Hey there!
I am Kaitlin! I was born and raised in Toledo and have become somewhat of a self-proclaimed Northwest Ohio expert somewhere along the way. I graduated college in 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in accounting, which to this day, I have never used (whoops!). Nowadays, you can find me helping Northwest Ohio residents buy and sell their homes. Being a realtor is the perfect profession for someone like me who tends to fall into the category of a "multi-passionate" person. When I'm not slinging houses, I am running my online jewelry design business, Kait Noelle. Both businesses allow me to help people and to be a trusted confidant in a major life decision, which I love.
It is no secret that I love Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. My social media account, 419 Living, has become a great place for me to share my enthusiasm for the people and businesses that make the Toledo area a great place to be. Recently, I had an extremely popular social media post where I created a "Local Women-Owned Business" directory for our area. My hope is that people will think to support a woman owned business before they resort to Amazon or a big box store. The reaction to the post made me love Toledo even more. It was so inspiring to see how many women were commenting on the post with encouraging words and wanting to shout out their favorite women in business.
How did I become so passionate about uplifting women in business? There are a lot of reasons, but I heard a quote the other day that summed it up well. The quote is from Real Housewives of New York's, Carole Radziwill. I do not watch the show, but I won't lie, I probably would if I got Bravo!
The quote is this, “Your soul mission is to articulate your suffering so that it emancipates you and empowers other women”. (Go ahead, read that again.)
Sometimes, failures or hard times in life, can spiral you into the life you were meant to have. Before I got my real estate license and started my jewelry business, I experienced some “less than ideal” situations in the workplace. From unfairness, uncalled for comments based on my appearance or sex and not being taken seriously, I began to get really frustrated. It took months of working on my confidence and learning who I really was for me to connect my frustration at work with how I was being treated. I had to decide what I would put up with and what I would not. I was also at the age where I began to appreciate how strong my mom was and what a great influence, she had been to me. She worked full time and raised my brother and I mostly on her own. She went through a lot and demonstrated great independence to give my brother and I a wonderful childhood. Once I found the confidence to pivot from the path I was on, (working in environments that did not uplift me) and get my real estate license, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I wanted to share this newfound empowerment with any woman who would listen. Since then, I have tried to infuse my businesses with empowering messages and positivity, mostly focused towards women.
Going against the grain can sometimes be a lonely process because it can seem like those around you do not exactly get what you're trying to accomplish or why you're doing it. This is why I think it's so important to speak out about what lights you up inside. Chances are that others feel the same way. By you being open and honest, you're letting others know that they're not alone.
After my somewhat viral post about the women-owned business directory, it occurred to me that this needed to be a bigger resource. I found that I went from feeling lonely, to feeling like I now had a list of women who got me, who were supportive and who shared the same values I did! We do not have to do this all on our own! Women want to support other women in our area, but there is sometimes not an easy way to do it. Women want to get involved in women's groups and events. Coming together with other women can lead to learning opportunities, business opportunities and a general sense of support in your life! We need a place in our area where women can be heard, can get the resources to be able to shop “woman owned” with ease and to get involved with women-centered groups and events.
Luckily, Nina from Women of Toledo entered my life through this social media post and shared her mission for “419 HerHub”. HerHub was born out of the realization that we have many women's groups, resources, businesses, and events in our area, but they're scattered in different places and can be hard to find. HerHub aims to be the all-encompassing, inclusive, online platform for all things "female" in our area. This includes a directory of woman owned businesses in our area with a map to find them, a calendar for women-centered events, a place to highlight female authors in our area and much more. I recently joined the team to help grow this initiative and I could not be more excited to see women of all walks of life get involved and grow this.
Follow 419 HerHub’s social media accounts and stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the coming weeks!
Connect with Kaitlin!
All things Northwest Ohio:
Facebook: 419 Living
Instagram: 419 Living
Website: www.419living.com
All things jewelry & inspiration:
Instagram: Kait Noelle Jewelry
Website: www.kaitnoelle.com
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