in their business but they felt like they had to to sell so a lot of times people get the the ability to do what they really want to do.

36:10.69

Carin Huebner

Right? so.

36:25.21

Carin Huebner

Gout.

36:30.70

kitedart

Um, and and get a lot of like freedom right? Like 1 thing I work on with a lot of clients is boundaries right? and say no um and how to say no to what you don't want and yes to what you do want? Um, so so those are a lot of the things and I think too that like the people.

36:35.60

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

36:41.54

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes.

36:49.92

kitedart

That we work with the people that we work with are not the kind of people who have 5 years of capital sitting in the bank to support them as they grow a business right? like there's so many people who are you know, given a business by their father or and I say that because patriarchy's real right? like.

36:54.85

Carin Huebner

Yes.

37:03.38

Carin Huebner

Um, right.

37:09.15

kitedart

Um, you know or they've they've got access to capital to keep them afloat and and then you start you know people who don't have that look at that and compare themselves and it's not We are not even playing the same game right? And so um I think the other thing that people get is they get like the.

37:21.22

Carin Huebner

In here.

37:28.72

kitedart

Best chance at success for their business right? Not every business survives and we want people to have access to running their business to making decisions in their business that gives them the best shot at success that they can have. And and that's coming from that place of like inside out and what's true for them and what works for them. I'm sure there's so many other things I'm like but.

37:50.74

Carin Huebner

Yes, absolutely no I love it. That's I mean yeah cause I think the the I mean and I've I can speak a little bit from experience I mean you've coached me around like some intuition stuff and just like. Growing in trust around intuition and all of that that's been extremely impactful and then working with kite and dart and all of that I can really speak to like what you were saying as far as what I hear you saying is like absolutely resetting the foundations that you and your business are working from. That were often given through family of origin society culture like all of these different things that were given all of these rules and all of these standards of what business looks like and what it looks like to be an entrepreneur. Um and that. Like a lot of working with you and with Kate and dart is like just completely resetting those foundations so that it comes from a more authentic and true place which leads to of course more motivation more inspiration like. Ah, business. That's more in line with that person and so they're actually going to like want to do the work and want to sell and want to you know all of those things resetting what selling looks like and like sales and marketing and like all of those because all of that is so intertwined with where it comes from within.

39:12.79

kitedart

That.

39:21.70

Carin Huebner

The person. So no absolutely I think that that is it's like very clear to me as far as what that looks like so is there anything you wanted to add in relation to like just what I gave you and feedback.

39:34.50

kitedart

I mean I thought about a couple things along the way like you're you know as you were talking like and and some of that just comes from my journey too right? because like I I walk alongside business owners on their journey and I have my own journey too right? and I and and what.

39:36.79

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

39:47.89

Carin Huebner

Yeah, right.

39:53.67

kitedart

Um, what my struggles have been are what I see for my clients and you know so like the intuition 1 we already talked about that like I've always been good at judging my intuition like in these big ways. But that like on a day to day basis like not so it's super weird like I don't even know that.

40:04.24

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

40:09.80

Carin Huebner

I feel yeah no I feel yeah I can be super clear on buying a house and which of house I want and which 1 ne's gonna work out and be amazing and my to do list is like I don't even know what do I do today I don't know.

40:13.20

kitedart

Feels backwards but that's been my experience. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, even if you feel like you do know you're but then you're like you get caught up in the like I don't know all the things. Yeah um Perfectionism has been 1.

40:28.61

Carin Huebner

Yeah I get it. Right? All the question and doubt.

40:41.23

kitedart

Um, I'm a recovering perfectionist I've now come to terms with the fact that like ah, it's probably always going to show up at times right? But I've gotten so much better at like recognizing it and not getting stopped by it right? like as a business owner we have got to.

40:54.70

Carin Huebner

Yes.

40:59.63

kitedart

Generate our own participation in the business and because through school and through employment. We don't have to generate our participation. We're told what to do we get in trouble if we don't do it. We have grades and evaluations and all these things.

41:00.17

Carin Huebner

In. And by.

41:18.72

kitedart

To tell us if we're doing good enough right? And so I know right? So true. So well the the good thing man oof. Um, but as an entrepreneur.

41:19.00

Carin Huebner

And if we are good or not on some level. The.

41:39.14

kitedart

That's not there right? We have to generate our own participation and so where we get stopped anywhere. It's gonna show up in business and perfectionism was a huge 1 for me being good.

41:38.63

Carin Huebner

This we asked.

41:47.99

Carin Huebner

Absolutely yeah.

41:57.44

kitedart

Oof that was a big thing for sales like asking people to buy something from me didn't feel like being good right? and and educators Oh my gosh Hello educators they want to be good right? They're they're there for the kids they want to be good.

41:59.85

Carin Huebner

Yup yap.

42:16.60

kitedart

Right? Like it's just and again I'm not joining them back on Educators I Love them Bless Bless them. But like you know it's It's just there's a lot there and so that was another big thing. Sales was really hard I Nate always likes to say that I couldn't sell my I couldn't sell my way out of a paper bag.

42:23.63

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

42:34.71

kitedart

And I think that was pretty true and like having a way to approach sales that works for me and I see success and I don't feel disgusting and icky about it. Um, yeah, those are.

42:41.15

Carin Huebner

Yeah. Well, that's what I'm going to say is it's funny that nate used to say that because nate nate nate now when you're not in the room you when you are in the room is like Karen is the best. At sales like karen could sell anything like but bla blavah and I'm like probably not anything because she's got to believe in it right? But like absolutely he like so brags on you now. So that's funny.

43:03.97

kitedart

Yeah I But yeah, yeah, well and and and it is super empowering to have a way and that's another thing I think I'd bring up right is like empowerment and I've actually moved from saying empowerment to just saying power.

43:21.20

Carin Huebner

So.

43:23.11

kitedart

Like I do feel like through my entrepreneurial journey and even the last like 2 years in particular. But even the whole last. What is it now 5 plus years. Um, my.

43:34.54

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

43:40.50

kitedart

The way I've been able to claim my power and use my power to change the worlds in the in the world the world the world in the way that I want all of the worlds.

43:48.75

Carin Huebner

All the worlds.

43:53.20

kitedart

Um, in the way that I want right? and I know that like my vision isn't going to come to full fruition before I'm done on this planet but like I feel so fully freely expressed I feel.

43:59.60

Carin Huebner

Right.

44:07.77

Carin Huebner

And.

44:11.81

kitedart

Powerful I Feel creative I feel like that smallness that you talked about that the world tries to make small I don't feel small anymore right? like I feel powerful I feel empowered I feel.

44:18.24

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes.

44:28.65

kitedart

Creative and inspired and motivated and free and like and to get paid to do that like that's super cool. You know that's super cool and that's what I.

44:32.78

Carin Huebner

M.

44:41.25

Carin Huebner

Heck yeah, it's amazing.

44:45.89

kitedart

Really want like I feel like because because we have to generate our own participation in life to go through this journey. This is what's really funny to me actually I think is that when I was in high school.

44:52.18

Carin Huebner

Okay.

45:03.67

kitedart

Talked about how I wanted to like climb the corporate ladder and like make a ton of money and step on whoever I had to step on along the way I started out in the business school. You know whatever I'm like how was that me like oh my god.

45:09.51

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

45:17.91

kitedart

I did not know who I was um or I was just in denial or whatever but like like um I've lost what what that had to do with it but like.

45:20.62

Carin Huebner

So right.

45:34.47

kitedart

I Totally lost my story there. It was funny generating our participation in life. So where where we get stopped anywhere in life like we will get stopped in business.

45:35.96

Carin Huebner

Oh no, yeah.

45:50.98

Carin Huebner

So yes.

45:53.13

kitedart

This is what I was gonna say so here I was so focused in the education world on helping people find out who they were who they are and shine their light and be big and and all of these things through Education. It turns out that that wasn't the way to do it but that business was the way to do it and it's funny because right like my perception of business in high school was that it was this cutthroat step on whoever you have to to get to the top kind of thing and that instead business has.

46:14.18

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

46:26.62

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

46:31.99

kitedart

Been absolutely transformative for me in terms of the places I've seen myself get stopped in life and and not just previously in work. But even in my personal life that business this doing this work inside of my business.

46:33.86

Carin Huebner

Um.

46:44.21

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

46:51.95

kitedart

Has given me access to having that same power and creativity and freedom everywhere in my life and that's been super cool and fun. Yeah.

47:00.34

Carin Huebner

Yes. Woo. Yes, that's eyes. Yes I mean I yes I didn't know you before but I absolutely believe you because that's what I've experienced myself right? like having having a business I was telling a colleague Yesterday like I'm not sure I would be. And we cannot speculate here who knows how life works but like but like I could wonder at the fact that like I don't think I would be where I am I'm in like a human development like rich inner world like inner hospitality like any of those ways. I don't think I would be in those spaces and like I think I would still be in a lot of those small spaces if I wasn't an entrepreneur and running this business. You know it does grant so much access to I mean your stuff comes up right? like it's it's. Like why you're not doing things and this is this goes to prts which is of course jargony but like why you're not doing things why you are doing things which things you desire to do which things you're absolutely not going to do and like why and the discerment process behind all of that and then having a coach to bounce off of too with that. That's going to be like.

48:11.71

kitedart

Um.

48:18.20

Carin Huebner

Like maybe it's not what you think it is like what if it's this or like you know that kind of thing that's been life changing for me. So absolutely I can I hear you I hear you. So I think you answered this like before but let's get like super blatant about it all right? so.

48:28.65

kitedart

Ah.

48:34.69

kitedart

Yeah.

48:37.10

Carin Huebner

When folks when folks take on this way of doing business this type of this way of doing business. Do you have time for this. Okay yes I do knowing sorry. Okay.

48:42.64

kitedart

I do do you I was gonna stop a minute ago but I've wanted to ask several times I've at 3 30 no no no I have a 3 30 So.

48:51.99

Carin Huebner

But let me just make sure because I think you spoke about challenges. Well so let me let me run this through and then we'll see if you want to keep going. Okay, so when folks when folks take on this way of doing business. Um.

48:57.89

kitedart

Okay.

49:05.26

Carin Huebner

What does it do for them and you just we just talked about that a little bit as far as our personal lives. But maybe what do you see like and and you talked about it a little bit in in big broad themes. But maybe if you can just make it really clear like what are those themes that you see.

49:08.19

kitedart

Yeah.

49:19.16

kitedart

Okay.

49:20.81

Carin Huebner

People people hitting on you know in in taking on business in this way.

49:24.26

kitedart

Yeah, so.

49:36.10

kitedart

It's so funny because it it feels so big to me which can feel daunting and and trying to break it up. I. So I said in the beginning right? I like to look at the work that we do as decolonizing entrepreneurship right? and like Decolon. It's like decolonizing ourselves I really believe that.

49:48.65

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes.

49:58.86

kitedart

Having a way to be fully. You know to to to step more fully into our authenticity to operate on a.

50:08.96

Carin Huebner

Um.

50:14.66

kitedart

Day-to-day basis from a space of being in alignment with what we really care about the Difference. We want to create in the world. Um, what our talents are what our passions are right and is like that really is to me that really is like freedom and. I Think what it gives access to is as each of us like I feel like as each of us does that internal work for ourselves I Honestly feel like it's like changing. Changing the way the world works right? like and so like 1 1 conversation. We have around here is around professionalism right? and like what professionalism means and how um white Centric. Um.

51:05.66

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes.

51:11.16

kitedart

Patriarchal You know Cis Normative Het normative like all like that. There's There's a right way to be professional and everybody else is unprofessional, right? And so like literally embracing um and accepting and celebrating.

51:21.30

Carin Huebner

So yeah.

51:29.82

kitedart

Diversity of humans out there and seeing all of them as professional regardless of what their clothes are and their hair and you know like that's just so wrapped up in white white um white supremacy and patriarchy like so.

51:33.12

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes.

51:46.27

Carin Huebner

Who.

51:49.43

kitedart

I I feel like I don't know if I'm answering the question you're asking. Um, but I I feel like taking on this way of doing business is like we're creating a movement of changing. Our culture to be something other than white supremacist Patriarchal Capitalistic colonial culture. Um, and now I don't again I don't know if that's what you're asking because I feel like that's an even bigger answer than but.

52:14.48

Carin Huebner

Absolutely.

52:22.30

Carin Huebner

And it's amazing. No, it's great. Absolutely no I hear I mean it hits on what we were talking about before as far as like totally renovating those foundations of like where like you work for it from as a person but it makes it bigger as in like it's an entire like it's it's.

52:24.33

kitedart

Ah, but what we were talking about before.

52:41.45

Carin Huebner

Someone taking taking power Whatever power they can access over their own script right? like the script of their life because so many of these things say what an entrepreneur has to be what a what a certain kind of entrepreneur has to be especially within identity like characteristics and that sort of thing. Um, and taking taking whatever power is accessible and rewriting that script and trying to go where they want to go. You know that kind of thing. Absolutely,, It's beautiful. Um, so that's I think that's I think you hit on it. Yeah,, go ahead.

53:08.28

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, well I was just thinking and it's so funny because as I was listening to you reflect that back then it's there's also I think this like um, zooming in micro.

53:25.74

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

53:28.13

kitedart

Perspective of the same thing where as people like giving people access to a way to know for themselves is super powerful right? Like like.

53:37.98

Carin Huebner

And hit.

53:44.88

kitedart

People who do this work will know how to decide what to do next right? Like I said earlier like what to sell how to market did it what to charge all these things if you need to pivot if you you know need to refine, Whatever like um, but people will know how to do that and.

53:47.42

Carin Huebner

Yes. Yeah, yeah.

54:00.72

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

54:04.19

kitedart

People You know you can feel that alignment and you get results too from that alignment and so I do think there's like in business especially early in business or when you're pivoting or something like people need people need a win right? like in my house. We always say like oh she just needs a win or.

54:08.12

Carin Huebner

Um.

54:17.67

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

54:23.54

kitedart

You know, whatever and and it's like in business you need some wins right? because all of this the self-doubt and comparison and all of the things right? So you need to be able to get some wins and so having ah ah, giving yourself the best chance you can to get some wins along the way um is really good because that then.

54:25.69

Carin Huebner

Yes.

54:37.69

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

54:43.42

kitedart

Goes back into reinforming um who you are and your confidence in that kind of thing. Um and and part of decolonizing entrepreneurship is helping people who don't have the 5 years of capital in the bank.

54:47.70

Carin Huebner

Yeah, absolutely yeah.

54:56.70

Carin Huebner

Ah.

55:00.58

kitedart

To be able to keep going in their business right? like because the harsh reality is that if you don't have a certain amount of privilege At some point if you don't make it in your business. You're going to have to go get a job and I want to do the best I can to equip people with getting those wins.

55:01.44

Carin Huebner

Move me.

55:09.14

Carin Huebner

Right.

55:17.42

kitedart

So that they can keep going and they can continue to. We say you know be the maximum contribution that they can be in the world through their business and so it's like there's the macro scale of it and then there's also that like personal micro.

55:24.10

Carin Huebner

Yes, yes. Here.

55:35.77

kitedart

Day-to-day part to it.

55:37.16

Carin Huebner

I love it I love it if you'll bear with me I have 1 question for you. So what are some? What are some contributions you've seen that you've gotten to give that you've seen your impact over the last month

55:41.13

kitedart

Yeah, totally.

55:54.50

kitedart

Oh yeah, like honestly I'm like get in the feels. Um I'm I and I don't I I can't even do it justice. But um I'm totally tearing up like I'm I'm a total cry baby and I fully embrace that.

55:53.53

Carin Huebner

Boom.

56:01.13

Carin Huebner

Oh I'm already tearing up just getting ready for it. And.

56:14.50

kitedart

Um I I've been so lucky like literally the people I get to work with are freaking amazing Amazing humans and I.

56:22.91

Carin Huebner

Yeah, yeah.

56:27.87

kitedart

Um, I've gotten feedback from people about how meaningful this work is to them in terms of and again it's like there's this whole results piece right? because in business. It's all about results in the bottom line but the things that get me and make me tear up are the people who've talked to me about how.

56:37.80

Carin Huebner

Right? right? right.

56:46.98

kitedart

Amazing. They feel feel by setting boundaries for themselves for the first time in their life by doing what they've really want and know is the right thing for them instead of what everybody tells them to do by.

56:54.14

Carin Huebner

Whoa! yes.

56:58.83

Carin Huebner

Yes.

57:04.48

kitedart

Listening to that intuition right? and I mean I've even recently had someone tell me about like entering into a space and feeling treated very poorly and being able to be like yep I don't have to do this I'm out right? Um, so I've I've had.

57:11.99

Carin Huebner

And yes.

57:24.39

kitedart

Someone just reach out to me this week and share how they stood up to their father for the first time in their life. You know talking in, you know at middle age and and I just think that this work goes so far Beyond business.

57:35.34

Carin Huebner

And. Yes.

57:42.76

kitedart

To create creating the life that we really want to live and really living who we truly are and and sharing sharing who we are with the world sharing who we are with the world because we're.

57:58.20

Carin Huebner

Yeah.

58:02.10

kitedart

Every 1 of us is a gift. Um, so that's the stuff that like literally I like to go really deep with my 1 on 1 clients and so um, that stuff means a lot to me because I've I've been through that journey. Yeah boy I wasn't thinking I was gonna cry today.

58:15.66

Carin Huebner

Who gotcha? Well karen it has' been such a joy to get to know you and your journey a little bit more I know a lot of that information but to hear it all.

58:21.53

kitedart

Cheese.

58:32.31

Carin Huebner

Port out and 1 is just incredibly beautiful and I'm really thankful for the work that you do and the things that you bring to folks through this work. So thank you for allowing me to be here in this space.

58:40.10

kitedart

Yeah, oh my gosh. Well thank you for? Thank you for supporting me in so many ways and all of just the conversation like I I truly value your collaboration partnership friendship. It's It's absolutely a gift.

58:54.56

Carin Huebner

Um, no thank you. Thank you.

58:58.73

kitedart

Every single time I share space with you. So Thank you so much.