It's hard to believe that Team Kat & Mouse is embarking on our third journey around the sun.
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind of extraordinary growth for our clients and valuable lessons for our team.
We have great days and challenging days. However, no matter the tone of the day the lessons learned were amazing.
#1 - Sometimes a "NO" is just a "no for now." We had a client who initially reached out in 2022 but didn't end up hiring a consultant. In 2023, after a full year, we received the call, and now they are our client.
#2 - Hard work, genuine care for people, and doing what's necessary—these are the keys to retaining clients (or donors). This year, we celebrated our very first client renewing for the third time. It's a testament to our loyalty to them, and, in turn, their loyalty to us.
#3 - Working with like-minded people is a dream come true for me. We express gratitude regularly, respect one another, and all share a fondness for large water cups on our desks.
We are celebrated-not tolerated!
#4 - Make a plan, work the plan. Review, adjust, and persist. Focus on working at the business (marketing to new clients) and in the business (helping our clients grow their fundraising).
#5 - Even on those long days when your patience wears thin, be grateful. For me, pursuing our dream of training, employing tactics, and utilizing tools has been fulfilling. From that first call to Amy, our initial conversation with Ben, and now with the addition of Joel, to every client partner interaction—I am genuinely grateful.
Join Team Kat & Mouse for our next orbit around the sun, and here's to a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2024!
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My original blog post from 2022 (see below) talked about the discoveries that come within a span of 525,600 minutes.
My inspiration was a song from the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT.
According to the Los Angeles Times, RENT was Jonathan Larson’s personal message to
Embrace life and pursue it to the fullest.
Although it was loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème, it spoke to a generation…and it spoke to me.
So…another 525,600 minutes have passed since my earlier reflection, and I can say with all certainty that we (Team Kat & Mouse) have embraced every day.
Really, every single day.
In this list I’m pleased to share with you at the beginning of the next 525,600 minutes that we will think of as 2023 what I have learned and invite you to adopt.
Start every morning with the belief that you can…
Know that a NO is about the ask, not about you
Find a YES and make it an open door to help others realize their goals - Help donors (or, in our case, organizations)
Find something loveable about all you encounter - Most will make it very easy to do that!
Find a lesson to make you stronger in each moment that you wish you had done something differently.
Learn and grow from listening to others’ understanding of a situation.
Laugh, smile, drink great coffee and keep hydrated with loads of water. I do some of my best thinking while waiting for my glass to fill up.
Work somewhere where you feel celebrated, and if, like me, you work for yourself…feel good about what you have accomplished and share that enthusiastic passion with your team. (I love our TKM TEAM-AND CLIENTS!)
Be aware that every day is not great—but there is something great about every day!
Now, back to Jonathan Larson for a moment. Jonathan Larson died the night before RENT opened at just 35 years old of an Aortic Dissection as a result of Marfan Syndrome.
He left us with his legacy of love and inspiration through his writing, music, and passion.
“No Day but today”
― Jonathan Larson, Rent
If you have goals for 2023-let us help you make them a reality through Team Kat & Mouse’s Training, Tactics, and Tools.
And…Make every minute count!
And, Happy New Year to all
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I have resigned---Now what?
It’s been one year since I took the leap and joined the great resignation movement. 525,600 minutes…some made up of panic but most made up of building a “job” that I loved.
The PANIC
I knew it was time to leave the nonprofit where I had worked for 4 years. It was not because I did not have passion for the mission or love for my piece of saving the world. It was just time.
What makes it the “time” to leave is different for each person. For me, it was running so fast, for so long, that my feet grew tired. I lost perspective and little things seemed way too big. My managers were very focused on what they were focused on - and the burnout I was experiencing just was not one of them. I lost the JOY.
My Joy returned when I stepped into my car to drive away for the last time. I felt it in my entire body; it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
That euphoria hung out for a while and was fueled by the calls I got from other nonprofits asking me to interview for positions---some bigger and higher-paying than the one I had left.
The panic set in when I realized on every call that taking another similar job would just be lead to a new cycle … creating the same tired feet.
What did I want to do? What made my heart sing? What am I very best at? And almost as important---Who could I work with that would bring out the very best in me?
There were a lot of thoughts swirling in my head…And then it hit me. My biggest frustration throughout my career has been the lack of training. Managers hire people they “like” or individuals they view as capable of doing the job. Sometimes they are coachable and grow into being successful - most often they crash and burn and leave.
Was joining or creating a company that trained fundraisers “my calling”? Here are some questions I asked myself - and that you can ask if you are thinking of joining the millions who have left their jobs.
1. What brings me JOY? What were the happiest days of each job you had in your past?
2. What do I think I am very best at?
3. What has frustrated me in my career that I think I can change?
4. What characteristics in a manager, partner, boss, or co-worker make me better?
5. What makes me frustrated, burned out and generally sad?
6. Where do I work best - In an office-at home, at a shared workspace, at Starbucks?
7. What makes a job simply unacceptable?
8. Where will my enthusiasm and engagement be celebrated rather than tolerated?
AND, If you are thinking about taking the leap into your own business…
9. Do I have the guts and grit to give up the security of a weekly paycheck?
10. Do I have the patience for the cycle of business to go from drip drip to a flood?
Finding my purpose, my JOY, my mission.
OK, I asked myself the above questions and in a quiet walk decided on the answers.
Joy for me comes from working with individuals who are respectful, listen to all opinions, and celebrate each other's opinions. All to formulate the best plan.
I am the very best at training, coaching, corporate fundraising, and implementing creative corporate partnerships
I want to change how individuals are trained in the world of Fund Development
I want to own my success, and work with a team that has the same vision partnered with different and complementary strengths.
I like the options of where I do my work - before Covid, I was a big fan of Starbucks!
Disrespect and lack of appreciation make me sad. Having done New Business Development throughout my career I am the first to say that every step of the process deserves at least a bit of acknowledgment (not always a party; a smile works just fine).
I hit budgets; I can be the best manager you ever had. I always say yes, I can help and take on new challenges with a smile and I am a New Business machine. And, I will support leadership 100%.
With that said-
I can be loud. I can be hyper. I can break into what I call the new business dance if we secure a new donor. I drink a lot of coffee, show up early for meetings. I am task oriented and write detailed emails (I guess blogs too). I sometimes work on my own timeclock.
I want to work with and for the ones who appreciate and celebrate the first list and learn to live with the rest (and maybe even learn the dance steps) …It is who I am and part of what has been making me successful throughout a long career.
OK - I know the trip I want to take. I am sure I am brave enough and hopefully I will learn to be more patient…BUT. Who has the skills, shared goals and pep in their step to join me?
I called Amy Mauser with enough energy to power a small town — Amy, let’s do it!
Her expertise is unquestionable and her list of things she is best at do not mirror mine - so together we are so much stronger!!!
Not to mention we had worked together at a nonprofit in 2010-2012 so she was aware of the loud, coffee drinking, dancing maniac I can be. And, yes, she learned the steps! She provides balance for my enthusiasm and always knows the right questions to ask of me, and our clients. We have become partners in success and are so happy to take on the world together.
Then, through a fluke of fate (and LinkedIn), we met Ben Chambers. With expertise in grants (and more), he was the perfect addition to our team. Plus, the things that bring him joy are so very well matched with Amy and me.
So I turned in my two weeks notice, 52 weeks ago this week. I do miss some of my coworkers and still look back to celebrate the little bit of the world I got to change.
We’re turning prospects into clients and creating strategies and tactics to support them as they change the world through a variety of missions. I’ve found two people who share my vision, work ethic, and passion for helping nonprofit fundraisers find success.
I am so glad I jumped and I hope I get to know you through our nonprofit consulting collaborative- Team Kat & Mouse