IAM438- Founder Inspires and Empowers Women to See Their Value and Power

Kate Bryan is the Founder and CEO of 1 Girl Revolution. After living away from Detroit for nearly 10 years, Kate recently returned to her roots and decided that Detroit was the ideal place to launch 1 Girl Revolution. 1 Girl Revolution is the embodiment of Detroit's two mottos – “there is always hope” and “it will rise from the ashes.” Just like for us, there is always hope and we will rise from the ashes. 1 Girl Revolution highlights the stories of everyday women who are changing the world through their lives. Our hope is that we can inspire and empower every woman to see her value, her purpose, and her power – and recognize that she has the power to change the world through her life.

• CEO Hack: Building a schedule around when I'm most productive
• CEO Nugget: (1) Surround yourself with people (2) Don't be afraid to take the jump
• CEO Defined: Protector

Website: http://www.1girlrevolution.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/1girlrevo
Instagram: www.instagram.com/1girlrevo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/1girlrevo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv7LjdEH9HQDtcqWwVmEdXQ
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1459681878
https://soundcloud.com/1girlrevo/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today, I've Kate Bryan of 1 Girl Revolution. Kate, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Kate Bryan 0:38

Thanks so much for having me. Gresh.

Gresham Harkless 0:39

No problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Kate, so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Kate is the founder and CEO of 1 Girl Revolution. After living away from Detroit for nearly 10 years, Kate recently returned to her roots and decided that Detroit was the ideal place to launch 1 Girl Revolution. 1 Girl Revolution is the embodiment of Detroit's two models, there is always hope it will rise from the ashes. Just like for us, there's always hope, and we will rise from the ashes.

1 Girl Revolution highlights the stories of everyday women who are changing the world through their lives, and their hope is that we can inspire and empower every woman to see her value, her purpose, and her power and recognize that she has the power to change the world through her life. Kate, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Kate Bryan 1:24

I'm ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:24

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. When did you get started with the business?

Kate Bryan 1:31

Sure. So I guess my CEO story really starts over when I lived in DC, I lived in DC for six years, not very far from where you are Gresh. I lived there for six years and worked in PR public relations and media. And I felt like there were so many stories that weren't being told, particularly stories of women, women who are changing the world through their lives. And so after being in DC for six years, I decided to move back to Detroit.

And when I moved back, I saw those two phrases that you mentioned before I was reading a book about Detroit. And I saw those two phrases. And it was almost like this epiphany moment where everything kind of collided. And I realized I was like oh my gosh, I could create a platform for women to tell their stories where you know, I don't really have an agenda, I just allow women the opportunity to tell their stories.

And so many of the women that I've interviewed over the past year, really it's only been a year, and I've interviewed over 75 women, all across the country, all different stories, whether it's going through addiction and recovery, and now they're helping other, women through recovery victims or survivors of human trafficking, who now are helping other survivors of human trafficking, or helping women get out all the way over to a little five-year-old girl that creates coloring books for children in hospitals.

So there are so many stories that that need to be out there. And so it kind of was like a heart project that I wanted to do. And I felt like, there were a lot of different ways that I could do it and, run it through a different business. But then I thought, what, I bet I could just do it on my own. And so that's what I did.

Gresham Harkless 2:56

Nice, I definitely appreciate that. And definitely here, and of course, you were in the DC, Maryland, or Virginia. But I think that what you kind of spoke to is one of the beautiful things about this day and age where, if you have or you feel like something isn't focused or doesn't get enough airway, so to speak, you don't have to necessarily wait for this publication to pick it up or that publication to pick it up. We actually have the power to create our own podcast creator, or whatever we want to create because we have all this technology at our fingertips.

Kate Bryan 3:22

Exactly. And social media is such a powerful force in that we can build it. We really have built a community through social media and podcasting, so many people are supporting one another. And it's a way to connect with people that you may not get access to otherwise. So I think it's great.

Gresham Harkless 3:36

Yeah, absolutely. I know you spoke a lot about like when we talked offline about the the community that is in Detroit, especially for podcasters that I don't even know of. So it's great to kind of hear that you've been able to kind of leverage that. And you guys have such a strong community.

Kate Bryan 3:48

Yeah, exactly. And so many young people are moving to Detroit because it really is this revitalization. And it's cheap, to be totally honest. It's cheap to live in Detroit. So a lot of people are moving here to really kind of build their businesses. There are a lot of young people who are starting businesses or opening restaurants or different things. So it's a really vibrant community.

Gresham Harkless 4:04

Yeah, absolutely. There's definitely an opportunity there. So I appreciate you for bringing light to that. So I know you touched on it a little bit. Can you tell us a little bit more about your podcast and everything that you're hoping to kind of even see with the revolution?

Kate Bryan 4:15

Sure, so once a revolution, you know, it started about a year ago, I kind of came up with this idea. And it first started as a podcast. And so I was like, I'm just going to kind of test it and see how that goes. And it just continued to gain momentum. And more and more people more and more women wanted to do the podcast or different people would send me stories.

And so I really kind of created this network of women that were sharing their stories, all different stories, all different ways, all different places across the country. Even some American I focused on American women, particularly at the moment I'd love to get into international as well. But I have covered some American women who are overseas doing work in different countries because I think that's really powerful.

But it started as a podcast and then in January, I launched a website, 1GirlRevolution.com, which is a bigger platform that uses the podcast, but also social media. So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. So there's a video element as well, to tell the stories of these women are really let them tell their story.

So let them tell their story through the podcast. But then I've also done a lot of video interviews or just one-on-one interviews where I sit down with different women and interview them about their stories. So we'll see where it goes. But it's just continued to gain momentum. And I'm really excited to see what the future holds.

Gresham Harkless 5:26

Yeah, I love that. And I think a lot of times, and definitely correct me if I'm wrong, but I kind of feel like when you have such a strong move in or revolution, for lack of a better term, you just kind of have to do the steps, and then it kind of takes off from there. And a lot of times, you just haven't had to see where it goes.

Because it sounds like you have such a strong, first of all, passion for what it is that you're doing. But it also has such a strong mission and kind of sounds like it just will kind of take off from there.

Kate Bryan 5:49

Exactly. And these are the hard moments, right? It's and I know, we're gonna get into this a little bit. But it's like the hard moments of starting something, you have to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly, so you kind of have to deal with even the kind of mundane stuff, which isn't great sometimes. But it's just continued to gain momentum. And for me, one of the driving forces is hearing these women's stories.

And also, a lot of these women have never told their stories before, they've never had an opportunity where somebody sat down and said, I want to know you and I want to know your story. And I think that's really inspiring that these women are using this platform to tell their stories, and it's inspiring other women to do good in their own communities.

Gresham Harkless 6:22

Yeah, absolutely. And bring light to it to everybody, because everybody does have that story. But we don't all necessarily have that opportunity to do that. So I appreciate you for doing that. So you might have already touched on this. But I want to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, I think it'd be for you personally or for 1 Girl Revolution, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Kate Bryan 6:39

I think that really, it is creating this platform that's nonpolitical, it's nondivisive, you know, we try and focus on where people, people can come together. And so that's been a really powerful force. And you don't often see that in the world.

So I think at first, some people were kind of confused by it, because they were like, well, is this political, is left, Is this right, Is it religious, Is it not, and I just had a very clear vision for it just being a platform where women can come together because I think that there's so many different. There are so many divisive things in our world today.

And it just continues to get more and more divisive. So I focus on commonality, which I think is really important. And I love walking with these women through their stories. And I think you do the same with your podcasts. And it's like, you kind of walk with these people through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And it's really opened my eyes to so many things that I know it's opened other people's eyes. So yeah, I think one of the main things that sets 1 Girl apart is just this space for commonality.

Gresham Harkless 7:38

Yeah. And I feel like, um, and I find you know, if something very similar, where a lot of times when you hear people's stories you hear why they started or why they're doing what they're doing, or so on their trials or tribulations and things like that. I think I don't know if you find the same thing that we find that we're a lot more similar than we are different. And despite all these outside influences that are trying to kind of break us apart, we're actually a lot more inclusively closely aligned. And sometimes we can understand.

Kate Bryan 8:02

Exactly, and actually earlier today, I was on a phone call with a jail in the US, I'll tell you that a jail in the US. And I'm in conversations with them about doing a story. At the jail, we were talking about populations that are often forgotten about populations. And that a lot of times we forget about people that we don't see every day.

And so obviously people who are in jail or in prison are forgotten about. Same with the homeless, same with, if they're not in our own community or in our own eyesight, we just kind of forget about them addicts, you know, people that are addicted to different things we all kind of have, in my mind, we all have addictions, whether it's social media, or sugar, or food, or whatever our thing is, we all have something that we're struggling with.

So at the end of the day, we're all really the same, like you said, and so it's important to build these bridges. And I'm really excited. Hopefully, this story comes through with the jail because I think that it would be really powerful to be able to build that bridge and say, Who are these. Who are these women.

It would be focused on women, who are these women who are in jail. And what's their story. And how do we build commonality. And how do we help women stay out of jail. How do we help people in general stay out of jail in prison. What are the things that we can do to be a resource for them and support one another in this crazy world.

Gresham Harkless 9:12

Yeah, absolutely. And I sometimes think when you're on, or those things kind of get pushed to the back burner, or you're not really aware of sometimes you don't have that awareness about things that people are struggling through, because we all are struggling through things, but a lot of times that gets pushed to the side or that that gets, you know, avoided. And a lot of times if we have that awareness, we can start to combat those and maybe be on the offensive before they get to situations where we don't want them to get to.

Kate Bryan 9:36

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 9:36

Nice. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be an app a book or a habit that you have but what makes you more effective and efficient?

Kate Bryan 9:46

So I hear a lot and I think CEOs read a lot about getting up early like if you get up at 4 am or 5 am but what I found actually is the complete opposite I work when I have something going on so the great thing about being a CEO or the great thing about having your own company or your own organization is you can build your own schedule.

And obviously, we all have responsibilities. But a hack that has really helped me is when I kind of let go of what worked for other people, and I figured out what works for me. And so with regards to timeframe, if I like last night, I was up until two in the morning writing questions for a podcast interview that I was doing.

And I just was like, really passionate, and I had time to actually sit and focus. And so I stayed up and did it instead of going to bed at nine and then getting up at four, whatever, building my schedule around myself, and when I know that I'm most productive. And so that's a really important thing for people to look at their own lives and say, Okay, what am I most productive and focus on that zero on that we're all different.

Gresham Harkless 10:43

Exactly. Now, I want to ask you for a CEO, nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you could happen to be a time machine, would you tell your younger business?

Kate Bryan 10:53

I would say and really, it's there was a point where everything is timing, right? So like, you have to be ready to take a jump. But for me, it would be like, don't be afraid to take the jump. Because the moment that I gave myself the freedom to jump and the moment that I moved back I said, I've had enough in DC, I want to move back to Detroit to be closer to my family and also to create this space.

So I could launch 1 Girl Revolution, I felt like I really needed to be in Detroit, or somewhere, where there weren't as many pressures or politics or different things that I saw in DC. So I really wanted to kind of be in a creative space. And the second that I gave myself the freedom to really just jump and it's scary. It's scary to jump when you have an idea, or you have a dream that you're chasing, it's really scary to jump off and do it. But I would say don't be afraid to jump and just do it.

Gresham Harkless 11:43

Yeah. I think a lot of times too, having that awareness of that is scary. You know, sometimes like going back to what we were kind of talking about before is that sometimes you're like, you just need to do it and not take into account that it is scary to actually do those things. I think that's when you kind of set yourself up sometimes for failure. But if you know that it's difficult, and when you take that leap, you kind of know that it is going to be something that's going to be scary, but you're a little bit more aware of what's gonna actually happen.

Kate Bryan 12:07

Yeah exactly. And you're gonna have these moments where it's going to, they're going to be moments along the way, once you jump, they're going to be so many moments that really show you that what you're doing is right, and yeah, and surround yourself with good people, that's another one is like surround yourself with people, you're always going to get even really close friends that don't really understand what you're doing or what your vision is.

But then surround yourself with even a handful of people who just believe in what you're doing 100% Because they'll give you the strength even in the moments when you're doubting yourself or doubting your choices because it does get hard sometimes. But yeah, just jump in and surround yourself with good people.

Gresham Harkless 12:42

Yeah, absolutely. And don't ignore those signs. And a lot of times those signs do come up and those good people so when you're having that bad day, and your friend or your significant other, whoever it might be in your life says hey, you can do it. And sometimes that's a sign that you need to keep going.

So I appreciate that perspective. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on this show. So Kate, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Kate Bryan 13:05

Um, for me, it means being a protector, I think I feel a responsibility to protect the people around me, the people that I work with, in support them, it's kind of like, I feel a deep responsibility to be the best that I can for all the people that are around me, and I'm human, I'm not perfect, by any means. But I really strive to be as good as I possibly can for the people that I'm working with.

But also for all these women, I feel a deep responsibility to tell their stories in the way that they want, you know, I easily could go through and edit stories or cut things how I want or ask them questions that I know are kind of leading them down a particular path. But I work really, really hard to give these women a platform just to tell their story in the way that they want and give them the freedom to tell their story.

So for me, there's a lot of a lot of responsibility for being the CEO, but I think it's a really good responsibility. And for us to see that as a positive and just, how can we be better people. How can we be better leaders. But also, how can we make the world a better place by raising up other people around us whether it's people we're working with, or if you're doing storytelling. Like what we're doing a hunger revolution, that you're raising people up.

Gresham Harkless 14:18

Yeah, I love that definition of that perspective, that idea of being that protector because I think a lot of times when you do, hear somebody's story you hear about what their passion, what they love to do, and so on and so forth. You do have to kind of protect that to some degree because they are opened up to you and they totally match you but also the world to some degree if it's on like a podcast or something. So you have to protect that. And it is an incredible responsibility. So I appreciate that definition in that perspective.

Kate Bryan 14:43

Thanks. Yeah, and there's like a vulnerability to with all of us have so many vulnerabilities, whether it's telling your story or even taking a job, like you're kind of vulnerable because you're relying on other people to pay your bills and do other things. And so, I think as a CEO, it's really kind of protecting people who have been vulnerable with us.

Gresham Harkless 15:00

Absolutely. So, Kate, I truly appreciate you and I appreciate your time even more, what I wanted to do was pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get a hold of you subscribe to the podcast, and find out all the awesome things you're working on.

Kate Bryan 15:15

I just want to encourage all of your listeners to find out what their purpose is, we all have a purpose, and we all have a mission. And I like to talk about our fingerprints, how we are as unique as our fingerprints. And that's the fingerprint that we're going to leave on the world.

And so I encourage anybody who's listening, even in those hard moments, if you're a CEO, or if you have a dream, and you want to be a CEO, or you want to start something or you want to just quit your job and become a missionary or work at a soup kitchen, whatever your dream is, I just want to encourage you to do that because you're the only person that can do whatever's been put on your heart.

So I just would encourage all of your listeners and viewers to take that to heart and then for 1 Girl Revolution, you can check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at 1girlrevo and www.1girlrevolution.com.

Gresham Harkless 16:00

Awesome. We'll make sure to have those links in that information in the show notes. And I appreciate that perspective too. And then the last thought, because a lot of times, nobody can run your race like you can and you have your own race and just like your fingerprints do you hit there they are yours and they shouldn't try to be anybody else's you try to shouldn't try to be anybody else's. So I appreciate that reminder, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Kate Bryan 16:20

Thanks so much, Gresh.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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