When 20% Is Your 100%: Building a Brand with Heart While Managing Chronic Illness (with Katie Holmes)

What if the most strategic thing you could do for your business is lead with your heart?

Katie Smetherman-Holmes, bestselling author and brand strategist, is rewriting the rules of business by bringing empathy and emotion back into leadership. She's built Brand Studio Creative while managing chronic migraines—and she's here to destroy the myth that scaling has to mean sacrifice.

In this conversation, Katie shares what it's really like to run a business when some days you can only give 20% (and why that's still your 100%). She talks about why "making friends" beats networking, how to build brands that connect in the age of AI, and why hustle culture is a lie that's hurting us all.

If you've ever been told to "take the emotion out of it" or felt like you had to choose between your humanity and your success, this is your permission slip to do it differently.

You'll learn:

• How to give yourself grace when your body says "not today"
• Why leading with empathy creates deeper client connections (and better business)
• The brand strategy pieces most people ignore (mission, values, purpose—not just visuals)
• Why AI can never replace human connection in branding
• How to move at a pace that works for YOUR life (not someone else's timeline)
• The 1% shift: Auditing your brand with a heart-centered lens

Guest Bio: Katie Smetherman-Holmes is a bestselling author, brand strategist, and graphic designer who runs Brand Studio Creative. She helps purpose-driven businesses build brands that connect on a human level—not just a transactional one. Based in Dallas, Texas, Katie has built a thriving business while managing chronic migraines, proving that success doesn't have to look like hustle.