Katie VandenBerg joins the CIBL Podcast to tell us about her unique journey as a Central IL entrepreneur. Katie is the owner of Focused Forward Divorce Coaching, MUSE Morton, and VanHaus Rental Property Management.
Katie kicks off the show by explaining how her entrepreneurial journey started. After graduating from Colorado State, she moved back home and started a job in the banking industry. Her entrepreneurial dreams came to fruition when she started Eli's Coffee Shop at age 24. After opening the coffee shop, Katie went through a divorce. Although this was a difficult time for Katie, she felt like she could use her experience to help others navigate through a separation or divorce.
Katie talks about how her rental property management company started. As a young couple, Katie and her husband purchased a duplex and rented out the other side. They then expanded their portfolio into several multi-family units. They now own and manage over 40 rental units!
Katie began to build her divorce coaching business by researching and polling friends to see if it would be a sought-after service. The response she received was overwhelmingly positive, so she became a certified divorce coach and began helping others through their difficult divorce and separation journeys. She provides her coaching services to anyone across the country. Katie is also working on developing an online course that will help people through the divorce process. Although divorce is a difficult topic, Katie has found a niche of people she can help and be a resource to.
We finish up the show by talking about Katie's newest venture, MUSE Morton. MUSE is an art studio in downtown Morton that offers studio and photography rental space for local entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and photographers.
Katie has an awesome story and you'll find tons of inspiration from her journey!