Meet Kathryn Wheat | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathryn Wheat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathryn, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first started my business I was also working another part time job 30 hours a week to make ends meet. I needed/ wanted to put as much time and energy into creating my own business to get to where I could quit the part time job. To add to that, I was also writing my first book. During this time I was most definitely all work and very little play. I developed habits of working all day, eating at my desk, and thought nothing of still being there at 10:00 pm. After reaching enough momentum to quit the part time job I was able to put that time into my own business but I didn’t slow down. The habit of all work and no play had been set and I just kept driving forward. The stats of new business failures scared me and I didn’t want to be another statistic. One day I was on Facebook and I took one of those quizzes I saw others post about. This was the one and only quiz I have done but it was very telling! It was about work/ life balance and I think I knew that mine was not balanced at all. I realized then that I had to start doing something for me, something that wasn’t work every once in a while. I reached out to some friends I hadn’t hung around with in a while and rekindled a social life. I realize now that while there may have been a time that I had to press on as hard as I did, it didn’t mean that I was slacking if I did something fun. And even better, once I was able to get out and do some things I gained a new perspective on my business and I have continued to grow each year. I am now past that 5 year pivotal mark of being an entrepreneur. I am also remarried and take family time just about every day! I think the key is to know when you have to buckle down and work but also realize that your business isn’t going to fail if you take a few hours or even a few days off every now and then. It’s good for you and good for your business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the founder and owner of Kathryn C. Wheat School of Real Estate. We currently teach virtual CE classes for the state of Texas as well as offer online Real Estate courses for those looking to become an agent or needing CE in many states. I started this business in 2014 with only a handful of classes. In 2019 we taught almost 200 classes. This growth is from networking within the industry and being consistently visible and available. We have proven to be reliable, trustworthy, and knowledgable. I started with 2 instructors, now I have 17 amazing instructors who LOVE what they do, including myself! In the process of growing I have interviewed over 150 people. I have set the bar high and have the best of the best on my team. We offer a wide variety of courses from Contracts, Legal Update to Social Media marketing. While we are still small, I am proud to have a reputation of having the best instructors and most interesting/ valuable courses in Texas. I have gotten this far by taking this business seriously and constantly looking at ways to improve and grow. It has been through learning to adapt to change and envision what the future needs will be to still be doing well during this year of COVID.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s pretend that COVID isn’t in our lives for a moment. I’d take them to eat Mexican food at Chuy’s and Pappasitos. I’d make sure to introduce them to what a proper margarita tastes like. I love all kinds of ethnic foods and Houston is the place to eat a huge variety of cuisine from many different cultures. We may have to save room for a great steak at Pappas Steak House as well because you can’t come to Texas and not enjoy a steak and a nice bourbon. Then, we’d have to go country western dancing at Whiskey River. I’d teach them a few line dances so they could join in the fun. And let’s just pretend that the Rodeo is in town. We’d line up tickets for Keith Urban, Luke Combs or Zac Brown Band and head to the Rodeo. I’d make sure we visited Boot Barn or Cavenders first so they had the right boots and western wear for the event. After that, on to some antiquing on 19th street in The Heights. And then we’d round it out with a drive to the Hill Country.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are soooo many people who have been a huge part of my success! However, there is one who has always been there for me, supporting me, encouraging me even when my ideas may seem a little crazy, and loving me even when things don’t go as planned. She’s cried with me over failures and celebrated my successes my entire life. She demonstrates the sweet, unconditional love of a mother because she is my mom. Without her, I would not have gotten where I am today. She taught me work ethic, humbleness, honesty and integrity. Making her proud of me is the best part of success!

Website: https://www.kathrynwheat.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathryncwheat/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryncwheat/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathrynWheat
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynCrawfordWheat
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KathrynCWheat