About the Episode
What’s Shakin’? In this episode, I’m joined by Katie Richardson—an incredible entrepreneur, coach, and mother. Katie built her first global brand, Pudge, around the idea of creating meaningful products for parents and babies, but that’s not where her journey ends. She’s since sold her company and now dedicates her time to helping entrepreneurs live fulfilling lives and build businesses aligned with their values. We dive into her story of launching a business from scratch, juggling family life, and staying true to what matters most. Katie’s insights into balancing personal and professional life are invaluable for anyone looking to create a business with purpose. You’re going to want to take notes on this one—she’s all in, and I know you’ll love it!
About Katie
Katie Richardson believes your business is a powerful vehicle for you to be who God created you to be. As a Business Coach, she is on a mission to help Entrepreneurs have FUN and live the life THEY WANT. Katie’s first brand Puj.com, is a worldwide sensation reaching 2,000 stores in the US and distribution in 26 different countries. She has been featured on the Ellen Degeneres Show, Rachael Ray Show, Today Show and on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine, all while being a committed wife and mother. Today, people seek-out Katie’s help in learning how to become the Pro CEO they want to be.
Listen to the podcast here
Watch the episode here
Episode Topics:
- Hear how Katie Richardson built a global brand from the ground up.
- Learn the secrets to balancing family and business from a seasoned entrepreneur.
- Discover the power of defining what truly matters in your life and business.
- Katie shares her inspiring journey of selling her company and coaching entrepreneurs.
- If you’re an entrepreneur struggling to find balance, this episode is for you
Rick Jordan:
What shakin’! Hey, it’s good to hear from you again and for you to hear me, I can hear you through whatever, through the universe, through everything else, because I know that you’re excited to hear from my guests today. I was just on her show a little bit ago, and it was a freaking amazing time, you know, because she believes your business is a powerful vehicle for you to be who God created you to be. And she’s on a mission to have fun for entrepreneurs to have fun and live the life that they want. Katie Richardson, what’s shaken
Katie Richardson:
Rick. So good to be here. Thank you for having me so excited to hopefully inspire some people in their own journey and help them see maybe their next step.
Rick Jordan:
That’s what it’s about. Right. You know, and I see your, your first brand, which is interesting. Now I try to do this to not do too much research because it provides for better conversation. Is it P P PJ Pudge? It is
Katie Richardson:
What is it? A Pudge, but it is spelled Puj.
Rick Jordan:
I’m laughing at myself. It’s good to laugh at yourself. Right. I apologize for it’s
Katie Richardson:
An international company and people say it all kinds of different ways in India. They say it pooey.
Rick Jordan:
Huey. What?
Katie Richardson:
Yeah.
Rick Jordan:
That’s hilarious. Yeah.
Katie Richardson:
I mean, it was a strategic name. Do you wanna hear the story by
Rick Jordan:
Behind the name? I would love to please. Yeah. That was your first brand kick.
Katie Richardson:
Yeah. I started that company in 2007 and I needed to own the.com. Right. I wanted a name that I could own and trademark and own the.com and a name that was going to be mine domestically and internationally. And so I was just doing lots of searches and I had had a longer company named previously and I was like, you know what? I want something really simple. That’s three letters. I just started writing a bunch of three letter words. And my mom had a friend growing up. She was called pledge. That was like, her name is a baby. And it stuck with her still as an adult. Wow. And I was like, that is really cute . It’s a name that people it’s endearing. Right? It’s this endearing baby punch chubby baby. And that’s what my company was all about was about the baby. Not
Rick Jordan:
Endearing as an adult though.
Katie Richardson:
No, no, definitely not. That’s kinda what sparked the idea when I was writing in my journal, what about pledge? Like that’s a chubby happy baby. And I had really big chubby happy babies. And so it kind of became representative of this company and all of our products are all about the baby. It’s not about the things. And the instruction manuals that come with things. It was really about your time and experience with your child, and allowing you to really bond with them. So that’s where that came from.
Rick Jordan:
That’s so cool. And I
Katie Richardson:
Watch.com.
Rick Jordan:
That’s amazing. I love the story because I mean, you didn’t want to have it perfect right away. You just had certain criteria that you wanted. Right. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs will miss this, right. Because who knows, I mean, 2007, that was a while ago. We’re talking 15 years ago. And for it to become this amazing worldwide sensation, right. That’s not something that you generally set out to do right away. At least you don’t know what your ducks in a row are even gonna look like. Sure. You know? So what, when you find this name, it’s like, oh, that’s cool. Let’s see if this sticks. Right. I love that. You just went with it. That’s awesome. It’s for babies too. And this is something we talked a little bit on your show about was, you know how you’re, you’re a mom, obviously you’re, you’re a wife too, and you’re a CEO. You moved to Puerto Rico. I believe if I remember right. To help with someone like this, juggling it all. How do you do it?
Katie Richardson:
Well, Puj is a company that I sold five years ago. And today I coach entrepreneurs and it’s Katie richardson.com as my business today. And how do I do it all? It’s about understanding what matters to you. And so, you know, just like that list of criteria for developing my business name, I’ve done a list of criteria for what I want my life and my day to look like. And so as a coach, I set some really clear constraints around this coaching business that I have inside of the pod. It was a big business, 20,000 square foot warehouse, 15 plus employees, you know, international team distributors in 20, 26 different countries. And it was really big and complex. And when I sold that company, I was like, you know what? I kind of want the opposite. I want a really simple business that allows me to be present with my kids and at the same time to continue to grow and develop as a human being.
Katie Richardson:
And so when I went into this world, I made a decision. I was like, I don’t wanna work more than 15 hours a week. And so that means I have an incredible team. It means they take what I do with clients, either privately or in groups and they leverage it. And so that is what my life looks like today. I’m able to help entrepreneurs grow and develop as a CEO and as a leader and ultimately to build a business that they want, right. They have this vision and this dream, and I’m gonna show them how to do that. More importantly, I’m showing them who they need to be in order to build and create that business. And honestly like that, the obstacle is as they’re building the business, they start to hit this plateau, which is extremely frustrating. And you know, how do you move past that? It’s by developing you, cuz the business has now become limited to your personal capacity, which I’m sure you totally, oh
Rick Jordan:
My gosh, that’s strong
Katie Richardson:
Understand. And
Rick Jordan:
So your business, your revenue, your family, everything is always limited by where you’re at and your own personal growth journey. 100%. Yeah. What I, what I appreciate about everything you just said, and here’s what I, what I hear. So I, you know, which is great. Yeah. Several things, one, you know, and as you were talking about, you know, women, especially in all these things, right. And I’m thinking like, I, I don’t even wanna say professional women because if I look at the other side of that, it’s like how many women want to be? And I say this with all the love only a mom, right? And when I say that, I say that I like devoting 100% of their time, not 100% of their selves, because I think it’s very possible to devote 100% of yourself to multiple different things in your life.
Rick Jordan:
Right? If it’s a, if it’s being a CEO, an entrepreneur, a product and your family and your, your husband as a woman, I I’m sure, as you found out it is possible to devote 100% of your self to each of those priorities in your life. Mm-hmm <affirmative> the time is the thing that you have to get creative with because that is the, the only finite thing, you know, but how you went into that and I’m giving you huge, mad props right now, because when you said I wrote it down and this is what I wanted it to look like, and now this is how it is. Yeah. That’s a huge thing. And you know what, it’s, you put forethought into it cuz entrepreneurs, I’m one of ’em, I’m guilty of this. I fly by the seat of my pants with a lot of stuff and be like, we’re gonna make it work. Right. But there’s a lot of stuff too, to that. I look out it’s like, this is, it’s like outcome based vision dreaming, you know? And like, this is how I see it happening. And as long as you can have that insight, because then when you write it down, that’s great. It’s still written down and it sees it into your memory, but where you excelled and that’s why I’m giving you such a huge compliment is you put intention into this. And intention is only created by action.
Katie Richardson:
Yes.
Rick Jordan:
Pass that because if it’s written down, that’s great. But if you’re not doing any freaking thing about it, there is no intention to it because intention is only created by action.
Katie Richardson:
Brilliant. Yes. And what you’re, what you’re seeing Rick is the result of my, actually my college education. I was trained as a product designer and you know, we think of these ideas and they float around in our head, but nothing happens with that idea until you start to sketch it out and you turn it around visually and in your sketch, even what does it look like from the back and what mechanisms, what materials is it made out of and how does somebody interact with it? What are the proportions? I’ve done the same thing as a product designer, right. Which I did in my company pledge, I’ve done the same thing, designing and creating a product with my life and my business. Right. I’m a mother for my kids’ homeschool and we are living on the beaches of Puerto Rico. And this is a life that I have designed for myself and then went through the process of pulling that idea, that concept, which was just a dream on a whiteboard and literally pulling that into my reality. And it’s my life right now, today.
Rick Jordan:
That’s fantastic. And it’s
Katie Richardson:
Yeah, it’s that design process. It’s that creation process and, and the intention. And, and to your point, nothing happens though until you start taking action.
Rick Jordan:
Oh man. Yeah. So we’ve been on cloud nine since we started. And now let’s, uh, I might pull you down into the depths of hell a little. Okay.
Katie Richardson:
Go
Rick Jordan:
For it because let’s go there, everything you’re talking about, you know, it’s great. And it sounds amazing. You see the results of it. Yes. I’m sure. To be relatable for all, all women that are listening. Yes. Yes. Those moments where you’re like all God, I mean like literally God above, how could I possibly be a mom and run a business and be a spouse all at the same time in those moments of feeling overwhelmed, how did those feel to you?
Katie Richardson:
I mean, in the very, very early days, I’m talking like 2008, 2009, when my business was really starting to take off, I was fully confronted by those fears big time, because I could see that I was tired, that I was spent, that I wasn’t giving my kids my best self. I was ignoring them with this belief that I just need to work a little bit more. And then there’s magically somehow gonna be more time. And then I’ll be able to put you guys to bed and, and feed you the food that I know I need to be feeding you and taking care of you. Right. And there was this one day, Rick, where I was, I realized I was running outta patients by 10:00 AM. And my fear was, if I continue to build this business in this way, it will destroy my relationship with my kids. Maybe even my marriage. And that’s not okay with me. Like I could see where that road was going. And I was, you know, months down that road, but I was projecting it forward. And I was like, yeah, I don’t wanna go to that place. And so I started to wonder, do I have to let go of my business? And I wasn’t okay with that. There was a big piece of me that was being fulfilled inside my business. That honestly was not being fulfilled inside of my other relationships. It
Rick Jordan:
Just wasn’t that reality. And
Katie Richardson:
It was, it was just me as a designer was not being stretched and grown inside of motherhood. It wasn’t. And so, you
Rick Jordan:
Know what’s important about that too. I know I’m interrupting, you know, what’s important is to go for it. That’s okay.
Katie Richardson:
Yeah.
Rick Jordan:
I think everyone needs to hear. Thank you. That’s actually okay. Yeah. That there’s portions of you as a woman, even as a man that will never be fulfilled by, uh, a mother being a mother, a father, a spouse, uh, whatever, anything else there’s portions that, of those relationships that will not fulfill certain parts of you and that’s okay.
Katie Richardson:
Yes it is. And so I started looking for a model, somebody who proved that all of this was compatible, that I could somehow make all of those areas that I loved. Could they all come together in my life in a way where it all worked. And I was looking for examples. Somebody who proved that I could be a present mother who was taking her kids to soccer games and maybe making cinnamon rolls on the weekends, Yu and shipping my products all over the world. Like, is that possible? And keep in mind, this was like 2007, 2008. Facebook only had, I think, weird high school kids, nobody else like nobody was using it for business.
Rick Jordan:
Oh, the good, I was limited
Katie Richardson:
Magazines, magazines and books from the library, which by the way were mostly men’s stories. Not that that’s bad, but it just wasn’t fully relatable to my story. And so I was like, is this possible? And I started to have this immense fear. And one day I had a new thought and you’re a man of faith. And, and you get this, this new thought was not my own. And it was Katie. You understand creation. So while you might not see the example, the life, the person who proves that this is possible, you know, creation and you could go create her. And that’s when I started to realize, I wasn’t just building a business. I was creating a woman. Yeah. Somebody, I hadn’t been up until that point in my life. And I seriously took my creation process that I knew for products. And I was like, okay, we are creating a woman who has a business.
Katie Richardson:
Who’s present with her kids, who speaks to God on a daily basis, who goes on dates with her husband and who ships products all over the world. I’m like, I might not see her, but I can become her. And that was the process of how I built my businesses. Honestly, Rick, like that, has been the number one core to the success that I have experienced in my life, which is not trivial. I mean, my products are sold in 2000 stores in the us. I’ve got distribution in 26 different countries. I’ve been featured on the Ellen show, the ratio, the today show I’ve been on the cover of entrepreneur magazine. Like, you know, pretty cool stuff. Yeah. And oh, by the way, had four kids along the way. So like that question of how do I do this in a way where not only does it not destroy my life, but can I do this in a way where it enhances my ability to be a mother. It enhances my ability to be in the present life. It enhances even my role as a daughter of God. And that was the question. And, and it’s still the question that I’m asking today.
Rick Jordan:
I love it. Let’s get down to some nitty gritty now, you know, maybe just two or D things that help you do this on a daily basis, you know, cuz we’ve got the overview. Right. And you wrote it down. Yeah. You put intention into it. You know, it’s a, that’s that high level, 30,000 feet. But when you’re day to day, what are two or three things may, it might, don’t have to be on a daily basis. You do these, but maybe on a weekly basis or whatever that helps you keep all of these areas in alignment, the way you need them in alignment.
Katie Richardson:
Yeah. So I have a, I have a morning routine and I didn’t in the beginning, I was actually starting to tell you that story. I realized it one morning when my toddler woke me up and, and I, as I woke up that morning, I was like, I’m working up this way every day. And it sucks. And he was hitting me in the forehead with this empty milk bottle, saying more milk, mommy, more milk. And that’s how I was starting my day. And I was like, this is not working. And one morning I woke up and he hadn’t come in yet. And I slipped on some yoga pants and then slipped outta the house. I was not a gym person. I wasn’t actually even a yoga person. I wasn’t a runner, but I was like today I became a runner because I’m getting out of there and I’m getting time to myself.
Katie Richardson:
So that’s when I first started. And first it was walking around the block, then walking around the block a couple times, then winter hit. And I was like, I guess I need a gym membership. Then I joined the gym and I built off of that over the course of the years. And I have a daily routine that includes prayer, scripture, study, physical exercise, like actually looking in the eyes of all of the humans in my home. And you know, how are you doing? I love you. Um, breakfast with these people. With my family. And then I have a daily meeting with my team. It’s a quick short meeting. And then I hop into client calls, podcast interviews. I do an interview series myself. I have my own podcast list working now. And I have groups that I coach and I do that until about two 30, most days I try and be done by three and then, and then it’s family time and maybe we go to the beach.
Katie Richardson:
Maybe we will go to the farmer’s market. Um, maybe we just hang out at the pool in our backyard. But, that is kind of how I’ve done that. So the first thing is to have a daily routine. The second I would say is to have a date night with your spouse. It is very easy when life gets really busy to start living separate lives. And I’m, I’m uh, guilty of this, like in about 2020 16, I was like, guess what? You’re awesome. But I don’t feel like you’re my spouse. I feel like maybe we’re business partners and friends, but like, don’t feel like a spouse. And I wanna feel that deep connection again. And so we talked about it and we made a decision that we’re gonna do date night every Thursday night. And sometimes I’m in charge of planning. Sometimes he’s in charge of planning. Sometimes a Costco run can turn into a date night, but we have a conversation about it.
Rick Jordan:
Costco’s Costco, isn’t it? Costco.
Katie Richardson:
Yeah. Costco’s 30 minutes from here. So there’s lots of time to talk in the car. Um, but it’s, it’s really about, you know, checking in with each other, how are we doing as a couple? How are we doing as parents with our kids and, and you know, what are our goals and targets that we’re working towards right now? How are we doing in that process? Sometimes date night is honestly like a, even a whiteboarding session for us. So date night is a really big part of being able to manage all of these things. And then the third for me is my faith. Like me, it is very easy to get caught up in success, in fame, in attention and things that ultimately don’t matter. And so for me having that consistent conversation where I am constantly praying, I’m constantly asking questions of a higher power, whatever that is for you. Um, but I like having a meaning and a purpose that’s greater than growing the revenue in my business. Like that’s fun. That’s cool. That’s exciting. But like, what’s, what’s the more meaningful reason behind that.
Rick Jordan:
So good. Oh man, there’s a, I love how you talk through all these things and you know, even like a date night is not something that can, can and should be perfect, you know, cuz the things just happen and it’s okay for those things just to happen just the same as your morning routine. Sometimes it’s not gonna be perfect either. I love what you mentioned. It’s like, you know, that could even be a trip to Costco. And I think one of the important things to pull out of this is that even with all the amazing freaking things, right? It’s like yesterday I was on CBS national about the Elon Musk deal in the middle of raising capital for my own acquisitions, right. Building a billion dollar public company. You’ve been on the Ellen degenerative show and Rachel Ray and the today’s show and all these things.
Speaker 1:
And you think, wow, when, when, if I were to take myself back a decade and I would see us, I would be like, oh my God, they’re so amazing. You know, look at that and almost like unattainable, right. But then when we talk about trips to Costco, we really are human. Right. Yes, we really are humans that screw up that have to do everyday things, just like anybody else. I had to go to Costco the other day, just to transfer a prescription. Literally that was the reason for me to stop. I might have stopped in the scotch aisle because I always have some good deals on scotch while I’m there. But I love Costco for that reason. Right. But I still had to go in there myself and do these things. It’s not a team thing. It’s a human thing, right? That, you still have to do yourself, you know, or stop and pick up a salmon. You know, on the, on the way home or something like that. These are real life scenarios that we live in. It’s just, we’ve designed certain things. And especially you, Katie, you’ve designed so many amazing things in your life with intention. And I think that’s why you really, really shine. So that’s, I appreciate you going through all of that. It’s just been amazing. It’s really applicable. If you had one thing to say to everybody today, what would that be?
Katie Richardson:
You know, as you, the listener, are on your journey, you’re gonna come up against certain barriers, walls, things that are frustrating, things that you weren’t expecting, that you weren’t planning on. And they feel like, is this a sign from God, the universe that I need to stop? And, and my, my answer to you is probably not. And maybe what you need in that moment is the strength and the courage and the confidence to move forward. And, I remember a time when I didn’t have that confidence to keep going and I was ready to throw in the towel and I was ready to tell God in the universe that, Hey, look, you got the wrong girl. I tried, I put everything I had into this and it is not working. And I just got a major door closed in my face and I don’t know how to move forward.
Katie Richardson:
And in that moment my husband was there and he believed in me and I was able to push through that difficulty and, and move forward. And ultimately like, it’s what got me here today. And so I wanna tell you, as you are going through your journey and you’re coming up against those walls and you feel like you don’t believe in yourself, I want you to know that Katie Richardson, mother of a woman business coach in Puerto Rico, I believe in you. And I know that you can do it and lean on that in that difficult moment to find the solution, find the infinite possibility and move yourself forward. Cuz I believe in you,
Rick Jordan:
Ah, so beautiful. I almost wanted to interrupt you and say, while you’re gonna be like Katie Richardson, I do all these things. It’s like, and I still go to Costco. You know, cause yeah,
Katie Richardson:
I do.
Rick Jordan:
Yeah. Oh you are. I love Costco. You’re amazing and beautiful and brilliant. Thank you for coming on, everyone. You need to go and listen to Katie’s show that’s working now because you’ll get more of Katie and more of the awesomeness that just comes from her and the guest she has on. Go check that out at Instagram. You can also find her@katie.live. Yeah. Katie, thank you for coming on today and going all in
Katie Richardson:
Rick. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to really appreciate it. Thank you.