Y'all, I'm super pumped about today's post! This edition of When I Grow Up features Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative! I have a bit of girlboss crush on her. I first learned about Kathleen when she was a guest on the Elise Gets Crafty podcast. That led me to Kathleen's personal blog and to her business, Braid Creative which happens to be based here in Oklahoma City! Kathleen is one of the geniuses behind the Being Boss podcast that I'm pretty much obsessed with, and I had the pleasure of having lunch with her a couple weeks ago. I tried to play it cool, but I was fangirling on the inside. (We went to Nourished Food Co, and if you haven't been there yet, please stop by! So yummy. Plus it is super healthy!)

I could go on and on about Kathleen, but you're here to hear from her. So let's do it!

As a child, I wanted to be a ______ when I grew up. I wanted to be a jet fighter pilot or wartime photo journalist! Then I was really into the idea of being a doctor.

How close (or far) is your current career from that dream? Well, I essentially became an artist. So my current career is the total opposite of my dreams of battle and blood.

What is your official job title? Co-owner of Braid Creative (the best part is I get to make up my official job title from day to day – sometimes it's "writer" or "podcast host" or "designer")

Ok, now what does that really mean?

In my job I do branding and business visioning for creative entrepreneurs. Every day is a little different. Some days I'm designing a logo. Other days I'm writing new content for our ECourse. I also do creative coaching which means I help coach creatives through the work / life blend so they can live what they love without all the anxiety that comes with being your own boss.

What is a typical day like? I usually wake up around 6AM. I get some oats on the stove and heat a bottle and make a banana pancake for my 14 month old son. We spend a couple hours eating and getting ready for the day. My husband and baby leave the house around 8AM for work and daycare and that's when I get started. I usually have 2 meetings a day with clients or creative colleagues. I review my calendar and to-do list which usually has tasks like "Write blog post. Record podcast. Send in bio for talk. All the emails." on it. I usually take an hour or so to hit the gym everyday around lunch. My work day is over around 3 or 4PM when I go pick up my baby from daycare. We'll usually go for a long walk to decompress and come home just in time to start dinner before my husband comes home from his day job. We spend our evenings watching Netflix after the baby goes to bed.

How did you end up in this career? I got a degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in graphic design. I worked at an advertising agency with my sister for 5 years (she was there for 13) before quitting to freelance. A year later my sister quit too and we started Braid Creative together.

What kind of education or training did you complete for this career? I always loved art as a kid and went to the University of Oklahoma for a degree in fine art. I thought I would be a painter but when I heard the design program was super competitive I decided to audition. I graduated in 4 years with a bachelors degree but I've found since then the learning never stops.

What advice would you give to someone who wants a similar career? Focus on becoming an expert in your craft for at least 10,000 hours. Love what you do so much that you nerd out about it on the weekends. Make friends with other creatives and have fun. Make it your job to make everyone else's job or life easier and better. Do the work.

Do you have any other career dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up? I just launched a podcast called Being Boss with my creative gal pal Emily Thompson. I'm obsessed with growing that brand into something BIG. I just don't quite know how it will all unfold but I love being along for the ride.

Any last thoughts or encouragement for others trying to decide what they want to do “when they grow up”? Just be yourself 100% of the time – on and off the clock – and everything else – money, love, success – will show up.

I want to say another huge thank you to Kathleen for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! If you haven't listened to Being Boss yet, go do it now. Great stuff there, plus the Facebook group is incredible (and yours truly helps moderate it).

Also, I know Kathleen mentioned her company's e-courses above and I can't say enough about them. I've personally taken two of them, and I'm enrolled in the next course! It's called Shape Your Content, and I can't wait for it to start! If you want to join me in the e-course, follow this link and use the discount code BRAIDECOURSE50 to save $25. Plus we can be e-course buddies, how fun is that?