IAM1171- CEO Helps Women Entrepreneurs Create the Life of Their Dreams

Katherine Hanrahan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Imagine A Mind. From business concept, creation, and to launch, Imagine A Mind helps women entrepreneurs create the life of their dreams through a profitable online business. Last July, Katherine was featured at Thinkific's, Think In Color 2021 event, a virtual conference for minority women entrepreneurs. In this interview, Katherine looks forward to sharing both her story and knowledge to uplift entrepreneurs of all stages.

• CEO Hack: (i) Learning from the mistakes of others ii) Continuing my education as an expert in my field
• CEO Nugget: Stick to your core values in every element of your life
• CEO Defined: Being in control of your life, income and time

Website: https://imagineamind.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imagineamind

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Transcription

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00:13 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, You've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the IMCEO podcast.

00:00 – Katherine Hanrahan

I would definitely say stick to your core values. Don't do something just because someone else is making money with it or they're making more money than you. What is meant for you is meant for you and you only.

00:41 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Katherine Hanrahan of Imagine a Mind. Katherine, it's great to have you on the show.

00:50 – Katherine Hanrahan

Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here.

00:53 – Gresham Harkless

Super excited to have you on as well. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Katherine. So you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Katherine is the CEO and co-founder of Imagine a Mind From business concept creation to launch, Imagine A Mind helps women entrepreneurs create the life of their dreams through a profitable online business.

Last July, Catherine was featured at the Think in Color 2021 event, a virtual conference for minority women entrepreneurs. In this interview, Katherine looks forward to sharing both her story and knowledge to uplift entrepreneurs of all stages. Katherine, super excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:27 – Katherine Hanrahan

I am. Let's do this.

01:29 – Gresham Harkless

Let's do it then. So to kind of kick it off, I know I touched on a little bit. I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit. Hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story.

01:38 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah. So growing up, really, I have always been extremely tech-savvy. I know for myself, I used to think, oh, it's because I grew up when the internet was just booming, all of the smartphones and that kind of technology. But I realized that it wasn't everybody. It was really something that was unique to me. And as I grew older, it was something I really started to pay attention to. So early 2019, I had a side hustle, developing websites for women entrepreneurs. So helping them build their websites and get them going online.

And through this, I noticed so many common themes among the challenges and missed opportunities. And when I say missed opportunities, I'm saying missing opportunities to make them more money. I just saw all of these gaps. And so I decided, okay, well, I see these gaps. I don't see anybody else seeing these gaps at the moment. And I decided to make that into a business. So in 2019, April, I founded Imagine A Mind with my business partner, Aline.

She's actually my mother, but she's also a licensed professional counselor of 20-plus years. So here we decided to create not only just a business that was focused on the business elements, but also combine personal development since you can't be successful if your mind's not in the game. So having those 2 big elements really just flourishes together. And so we just believe that inspiring women to live the life of their dreams is so crucial. And by being in control of the 2 most important elements of a human's life, their time and money, you can just soar. So that is really why I've chosen to start my business as a website developer as a full-time business coach.

03:24 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. I absolutely love that. And I so appreciate you sharing that because I think, you know, and I imagine you probably come across this a lot, you know, with clients as well, that we sometimes will discount our gift. And sometimes our zone of genius and the thing that we do well, that's something that everybody knows everybody knows how to do that. Or that's not anything special, but I love that you leaned into that. And it sounds like you've been able to lean more and more into it. It's really taking you to another level.

03:47 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah, absolutely. I was, it was almost like an epiphany, like, wait, so you're in your 20s and you don't understand Excel and you don't understand all this stuff. He's like, no. So that's definitely something I've decided to pay attention to and just go full force with.

04:03 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, absolutely love that. And so I know you touched on it a little bit, but I wanted to drill down a little bit more and hear how you work with your clients and how you serve them.

04:11 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah, so Imagine A Mind was essentially born to assist women in achieving the life of their dreams. One that's free and limitless, and this is through building a profitable online business. So right now there are 4 different ways our clients can work with us. And I'll just go into a brief kind of synopsis about those 2, but the biggest one is Ready, Set, Launch. This is our 8-week one-on-one coaching program that's essentially designed to accelerate digital entrepreneurs.

So helping them solidify that brand, supercharging social media traffic, and creating an irresistible signature offer to attract and book their dream clients. So that's something really fun that we do. The second one is to create your own course, which is kind of new. It's a 3-week hybrid program, essentially a coaching plus done-for-you service for our digital entrepreneurs.

So those who already have the brand in the business foundation, just need their signature product, like a course or coaching program that is offered for them. And then for the last 2, we have our 90-minute business strategy intensive. It's an action-packed coaching intensive to create a strategy plan for our business entrepreneurs. And then the Dream Achievers Academy.

This is probably the entry tier for people to work with us and that's a monthly membership for digital entrepreneurs who are in the process of building or growing their online business. And with the membership, it covers an umbrella of relevant hot topics that are just so crucial to building and growing a successful online business. So those are the 4 ways that people can work with us.

05:43 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. I love that. And so you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for yourself individually or the business or- Every industry needs to transform for the energy transition, but we have to balance keeping equipment running with progress on decarbonizing.

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06:24 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah, so with Imagine a Mind, we're really a business made by women for women. I think the biggest thing that sets us apart is that we've melded 2 generations of knowledge. So the old and the new with the new age of business and also personal development. So having a woman who's in her 50s, who is, you know, a corporate executive who knows corporate America, but also had several successful businesses.

And then a younger entrepreneur who has built websites, built courses, and works hands-on with entrepreneurs making waves in their business. You're creating this melting pot of knowledge where people can get the information and the strategies they need to help reach that level of success. So that's something you don't see often, people mixing 2 generations of knowledge to where you can serve a larger group of women or a larger group of potential clients. So I think that's something that's super special about ImagineMind.

07:22 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I absolutely love that. I love that phrase that you use or the word that you use, you know, the melting pot piece. And I think so many times, especially during a time like this, that a lot of things are different. You know, it's a transformational time. What it was, you know, once, you know, how things were done and how business was done has been completely changed and, you know, flipped over on its head. I almost feel like you need to have that melting pot, that different perspective so that you create something that will actually succeed, not just today, but also in the future as well.

07:50 – Katherine Hanrahan

Absolutely, I agree.

07:53 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have. What's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

08:05 – Katherine Hanrahan

I would have to say hands down, this is a really big habit. I think I've always had this one, but it develops as you become an entrepreneur. And I'd say learning from the mistakes of others, Always continuing to learn, continuing to adapt, and I feel like by learning from the mistakes of others, whether it's personal development, business, just various aspects of my life, I've been able to skip years of struggles.

People tend to forget that they don't have to reinvent the wheel. Something that's really cool is tools like Masterclass or YouTube, where you can learn from experts and sign up to watch workshops. Those are great opportunities for ongoing education. I feel like that is what will make you truly dangerous, not only learning from the mistakes of others but continuing your education as an expert, whatever field you're in.

08:56 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that. And it kind of reminded me, that there's this quote, I think Isaac Newton might have mentioned it. He said, if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. And I think that so many times we forget that we don't have to, a lot of times reinvent the wheel. We don't have to go through those struggles or challenges. If we're able to stand on the shoulders of giants, learn from them on YouTube, you know, take courses, do all of those things. I think that is an incredible hack because I think so many times we forget that aspect and forget that we're not the only ones starting a business, not the only ones that have lived under the sun.

09:26 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah, and when you forget that other people have gone through the same experiences as you, then you completely ignore that fact. It's almost like you struggle twice and you save yourself all that time that you've wasted. You could have. Yeah, you could have saved yourself more time. So yeah, you're essentially struggling twice.

09:46 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that and struggling twice. There's something that kind of, you know, should resonate a lot with, you know, people because I think one of the most precious resources that we have is time, and those resources and that energy that you kind of could potentially put towards something else. And if you're having to go through a struggle where maybe you didn't have to go through that if you would have taken another step, it's losing that time that we potentially will never get back in that same way, shape, or fashion.

10:10 – Katherine Hanrahan

Definitely. It's a precious resource and the sooner people realize that and they start to get in control of their time. Yeah, it's definitely powerful.

10:19 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I want to say too, like I feel like as well, it's one of those things that speaks to someone's ego. And I always say like, to really start something new, you kind of have to have an ego believing that you will kind of create something new, but you also have to take a step back from that ego and understand I can learn from others. I can partner with others. There are other people that have different zones of genius that we can collaborate with. And I think that speaks also to the ego as well.

10:42 – Katherine Hanrahan

Definitely. They say that your biggest competitor is yourself. It's not the people around you. It's not the people you want to do better than. It is yourself and your ego. So great point there.

10:52 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, absolutely. I love that. And so I want to ask you now what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something you would tell a client or if you happen to be a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

11:05 – Katherine Hanrahan

I would definitely say stick to your core values. Don't do something just because someone else is making money with it or they're making more money than you. What is meant for you is meant for you and you only. And I've also seen other people do it. It's exhausting trying to be someone you're not. And you do yourself a disservice and you eventually start to transform yourself into somebody you didn't even want to be.

So definitely stick to your core values in every element of your life. And I would also apply that to your inner circle and the people you hire, make sure they resonate with your core values too. I mean, those are personalities you're intermingling with. So you want to make sure everything's aligned with the people you're, you have in your life, what you're doing in your life, pay attention to those core values, and stick to them.

11:54 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I love that nugget. And I think so many times, I think there's a, the saying like, if you don't know who you are, take a look at the people that are around you. And a lot of times that gives you an insight into who you are. And I say so often that if you run your own race, you won't lose.

And I think so many times as you said so well, it's exhausting trying to run somebody else's race, be somebody else's, you know, business, be somebody else type of entrepreneur or CEO or business owner. And I think when you can start to kind of be comfortable and really lean into who you are, that's when you really can, quote-unquote when you can make that true impact that we were all kind of put here to do.

12:32 – Katherine Hanrahan

Definitely. And a lot of people forget that you pick up the habits and the thoughts and opinions of the people around you. So sometimes you start to pick up beliefs that you didn't even know are yours. There's somebody else's in a way. So yeah, sticking to your core values is crucial. I love that point you made too.

12:50 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Katherine, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:01 – Katherine Hanrahan

I would have to say hands down, it's being the boss of your own life, not just being the CEO in a business, but being a CEO holistically. It's huge. And as you said, the 2, well, I would say the 2 biggest elements of life are time and money that we prioritize nowadays. You said it yourself, that time is so important, but being in control, in control of your income, your time, your life, that is huge. And a lot of people don't realize that and then they don't ever get control of it. So definitely being the boss of your own life.

13:35 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. So yeah, I would definitely echo that as well too. And I think so many times when you hear people that, you know, go through their life and they're trying to figure out like, where did the time go? Where did the money go? Where did that energy go? And, I love that you talked about that from obviously a business standpoint, but on a deeper level, we sometimes forget about that human part. So I love that you talk about your life and how that can manifest itself in the decisions you make or don't make and how we can take steps to take control of that.

14:02 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yeah. They say you reinvent yourself every decade and so many people may hit their thirties, forties, or fifties and realize they're not doing what they truly want to. And maybe even that they're miserable. So being in control is a major element, I think, for those who actually want to live the life they want for themselves.

14:22 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And I think so many times people don't realize that you can reinvent yourself. So I appreciate you mentioning that because I think a lot of times we get on a path and we believe that we can't get off that path. But I think it's so important to kind of, you know, let people know that and be aware of the ability that you have to kind of switch gears.

14:39 – Katherine Hanrahan

Absolutely. Nothing is definite. Nothing is set in stone. And that's the thing about us as humans is that we can be fluid in that manner. Nothing has to be rigid. So definitely.

14:51 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And I am a big believer in that fluidity, being power in that opportunity. And I think we're experiencing a very fluid time where you have to be like that now and that's the true power that you have.

15:01 – Katherine Hanrahan

Yes. With the whole pandemic and COVID, things have definitely been shifting. So yeah, being fluid and going with things as they shift versus trying to stick to your roots, that's only going to hit some roadblocks for you if you just plan on being a stick in the mud. Sometimes you just have to go with the landslide and see where you end up.

15:22 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely love that. So Catherine truly appreciates that definition and I appreciate your time as well. What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get a hold of you and your mom and all the awesome things that you both are working on.

15:40 – Katherine Hanrahan

Thank you so much for having me. This has just been wonderful getting to know you and the CEO blog nation. It's wonderful to connect with other entrepreneurs. And I would say the best way to get in touch with us is via Instagram. So our tag is Imagine A Mind, and then our website, ImagineAMind.com for those who are interested in working with us, getting to learn more about what we do, how we help, and how they can grow in their own online business. This has just been a true pleasure and I thank you for the opportunity and those who have listened in.

16:09 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. I truly appreciate you as well too. We will have the links and information in the show notes as well too so that everybody can get a hold of you and get in contact and make those changes and start to redirect everything where they ultimately want to be. So thank you so much for all the wisdom and inspiration you provided to us today. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:27 – Outro

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.