Building a Community to Empower Entrepreneurs through the Highs and Lows of Business with Katie Doherty of Founded Outdoors
Release Date: 12/26/2024
Your Micro-Actions Matter: Add Them to Your Everyday | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 7
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 7 of ! We're exploring Values: the concepts that drive us forward and the principles we want to honor in our lives. Hear about my own value of autonomy and how it's shaped everything from my career choices to my daily life. But you'll also learn about something I've recently discovered: the power of honoring values in tiny, everyday moments. You'll learn: Why values serve as powerful compasses for decision making The difference between big overarching values and small, daily applications How tiny micro-actions can create a sense of fulfillment and alignment 12 Weeks of...
info_outline
What's Essential, Urgent, or Important as a Creative Business Owner? | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 6
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 6 of ! We're exploring Essentialism: the practice of ruthless prioritization and figuring out what truly matters most. Hear about my own struggle with trying to pack too much into my calendar — both personally and in my business — and the toll it took on my energy and sense of aliveness. You'll learn: Why creatives and business owners are particularly vulnerable to non-essentialism The difference between what's essential, important, and urgent How saying no can take you further than saying yes 12 Weeks of Wintering is a practice I’m sharing while I’m on parental...
info_outline
Your Self-Identity Can Be a Tool AND a Trap | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 5
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 5 of ! We're reflecting on Identity and the creation of our sense of self. It’s a paradox: A strong sense of identity can be incredibly powerful, but it can also become a trap. Hear my own story about how identifying as a "good snowboarder" kept me from taking risks, learning new things, and evolving in the sport I loved. You'll learn: Why we're sometimes afraid to change or evolve, because we're scared of leaving the old version of ourselves behind How rigid identities, especially ones given to us by others, can hold us back Why it's important to mourn old...
info_outline
Why It's Hard to Find Alignment as a Business Owner | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 4
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 4 of ! This week, we're exploring Alignment: the place where your being meets your doing. Alignment is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but few of us know how to truly define it, even when we know we’re feeling out of alignment. You'll learn: Why alignment is especially challenging for business owners It’s a lifelong journey, not a one-time achievement How to give yourself grace as you continue refining what alignment means to you 12 Weeks of Wintering is a practice I’m sharing while I’m on parental leave. Each week offers a Wintering theme, with a minisode like...
info_outline
Embrace Seasonality in Outdoor Industry Work (and Life) | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 3
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 3 of ! We're diving into the power of Seasonality: both the natural rhythms of the outdoor industry and the cyclical nature of growth itself. Hear about my past work as an events producer in the skiing and snowboarding industry, when seasonality dictated everything about my business. You'll learn: Why seasonality is a pattern, especially in the outdoor industry How to anticipate highs and lows to plan strategically (or give yourself permission to rest) The difference between linear growth and cyclical growth 12 Weeks of Wintering is a practice I’m sharing while I’m on...
info_outline
You Can't Out-Optimize Your Calendar: What's Your Capacity? | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 2
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 2 of ! We're diving into the power of Capacity: understanding the time, energy, money, and space you actually have available to accomplish your goals (before taking action). Hear about my own reckoning with capacity when I became a mom, and the struggles I often see clients face around their capacity. You’ll learn: Why you can’t out-optimize your calendar A multi-step approach to managing your workload Why capacity and vision work best together 12 Weeks of Wintering is a practice I’m sharing while I’m on parental leave. Each week offers a Wintering theme, with a...
info_outline
Set a Clear Vision for 2026 and Beyond | 12 Weeks of Wintering Week 1
Creatives In The Wild
Welcome to Week 1 of ! We're diving into the power of Visioning: not just setting goals, but creating an expansive picture of the life and version of yourself you want to become. Hear my own story of building a "successful" freelance events business that checked all the boxes on paper, but didn't align with who I actually wanted to be. You’ll learn: Why it’s helpful to set goals that actually feed your vision Permission to be super expansive in your vision How freelancers can use visioning when times are tough 12 Weeks of Wintering is a practice I’m sharing while I’m on parental...
info_outline
Your Business, Your Way: How to Design Your Work Around Your Values
Creatives In The Wild
What does it mean to build a business that truly reflects who you are? Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to chat about how she integrates her core values into her maker business, including: How to integrate your values into every aspect of your business The role of intentionality in creative entrepreneurship Giving yourself permission to do things your way The importance of community and connection in staying inspired Why creativity and business don’t have to exist in isolation Creative business retreat meets all-women’s river trip in...
info_outline
Weaving Strategy, Soul, and Sales in the Outdoor Industry with Darren Josey
Creatives In The Wild
Darren Josey is an outdoorsman, bird watcher, spouse, father of two, and the founder of First Seed Sown. First Seed Sown is a sales and marketing agency serving fellow BIPOC-owned businesses, brands looking to improve their DEI initiatives, and municipalities with environmental justice communities who want to make the outdoors more equitable for everyone in their city. Connect with DJ or join his "Marketing on a $0 Budget" class: This is a longer episode than usual, but it's FULL of helpful perspectives for freelancers. Here are some timestamps so you can find parts to...
info_outline
Your Dreams are Allowed to Evolve as a Business Owner or Maker
Creatives In The Wild
What if the goal you set ends up being something you don't want, after all? Chereen Leong Schwarz of Smeeny Made Wild joins me to share her winding path of entrepreneurship, including: How dreams evolve and why alignment is a process, not a destination The challenge of letting go of past versions of yourself Making big career shifts and embracing uncertainty Recognizing when it’s time to realign your business with your values The power of community and support in creative entrepreneurship Retreat update: We're pushing the British Columbia Retreat to 2026! Curious...
info_outlineWhat can freelancers learn from those founding product-based businesses?
Katie Doherty is the co-founder of Founded Outdoors, a company dedicated to providing resources, programming, and community for emerging outdoor brands.
She is passionate about driving inclusive change through entrepreneurship and combines her experience in the tech start-up world and her love of the outdoors by supporting founders from idea to launch.
With her co-founder Enhao Li, she has created a thriving community of outdoor industry founders and has supported more than 65 founders through their accelerator programs like Embark, a program developed in collaboration with REI Co-op’s Path Ahead Ventures.
We chat about:
- how crucial community is to business building
- embracing an iterative process to create the best possible product for your ideal customer
- aligning your professional mission with your personal values
- how Katie and Enhao came to create the Founded Outdoors community
Connect with Founded Outdoors:
If you want 2025 to be your era of freelance flow, I'd love to invite you to my new group coaching community.
Because you can have a full business AND be a human first.
This program is for the freelancer who...
- is working their butt off, but not spending time doing what they love most.
- has a steady stream of clients, but not dream ones.
- makes ends meet, but wants more financial security.
- has some systems in place, but keeps overriding their boundaries.
- knows their values, but gets stuck trying to align them with a business model.
I deeply believe that you can be an effective business owner who also sets boundaries and makes space for fun.
For 6 months, we’ll meet twice a month for 90 minute group calls and use a private Slack channel on an ongoing basis for round-the-clock community interaction.
You'll also get access to all past Just A Wild Thought workshop recordings and priority for future 1:1 coaching availability.
If you're a successful creative who knows there’s something more, I invite you to explore the program soon. We start in February, and the community is capped at 8 people.
Info here: https://www.justawildthought.com/findyourfreelanceflow
Connect with Justine:
- Website: https://www.justawildthought.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justawildthought
Was this episode helpful? Screenshot this and tell a friend to go to justawildthought.com/podcast!
Please rate and review Creatives in the Wild on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.