What do you do when you have an inhaled peanut allergy that affects your ability to work in an office? Or when you're hospitalized three times and the company you work for isn't happy that you actually used your health insurance? You start your own business so you can work from the comfort of your own home and still be productive.

This week's guest, Kate Shepherd, has worked in broadcasting, media relations and public relations for years, so she did what she knew best - she started her own communications agency. At first, she was scared about money and stability, but the clients started coming and many colleagues stepped up to help her out. Now she couldn't fathom going back to work for anyone else and she's doing better than ever!

For SolePower listeners only, Kate offers a free consult and 20% off your first month with her. OR 20% off your first project! That's quite a deal. Contact Kate for communications services kate@kateshepherdcommunications.com.

BIO

Communications veteran Kate Shepherd founded Kate Shepherd Communications LLC in 2016 after more than 25 years working as a well-known broadcast reporter and PR professional in Indianapolis.

Kate most recently held the position of marketing and communications director at the education advocacy group Stand for Children Indiana where she increased media mentions by more than 400 percent in one year. She spent much of her time at Stand training parent members in media relations and speech delivery as part of grassroots advocacy campaigns, while also managing all aspects of media relations including social media, member communication and web content.

Kate also gained legal marketing experience at Indianapolis law firm Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP and honed her crisis communications and media relations skills as the director of communications and marketing at Planned Parenthood of Indiana and as director of communications for the Indiana Secretary of State.

Shepherd was a fixture in the Indiana broadcasting community for more than 15 years, serving as Producer/Anchor at Inside INdiana Business, Senior Anchor/Reporter at Network Indiana and Weekend Anchor at the Network’s sister station, WIBC. Shepherd also held positions at WISH-TV and WAJC-FM in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis-native graduated cum laude from Butler University with a major in Radio-Television and a minor in Political Science. She was honored to receive a Sagamore of the Wabash from then-Governor Joe Kernan in 2004.

When she’s not helping clients, Kate enjoys spending time with her young son, reading mysteries and drinking bubbly with her book club.