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Boston-based Entrepreneur and Founder Katie Burkhart has taken advantage of the last few months to steward her clients and companies, Matter 7 and Illumyne. She and her teams help build purpose-driven brands for businesses looking to make a tangible impact, develop a core strategy and design an integrated action plan. Given the challenges of this past year and looking ahead to a truly post-COVID-19 scenario, many entrepreneurs and business leaders are also (re)evaluating and (re)mapping their next strategic steps to (re)connect to their consumer and client base.
I caught up with Katie over the phone and email to learn more about her experiences as an entrepreneur, asking her to share insight and experience with regard to career advice, branding recommendations and her definition of “impactful” work. We also discussed “founder” lessons, how she pivoted her businesses during the pandemic and how she helps clients rethink their own core strategies. Our interview follows.
EKMH: In the time of COVID-19, what recommendations do you have for companies who are looking to rebrand?
Katie Burkhart: Dig into why you exist and why that matters — in other words, refine your purpose. Doing so will require engaging your leadership, but also your team, your customers and even your community. Then find your focus. You will need to set your Core strategy, develop an action plan that includes long term goals as well as indicators to know if you’re on track against a double bottom line, and communicate regularly so that everyone understands how s/he is helping to move the mission forward.
A word of caution: don’t fabricate a purpose and tack it on with an old classroom stapler. That could cost you. If you go this route, you must be intentional, authentic and strategic. It can also be easy to see a rebrand as a way to breathe a little life into things via a shiny new logo, but COVID-19 has demonstrated that we’re all looking for much more than that. Don’t grab for the paintbrush without having your story grounded first.
EKMH: Why is having “impactful” and “purposeful” work important to you?
Katie Burkhart: For me, it’s always been about doing something that matters, with matter being equal parts strategic and positively impactful. What does that mean? Well, first, what matters means that there’s a reason for what you’re doing — no aimlessly pushing paper counting down the minutes until happy hour. You can and should tie your efforts to aligned targets that make sense and move the needle. Second, this means that you’re doing something valuable. That could be eliminating poverty, but it could also be providing a necessary service in a specific way for a specific group of people. I believe work is a powerful force. We invest roughly a third of our lives into it. We should be doing so thoughtfully and productively so we’re actively shaping the world of today and our vision of tomorrow while leaving a powerful legacy behind.
EKMH: How do you “use your time well”?
Katie Burkhart: Starting with the big picture, I do what I call a life review every six months. It helps me to take stock of my life and assess what I want to maintain and more importantly, what I want to eliminate. If I eliminate something, it’s because it’s pulling my focus away from my primary goals or it’s because I’m not giving it the time it deserves. I always want to do my best work and neglecting things on my plate detracts from the whole. In addition to this broader process, I also use the Full Focus Planner to keep myself on track. The planner enables me to keep my sights on the priorities day-to-day and week-to-week.
EKMH: How did you develop and evolve your own brand and core strategy at M7 and Illumyne?
Katie Burkhart: Like most founders, I started my company for a reason. Initially, Matter 7 built better brands for nonprofits. Over time, I recognized we had the ability to support more brands by extending the purpose-driven strategic model to companies, specifically to founders with vision. Our mission has evolved as we’ve honed which services deliver the most value or make the most impact, something we've determined through our own perspective as well as through feedback from our clients.
Illumyne (soon to be MatterPulse) was launched to make the purpose-driven business model an accessible reality for more leaders. That hasn’t changed, although we’re constantly refining our word choice as we talk to more people, especially those who fit one of our stakeholder profiles. It’s critical to land on a common language.Today my companies all share the same purpose — to make work matter. It is the rest of the Core strategy that is unique to each company because they each play a different role, from building brands, to making decisions on purpose, to curating an expert network.
I intend to expand the Matter platform by refining what we have so far and adding to the brand with new initiatives and companies. This method will take constant pruning to keep things on point and on purpose, something I will likely lead for the foreseeable future.
EKMH: What’s your secret to nurturing your existing clients’ growth and establishing new client relationships?
Katie Burkhart: I take a three pronged approach: do exactly what you do, do it well, and always remember that your role is to provide value. While it sounds simple, it requires rigorous discipline and a constant awareness that — while you might enjoy what you do for a living (I certainly do) — success comes when you deliver value to the person on the other side of the table. I have never found that limiting. In fact, this approach instigated the launch of an entirely new company; I wanted to deliver additional value, but didn’t want to distract from what my first company did best. This approach also perpetuated a commitment to identifying partners. As long as clients get the support they need, it doesn’t matter who provided it. Ultimately, taking this approach has helped my team nurture long-term relationships and secure new clients through referrals, which is a compliment in it of itself because it says that someone trusts us enough to send someone they know our way.
EKMH: What lessons have you learned from founding your own company? What advice would you give to yourself?
Katie Burkhart: I feel like I learn new things every week. My first company taught me about the basics of business, and it taught me fast. My second company provided me with more complexity more quickly. Here are three key things I’ve learned:
Invest in yourself first. One of the best things I did in the past year was bring on a business coach. The other thing I did several years ago was bring on an executive assistant. Both were investments in my ability to be a stronger leader and achieve my goals. I’ve seen the results and will continue to invest.
Bring people onboard sooner. I ran Matter 7 for quite a stretch without anyone else in the company. I’m also a solo founder at Illumyne. Going forward, I want to engage more people around what we’re doing, and the next thing I launch will have people involved from almost day one. No, I don’t advocate for wedging in a co-founder just to say you have one; my point is that building a company is just as much about building a team and community as it is about anything else.
Get help telling your story. It surprises people to know that one of the things I’ve struggled with the most is branding. Creating your own brand is difficult because you have no perspective on yourself. It came together for me eventually, but I never pushed the brand. That’s going to change in 2021.
EKMH: How have you benefited from failure and/or taking risks?
Katie Burkhart: There’s a line, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, find another room.” I come alive when I’m challenged and throw myself in over my head on a regular basis. I like being in situations where I’m working to keep up because I’ve found one of the best ways to improve is to stress test myself. If I not pushing myself, how will I know how far I can go?
If you decide to do push yourself, go in willing to see failures not as defeats, but as insight into what you need to work on so you can excel. Then go at it again. And again.
EKMH: And lastly, please share a few of your favorite books, films and/ or podcasts.
Katie Burkhart: One of my favorite books is The Hobbit. I appreciate that Tolkien elevates the story of the everyday hero and encourages us to pursue adventures that make the most of our time. I’ve read a lot of Star Wars over the years and have a penchant for YA Fantasy which stokes imagination and agency. Business-wise, I just ordered Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit by Alex Edmans.
I watch (or rather listen to) altogether too much television, but it feeds my love of stories. Here’s a few of the regulars: Grey’s Anatomy, The Crown (excellent new season), Anne with an E, Star Trek: Voyager, Parenthood and Forrest Gump.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this series are those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
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