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Welcome to the Private Practice Startup Podcast where we help ambitious private practitioners across the globe to brand themselves and grow their dream practices. We chat with successful private practitioners, business coaches and marketing experts, bringing you tons of practice building Ninja tips. Visit privatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, attorney approved private practice paperwork and our signature marketing E course. Here are your co hosts, Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux.
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Hey Startup nation. Welcome back to the third episode of Up Close and Personal. So this is a mini series we're running and if you've actually listened to our podcast before, you might be like, what is this Up Close and Personal? It's a special series and we have our third guest and we are Katie Trifecta today. Katie the third. I don't know what we are, but we are actually joined by Katie Reed. And if you knew about Up Close and Personal before you heard about this is you had the opportunity to vote and Katie Reed won by a landslide. So you guys had the opportunity to vote for five practice builders or coaches that you wanted to hear the most from. And we have some very specific questions that we are going to be asking her today. All from you guys. So I'm excited to hear about this. But before we get started, we hope you guys joined us yesterday as we talked to our personal close friend Ernesto Segismundo from California. He's a licensed marriage and family therapist, owner of Kav Academy, as well as film it.com. and you'll definitely want to hear that podcast because Ernesto talked about how he potentially almost killed his siblings growing up as as well as if he went into battle, he would ride a giraffe. You're definitely going to want to listen to that podcast and find out why he said giraffe. So that was really interesting and Ernesto is just awesome and great all around. Actually, all of our Up Close and personal guests are great all around. So if you're new to us, what a great time for you to join our podcast and we wanted to welcome you to the Startup Mission family. And we also have a gift for you that is our A to Z cheat sheet, the essentials for building and growing your dream practice. Kate and I are super passionate and bonkers about keeping therapists in practice and to really fulfill their mission. And this is one way that we can do that. And it's our gift. Go over to privatepractice.com, head over to Resources tab and there you'll see it. It will also come with five days of practice building emails to really help you on your private practice journey. So without further ado, welcome the one, the only, the lovely Katie Reed.
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Thank you.
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How are you?
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It's so great to have you back on the podcast and especially for this specific series because we got such great questions from everybody that was voting for you. We have this list of like nine to 10 questions that were just specifically for you and you have no idea what they are. They are. So this is going to be completely on the fly. Are you stressed yet?
C
Yes. Geez. Just kidding. Let's use this as our first story. So you guys, if you're listening. So Kate and Katie sent out this thing and they were like, hey, we're going to do this up close and personal thing. And, you know, people can vote for five different people and you've been nominated and so, you know, put the word out, blah, blah, blah. You guys, I took one look at the list of people and you had all these, like, who I consider big name famous people on there. Like, people with, like, 20 million people on their email list and stuff. I honestly took one look at the email and I was like, no one's ever gonna vote for me. Delete. Like, I didn't even think. I was like, it's a giant, like, popularity contest. I'm a newbie. I don't have this huge email list. Like, I don't have these things that these other amazing people have. And I wasn't even thinking about really paying that much attention to it. Cause I was like, I won't, like, win or be in the top. And then you sent out a reminder and I was like, okay, Kati, just do something. So I literally put out one social media post. 1. Like, I sat down in 10 minutes and just wrote a social media post. And for whatever reason, there was a huge response to that. And, like, friends and family were voting for me. And I'm like, this is a work thing. I wasn't expecting that. You know, it was so random. So even if you think you're the underdog, go for it anyway.
B
I love it. I love it. And your post was, you had so much personality and you created so much intrigue about the little tidbits of the stories. You're like, well, if you want to hear about this or this or that, and I think you just really have an engaged list of people that really love and care about you, which is awesome. And then you got that intrigue factor going on.
C
Right, right, right, right.
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Yeah.
C
I always say, live a life where you have good stories.
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Right?
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Like, what's the point otherwise? You got to get out there and have some stories.
A
Yeah. So we want to start with our first question and then we'll just kind of go into those other questions. But we really love to just take a step back and we just want to know of you, like, where did you grow up? Siblings. Tell us a little bit about your family, your upbringing. What kind of kid were you?
C
Okay, so I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago, at least then, and I think still now, pretty conservative, pretty religious town. My family wasn't particularly religious, but the whole area were sort of like pastor's kids, you know, it was just like a really conservative type of area. I was your typical good little student, you know, I was like, not the bad girl. I was like the ab student. I loved theater. I was kind of crappy at sports, but I loved doing. I did like speech team and I did all the school plays and I love those kinds of things. Went to college at University of Iowa. Great place to go to school. I double majored there in theater and English. And it's funny, sometimes, like, people will be like, oh, well, what'd you ever do with those? And I feel like through my life I've used both of those degrees tremendously, even if I'm not like writing books or acting on Broadway. I feel like both of those degrees helped me so much. Just in all the various positions I've had in my life, I spent my 20s really bouncing around. I feel like my 20s for me. I was trying to figure out, who am I, where do I want to live, what do I want to do? I never am one of those people that came out like, I'm going to be a therapist. It's my calling. I never knew. I never had one of those clear callings. So I moved all over the place right after college. I had a high school friend who was moving to Seattle, and I was like, I don't know anything about it. I'll come with you.
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That's awesome.
C
Yeah. And it was fun. It was really, you know, those types of experiences, I feel like are the most telling because you and I was young. I was 18. But you're suddenly. Or no, wait, after college, what is that, like 21, 22, you're suddenly totally dependent on just yourself to, like, feel, figure it out. Like you're in a new place. You don't know anybody. You don't know anything. You kind of see what you're made of, you know, you figure it out. Like, I remember driving there, I had a Geo Prism and I drove to Seattle. I had $300 and whatever I could fit in my car. And my roommate and I, we both had very little money, and we had to hang onto it very tightly because the apartment market at the time was really hot. And if you wanted an apartment, like, the minute it came on the market, you needed to have cash in hand, ready to hand to them. So we were eating ramen noodles, staying with the to find an apartment, and trying to spend like a dollar a day on food. No. You know, and like, no more. And it was just a crazy time. But, you know, eventually it works out. I have my first job out of college was Starbucks. And what's great, when I worked there, everybody else who worked there at the time, it was the biggest Starbucks in the world. It was in the U district in Seattle. And everybody who worked there, as soon as they met you, they'd say, so what do you do? Because everybody knew you didn't really work at Starbucks. Like, that wasn't the end game. Everybody there was like, in school or had a degree, and they were all pre. Pursuing really cool things. So anyway, so from there, I decided to move to Los Angeles. And that's where a couple of the stories came from that I sort of teased in that social media post. I worked in the film industry for a couple years. Working in the film industry made me realize I didn't want to work in the film industry. And I, for a long time, weirdly, had heard this little voice in the back of my head saying, go to Taos and go alone. And Taos was Taos, New Mexico, little beautiful ski town up in the mountains. All I knew about it was that Julia Cameron, who wrote the Artist's Way, lived there and I talked about it in there. And Natalie Goldberg, who wrote books about writing, lived there and talked about it in her books. And I'd been hearing this little voice for the longest time, and at the time, I had a really terrible boss. Like, really terrible. And so this is me. I'm like 24. And I had gone into my boss and I. I told him, I very, very, very nervously, like, shaking hand, handed him a letter of resignation. And I said, I quit. And he said, you can't quit. And I was like. And he goes, no, you can't quit until I replace you. And I, being 24 and totally insecure and not realizing that of course I had the power to quit, went, okay, okay, but I'm taking a vacation. And he said, this is what I did. Like, literally, I, like, abandoned my resignation because I was so nervous with this big, powerful, but mean, nasty, horrible boss that I had. And I said, I'm taking a vacation. And he said, oh fine, but you can only leave like during the week of my vacation, like whenever that was. So I said fine. So I made plans during this vacation week that I was just gonna drive to Taos and just check it out by myself. I'm gonna figure, actually, I'm sorry, not drive, but I like bought a plane ticket to Santa Fe and I was gonna figure it out, yada yada. So I went to Taos for a week because this little voice kept saying, and I hadn't traveled alone before. I wasn't one of these people who had like backpacked Europe and was totally self reliant. I just wasn't. And so I went to Taos and I spent a week there. And it ended up being just one of these amazing, life changing, game changing type of weeks. I met the most amazing people, all just completely serendipitously. It was one of those weeks where if you've ever had a time where you felt like you were just totally letting control, letting go of control and letting whatever is going to happen happens and then amazing things happen. It was like that. And so at the end of the week in Taos, a woman who I had befriended while I was there, she was like, you know, I am about to leave town for, I forget a month or something and she's like, I really need someone to house sit and take care of my pets. And I was like, I'll do it. And I drove back to LA and I quit my job for real. And I packed up my car again and I drove back to Taos and I spent two years, no, I spent a year just going from house sit to house sit. And you guys, the stars would somehow align for me perfectly this whole time. Like I would have a house that would be ending on a Saturday and somebody would call me and say, I'm leaving town on Sunday, can you come house sit for me? It was insane. And it was like that for an entire year. So I had this year where I was living, I mean for almost nine months of that year, I house sat at the home of a Coca Cola heiress in her giant house, which was totally haunted and which was filled with crazy antiques. And she had this cleaning lady come in every week to clean because she wanted all the antiques cleaned in a certain way. And I would be like, gosh, like I can't have a cleaning. I'm like 25, like alone in this big house, like I can't have a cleaning. This is too weird. Like go home, go home. It was so funny. So anyway, Taos was an amazing place. I realized when I was there I went to my first therapist. I realized I wanted to be a therapist. I started applying to grad schools. So after I'd been in house about two years, I decided to go to grad school, went out to San Francisco for school, eventually met my husband in the Bay Area. I was headhunted out to Sacramento to direct at an agency there and then he moved out there and then we stayed in Sacramento for several years and then about three years ago we moved to Phoenix and that's where we are now. And now I don't have a private practice currently, but I'm doing something I enjoy so much, which is I do marketing strategy for clinicians, but also for clinicians who like me, are ready to kind of outgrow the office. And they're turning into coaches, consultants, course creators, retreat leaders, all those different types of things. So that kind of brings us up to the present day and to how I know y'. All.
A
Wow, that is a lot. And I know I want to kind of go back and have some questions for you, but let's. Before we do that, let's just take a quick break.
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A
To go back to Taos, New Mexico, because people are asking about the Native American spiritual leaders that you met there and what was really your spiritual experience in New Mexico.
C
Yeah, so my very first week there, the one where I had just driven out in my car to see what happens, I went to a yoga class. And the guy who was taking money for the yoga class, he said I was staying in a little hostel and there was this yoga studio next door. And he said, where are you from? And I said, la. And he said, oh, are you here with her? And he pointed to another woman. And I was like, no. But there was another woman visiting from la. She was visiting her friend Laurel. I started chatting with the two of them. Laurel said, this is kind of random, but there's a sweat lodge tonight, and I feel like I should invite you to it. And I. So, interestingly, in college, I had actually written a play as part of a playwriting class, all about the Lakota Sioux. So I learned a lot about this tribe and their traditions, and I was just always really fascinated by it. So I get invited to this sweat lodge, which it turns out is a Lakota Sioux sweat lodge.
A
Wow. I just got chills.
C
Right? And so. And it's being performed by. They're actually a Caucasian couple, but they had studied with the Sioux for many, many years, and they were some of the very, very few Caucasians given the title of chief by the tribe. And so they. They led an absolutely amazing community in Taos. They were. They would take in strays. They would just. They would talk about it as taking in strays. And very often it was people like me who were like, I don't know what I'm doing with my life. You know, like, I'm trying to figure myself out. I'm bouncing around the country like random hippie fun people. And they were just the most Caretaking, most generous, most kind people, the whole community that was. They led a sober community. Not to say that everybody in the community was sober, but they were sober. The community was sober. I think a lot of times when people hear Native American spirituality these days, they automatically assume it means, like, ayahuasca and all different things. And I'm here to say a lot of the community is not that at all, that it's very sober, that it's very thoughtful to really the old ways and the old teachings, and that's what they taught. And so I went to this sweat lodge with them, and it was the most amazing thing I had ever done. And it was scary, and I didn't know what I was doing, you know, and it was just a completely, totally new. I was a little, you know, girl from the suburbs of Chicago in, like, this very conservative area. Like, I had no exposure to this, and it was amazing. And so when. And they were such a welcoming community. And so, of course, when I came back, when I officially moved there, Laurel, who had invited me to the lodge, was the person that I actually started house sitting for when I first got back. And she was part of this community. And so I would get always invited to whatever was going on. They became very close friends of mine, the leaders in this community. Their names were Wally and Glenda. They eventually performed my wedding years later. Like, they just became very close friends. And they're amazing people. And I talked. I think I teased on that post, going four days and four nights with no food and no water. Well, that was part of a vision quest commitment. And so something that a lot of people do within this community is a commitment to the vision quest. And the way that it was done then, it was a commitment done over four years. And your first year, you went out for about 24 hours a day and a night. And you're alone on a blanket in a spot that's been very lovingly prepared and ceremonially prepared with different things that go into it. And you're alone out there, and it's just you and yourself and whatever else you choose to believe is there for you. And so you do that. And there's a whole community, there's a whole camp that is supporting you, and the support is really energetic. So people are eating for you, people are drinking for you. People are sort of sending you that energetic support. Typically, one of the chiefs will come and check on you at some point. Just say hello for a minute, make sure you're okay, you know, and then go on back. And then the next Day or the next year you do two days, then three days, and then finally four days. It's an incredible challenge. You really meet yourself, you have nothing but you for a very long time. Out on a blanket in nature, there are interesting little miracles that come along the way. Like there was one, it was my three day quest, and I was out in Colorado, and it had been a year where the bears were very hungry. There had been. I forget if it was a drought or what exactly was sending the bears down out of the mountain, down into the communities, like rummaging through garbage and things like that. And I remember there was one point I was out on the blanket and I was just laying there and I kind of had, you know, like laying on my side and I remember hearing a noise and I was sort of in a kind of dreamy state, so it didn't like shock me the way it might have another time. But I remember hearing a noise and just sort of calmly thinking, huh, that sounds exactly like every bear I've ever heard in like a nature documentary or at the zoo. And I just sort of calmly thought that. And then it passed by. And when they came and got me and brought me back to camp at the end of the three days, my friend Bob said to me, he said, I didn't want to tell you this, but on the second day, there was like fresh steaming bear scat about 15ft away from you. And those types of things. Like, you can't explain that. You can't. You know, there's nothing logical that says, like, why was I protected in that moment? Why did I. If I had seen this bear, I'm sure I would have freaked out and died and probably started screaming and been eaten, you know, But I was protected somehow from doing that. And so it was just a lot of amazing experiences. And I will always, always, always love Taos and love my two years there for that. Because it was a community of people where all of us felt very drawn to this mountain and this community and that particular energy at that particular period in time. And it was fantastic.
B
What was the most difficult part or difficult experience that you had, staying out there, being on your own for those longer periods of time where, you know.
C
It'S just you, it's just you. You know, it's interesting. So my four year commitment actually took me five years because there was one year that I walked off the blanket. My first attempt at doing the four day, I couldn't do it. And I feel like energetically at that time, I couldn't sit with myself. I Just couldn't do it. I couldn't sit with myself for that long. I was too wrapped up in whatever my own drama, pain, whatever it is you want to call it at the time, I was too wrapped up in it and I couldn't sit with myself. And I eventually just, I walked off the blanket and I walked back into camp. And what was interesting was, so a year or so later, I was kind of like done. Like, I was like, I'm done with the vision quest. I didn't complete it. I don't care. You know, I had moved to San Francisco at the time I had started grad school. Like, I felt like, okay, fine, I did that, whatever. I walked off the blanket, I didn't complete whatever. And actually, now that I think about it, I was done. I had finished grad school. I was working an extremely difficult, extremely unpleasant group home job. I'll just leave that there because any of your listeners who've worked group home probably know that a lot of the group home jobs are extremely difficult and unpleasant. My life was just not feeling good. Like, I was really miserable at work. I was dead broke coming out of grad school. You know, just a lot of things just felt like crappy in my life. And Glenda, the community leader, she called me sort of out of the blue, Like I hadn't had much contact since I walked off the blanket the year before. And she said, I haven't talked to you in a long time. I have no idea what's going on with you in your life or anything right now. What I do know is that until you complete that commitment, nothing is ever going to feel right or go right. You will always have this uncompleted commitment hanging over your head.
A
Yeah.
B
Ooh, right enough to get you going, right?
C
And so I was like, I shouldn't swear. So I was like, darn.
A
Lie. You said shit.
C
So I bought the ticket and I went back. My final vision quest happened in Texas. It was a crazy four days. It was. The weather went from 40 degrees to 90 degrees. That was like the swing during the days. So you went from being crazy cold to crazy hot. I had a butterfly that came and hung out with me for two days. That was amazing. Really cool parts. But what was amazing was when I completed finally the four day commitment, I came home and fascinatingly enough, within two weeks I had gotten a new job, which I loved, which was so much better than the old job. And I met and started dating my husband.
B
Amazing.
C
And it was just this, like, unbelievable. And I just always remember thinking, oh, My gosh. Like, she was right. She was so, so right. I needed to complete the commitment because it was just left unhanging and unfinished in my life. And I like to take that lesson everywhere. Like, I like to take that lesson anywhere. That if I know something is incomplete, if I know I committed somewhere and I didn't follow through. I'm very aware of that now in such a different way.
A
When you say Glenda, I think Glenda, the Good Witch from Wizard of Oz. So did she just, like, did she just have a message for you? You hadn't told her, right?
C
I hadn't told her anything. Glenda. Glenda's a person who. The day I took my first pregnancy test and I was pregnant with my first son, she called me. Like, no one knew. I had told my husband and that was it. We hadn't told a single family member. And she called me and said, I had a dream and I know you're pregnant. Amazing. Like, so energetically connected to everybody around her. And her husband Wally is the exact same way. And it's why they are just amazing spiritual leaders for a lot of people.
A
And what did you learn about yourself doing the vision quests?
C
I don't know that I could put that into a simple phrase or sentence. I really don't. And I think it's one of those things they always say. They used to say, and I'm not sure why they used to say, you won't fully understand everything that you've digested from your quests until seven years. And in a way, I don't like to talk about them too much in terms of personal learning, but I can just say that the. The learning that things are so much bigger than us is out there on that blanket, you know, the learning that nature continues on very calmly, no matter what storms you have going on inside your head. The world is just going on. You know, we can have so many storms inside our head. The butterflies don't care. The bees don't care. You know, like, nature is just doing its thing, and there are so many lessons to be learned just from joining that and being a part of that for a brief moment, just filling out in that for a brief moment, there's so much to be learned, and nature.
A
Is doing its thing in beautiful synchronicity.
C
Yeah.
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Just true abundance. And it's just.
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It's flawless.
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And it's just really experience that. And, you know, I know for me, like, when I've done many different bodies of work, but one of the. I think the thing. One of the Things that I utilize still. Today I did some body work called Self Discovery, Life Mastery. And they talked about present moment awareness, right? Like, really getting out in the room and just being aware with your five senses, which I think is really helpful. Like, when we talk about mindfulness. And then there's some times that I'll just get into nature for a second. And especially when I have scarcity mindset. I'll look at the grass and be.
C
Like, damn, there's so much grass all over the planet.
A
Like, the abundance factor is crazy. And, like, the ability for reproduction. And it just happens. Like, well, we don't. It just happens. It's amazing. Anyway, can you tell a quick story.
C
About that that you just reminded me of as you were saying that. So this is years before. This is years before Taos, years before anything. I was living in la, and I had. One of the things that got me to Taos, like I said, was the book the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. And I loved it at the time. And in this book, she says to people once a week, go on what she called the artist date. What's funny is I eventually actually ended up working for her in Taos at her retreats, amazingly enough, which was another super cool experience. But she said, go on this artist date. So I'm living in la. I'm super broke. Like, I'm temping. You know, I had. I forget how long I had been living there, but, like, I didn't have a decent job yet. I didn't have anything. My roommate and I, we were both broke. But I really wanted to do this artist date. And so I thought, okay, for me, I know I need to get out of the city. I need to get out of the crunch of the city. So I got out my Thomas guide. This is like before the days when we all have maps that we carry around with us, right? I got out my big old Thomas guide, which is the giant paper LA map book. And I found this lake. It was called Castaic Lake. And it was like, you know, maybe, I don't know, an hour or something north of where I was living at the time. I thought, okay, I'm just gonna drive to the lake and I'll bring my journal and I'll just sit by the lake and I'll journal. Like, this is. This will be my art estate. It'll be free. It'll be good. So I get in my car, it's like early on a Saturday or Sunday morning, and I start driving out to this lake. And very quickly, like, the city kind of fell away. That might not be the case anymore 20 years later, but very quickly then the city fell away. And you were out in this sort of beautiful nature area. And I was so happy. And I was driving out, and I finally get off the exit where this lake is, and I go find it, and I pull up and it says, it's $6 to park at the lake. I was dead broke, you guys. Like, $6 with so many ramen noodles, you know? And I sat there outside of this parking stall, and I was so furious at the universe. Like, I was so mad. I was like, I don't have $6. Why did I even drive out here? I thought, it's, do what you love and the money will follow. Well, I don't have, like, all this stuff. And so I sat there having this big internal debate with myself over the $6. Speaking of scarcity mindset, right? But I was truly, like, broke at the time. And so I finally was like, katie, you drove all the way out here? I literally had a five and a one in my wallet. I was like, okay, fine. I'm just giving this last $6 in my wallet, and I'm going to this lake. So I paid to park, and I go walk up there, and it's beautiful. And the family is setting up their picnics with transistor radios, and it's beautiful. And I sat and I journaled for a while, and then I thought, okay, I'm going to see if I can walk all the way around. Like, I'm going to see if the trail goes, because it was a pretty big lake, and I didn't know if the trail would go all the way. So I start walking. I'm just walking around this lake. It's a beautiful day. I'm, like, truly, truly happy that I decided to stay there and do this. So I'm walking, and I'm kind of like, in my own head, and I'm thinking, and I'm just looking down, and I step down, and right in front of my foot, my foot comes down, my toe comes down on a $5bill. I love it. Yeah. And I. In that moment, I used to say, in that moment, I got a God concept. Because all of a sudden, God to me was like, Tinkerbell was like, teehee. Like, here's something for you. Did you need a little of this? Like, it was unbelievable. And I literally picked it up, and I looked up at the sky, and I was just laughing to myself. I couldn't believe this had happened. You know, I was so happy. And I kept walking and I'm totally just in my own head. Like, I can't believe this is happening. This is so crazy. I can't believe I just found this $5. What a gift. Oh, my God. And I'm walking along and a guy off on the side of the path goes, senorita. And I look over and he goes, did you just lose a dollar? Because I just found a dollar right there.
B
Oh, no way.
C
Chills. Oh, my God.
A
I was like, the five, that was cool. But you got the six freaking back. What did you say?
C
I said, that's all yours. And that to me also felt like, abundance out. Like, oh, there will always be enough. Like, I can always be. It gives me chills every time. I've told that story for years because it was a huge moment in my life, you know? And then later, of course, when I was teaching artist way classes, I used to tell that story there because I was like, you guys have to do the artist dates. This was my first one. This is what happened for me. Like, you have to do these. They're powerful. So, yeah, that was one of those total chills. Magic moments.
A
I call them magic moments. That's so funny that you say that. I called it.
C
Yeah, it is. It's like that little moment that you're like, oh, maybe I'm not alone. And the universe is not this totally random, you know, conglomeration of events. Like, maybe there is divine logic here. And I just got to see a little bit of it.
A
Yeah. So I know we have a ton more questions for you, so.
C
Okay. Sorry forever.
A
One of the things that people definitely want to know about, of course, is your temp job with Harvey Weinstein. You're gonna have to tell us about that.
C
Okay. So like I said, I was living in la, I was temping. I was one of. I was one of the temps they really liked. Because I think when you got a temp, like, who was smart and had a degree and had a head on her shoulders, like I was, I got used a lot. I got temped out to a lot of offices. But there was this one day where if you didn't get a call by like 7:30 in the morning, then you didn't have a job that day. And so I hadn't gotten a call, so I was bummed out. I called my friend Jason and we, like, went out for coffee and I was like, oh, man, I really need money. I don't have a job today. This sucks. And so I got back home and it was maybe 10am and the phone rings, and it's the woman who does the scheduling from the temp agency. And she's like, I need to put you on the phone with me and the head of the whole agency. I'm like, okay. And so. And it's weird to be getting a call at 10am Anyway, so the head of the temp agency and the scheduler get on the phone with me and the head of the agency goes, I need to send you to a job today. It's very, very, very, very important job. And I'm like, okay. And she goes, it's temping for Harvey Weinstein. And I was like, okay, no, keep in mind, this is a million years ago. Like, none of us knew anything about all the allegations. Like, you know, none of that. And so all I knew was Miramax were, like, all my favorite movies. And I was a temp. And I thought, oh, my gosh, if I could impress Harvey Weinstein and get a job at Miramax, that would change my life. Like, that would be amazing. And so then she continues. She says, he yells, he screams. He'll get in your face. He throws things. He's really scary. He's really intimidating. Like, can you handle it? No. You guys, the answer was yes. No. No, I can't handle it. I'm terrified of all the things you just said. Like, the answer was, like, I was shaking in my boots.
A
But you said yes, right?
C
I said yes. I was like, yes. Yes, I can handle. Oh, you're gonna throw things at me? Great, let's do it. You know, I was terrified. But they're like, you have to be there in an hour. And it was quite a drive from my house. So I really quickly, you know, was getting dressed. So I walk into Miramax. I had never been in there before. I walked up to the front desk. There's, like, three women behind the reception desk. And I said, hi, I'm here to temp for Harvey Weinstein. And they looked at me and they started laughing. All three of them started laughing. So I'm standing there, and I have no idea why they're laughing. And I'm in, like, my little best work outfit that I have, you know. And I have no idea why they're laughing. And they're like, just wait there. And so they start making some phone calls. So I came to find out that what actually happened when Harvey Weinstein came to town was that One of the VPs pretty much became his assistant for the week. Followed him around, did everything he needed, got everything he needed. Then this VP's normal assistant would be extremely busy on the same gig doing everything. So what I was actually there to do was to cover the VP's office while he was covering Harvey. So it was. I was a step away from actual Harvey now. What this turned into for me, though, was temping nonstop at Miramax for months because they liked me. So I kept getting jobs there every single day. And it finally did turn into a job there. So then I did work at Miramax for a while, and it was a fun place to work. Harvey would come into the office. He would be full of bluster and bravado. When he would come in, the whole place would be very panicky because he would have requests that were like. I remember once somebody ran past me looking like they were on fire. And I was like, what's going on? And he apparently had said it was like 10am on whatever day. And he said, I want Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt and what's her name? I think it was Cate Blanchett at the time. Brad Pitt and Kate. Or no, maybe it was Gwyneth Paltrow. It was when they were really big. This makes me old. Obviously, it was when the two of them were like the stars of the day. I want the two of them on a plane, and I want this restaurant in Santa Barbara closed down so that the three of us can go have lunch there today. And so the whole place was running manic trying to make all of this happen. Like, get a plane, get these people, you know, get them here. Blah, blah, blah. And so it was crazy stuff like that. And at the time, really, all the rumors about him were just sort of rumors about him being intimidating and scary. We didn't hear all the other stuff that's come out since then, at least. I mean, I'm sure the big wigs heard it. But me, at the Little nobody assistant level, you know, we weren't hearing these crazy stories. So, yeah, that was the temp story. I always remember standing at that desk and they were just laughing at me. And I was, like, frozen because I was like, what's happening? Why is it? Why are they laughing at you?
A
They're laughing at me. Three of them.
C
Exactly.
A
That's super intimidating.
C
Yeah, super. And at the time, Helena Bonham Carter was also standing at the reception desk. And so I was like, they're laughing at me and there's a famous lady there. Like, this is the weirdest moment.
A
That would have been a really good movie scene right there. Like that little thing that's so funny.
C
Exactly.
A
Katie, people also want to know about Bill Murray.
C
Oh, yeah. So that was. It was a super minor moment, but it was sort of a nice moment. So later I was working for a different producer. I wasn't at Miramax anymore. We were producing a movie. He was one of the stars of the movie. And I, as the assistant to the producer, was organizing what's called a table read, which people have probably heard of and seen this around, where all the actors, the producers, the writer, they get together and they just read the script aloud. And we had to do this table read on a Saturday morning to get everybody organized and trying to organize about 20 different people and people that you can't call directly, that you have to call through the manager's assistant who has to go to the manager, who has to go to the. You know, it's like. Like multiple chains and telephone game and everything else. And so I had for weeks been working to get this table reorganized finally, finally organized. I got a call the day before from Bill Murray's assistant saying he feels like golfing tomorrow. So he's not coming, so you'll need to reschedule. So I had, like. I, like, officially hated Bill Murray at that point. I was like, oh, my God, like, all this work, I had to start over with it, you know? So we rescheduled this whole table resources. So when it finally happened, you know, there's a room there of, like, big wig producers and agents and writers and the suits and the other actors in the movie, you know, fellow bigwig type actors. And I was the only total nobody in the room. So I'm standing there probably, like, putting out bagels on a table or, like, getting the coffee out or whatever I was doing in the moment. And all I knew was, all of a sudden there's somebody behind me, and I turn around and he holds out his hand and he goes, hi, I'm Bill Murray. Because he had just walked past all the big wigs and suits, and he saw the underling. And he just came over out of extreme politeness, honestly, and just extreme kindness to introduce himself to the underling. Obviously, I knew who he was, but.
B
It was really nice.
C
And I came to find out about him that he was always like that, that he was always super kind to the assistant, super kind to, like, you know, custodial crew or the people who brought in the food service or whatever, that those were really his people, and that he really made a point of being kind to them, which was super nice.
A
Yeah, I love to hear stories like that of really kind of the heart and compassion of, you know, famous people, whoever they are. And also too, that they're authentic, both in their professional life, but in their personal life. But that's really.
C
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
B
We've gotten a couple a lot of questions about your experiences in Hollywood. And it sounds like you kind of answered who was one of the nicest people that you met in Hollywood? That Bill Murray story. But we also got asked, what was one of your funniest memories while working in Hollywood?
C
I don't know about funniest memories. That's a hard one. I mean, I remember there were such random things about working there. Like when we worked at Miramax, I mean, the assistants were dead broke. Like it was the worst paying job in the world. But because you worked at Miramax and everybody wanted to be at Miramax, people knew who you were. Like, it was like you were like mini famous for working at Miramax, even though you knew I was making $24,000 a year and I was dead broke, you know. And so even though you knew full well you were a total nobody. I mean, I remember, God, they would bring in muffins on Wednesdays and all the assistants would get there at like 7:30 in the morning if there weren't enough muffins to go around. Yeah. And we were like, we're actually hungry. Like, we need to get there for a muffin, you know. But so it was. There were lots of like, funny moments or you'd be like, you know, you'd go to like random movie premieres because you'd end up with a ticket. Like, I have a ridiculous picture of my friend and I. We were at the Mission Impossible 2 premiere. And I don't remember why I ended up with tickets to this, but it was just because of whatever office I was working in at the time. And they had like the motorcycle from Mission Impossible 2. They had it all set up and staged and there were like flames behind it and you could get your picture on it. So I have this dorky picture of my friend and I like, on the motorcycle. Like, acting like we're all cool, like talking Cruise. But as we were standing in line for that and watching, for some reason, Roseanne Barr and Christian Bale decided they needed a picture together on the motorcycle. So we watched like, somewhere in the world there exists this picture of Roseanne Barr and Christian Bale on the Mission Impossible 2 motorcycle. They had like a climbing wall at the premiere, like, all this random stuff. I remember I saw some movie. Saving Private Ryan, I think it was, and a Friend of mine had camped out in front of the Man's Chinese Theater for, like, three days. I forget what it was that he had. If it was like Star Wars, I forget. It was one of these big ones that was like a big premiere at Man's Chinese. And he had camped out for three days and gotten tickets for a big group of us, and we were, like, bringing him food while he was camping out. And then as we were walking into this premiere of this, there were other people walking up to the ticket booth and just buying tickets for it right then. Wow.
B
No, we felt so bad for him.
C
We're like, sorry, Craig. It was so funny. But, yeah, it was an interesting place to work. I mean, I will say I got out of the industry because it was also not a nice place to work. It wasn't like a pleasant place to work. I had a boss who would call me in the morning and you would do what's called rolling calls as the assistant, which meant you were on all of their calls as like a mute, silent listener on the call because you were just there to take notes and whatnot. He would call me in the morning and he would say, I need somebody to yell at. Get me somebody on the phone to yell at. Literally.
A
Wow.
C
And I would have to call. It was horrible. And I would have to call other assistants I knew and be like, I'm really sorry. Rob wants to yell at somebody. Can your boss just. Can you warn him? Like, it was horrible. It was horrible.
A
Maybe that's what made you decide to be a therapist. Be like, there's a technique for that.
C
It's called open. Open chair.
A
Empty chair. Empty chair, Exactly.
C
Wow.
A
That is horrendous. I could not imagine being in your position and, like, having to call someone and be like, you know, you're the person today.
C
You get someone to be yelled at. I know, I know. It was terrible.
A
I have anxiety thinking about it.
B
I know. Sounds like the most stressful job ever.
C
It was. It was super stressful. And you would get, you know, you were regularly sort of devalued. I remember. I will always love Julia Louis Dreyfus because she came in to meet on some movie and we were going through a bunch of actresses. So, like, a lot of big name actresses had come in to meet on this movie, and they would come into my little reception area first and kind of hang out with me for a few minutes before they would go next door and be with the producer and the director and talk to them. And she came in. It was really early in the morning. I was just brewing coffee for people for the day and things like that. And she was going in, and I said, do you want a coffee?
A
Yes.
C
Cream, sugar, blah, blah, blah. So then a few minutes later, her coffee was ready, and I brought it into her, and I just handed it to her, and she said, oh, that's perfect. Thank you. And my boss goes, well, don't say it's perfect yet. You haven't tried her coffee. It's so rude, right? So incredibly rude. And she, in all kindness, she took a sip, and she looked at me very pointedly. It was like we're the two women in the room. We are bonded together. And she went, it's perfect. Thank you. And I was like, who? Like, message received. And it was just so nice because, of course, I felt like total crap when he had just cut me down like that in front of this room. And then she was so kind. It was just that little kindness, you know, that you loved, that you lived for.
A
Yeah. I love all your stories. And I know, you know, when we release this, everyone is gonna really enjoy it as well. Now we're gonna be moving into the lightning round, so this is the time that we're gonna ask you some questions, and whatever comes off your head, you're gonna answer it as quickly as possible. If you get stuck, you can say, pass, and we have plenty more. And, you know, I just wanted to take a moment. I know when we had actually sent out for you guys to vote and share your questions, we did have a bunch of you who actually put your names. And, you know, Kate and I were getting ready for this on our assistant, and unfortunately, the names didn't go next to the question. So we can't give you a shout out because I know that we said we're going for those people. So we're shouting all of you out right now for the awesome questions that you guys asked. So I just wanted to make sure that you guys know that. Kate, do you want to start with a question or. I'm going to start.
B
You can start this time. I'll ask the next one.
A
I'm going for. What is your guilty pleasure?
C
Chocolate. Oh, and Real Housewives. And Real Housewives.
B
Nice. All right, what is one of the most embarrassing moments that you've had?
C
I can never think of this. When people say this, I'm like, I feel like I'm always putting my foot in my mouth and whatnot, but I don't have that one grand. Like, I got de pantsed in middle school. Like, I don't have one of Those giant, embarrassing. I just feel like I regularly embarrass myself in small ways all the time.
A
I love it. What is your favorite book and why?
C
Good question. You know, I'll just say I have so many favorite books, but the first one that popped into my head, I'll just name it, is called the War of Art. And it's a great. It's just a great book. And it's a very short, quick, easy book to read. But it's a fantastic book. Kind of about the creative process and our resistance often to the creative process and how to overcome that. And it's really, it's just good.
B
I like it.
C
Yes.
B
What's one of your favorite things to do when you're alone?
C
I love to read. I love to write. I'm definitely. I love to journal. I like to just sit outside and watch a fire if I can be near one. We're actually just having a fireplace put in our backyard and I'm so excited because I feel like I could just sit and watch a fire for hours on end. I love that. Walking alone is great. Anything that can be. I love having. I feel like I get very little alone time as a mom of two young children. So any little bit of solitude is welcome.
A
Nice. What article or accessory best describes your personality?
C
Oh, you mean like a clothing article?
A
Clothing article or accessory.
C
Yeah, or accessory. Oh my God, this is a hard one. Maybe earrings. I have to figure out why, but that just.
A
We'll roll with it for now.
C
Right now I'll make up a good reason why because they can be really different day to day and you can add a little color with them. Have a little color in your life. I don't know.
B
What would your adult self tell your younger self today?
C
Don't be. Well, it's hard to say this because you can't just like tell this to a child. But I would say you don't have to be so insecure. Like you're allowed to speak up. You're allowed to be yourself. You don't always have to be second guessing yourself. You don't have to always be wrestling with your own self esteem and self doubts and all of those things. And of course you can't just say that to a child and have it impact them. But if I could communicate that message probably to myself and to most kids, that's what I would do.
B
Love it.
A
I think that was a perfect wrap up question to end our podcast with Katie Reed. Guys, this was really awesome. I love the questions that you guys asked and I really hope that we delivered and got a lot of your questions if not all of them answered. And Katie, we really appreciate you being here with us today and next time or tomorrow we're going to have Tiffany McLean with us again. You voted for her and we can't wait to hear from her. She is just, she is a double shot espresso. If you have never heard from her before. She is excited. She just has an awesome style and brand and we're gonna really love enjoying and getting Up Close and Personal with Tiffany.
B
We so appreciate you guys giving your vote of who you wanted us to interview on the Up Close and Personal series and then also sending you your questions too. This has been so fun to just step away from all the business talk and really explore the personal journeys and all of our practice building and coaching building experts. So if you guys are loving our podcast, we would love to hear from you. Definitely subscribe, rate and review our show. We love when we get little emails from you guys or we see the reviews come in. It lets us know that we're on track to really inspiring you guys along your journey. And if there's topics that we haven't talked about yet or experts that we haven't interviewed yet that you think would be great for our show, please let us know for sure. And we look forward to continuing to inspire you from Startup to Mastery.
A
We'll see you tomorrow and don't forget to hang out with us in Facebook. Look for the Private Practice Startup and we'll see you there with our community of over 7,000 therapists and growing. So like Kate said, thanks for allowing us to inspire you from Startup to Mastery. Take care everybody.
B
Thanks for joining us on the Private practice startup. Visit theprivatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, free trainings, attorney approved private practice paperwork, and so much more. SA.
Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Katie Lemieux
Guest: Katie Read
Date: November 12, 2019
Episode Theme:
This episode is part of the "Up Close and Personal" mini-series, where the hosts dive deep into the lives and personal journeys of notable mental health professionals and business coaches. In this edition, they interview Katie Read, an entrepreneur known for guiding therapists in expanding beyond traditional private practice. The episode explores Katie’s unconventional path, her spiritual experiences, Hollywood escapades, and lessons on abundance, resilience, and authenticity.
Origin Story (04:47 – 12:25):
“Even if you think you’re the underdog, go for it anyway.” (04:01, Katie Read)
Spiritual Experiences and Native American Traditions (14:51 – 26:57):
“The learning that things are so much bigger than us is out there on that blanket… Nature continues on very calmly, no matter what storms you have going on inside your head.” (25:06, Katie Read)
“Until you complete that commitment, nothing is ever going to feel right or go right. You will always have this uncompleted commitment hanging over your head.” (22:58, Glenda via Katie)
Scarcity, Abundance & Synchronicity (26:13 – 31:40):
“In that moment I got a God concept. Because all of a sudden, God to me was like Tinkerbell—like, teehee, here’s something for you!” (29:27, Katie)
Behind-the-Scenes with Harvey Weinstein (31:43 – 36:49):
“He yells, he screams. He’ll get in your face. He throws things. He’s really scary… Can you handle it?” (33:38, Temp Agency Head to Katie)
Kind Encounters with Celebrities (36:49 – 44:09):
Katie’s experience as a “nobody” assistant surrounded by “mini fame.”
Absurd workplace stories: Muffin scrambles, red-carpet premieres, and star encounters (Christian Bale & Roseanne Barr riding a prop motorcycle).
“One of the VPs pretty much became [Weinstein’s] assistant for the week… so I was a step away from actual Harvey.” (35:23, Katie)
Quick answers reflecting Katie’s personality and preferences:
Warm, candid, and infused with storytelling and humor. The episode encourages risk-taking, following one’s intuition, staying true to oneself, and embracing the unexpected on the path to professional and personal fulfillment. It’s a rare glimpse at the journey behind the expertise — with a blend of inspiration, entertainment, and authenticity for clinicians at any stage.
For more resources from the Private Practice Startup, visit www.PrivatePracticeStartup.com.