#42 What does Scaling & Sustaining in Business Even Mean with Katelyn Hamilton

Show Notes

Scaling your business shouldn’t cost you your sanity but for a lot of women, it does.

In this episode of Rooted & Relentless, Steph sits down with systems strategist and business coach Katelyn Hamilton to unpack the truth behind “scaling” and why so many entrepreneurs are burning out chasing it.

Here’s the reality: more clients, more offers, more revenue… isn’t scaling. It’s just more.

This conversation breaks down what sustainable growth actually looks like, how to build systems that give you your time back, and why your capacity—not your ambition—is the real constraint in your business.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted, resentful, or like your business is running you instead of the other way around, this is a cannot miss episode because we'll reframe the way you think and leave you with actionable takeaways to know better then do better.

If you enjoyed this conversation, why step here.

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Key Takeaways

1. Scaling ≠ adding more. It’s increasing efficiency and capacity without increasing effort.
2. Burnout isn’t just being tired—it’s losing interest, energy, and clarity.
3. Systems and automations are not “nice to have”—they’re how you buy back your time.
4. Sustainable growth means your business supports your life—not competes with it.
5. Capacity isn’t fixed—it’s hidden in inefficiencies.
6. Pausing to evaluate your business is not failure—it’s leadership.

Memorable Moments & Soundbites

“You don’t scale by adding more—you scale by doing what you already do better.”

“Burnout is when you wake up and think… what am I even doing this for anymore?”

“You can’t scale adding more manual work to your plate.”

“Sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is pause.”

“Your business should support your life—not the other way around.”

“Capacity isn’t gone—it’s hidden in inefficiency.”

What is Rooted & Relentless?

Rooted & Relentless is the business strategy podcast for entrepreneurs building service-based businesses designed to grow, adapt, and last. Business strategist Steph Rubio shares practical guidance on a range of topics meant to help you sell, scale, and stabilize.
Think sustainable business growth, revenue strategy, systems, capacity, client experience, and the founder leadership required to turn your skills into a successful, sustainable company.

Steph Rubio: All right party people, up and welcome back to another episode of Rooted in Relentless with me, Steph Rubio. I have a super special guest here, Katelyn Hamilton, who is a systems savvy, led business coach, a woman immediately after my own heart, just by saying heart led in systems. I don't even have to say anything else, but we'll keep going. She leads Powerhouse Women. Well, that's a wrap on this episode of Rooted and Relentless. If it made you laugh, nod alone, or grab that cute little notebook of yours and scribble something down, hit me with the SSR, subscribe, share, and review. As in, leave a review. Thanks for hanging. Bye. Hey, I'm Steph Rubio, your go-to for no-nonsense chit chat on growing a business and life that you actually love. Around here, we're rooted in who we are, even if we're still learning to love her, getting clear on where we want to go, and we're relentless in our pursuit to get there. We're clawing our way out of survival mode and learning to bet on ourselves. and help some scale without burnout or the BS, Katelyn is the self-dubbed queen of simplifying complexity, whether it's a messy an overwhelmed team, or a vision that really needs a serious strategy upgrade. And she's a mom of three. So again, we can relate with busy. We sustainable. We need systems to help with that. A lover of bold dreams and real results. And she's all about building businesses that actually support the life you want. We get into the nitty gritty of growth in life and in business, money, identity, boundaries, healing, leadership, parenting, partners, and all the messy bits in between. If you're ready to grow on your own terms, laugh a lot, possibly cry a little, maybe laugh until we cry if we're lucky, then hit subscribe and let's get into it. This is Rooted and Relentless, more time with family, more confidence in your leadership, and more ease in your everyday. Grab your notepad and hold on to your tits. This one's for you. Katelyn, welcome to rooted in relentless.

Katelyn Hamilton: Thank you. I'm so excited to chat and have this conversation.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, let's get into it. you are well known for helping people scale sustainably, helping women, like you mentioned, Powerhouse Women, scale sustainably. And before we can really even get into what that looks like, I know and you know, because you've been in the online space and leading your own community and clients for a while that these are buzzwords. While they used to mean something very blatant and obvious, I've seen them just get taken up. and taken away, think in this kind of trust apocalypse we're in here. So let's just peel it back and what does burnout even mean and what does scaling even mean?

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, is, it kind of comes in many different forms. ⁓ I speak primarily to, especially the mothers, right? Because we are inundated with so many things that I think contribute to burnout. It's the mental load of motherhood. It's the mile long list. It's balancing being a present mom while also running a business. ⁓ And you to take on and wear all these hats. And so for me, it really comes down to, especially as a mom, you don't have to be a mom. This can happen without being a mom as well, but it's not putting the right things in place to support you so that you get to a place where you're just perpetually tired. And at the end of the day, you're just not able to continue at the pace that you were at before because you haven't built business in a way that allows you to of breathe and build in that room that you need in order to continue to have that continued success and growth. So you get to a place where you're like, I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I'm tired. And you just kind of crumble and your business can take the brunt of that.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, truly. And it can show up in ways I've experienced this myself in the past. is definitely a signal I've seen of burnout. Like suddenly tired all the time, but ⁓ also the form of like a sudden loss of interest, not just motivation, ⁓ but interest in things that you might have been really excited about a couple of months ago and really enjoyed doing. But now suddenly, yeah, burnout is like that tired and also these signals of just no longer being interested because typically what happens is that hamster wheel of the run run run the burn burn burn if you think about it like that leads to feeling like what is that all worth anyway like yeah exactly yeah yeah

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, like what am I doing anymore? Like, and doesn't feel worth it anymore. And you get to a place where you're like, to me, it's really a decision maker for where you go from there to is like you get to a place where you're like, I can no longer work this way. And you can, you know, crumble at that moment and burn it all down in a way or That's where I feel like there's a shift that happens and I just need to do this differently. And that's what I'm kind of here to teach women is that it doesn't have to be like that. There is another way. And touching on what you said, like in terms of what scaling means too, is a way that you don't have to continuously take on more. People think of scaling as continuously your revenue to build ⁓ more.

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: you know, income and have more offers and do more, I really like to kind of bring it back to you can create more wealth, but also it's not just like scaling to me is not just about like offers and income scaling to me consistent with doing the things that light you up that bring you joy that allow you to stack things on top of each other, but it's not always offer. it could be like, for example,

Steph Rubio: Mm-hmm.

Katelyn Hamilton: Maybe you have a really successful business, but now you want to step into speaking and you want to go and do more speaking opportunities. It's how are we also building a business that supports you and scales you in a way to focus your time and attention on that so that you're not inundated in the day to day as much as you were before. it's scaling gives you the gives you your time back and gives you the space to pursue another area of growth within the business.

Steph Rubio: Exactly. So I'm a little obsessed because I would have approached this the very similar way that you mentioned like growth and scaling when you were talking about what scaling is because they're not the same thing. Scaling allows you to grow more. It enables growth, but it's been used interchangeably and that's not the same because you can grow through adding a new product line. That's growth. That's not scaling the scaling what you're currently doing. ⁓ Finding ways to do it more efficiently, better, lets you do more of that without significantly increasing resources. So not a lot more time, not a lot of more money in there. ⁓ if you're doing a completely different product line, I would venture to say that's probably not the case. That's brand new resources. That's brand new energy. That's brand new time. So that's growth. That's not scaling.

Katelyn Hamilton: 100%.

Steph Rubio: I also like to do this sometimes. I just Googled like if you just want to Google up what is scaling in business to validate all that our AI overview would say scaling a business means growing revenue at a faster rate than costs, improving efficiency and expanding capacity without a proportional increase in resources, which is essentially what we just said because scaling isn't truly this would be growth. If you do the same thing, if I do what I'm doing this month and then I make

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah.

Steph Rubio: two new clients next month and do all that the same, that's not scaling, that is growth it's the same amount of cost It's not proportional to saving cost while scaling more. So I'm obsessed with the differentiation there and when we're on the same page. How you see or think that scaling causes burnout or can cause burnout?

Katelyn Hamilton: Well, it kind of goes back to like what I was saying in terms of people think it means this one thing, right? And so they think that I'm scaling the business because I'm increasing more, you know, I'm adding more offers or I'm adding more clients or I'm adding more revenue that's causing them to ⁓ their time, be more overwhelmed and ⁓ like also impacts every other part of the business. most intentionally like the client experience, right? I find a lot of people think, okay, I have to continue to scale and scale by more and more. ⁓ And ultimately they're burnt out. Ultimately they're like, I can't keep doing this at this level. And ⁓ brings back to that point of like, okay, well, what do I need to be doing differently because I can't continue this pace. And that's where becomes so important that you kind of... peel back the onion a bit and say, okay, how do we do this? How do we scale the business without requiring more of my time? It's like you're saying, you could add, you could scale the business and add 10 more calls to your calendar and you're scaling, but you're not, you're not doing that in an efficient way that's going to allow you to grow because you're going to be burnt out because you just don't have any time back. And

Steph Rubio: Yeah. Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: That's where I kind of focus on like, okay, I don't want you to focus on scaling from the thought process of adding more. just not sustainable. And that's, think, the biggest pillar in my business and my goals is really helping women build sustainable businesses. And it always look like...

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: ⁓ it doesn't always look like... adding more clients in order to generate more revenue. There's other things that we could be doing when it comes to scaling, like in terms of increasing efficiencies, say putting, for example, automations in place, that could be cutting down on team hours. Guess what? You just scaled your business because you just reduced expenses and you have more revenue. And now you automated more things to better support your clients. Right. So so many of those little tweaks that you can come in and do to create a more efficient business that's actually scaling that. adding more clients in order to generate more revenue. There's other things that we could be doing when it comes to scaling, like in terms of increasing efficiencies, say putting, for example, automations in place, that could be cutting down on team hours. Guess what? You just scaled your business because you just reduced expenses and you have more revenue. And now you automated more things to better support your clients. Right. So so many of those little tweaks that you can come in and do to create a more efficient business that's actually scaling that.

Steph Rubio: more exactly. more exactly.

Katelyn Hamilton: prevents the burnout from happening. prevents the burnout from happening.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, so you just started to an example on this because when you started talking about this part, and I think we can expand on a little bit, you said sustainable a couple of times. And so does a sustainable growth actually look like? You started to peel it back just now when you were like, well, systems can do that in automations because now you have a system doing something for you versus a team. And one, you could save that time and money from your team, but you could also then have them doing something else. Again, if we talk about.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah.

Steph Rubio: product lines or this new idea that just has had to sit on your back burner for a while. what does sustainable growth actually look like?

Katelyn Hamilton: So is really ⁓ to me because it's how I built my entire business. Now I've worked with clients ⁓ across industries and ⁓ gone from zero to a million in a year. for me that I've it on the back end. ⁓ I an OBM for like six years. And so I saw it. I worked in people's businesses firsthand and would come into them. ⁓ and they might be making a million dollars, but they are tired, they're burnt out, they're working around the clock, and they have no systems in place to support the massive level of growth that they had. so I witnessed this early into my business career, and I was like, don't want to build that way. I don't want to build a business where I'm burnt out and I'm working 24 seven. I started my business before I had children. ⁓ And so my goal was always to build a business that reflected the life that I wanted to live. I did not want to be tied to my business 24 seven. So for me, sustainable growth and having a sustainable foundation is not always, doesn't mean it sure. It could happen, but like, it's not always the goal to go from, I think for a while there, the buzzword was like, ⁓ I can take you from zero to a hundred K in like six months. Like that was like the thing so many coaches preached.

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: But they forgot the important piece of like, if you don't have the foundations to support that growth, such as an onboarding experience for your clients, right? You don't have automation set up to, you you send a payment. Like if you're doing everything manually, then you are really putting yourself at a detriment because you can't scale that. You can't scale ⁓ more manual work to your plate. There has to be systems in place to hold that. There has to be processes put in place for your team for you to be able to pass off some of these things. So if you're consistently onboarding every single client, then like you're taking up your time. So back to kind of that original of like, what does it look like to me? ⁓ foundationally building on systems that you are putting in place to support your business at every new level and every new growth point.

Steph Rubio: Yep.

Katelyn Hamilton: it ultimately is feeling supported and not overwhelmed at every single notch, notch in business, know, level in business. Like you're, you're, you're able to do things.

Steph Rubio: Yeah. Yeah, like your milestone, your growth milestone, essentially, whatever that looks like for you.

Katelyn Hamilton: For sure. having the capacity, because I think capacity is a really important thing to talk about as well. That's another, really big thing in business that so many women are like, I don't have the capacity to do that. And I'm like, you do, it's hidden in there because there's things that aren't running efficiently or sustainably. And I think the other important piece here too is the fact that Sustainability is something that you can build to that next level and it holds. So what you've built holds. Like there's the ability to hold that. It's not going to break when you get to the next level. sure, every time you level up, there's tweaks and adjustments that need to be made, but you never really should have to, in my mind, overhaul the whole system if you're building sustainably. You're just making different tweaks along the way to better support the growth that you're ⁓

Steph Rubio: Yeah, so is a finite resource. Like that's not something that can be denied, right? And I call like I say time, energy and money are the three most valuable resources in our business. Like people pay to get those back or spend time and energy and money to make more money, right? So, ⁓ time is a finite resource. So using systems and using systems that are automated, so do it for you. That gives you time back. Like that's one of the ways. So we talk about scaling ⁓ also then plays into your capacity because if you are maxed, especially when we talk about to the point of burnout, the only way that you're going to change that, and I had to this conversation in my mastermind this week when someone said they had burned out. I was like, well, that doesn't just go away. I know this from myself and my own mentors that helped me with it, recognize it and work through it. even watching clients is like, ⁓ it doesn't go away because you recognize that you burned And so keep working at the same magnitude. It changes when you stop that in its tracks. Or if you get to point. you stop that in its tracks. have to stop, especially it's from a capacity standpoint in time, you have to take a real break. You have to reground yourself what's most important and then make your plan of how you're going to carve out and actually hold that boundary around what's most important. So time with your family, et cetera. Because then you become resentful when you don't. And then that builds up and then it starts a cycle. And when you're resentful, we can tie this back to strategy, which I love to do, that shows up. So you're out here wanting more clients or more money, but you're tired as heck and now you're resentful. because you never have time for those values, that family, that time, that travel, whatever. Now you're resentful and that's going to show up. And so it's actually a more vicious cycle than I think people even realize.

Katelyn Hamilton: sure. And I think the important piece that you kind of mentioned too is like you have to pause, right? You have to kind of like pause and evaluate. I a couple of things here. One, I think women really struggle, especially high achieving women to do this ⁓ because feels uncomfortable to pause. It feels wrong to pull back, to pause, to sit in it, to evaluate because you're like, well, if I'm not doing something to generate more revenue or grow, I'm not... successful. think they equate, a lot of times that's equated with success, but sometimes you get to a place in business where it's actually the most strategic thing you can do for your business is pause evaluate what needs to be done differently or what needs to be pulled off your plate in order for you to be successful. And audit that minute that you

Steph Rubio: Yep.

Katelyn Hamilton: in the grand scheme of your business is going to like rocket fire you, so to speak, into propel you forward into that next level. You just have to be willing to be a little bit uncomfortable with taking a minute to evaluate.

Steph Rubio: Yeah. And I think like take more than a minute and I think do it at preset intervals. So it's not just like when it's on fire and this doesn't feel good. It actually just becomes a rhythm. that's approach I take and that's a part of leadership. everyone ⁓ needs set reflections, whether it's monthly or quarterly.

Katelyn Hamilton: Thank Okay.

Steph Rubio: It really depends on your business and your growth level what this looks like, but where you're not only looking at actual numbers because that tells you the story of where to focus all said time, energy, and resources, but that kind of intrinsic moment because you are a stakeholder in your business too. So your energy, your capacity, you should looking at right alongside like revenue. ⁓ What felt good if you're doing it quarterly? What felt good the last quarter, but what didn't? Like, what would I never want to do again? What actually surprised me and went really well? And what was my energy and capacity? And now you start to spot those signals and you can course correct naturally before the burnout. You can start to kind of redraw boundary lines that you didn't even know you needed because...

Katelyn Hamilton: 100%.

Steph Rubio: Your boundaries really are just to protect your values. We know in our space and as leaders we constantly coach people around values, but I don't think many people recognize boundaries as a tool to protect what you value. Because again, then the vicious cycle, Resentment builds because you don't get to do what you value, So we're backing it all the way up.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, and I also think that life changes, I did like that of like, okay, what went well this quarter? What didn't go well? did I you know, with my time and my energy and reflecting on like why it felt that way? ⁓ ⁓ so, you know, we had a lot, I had a lot of trap more travel and Q1 that I've had in any years past. So I didn't feel like make as much progress towards the goals I wanted to make. But at the end of the day, I was like, you know what? I was still able to leave my house at 315 every day to go pick up my kids from school. And that's a huge value to me is like, I started this business because I did not want my kids to be in full-time childcare. was important to me. It's, know, not maybe everyone else's, but like I wanted to pick them up.

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: early every single day and not only get a couple hours with them. that's a win. And I'm like, OK, I still do that every day. I had time for me. I like reinvested in going to the sauna and working out and like, you know, just all those things that I needed for my own physical and mental health. So when you kind of like look at it, it's more than just this is what I talk about, know what I mean by like creating a sustainable business, because those things are just as important. It's like, am I building a business that's supports my life and allows me in this season to kind of like be what I need it to be. And guess what, Q2, I don't think I'm traveling, maybe I'm traveling one week at the end of summer. I'm not traveling as much. And so I'm like, okay, great. I'm gonna be home more, I'm gonna be present more, I'm gonna have more opportunities to do, you know, more time to do some of the things I wanna do. And then season of life, right? So like my kids are 14, five, and three.

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: And we live in a couple of different worlds having an older and youngers. But, know, what my kids need for me now is different than what the newborn stage when I had two under two was my capacity was significantly lower when they were younger because I had so much more mental space taken up by sleep schedules and feed schedules and routines, you know, and stuff like that, that that impacted my business. So like

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: That's what I kind of mean by like as a leader, you're stepping into this multi-dimensional approach to business. And it's not just linear one. We all know that, but it's it's multifaceted and what success looks like, what growth looks like, what scalability looks like, because you might need to outsource more at this point in time to get time back for things that aren't business related. And that's growth still because you you're living a life that feels

Steph Rubio: Yep. Yep.

Katelyn Hamilton: good and that's ultimately what I think we all want and it avoids that burnout. So that's where for me, I never resonated with the like zero to a hundred K in six months or build a seven figure business. That's nice. That's great. And like I still have had success, but my, business didn't blow up overnight. feel like I've always been able to build sustainably because I've kind of kept those things in check and maybe my, my financial success isn't. as quick as somebody else's, but that wasn't the goal for me in building my own business. So I think that you kind of have to look at that and what's important to you.

Steph Rubio: Yeah. So when I talk about sustainable too, especially a lot lately, I'll approach it from, well, it's kind of like the huzzah at the end. I build, you know, and then I'm like, you know, what we're talking about here is really how you build a sustainable business because there's a you aspect to it. But like you referenced your client experience earlier, right? And one way that you can like scaling and having your systems allows you to sustain and such, right? Well, I kind of take client experience and flip it on its head and really help folks understand that it's we've serve way more than our clients and that serves us if we do it real, right? So our collaborator experience, like your experience coming on this podcast counts as that and how I make you feel and how you experience my expertise make you want to recommend someone else when you hear someone talking about needing somewhere, right? And then I get exposure to their audience. So it's this like ecosystem we're building and that's not it. Your teammates are a part of that and you are a part of that. So I have these five stakeholder groups I talk about because of that, because that's how you sustain. ⁓ you have an ecosystem where opportunities are flowing to you which make making that revenue easier. You use systems to make sure that's all taken care of as efficiently as possible you constantly include yourself in a part of that because who's carrying this all anyways? And that includes everything from capacity, energy, ⁓ feels good, what lights you the fuck up and you still want to be doing in a few years time at least right now and what doesn't and how do we scratch that off the list because It really is just one life at the end of the day. I can't throw YOLO around that was cool like 15 years ago, but it's only one. And at the end of the day, the reality is it's really only yours as women that and moms, our job is constantly like the job handed down to us and innately is like this caregiver. We are so good at making sure everything else is taken care of the business, the people, the kids, the husbands, the partners, the family, all of that. act the expense of ourselves typically. So when I do strategy and goals and stuff that people recognize as your strategy, I'm like, yeah, well, you're going to do the business goals. I know you want to make more revenue. We're going to do that, but what about yourself? Because I find that women typically we're not putting ourselves on the list. anywhere. It's always in service to something else. Even though my business is in service to me and my family in some degree, right? One, I love what I do so it fulfills me, but two, I make money so we know what money does. But what else is there to that? I find I have to set my own personal health goals, mental and physical, because I'll put that last when it's busy and the kids have three sports and my husband's working at night now and now I have to cook dinner every night like women used to, you know, and I'm all like rallying against the system over here. I'll do

Katelyn Hamilton: Peace.

Steph Rubio: That's my default. first off a woman, like a mom, what do you mean you're putting yourself first, not your kids? I'm going to do that by default. If they're in the car and they want what I'm eating, I'm gonna freaking give it to them. But I won't put myself first unless I actually set a goal to do so and then track myself against that. So it's almost like this little trickery I do here that you're a stakeholder in your business too. And if you don't sustain the person who holds this entire thing, like,

Katelyn Hamilton: What is? Mm-hmm.

Steph Rubio: not saying you don't have teammates, but the vision and the heart and where you're trying to take it and the reason why you want to do what you do, then it's not going to sustain. That is sustainability, taking care of every stakeholder.

Katelyn Hamilton: So, yes, that's also good leadership too, right? Like, so being a good leader is recognizing that you have to take care of yourself and you also have to ask for what you need too, I think is the other thing. So I think as moms, especially, we are, like you just said, so used to doing everything for everyone. And sometimes it's just like you become the default of, well, that's just gonna land on your plate. And so sometimes...

Steph Rubio: Mm-hmm.

Katelyn Hamilton: for me in order to have more space, more clarity, more sustainability and everything. your personal life, like I believe that personal life and business life are intertwined. And what's happening in the home impacts your work and vice versa. ⁓ so it's during those times that one, you're prioritizing your health and yourself, ⁓ two, like, you for what you need in this season? Because that changes from time to time too, right? similarly to what you of mentioned, like my husband makes dinner more nights a week than I do because it allows me to then be present with my kids while he's inside doing that. that's the dynamic that works ⁓ ⁓ house. Obviously, not necessarily every single night, but like that's what I said. like, I need you to do this and take this off my plate. I'll make the meal plan for the week and ⁓ I'll the groceries for the week. ⁓ That's example, though. We order all of our groceries for delivery because

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: I just needed to take out the time of going to the store. And also we save more money because I'm not standing there with kids pulling random things in the room. But very efficient system there. that's what I need in this season. And it's just different. ⁓ But constantly also evaluating the home and what we need at home. We just added laundry folding to our cleaning service, our bi-weekly cleaning service, because I'm tired of having

Steph Rubio: extra? Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: four laundry baskets that aren't folded or spending an hour folding clothes at the end of the day when I'm exhausted and just want to get to bed earlier, right? Or whatever it may be. I don't know. I think it's a constant ⁓ that goes into good leadership is like recognizing when you need to shift and just kind of having that like running ticker of like, ⁓ I noticed that it's being more self-aware ⁓ call that out sooner so that ⁓ can recognize what you need. ask for it, get the right support to continue to working ⁓ your zone of genius as well and supporting you ⁓ all ways, within the home and the business.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, self-awareness, ownership, accountability. You own that for yourself and your life just as much as your business. ⁓ And you just kind of proved what you were saying about your life and your business being so intertwined in talking about outsourcing. think another thing I see, depending on stage of business, as people are really moving ⁓ really that six figures and kind of growing for the first time. that you outsource in your business, that it's a VA or social media manager. like you can also outsource at home, especially if that's your genius. I know several women growing million dollar businesses that are like, outsource almost everything at home because I can do all of this in my business and freaking love it. And I'd rather do that than everything you just said, than worrying about dinner and dishes and laundry and stuff like that. And so just opening it up. as a woman, they don't have to be so separate. And a lot of us absorb that with like life is life and business is business and really your business is a vessel ⁓ help you live the life that you want, both money and impact and all of that. Right. ⁓ so looking at seven days a week, 24 hours a day, full life cycle of that. What do you need for it to feel fulfilled and good? You have to be self-aware and then you have to acknowledge that and communicate it. learned this

Katelyn Hamilton: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Steph Rubio: So I was always good with boundaries like I am not working when I go home kind of thing, regardless of what job I had because I protected my family time so much. So I can't say I had to learn that through business necessarily, but I definitely, and also from the woman standpoint, so going back to what you were saying with what you need, your husband cooks more than you, that's why you heard me kind of dig at suddenly I'm cooking dinner again and that was not the design around here. Because I was listening to... Rachel Rogers book we should all be millionaires years ago when I started my business just like on audiobook walking and she had this concept where she talks about million dollar decisions versus broke ass decisions and how you're making million dollar decisions or you're making broke ass decisions because we should all be millionaires especially and historically underrepresented groups who have historically been excluded from that kind of access she's like what happens with women is you think that

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah.

Steph Rubio: even asking someone else to cook. Like first off, you have to be able to do that. But even when you get to that point where you're like, hey, listen, this is a really busy week for me. I'm off limits in the kitchen. You guys are on your own. Like my 12 year old can cook macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese so he can feed himself and he can actually feed the whole family. So good luck. But she was like, there's another layer to that when you're a woman. So everyone should be aware of this. It's stuck with me this long. So clearly it's been impactful. But she was like, as women.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah.

Steph Rubio: Even when you do that, you still carry more responsibility because you're still the one making sure there was bread and there was cheese and that they knew that they needed to cook dinner and on and on and on. So this is basically just your permission to know that even trying not to carry so much weight, you're still going to do it. So start being extra self-aware, recognizing what you need to grow the business, to be the vessel to live your life and that entire ecosystem. That's how you lead your business. That's how you lead your life. And you've represented that Katelyn. So for anybody listening, so you know, I didn't know Katelyn much before today, connected on Instagram, someone recommended, right? That you come on the podcast and chat with me. And so sometimes this is always fun because you don't know, like I see what you submit and how you show up online, but you don't know how much synergy there is until you talk. And there's so much similarities, but you're for anyone who doesn't know Katelyn yet is getting to know her through her bomb diggity knowledge. You have lived this and so you are proving it because I mean you said you had three kids, two of those you had while having your business, right? You paid yourself full, I mean I don't know about pay, but you took full maternity leave over 12 weeks. And you have a brick and mortar business now. that is supposed to be profitable within three months and profitability, another not quite buzzword here, but if you're not used to it, it means you make more money than you're spending.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah.

Steph Rubio: and in three months for a brick and mortar especially, that's huge.

Katelyn Hamilton: Okay. Yeah, we're close. very close to profitability. We're not quite there yet. Last month we were about 80%, which was month three. But yeah, think that's like such a couple of small things too in that is that I became the primary income provider for our household the year I had my son, which was 2021. He's five. And my husband was able to leave his corporate career.

Steph Rubio: Yeah. incredible.

Katelyn Hamilton: start his own business. And I still took a 12 week maternity leave. And he left his his job and he is a home inspector now but he started that business that same year. for the first two years, he made very little money. He was still networking and building the relationships and business took significantly longer to get off the ground than mine. And over the last five years, he is now at a place where he is doing exceptionally well with his business that has been able to allow me to kind of refocus on pulling back a little bit to like, where do I wanna focus my time? What do I wanna be doing? I want a little bit more time with the kids. So like I haven't had. ⁓

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: the financial, I'll say pressure, but like I enjoyed what I did. I've always kind of been a hustler by nature in a way, but building sustainably, right? And so been nice that like we have kind of even each other out. Like he worked the corporate career, allowed me to build my business in those first couple of years. And then I was able to like sustain us through not just having one kid, but two kids and taking, ⁓ I had them 22 months apart. took two 12 week maternity leaves. had a team that supported me in my business for those 12 weeks while I was out both times and was still the primary breadwinner. And now I'm at a place where I'm kind of shifting like, okay, what do I want to focus on? I want to do more speaking. I want to do more, you know, X, Y, and Z. And also I've put in a substantial amount of time in our new business. It is brick and mortar. It's a wellness business. ⁓ we have solid cold plunges ⁓ ⁓ room and red light therapy, which also has helped me just focus on my own wellness goals too. ⁓ I've been able to create similarly. is why it's ⁓ This runs across all industries, across all businesses, brick and mortar, online, wherever. Everything that I have learned, ⁓ have put into practice with this new business in creating

Steph Rubio: Yeah.

Katelyn Hamilton: I mean, we launched our business within six months, which is also very unheard of for a brick and mortar to come to life that quickly. ⁓

Steph Rubio: Yeah, yep. Usually that takes long, just building out the space sometimes. You're lucky that's out of the time.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, yeah. it's all that to say like, it's applicable, like building sustainable systems, having the right team members in place, having the right systems and processes, creating, you know, the lead gen and marketing plan and sales plan, like, all of that works across the board, like when you do this in a foundational way to create scalable systems in business. And it's brought me so much joy to be able to kind of like focus on doing that as well. And yeah, we are so, so very close to, you know, we're hoping to be within a couple thousand this month of the black, which is huge. So.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, congratulations. mean, that's huge. three months would be huge. So the fact that you're knocking on month four and you're like, ⁓ almost it's probably next month. no big deal. I mean, that's a definition power couple by the way. So let's not skip over that. you want to talk about power couple for me, that's not the folks like showing up on Instagram, showing us what they're wearing. No.

Katelyn Hamilton: Thank you.

Steph Rubio: shade, you know what I mean? And their good bodies are taking care of themselves. But it's like people growing and being able to, you know, it's not even ride the backs of each other, but like one can stand to be the strong pillar, what the other one builds and vice versa. Like my husband is going to get to listen to this episode because I've tried to get him to start a business for about a year and he's not biting. And I finally let him go, but I'm just going to give him subtle reminders. Like you should really listen to this episode and 30 minutes in like, okay.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah. That's whole idea.

Steph Rubio: and why until he gets to the business part. He was laid off twice last year and I got really pissed because it was like the first time and we've been together. I mean, we lived here almost 10 years. He had the same job. He was with them for eight years and then there was a lot out of control, know, Doge and all of that fun administrative stuff. But I was just like, why don't we just do what we want and make money and not let people tell you when you get to work and not. But he does super specialized like nerdy IT stuff. And he's like, yeah, this is just sorry. That's the trade I want to do. I'm like, fine. That's fine.

Katelyn Hamilton: You Not You

Steph Rubio: but I just can't execute another business. I can advise someone, I need the hands, I need the hands. This was a really good conversation. I don't think we should stop here. everything we talked about today really to me comes back to leadership. It comes back to leading yourself. It comes back to leading others, being aware of what's needed to achieve what you want both in life and in business. ⁓

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, yes.

Steph Rubio: So I think that you have a leadership assessment, yes, that can help people kind of start there. Like where are we going with this baby and start on that track. For anyone listening, me a little bit more.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, so essentially this is just a downloadable. It's not your traditional like, oh, I'm going to score you on what your leadership strengths are. But it's almost like an analysis of self in a way. And it also helps you identify not just your strengths, but also like where those gaps are and then recommendations onto like what the right support for those gaps are as a leader. So we all have our own unique leadership strengths, weaknesses, right? But this kind of takes it a step further of not just like telling you what those are. It's like, okay, here's then how we support this from an entire business and team perspective as well to help your business run again, more efficiently, more effectively to be able to support you as you continue to scale and grow. So this is a free resource that can just in your email and get sent straight to your inbox and you'll have that to support you in your team.

Steph Rubio: Sweet, okay, well like the diagnostic aspect to that too. So it's not like fill this out and go forth and still be questioning what you're doing here. I'll drop the link to that in the show notes so that anyone interested can take a peek. And for any of your new friends listening that want to keep up with you, tell us where they can do that.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yeah, I would love if you sent me an Instagram DM. I'm very active on Instagram. My handle is Katelyn K-A-T-E-L-Y-N-E Hamilton. you also check out my website. It's same thing, katelynehamilton.com would love to connect and have conversations around motherhood and business and scalability and systems and all the things in the DMs, because that's where the real fun happens.

Steph Rubio: Yeah, same voice notes. Obviously, know, sent you some voice notes too. So I love to just hop on and get straight to the heart of what we're talking about. all right, I'll drop that in the show notes too though. So no one has to worry about landing on someone else's webpage. They can find you on Instagram. Thank so much for joining and chatting today, Katelyn. I'll see you next time. Bye.

Katelyn Hamilton: Yes. Thank you. Bye.