Meet A Mom: Kae Whitaker, Digital Marketing Strategist & Entrepreneur
If we could describe Kai in just one word it would be: true boss mompreneur. OK, that’s three words, but it’s true! This woman does it all!
She started her own business helping small businesses better market themselves and use social media to the best of their abilities.
Kae Whitaker Media Group specializes in helping service providers create automated marketing systems that speaks to their prospects needs, offers valuable solutions, leading to an increase in conversion of sales and appointments set.
Founded in 2013, this boutique digital marketing firm has helped hundreds of small business owners expand their reach online and meet their financial goals.
Kae says their philosophy is it takes the right strategy coupled with the proper tools to execute a well thought out plan. They take a tailored approach to helping clients satisfy their online revenue goals, by paying attention to the unique needs, audience and capacity of each business, and creating strategies that are beneficial for not only the customers but the companies as well.
Pretty cool, right?
Not only is she mama to FOUR kiddos and run a successful business, she also has a podcast, active social media channels, and a blog! The Kae Whitaker Show is designed to help moms that are in some form of leadership capacity navigate not only through the struggles of leadership but through the everyday stuff that being a wife and mother brings. She’s also one of the moderators at this years Mama Bear Conference touching on the topic of Super Woman complex. Sounds up our alley!
We got to connect with this awesome mama about her platforms, her passion for helping women and businesses, and of course all things Katy and motherhood!
Full interview below!
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Katy?
I’m originally from the Southeast side of Houston but have lived in Katy for the past 6 years
You’re a mama! How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?
Whew, I’ve got 4 kiddos, 3 girls and 1 boy. Ages 15, 12 (my boy), 6, 11 months right now!
What’s your favorite thing about raising a family in the community of Katy?
The community is great and I love the suburban feel but the access to the city if I want it. We’re just far enough from the city to feel like it’s a small town but close enough to hang out and do stuff if we want.
Greatest gift about about being a mom?
I love watching my kids learn new things and make them their own experiences. I sometimes watch as my kids are learning and am in complete awe of their interpretation of what they’ve learned and how they then apply their own logic to the why and how things work. I love seeing the excitement that life brings them and I try to expose them to as much as possible so they can have more of those experiences.
Least favorite mom job? (i.e. packing lunches, dishes, bath time, etc.)
I hate changing diapers on an 11 month old right now. She hate’s it too so it’s no fun for either of us. She don’t want to sit still and I don’t want to go through the wresting match, lol.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
People would be surprised to know that I am a complete introvert. I love my me time even though it’s 6 of us here and whenever I get a chance to just be with me I take it with no regrets.
Favorite local things to do in Katy/Richmond/Fulshear? (With kiddos or just for mom!)
Favorite thing to do in Katy with the Kids is take them to one of the many parks, they looooooovvvve being outside so anytime I can get them to the great outdoors the better we are. Their favorite park is the Mary Jo Beckam park. They like to walk the trail and feed the ducks (which I run from all the time, and they laugh, lol)
Favorite thing for just me is to go explore the new communities that are being built here in Katy and Fulshear like the Cane Islands and Cross Creek Ranch, Aliana and Bella Terra areas. I’m a model home junky and anytime I can go by myself it’s therapy lol!
Do you have a favorite family friendly restaurant in the area?
We frequent places like Jimmy Changas anytime the kids think we’ll take them, they love the playground and free ice cream lol.
We’re big on self-care for moms, as hard as it is to find the time, what’s something you do just for yourself?
The gym, the nail shop and the spa I’m a huge fan of selfcare and I’ll force it if I have to.
Funniest shortcut/routine for helping you through parenthood?
So I’m huge on mommy time and when you’ve got a house full and a busy schedule it’s not always easy to get away from the house to get your time, and I’m a huge snacker and I don’t let my kids snack like that, so my bathroom is like my sanctuary, lol.
So when I have my groceries delivered I usually will buy snacks that are just for me and I keep them in my room and when I need my me time I will hang out in my bathroom/master closet and snack and chill for like an hour.
I usually will tell my kids that my stomach is bothering me or something which keeps them from knocking on the door every 5 minutes and I get my whatever I want to do at the time and my snacks and lock up in my closet and bathroom until I’m ready to return to the world of mother hood.
My kids probably think I have the worst digestive system ever, lol!
Best mom hack that makes your life easier?
I’m super busy and I’ve got 4 kids so me and the grocery store are not friends at all but I still like for the kiddos to try new stuff so I will pull up recipes on Pinterest, make my list in an app (I can disclose which one if you ask), then I do my shopping on an app and have my groceries delivered.
The grocery store is always an ordeal with me the kids, and even with the hubby, so I don’t go and I am totally ok with saving that time and not arguing with kids or a husband about extra stuff they keep dropping in my darn basket!
You are a true mamapreneur! Tell us about your business!
I provide marketing and business automation to small business. We help to take the day to day task that are done all the time and turn them into automated systems for your business that will work on your behalf so you can free up time to do other things in your business, ie create sales or actually do the thing you get paid to do.
What does it mean to be a Marketing Automation Coach?
For some small business owners our consulting services are not quite within their reach just yet, so what we do is partner with the business owner to teach them the skills they need to execute what we would do on their behalf if it was possible.
The coaching is a training relationship where we provide the expertise in terms of how to properly plan, create and execute automated marketing systems, but the business owner does the work themselves.
It’s an amazing stepping tool to get your business systems in a place to help free up and time and generating more revenue for you without you having to add more team members and then possibly allowing you to hire us to do the work for you once you can afford it through the systems we’ve helped you to create.
What are some of your proudest moments with your business where you said “wow, I did that”?
One of my proudest moments in business just recently happened this past year when we had our new baby girl and the business didn’t close, lol.
I have never had a new born and a full working company before so I was in new territory and was completely afraid of a complete shut down or melt down on my behalf, but proudly we got through it, launched new services and kept the kids alive and sane all at the same time.
I did all of that, lol!!!
Have you always had an entrepreneur spirit?
I don’t think I’ve always had the spirit of entrepreneurship but I always knew I wanted to be the boss and not the one taking orders. I was a bossy kid, adolescent and manager when I was working so when I finally realized that entrepreneurship was a thing it was an easy decision for me to try.
7 years later, we’ll still alive and kicking and I couldn’t or wouldn’t have it any other way.
Can you talk a little bit about your podcast?
The Kae Whitaker Show is designed to help moms that are in some form of leadership capacity navigate not only through the struggles of leadership but through the everyday stuff that being a wife and mother brings.
So often we highlight the good in our lives, but I’m a firm believer that it’s through the sharing of your true story that others can find strength and can glean from your triumphs and tragedys, so I talk with other moms and get their stories and their victories, I share my own, and my husband and I will be sharing our story as a blended family, his corporate mindset and my entrepreneurial mindset and what life really looks like through those lenses.
For the summer we’re in our first girl chat series where I’m talking with other moms to set the tone for the show and all that I mentioned.
It’ a blast!
What makes your blog unique and what content are you most passionate about producing for your audience?
On the blog I share resources for solo entrepreneurs to incorporate automation systems into their businesses and then how to use social media to fill their pipelines.
It’s unique because it really speaks to more systems and strategies and not just the marketing piece, but what my readers have found is that by really tuning into their systems they don’t have to work as hard from a marketing stand point because there is likely a boat ton of money being left on the table and by simply refining their systems they can earn more money.
You’re a speaker this year at the Mama Bear Conference in Houston! What can mamas expect from this conference and your portion?
I am the panel host for the Mama Bear conference and I’m so excited because I’ll be helping moderate conversations with some fab mamas around the city about how to Overcome the Super Woman complex and I can’t wait until we have this conversation because it’s so common, and so needed to work through. It’s going to be amazing.
Best advice for moms who experience the inevitable and dreaded MOM GUILT?
You know, mom guilt is so real but it doesn’t have to take you out. The best advice I always give moms that start to feel this ugly little feeling creep up on them is to remember where they are trying to take their family. If you identify what’s priority in your life and include your family in this discussion, you can come up with a plan together that helps to ease those feelings of guilt when you may have to tell your kids, no or miss something that you so deeply wanted to attend.
I think when we truly understand our priorities and the seasons that we are in, we can successfully deal with the guilt that comes up because we can refocus our energy on where we all agreed as a family that we are headed.
So when the feeling creeps up, check and recheck your priorities, make sure they are still in alignment with your overall goals, and if so take a deep breath and move on. If not, make the proper adjustments, give yourself some grace and move on as well.
Your kids still think you’re the dopest mom on the planet!
How important is it for you to have a passion outside of being a mother?
It’s very important to me that I have something to fuel my personal passions. I’m will always be a mother, but my season of mothering tiny humans that need me for everything is just for a small amount of time so it’s important that I know both myself and my husband extremely well so my life doesn’t stop when my little ones move on to make lives of their own.
I encourage my kids now to find what truly makes them happy and go after it and I try to set the example for that, they see me enjoy parts of life that they can’t be apart of but I let them know that it doesn’t mean I love them any less, I’m just showing them how to create the lives they want to live through my example.
It’s super important and a priority for me. I do it for me and them, lol.
Who has most influenced you to be the mom you are today?
My mom for sure. I look back at how I raise my kids now and I find so many similarities with my mom, but I also see keen differences that she also encouraged me to make.
I can proudly say that I am not just like my mama but her influence in how she raised me helped me to become a good mother of my own and I try daily to pass that on to my kids as well.
When parenting gets hard, what’s something you tell yourself that gets you through?
I can do it because God allowed me to have these kids and if he didn’t think I could handle it he wouldn’t have given me his children in the first place.
Name one thing you hope your kids look back and remember about their childhood and you as their mama?
Ooh I hope my kids look back and remember that their mom was like their biggest cheerleader and wanted them to be the best versions of them that they could be.
I hope they look back and be like man, if I told my mom I was gonna jump off a building she was gonna be right there routing me on and taking my pictures as I was coming down, lol.
What would you tell the old “You” before you had kids?
I would tell the old 19 year old me before I had my oldest daughter to get ready for a completely different world than what I was used to and to prepare my heart for some of the greatest joys and some of the greatest heartaches, meaning when these kids hurt it is going to crush your heart, but you can get through it and it’s going to be the best and hardest thing you have to do but you will enjoy the challenges and all!
We are all about community, as are you! What does having a mom tribe mean to you?
Mom tribes are so important because moms really do get each other. I don’t care how successful you are in your career or anything else, when it comes to being a mom there is nothing you can read that will tell you how to be a “good mom” and you WILL have more moments when you feel like you’re doing more wrong than right and your mom tribe will help get you out of those moments and make the mommy journey that much easier.
A mom tribe is an absolute must!
For more information on Kai be sure to visit her website, check out her podcast, and follow along with her on social!
Website: https://kaewhitaker.com
The Podcast Website URL: https://kaewhitaker.com/subscribe-to-podcast/
Social Channels:
https://instagram.com/kaewhitaker
https://facebook.com/kaewhitaker
https://linkedin.com/in/kaewhitaker