Catie Campbell and her career of leadership
I recently had the chance to sit down with Catie Campbell, the President of the Board of Das Greenhaus and the President of Colibri Magic. Catie works as an executive coach, helping leaders and their teams find success in every area of their lives. I asked Catie about her experiences, trends that she notices among leaders and businesses, and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Catie, as the President of the Board of Das Greenhaus, gave some insight into what this role looks like for her. Since Das Greenhaus is still a new nonprofit, she is a lot more hands-on while also figuring out what the short and long term strategy for the organization is. Since the staff is small and there are a lot of new programs and processes continually being implemented, sometimes she has to “roll up her sleeves” to get things done. She provides support and resources for the organization, hoping to see it continue to grow and thrive.
After hearing about her role at Das Greenhaus, I asked Catie to detail her work at Colibri Magic. She explained that she started the company about a year and a half ago to continue her professional career as an executive coach, helping executive teams and organizations to implement better leadership and culture. While her day-to-day schedule changes frequently, the majority of her work is working one on one with leaders. By helping them to analyze their behaviors and the way they think and operate, she assists these leaders to achieve both personal and professional goals. Another chunk of her work comes from working with executive leadership teams as a whole, providing insights on strategy, communication, and working effectively as a team. Catie also delivers keynote speaking on a wide range of topics like leadership, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurship. She enjoys working with large groups of people to inspire them to be better personally and professionally.
I then asked Catie about her background, more specifically how she got into executive coaching and keynote speaking. She described that while studying psychology, she was always hooked on understanding what true, great leadership looks like. While working in a number of different industries across different states, Catie observed the leaders that everyone seemed to want to work for. She did a lot of work developing leadership programs for executives, identifying different roadblocks and accelerators for individuals. Eventually, an opportunity presented itself to be an executive coach, and she took it and hasn’t looked back. Catie also touched on her process of becoming a keynote speaker. She explained how she kind of “fell into it.” As an athletic swim coach, she was used to getting up in front of crowds of parents and kids to talk about what the team was doing. Then, early in her professional career, she got a lot of practice talking to and inspiring people. She learned that she really likes doing this, so it is something she has continued throughout her professional career.
Since Catie has worked with and studied many successful leaders across her career, I asked her what key skills she sees across the board. She explained that the number one skill in any industry or company is emotional intelligence. It is important to be able to “manage yourself and your emotions” while also understanding the emotions of others. Being able to do this can help you create outcomes that are good for everybody involved. Another key skill she notes is effective communication. This is not only how you write and speak, but also how you plan your message and what you want to convey.
Lastly, successful leaders need to have a heart for the people they are leading. Successful leaders really get to know the people they work with and understand who they are. By doing this, they make their people feel like they matter and that they truly care about their success and development. According to Catie, these three skills combined are key to becoming a great leader in any field.
Having worked with many businesses across different industries, I was curious to ask Catie about the biggest challenges she sees in businesses. She described that the main issue is that “the world is moving much faster than businesses.” This makes it harder to be opportunistic as there is more bureaucracy and opinions to go through. Because technology is moving so fast, investments made just a few years ago need to be replaced by newer, better investments. However, these changes are hard for the company to commit to and it ultimately trips them up. Another issue she notices is companies not having the support processes in place when hiring a lot of new employees. By not taking the time to develop career paths and growth opportunities within the company, people are less likely to stay. She explained how companies need to think about growth as a “consistent investment into their business.”
After talking about businesses and their leaders, I asked Catie what advice she would give to entrepreneurs looking to get started. She explained that a step many entrepreneurs skip is thinking about the “ideal future structure of the company as it continues to grow and meet goals.” Many entrepreneurs are experts in their field with great ideas, but they have no experience running and operating a business. As the company continues to grow, this can impact decision making, so it is worth considering bringing in a more experienced individual to be CEO and consider the strategy of the company while the entrepreneur continues to work on their passion.
Finally, I asked Catie what advice she would give to individuals interested in building their personal brand. She explained that people with really strong personal brands tend to have clarity around their values, beliefs, who they are, and what they stand for. This makes it easy for them to explain why they do or don’t do something and to justify their decisions. It is impossible to appeal to every person, so it is better to build a strong brand and be clear on who you are and who you aren’t as you “have to live into who you really are.”
Sitting down with Catie and learning more about her role with Das Greenhaus and Colibri Magic was a great experience. I enjoyed talking to Catie about leadership and entrepreneurship, and I am looking forward to watching what she is able to accomplish in her roles.
The Man, the Myth, the Legend : Frank Ritchie
This week I got to sit down with Frank Ritchie and learn more about his entrepreneurial journey. He is known to most as a “jack of all trades,” the owner of Ritchie Automotive Repair and Alignment, an associate pastor at Spring Creek United Methodist Church, Mayor of Boerne, and most recently “Pappy” by his first granddaughter, Millie Grace. But I know him as “Dad.” He has been my hero since the day I was born, teaching me compassion, patience, understanding, independence, and grit; but most importantly he taught me about the unconditional love of God. My dad has been my biggest supporter in all my wild endeavors, from trying every sport under the sun to graduating from Tarleton State University and furthering my education by pursuing my Master’s degree. Even as busy as he is, my dad has never failed to be there for me when celebrating my accomplishments, wiping my tears when I am down, and pushing me to be a better person than I was the day before. I truly am one lucky girl to call him “Dad.”
Now, my dad is not a “Native Texan.” He was raised on a farm up in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania. With 12 brothers and sisters, my dad was lucky number 13. After graduating from Dayton High School, he enlisted with the United States Air Force. During his enlistment, he worked as a mechanic and was stationed in several areas, including Guam and Iraq. When stationed in Texas he met my mother, Jennifer. They soon got married and had my brother, Walker, myself, and in 2013, my little sister, Zoey.
Ritchie Automotive opened its doors in August 2007 and has been a major part of my life ever since. I can remember afternoons running around the bays, exploring the areas behind the shop, and my very first, “Thank you for calling Ritchie Automotive, this is Carlee, how may I help you?” Summers spent answering the phone, writing invoices, picking up parts, assisting with transportation of customers (when I got my license, of course), and probably the most important part to the guys… picking up lunch. Growing up and watching as my father began his business, provided me with a special and unique childhood; learning the ins and outs of a business, getting my very first job, and most importantly it taught me the importance of finding a balance between work and family life. We spent a lot of time together as a family. Eventually, many years from now when my dad decides to take off his mechanic hat, Ritchie Automotive will be under the ownership of my brother, Walker.
I first asked my dad what led him to open his mechanic shop. To my surprise, he never intended on owning his own business, “it was a God thing,” he said. While attending his Saturday morning men’s group, one of the members told him that “God was putting it on my heart to buy you a business and let you run it.” This member explained that he knew my dad’s character, that he is a man of faith, and that our community needed a man like my dad to provide service to the members of the community. My dad explains how it was a crazy experience because most people don’t have connections or relationships within the community that are going to do what this man did. He allowed my father the chance to build something in the community and “pay him back when he started to make money.” My dad further informed me that the original man wasn’t able to continue with this calling due to getting sick, but another member of the community felt the same way and offered the same deal. “It was a gift from God, and that is why everything we do aligns with the scripture and mantra, Colossians 3:23, we take that to heart,” he stated. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” This is printed on the back of every shirt worn by the men who work there, and on the back of shirts my dad sells to customers. “God blessed us with a business, blessed me with the business, and we want to make sure that business is a blessing back to the community,” Frank stated.
I was curious to know what the most difficult and most rewarding parts of his entrepreneurial journey have been. “The most difficult is just getting the business established,” he said. Building the clientele, trusting it was going to be successful, and looking at the numbers, such as the income versus debt ratio. The most rewarding part, he shared, has been just seeing the business be successful. Having the ability to step away and do more things with his family has been another rewarding part of entrepreneurship.
With his recent appointment to Mayor, I wanted to know how, if at all, that has affected Ritchie Automotive. “It really hasn’t, it’s just been time management on my part,” he said. “The crew at the shop are really good. Walker, Ryan, and Nick are really amazing at stepping up and taking on the load when I’m not there.” Having a great crew in place has made this transition to Mayor a bit easier on Frank. He has been focused on rearranging his time at the shop to fit his duties as Mayor, ensuring he is allocating his time properly. This also had me curious if the shop has seen an increase in revenue since his appointment, “No, we are still on track as we have been for the last two years,” he stated.
I wanted to know what his overall goal for Ritchie Automotive has been since opening the doors. “To be a successful business, that is community oriented and gives back to the community; proving quality service and quality customer relations,” he stated. Frank loves, values, and cherishes the community that surrounds Ritchie Automotive and his goal is to be active in supporting that community. Ritchie Automotive can be seen proudly sponsoring student athletics, youth sports teams, and the local competitive cheer team.
Knowing how and where my father was raised, I wanted to know how his life experiences helped prepare him for this journey as an entrepreneur. He said that “growing up on the farm, having a strong work ethic, being in the military, and trusting and following in Jesus,” prepared him for this path. “Integrity matters, quality service matters, and being open and honest in relationships” was learned both on the farm and in the service, and this has equipped him to be a good business owner and a good employer. He strives to be fair and right to all his employees, understanding what is important to them. He believes his life experiences have benefitted him as a business owner.
Lastly, I asked my dad to give some advice to those wanting to start their own business. “Don’t be afraid to take the risk, surround yourself with good employees, and don’t try to do it all by yourself,” he said. Another piece of advice was to surround yourself with people who are willing to give you advice and take advice themselves. “Be ready and willing to switch plans when something isn’t working. It’s okay to fail, in fact, you’ll probably fail several times before you succeed. Don’t get stuck in a ‘this how we do things and this is what we’re going to do’ mindset; be open and willing to change”.
