Kate Johnson has just found the clear path towards what resonates most with her soul, and I couldn’t be happier to support her! She is passionate about spreading happiness through baking. Her business, Kate’s Kitchen Seattle initially started as a monthly cookie subscription service, but has also expanded to cakes and cupcakes to make those events and occasions extra special.
But before she doubled down on the path she truly wanted, she had been feeling quite stuck. So she took up Clear Path Consulting with me to help her determine her next best steps.
Who is Clear Path Consulting for?
The women entrepreneurs or professionals who:
1) are not sure where they should be headed or feel stuck,
2) know what they want to achieve, but just don’t know how to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be.
Kate wanted clear and actionable steps that she didn’t have to second-guess. So together, we mapped out her journey to become the best version of herself.
The process of uncovering a Clear Path may begin with uncertainty.
Before this point, Kate felt her bakery business may have fizzled out. At first, she wasn’t sure whether it was still worth reviving. She had no clue how to move forward. She feared the thought of doing her office day job for probably another 30 years. Contrast that with her huge smile whenever she would picture her thriving bakery business.
One of the exercises she received in the packet I sent her would help her identify all the different options that she could have with this business. There are so many! It’s one reason we may get into a sort of analysis paralysis or become unsure on what choice to make. We worked together to make sure that each action step matched the needs of her unique situation as well as resonated with her own desires.
Whether or not Kate aims to sell part-time at Sunday markets or go full force into building a thriving commercial business, she should be able to take each action with confidence. Depending on where she’s currently at, she could have some contingency plans in place to support her even as the details may change.
An outside perspective can help you choose what’s right for you.
Once she strongly considered pursuing her dream again, she was faced with even more choices. There are many viable ways to get to a goal, but not all of them are right for her.
She took the Clear Path assessment which is modelled after a scientifically based assessment that is backed by validity studies across many countries. The expertise in the assessment can help to provide a fresh perspective about yourself and how you show up behaviorally in your career or business. Armed with this information, you can determine which path of action can work best for you and feel most authentic to your desires.
Based on the info provided by the assessment, we’ve mapped out the steps on the path to Kate’s goal that would match her strengths as well as help her stay laser-focused on the things she has the most control over. We’ve also eliminated some unnecessary steps that tended to drain her energy. Lastly, we’ve compiled and organized resources in a way that could work with many contingencies.
A clear intention is what calls forth your next steps.
When she finally decided, things got clearer. Making her decision put Kate through a transition process, which, though difficult, she reports is totally worth it. What she enjoyed the most was the aha! moment where she realized “I can actually just do it [bake cookies] because I want to!”
I loved seeing that expression light up on her face as I knew she was going to be able to spread her own joy to other people through her craft.
She felt more empowered. It was all about making the conscious choice to finally go after it. Definitely a hard choice, but that’s exactly where the magic happens!
Given challenges, most people aren’t decisive at first. Sometimes it takes going through a step by step process, assessing things carefully, and finding out what specifically works for you that you get to a point where your goals feel more achievable. In Kate’s case, saving up for that expensive cottage food license (and probably eventually a commercial license if she chooses to go that route) started to feel more viable.
Once she was decided, it was only a matter of consistent baby steps. We mapped out things she could start on RIGHT AWAY and she knocked those puppies out of the park. Things that previously felt impossible stopped feeling impossible. The next resource was something that she could more easily manifest along the way. Specific details would eventually come up at the right time to answer some of her questions.
Having a clear intention is what makes the path to your goal feel more intuitive and achievable.
Kate’s success would mean more happiness is spread around.
When I asked Kate what moved the needle for her, it was all the conversations relating to why she did it in the first place. It was about all her insights and how she had redefined her success to mean reconnecting with and sharing her joy.
Kate deciding this had also greatly enhanced the clarity she felt about her own path. It was the moment when things “clicked,” and dots connected. She was about to start on her flow or momentum…
Kate joyfully recalls how it all started,
“I started routinely baking on Thursday nights over 10 years ago. It had been a long week at work. When I got home, I collapsed on the couch and was so happy it was the weekend… And then I remembered it was Thursday. So I went to the kitchen and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies to get me through the evening.
The next day I took about three dozen cookies in to work to share with the office. They were gobbled up in about 2 hours! It was great to bring a little bit of joy to an otherwise stressful office. And so began my cookie Fridays at work … The kitchen is my happy place. It brings me joy and I love to share that joy with others.”
It’s amazing when people like Kate reconnect with their passions, as it allows a chance for more and more people to pay it forward. It seems like so much of this happiness really goes around like currency!
Stay tuned with Kate’s Kitchen Seattle as she tests out new recipes like Earl Grey Lemon Tea cookies and Carrot Cake Whoopie pies! You can (and should!) find her at her website or on social media:
kateskitchenseattle.com
instagram.com/kateskitchenseattle
facebook.com/KatesKitchenSeattle
Mapping Out a Clear Path for Yourself
Sometimes you need to talk through it to find out what is holding you back or keeping you stuck. You also need to first put your intention out there before you will find something or be in the right place for the next step.
Overall, I hope you leave this blog with a willingness to have an open dialogue with yourself so you can map out your clearest path.
Whatever you choose, I’d gladly support you on your journey.
All the best,
