We’re looking forward to introducing you to Katie Hinderer. Check out our conversation below.
Katie, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
A couple of weeks ago, someone challenged me to go for a 45-minute walk without being plugged into my phone. Just me and the world around me – no podcast in my ear, no Spotify playlist, no catch-up phone call with family/friends. I tried it and fell in love with the practice, especially when I do it at the end of the day.
Over the last couple of weeks, after I close down my computer for the night and have dinner, I put a leash on my dog and we head out, no matter the weather, for a 45-60 minute walk. I have my phone on me for safety, but it’s in focus mode and I don’t reach for it at all. I walk and think and muse and meander around town. I’ve found that not only does it help to end the day with this restorative practice, but it also allows my mind to work through some things that I didn’t have the silence and space to work through before. Plus, it has actually made it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. I’m not spending the evenings doomscrolling or binging something on Netflix. I’m out moving my body in silence. It’s bringing me a lot of peace and joy, and I hope to continue this practice for years to come.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
In short, I’m the owner of Rosebud Social Strategies and a big believer in the power of social media to bring the true, the good, and the beautiful into the world.
I started the company in 2020 as my pandemic project, but didn’t sign my first social media management client until 2021 when I decided to niche into Catholic businesses and mission-minded brands! From that point on, it was all systems go! We’re now a team of 7 social media strategists with clients all over the country. As the founder and CEO, I don’t spend too much time creating content but rather managing the other aspects of the business – bringing on new clients, big-picture brainstorming, overseeing the team, etc..
Beyond work, I’m one of those multi-passioned people so I’ve always got a variety of things going. I own a nearly 2-year-old German Shepherd and spend a fair amount of time every week working with him. I’m training for a HYROX competition in 2026 – not sure where yet but I’m excited to try this new fitness endeavor. In the last couple of years, I’ve tried my hand at watercolor, calligraphy, and clay art. My latest art exploration is embroidery/cross stitch. I love to read, especially personal development books and thrillers. On the weekends, you’re likely to find me hiking around Missouri, or where ever I happen to be traveling at the time.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I adore this question, and I think I’ll probably have a fairly different answer from others! When I was young, I was painfully, horribly, awkwardly shy! I’m talking, I couldn’t talk to the cashier at the family-run grocery store we shopped at, I cried when I had to go in and order the donuts after Church on Sunday, I couldn’t even call a friend to let her know that I would be able to attend her birthday party! I think my parents were worried that I wouldn’t be able to function in the world due to my shyness, and they encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and talk to strangers. It was also super clear to me by the time I hit middle school and high school that introverts were not valued and that to be successful, I was going to have to hide this part of myself – to slip on the extrovert and pretend.
To a certain extent, I got really good at that! By the time I was in college, if I mentioned to someone that I was an introvert, they would argue that it was impossible. I still get that to this day – no one believes that I am actually severely introverted.
Now I love being an introvert who can also pretend to be an extrovert, since that is what the world values. As an introvert, I am highly observant and attuned to those around me. I pick up on emotions quickly and can read the vibe of the room almost immediately upon walking in. I notice those who are alone or haven’t had a chance to speak, and work to make space for them. As someone who can put on the extrovert, I also love giving presentations and public speaking. I love that those moments are often an opportunity to connect with people one-on-one while still in a large group setting.
As an adult, I am much more comfortable in my introversion, but also able to rise above it when needed for others or for the business. I’m grateful that I had my family and the world telling me to act extroverted at times, while also learning the great value I can bring to the world as my authentic introverted self.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I started working on my business in January 2020 and officially launched it at the end of June that same year. When the website went up, I just assumed that business would begin flooding in. At the time, I was focusing on female solopreneurs in the MLM space, and since I knew so many of them personally, I thought this would be a golden ticket. I quickly learned business did not just come flooding in, no matter how many followers I had previously on Instagram.
I then spent the next 4 months hustling to host free events to get my name out there. I gave presentation after presentation for free to different MLM groups. And still hadn’t booked a single client. I had a few one-off coaching sessions, but no one coming on for regular monthly social media management. Those months, I remember working endless hours and being constantly anxious about how I was going to pay my rent.
In October 2020, I decided to launch a course on Black Friday, like many others do. The course would be reasonably priced and provide a basic Instagram playbook on how to use it, if you weren’t ready to hire your own social media manager. I was convinced that this was the solution and something that would bring me an endless stream of income, albeit with a lot of work upfront. I hustled all of October and November to perfect this course – recording the lessons, creating worksheets, researching platforms for hosting, etc. I worked most of Thanksgiving Day to have it perfectly ready for the Black Friday launch. it went live to crickets! I think a total of maybe five people purchased the course over the next several months.
When January rolled around, I was ready to throw in the towel. Maybe being a business owner wasn’t for me. Perhaps I needed to be more realistic and return to a corporate 9-to-5 job. A friend of mine, who had started her own business 10 years prior, suggested I give it another 3 months and hustle hard in that time. She also suggested I change my niche from female entrepreneurs in the MLM space to more mission-minded brands.
And so I told myself that I would give it until the end of April, and if I was still in the same boat, I would count all the failures as proof this wasn’t my calling and I’d move on to something else. I ended up booking my first client in April, and my second client followed quickly after that. By the end of 2021, I had four full-time clients and was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the amount of work on my plate.
That nearly year of failure, with the failed course, the failed niche, and the failed presentation – all taught me a lot along the way. While those were really stressful months, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
I think a lot about this as I study social media trends to try and decide what is worth learning/implementing and what will be out of style by the time we master the technique. I actually think this also applies in the fashion world too! (I used to work as a lifestyle/fashion influencer.)
To be a fad is something that quickly overtakes the entire market/field. It seems like it sprang up overnight. You never saw it before, and suddenly you are seeing it everywhere. For example, on Instagram, for about a week this fall, there was a trend of oddly shaped Reels that were long, skinny videos appearing horizontally across your feed. The second I saw that it was everywhere, I knew it would be gone just as quickly. It was! Two weeks later, they were nowhere to be seen.
A true trend or a real foundational shift tends to happen much more gradually. You’ll start to see it appear here and there. A few accounts will do it, a few more will try, but it takes weeks (maybe even months) to gain traction. And then it slowly becomes such a regular part of the standard operating procedure that it’s as if you can’t remember a time without it. For example, across social media, we have seen a shift in the last couple of years toward more personal storytelling. Gone are the days of just sharing lists and facts. We want the story that accompanies that. We want the behind-the-scenes; we want the emotion. To me, this isn’t a fad but a foundational shift in the way we share messages and talk about our brand.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I am really passionate about changing the way we handle maternity leave in our country. Most women, who need or want to work while also raising children, have a difficult decision to make when it comes time to give birth – do they stay home with their child and draw NO salary or do they go back to work as quickly as possible to begin having that income again? It’s a horrible position to put these mothers and their babies in!
When I started my business, as someone unmarried with no children, I had no idea what maternity leave policies were like, so I decided to craft my own. This was especially important since the majority of my team members are currently young mothers in their baby years. I meet with each team member individually to plan their maternity leave, and we discuss what it will look like. Most are taking three months off. Three months in which I continue to pay their FULL salary. They don’t take a pay cut. They don’t have to worry about putting food on the table while they are also caring for a newborn.
I’ve had several people from other industries tell me that this policy was insane and unsustainable. But I see it was one of those things that I probably won’t see the payoff now, but hopefully I will in the future. Hopefully, this means my employees are more loyal to my company because they feel cared for. Hopefully, their children also love the company because it prioritized the family, the very cell of society. I guess time will tell if this policy is truly one that can change some of the policies around us and support the families under my care. But I hope it will
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rosebudsocial.com
- Instagram: rosebudsocial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-hinderer-a068873/
- Facebook: rosebudsocial
