Born in the state of Victoria and raised in Griffith, New South Wales, Kathleen Staker is a woman to watch in the entrepreneurial world. Leveraging her skill sets in business and communication, Kathleen has created a life she loves, tailored to suit her passion for traveling and connecting with people across the globe. Step by step as she secures her spot as a top Australian business woman, Kathleen is helping the masses to realize their own goals, dreams and passions, while gaining more control over their time and finances. Today Kathleen is here with us to share her journey in entrepreneurship and her best advice for anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps.
Kathleen, let’s start at the beginning of your journey. What first inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
My inspiration comes from just one word: freedom. Freedom looks different for everyone. For me, I knew from a young age that I wanted to create a life by design. One where I could wake up every day and feel a sense of peace and alignment and be filled with a strong sense of passion and purpose. Don’t be fooled though, entrepreneurship isn’t easy, it’s very tough work, but I knew being my own boss would be so rewarding, and if I wanted a life on my own terms, I needed to be in the entrepreneurial space.
In addition to that, it never felt right working for someone else. I wanted to harness all that passion and energy I have to create something of my own. With my health condition as a type one diabetic, health comes first. I did put it on the backburner for many years while I was so busy working a 9-5. But now that I’m nearly 30 and I want to start a family, focusing on my health and being in full control of my life for me starts with earning an income on my own terms.
It’s inspiring that you had the courage to make that shift from traditional work to entrepreneurship. Tell us a little bit about the organization you’re a part of today. What is the concept of the business and how are you helping people?
I’m in the industry of truly helping to change people’s lives through an organization called WFABB. I show people how they can become more financially fit through the power of investing, trading, and most importantly, through utilizing the tools and resources I offer to become financially literate. Education is the key to learning. The correct money management skills can really mean the difference between someone living an ordinary life on someone else’s terms and living a life you’ve only dreamed of. If I don’t share this opportunity with the world, it would be doing a disservice to those like myself who need it. It’s something that I am extremely passionate about, working with people from all walks of life and seeing their situations change for the better. I will never stop being rewarded outside of the money. This opportunity has changed a lot of lives before me and it will continue to make a big impact further on into the future.
That sounds amazing, Kathleen! What are some of the goals that you’ve set for the future for yourself personally and for your business?
I have a lot of goals. My vision for my life has changed since starting with this organization. It’s amazing how you can grow so much in such a short amount of time. Basically my vision has become so strong in the last four months and no goal big or small scares me anymore. I just get so excited now and I know I can achieve absolutely everything I set my mind to because it all starts with belief. That’s a beautiful aspect of the entrepreneurial journey – you can grow in many ways that you didn’t know were possible.
For my personal goals, I want to travel internationally and explore different cultures and connect with more beautiful human beings around the world. Connecting with humans is what we’re made to do. I definitely want to continue to tap into the spiritual side of things. I’m a huge believer of manifestation and the law of attraction, leveling up in every area, be it mind, body and soul. In the next five years, I know that my partner and I will be married and start a family, so there’s a lot of abundance coming my way. I’m so focused because time just flies.
On the business side, I want to continue to grow the Australian team. I love working and connecting with people internationally, but building our Australian team is a big goal of mine because proximity is power. The energy in WFABB is unmatched in every other country so far.
So for me to be the main Australian person leading WFABB, it’s up to me to grow the Australian team. So that’s definitely my business goal for this year and forever.
Finding such success and growth in entrepreneurship must have had its share of ups and downs. What kind of challenges and adversities did you face growing up and growing your business?
Growing up in a small town, you naturally have this fear of standing out from the crowd because you think a lot of eyes are on you and that kind of hangs over your head. But that comes down to limiting beliefs. To tell you the truth though, my whole life, I have been really lucky to have great support in everything I’ve done. I still have a few high school friends that are still in my life and they’ve supported me since day one. My mom is my absolute best friend. Through every decision that I’ve made in my whole entire life she’s always been there and accepted and supported me which is really important. Everyone who knows me, knows that I have a very strong mind and once I make my mind up, there’s no changing it, so I never really got much pushback, it’s always been more me versus me. I don’t listen to the outside noise, I block it out and I’m focused on working on the limiting beliefs and just knowing that, as long as you set your mind to it, you can achieve it.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Kathleen. In closing can you give us three pieces of advice that you would offer to an aspiring entrepreneur?
My first piece of advice is that if it makes you happy, it doesn’t have to make sense to others. You are the only person that is living your life day in and day out. You are with you the most. You need to put yourself first and ensure your cup is full before being able to help others along the way. Once people see you are truly happy with what you’re doing, they will naturally support you; and if they don’t, then that’s their problem. You should always only have those people around you that are going to support you.
My second piece of advice is to be consistent. It’s important in your business and personal life to have a routine. How much better do you feel when you’re in your flow and you’re getting stuff done? If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So having a routine is really, really big. People are always watching you, whether they admit it or not. And one thing people want to know is, is this person reliable? How can they help me? So showing up for yourself in a consistent manner, builds trust and also makes for a successful business.
My last piece of advice is to draw inspiration from others who are where you want to be. The entrepreneurial journey isn’t new and being a digital entrepreneur is hot right now, but it’s also not new. There are many successful people out there who have gone before you and have done the hard yards to get to where they are. This industry is a copycat industry. So you can choose whoever you aspire to be and just mimic what they’re doing and add your own flare to it. If you stick with the system and stick with only really watching people that are where you want to be, then you are going to succeed.
