Meet Trailblazer Katelyn Harrison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katelyn Harrison.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Katelyn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Hi! My name is Kate. I graduated from college in May 2015, married my husband on November 2015 and landed (what I thought) was my dream job in August 2015. Let’s just say it was a big year! I was working for a major name brand beer company educating people all over Denver about beer. After almost two years, I realize the only upward mobility with this company was on the east coast and I was not ready to leave Denver. After working with two other companies and countless interviews, I felt completely defeated. There seemed to be nothing out there for me. Then, I met my friend Clare at a wedding in Texas. We started chatting and the “all American”question of “What do you do?” came up. I had this pit feeling in my stomach and she could tell. With nothing to lose, I said, “I actually really hate my job and I’m looking for the next thing but I have no idea what that is.” Then, an amazing thing happened. She shared Beautycounter with me and two years late my life has completely changed.

Beautycounter is a mission-driven company with three pillars. To Educate, Advocate and create amazing beauty products. Beautycounter teaches the public about safer personal care products and why we need to make better choices. Many products contain potentially harmful ingredients linked to cancers, infertility, hormone disruption and more. We advocate for better protective health laws within the industry. As of now, 1.5 pages of legislation regulate a multi-billion dollar industry and we need to do better. Lastly, Beautycounter creates premium, high-performing, significantly safer personal care products. What started as a mission and focus on the beauty industry, is now a dream to be a Naturopathic Consultant.

People around me (and I’m sure all of us) are getting sick or have sick children. I refuse to accept this as a new normal and will dedicate my life to teaching and empowering people to heal their bodies and keep their family safe from hazardous environmental toxins.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road. It’s easy to forget why you are doing something. If you are feeling trapped, numb or any negative feelings about your current work, REEVALUATE. Life is too short to being spending hours every day doing something that does not feed your soul.

The first few years after college can be tough. You have to do what you need to do to pay the bills, but always be thinking about what you want to do. Side hustles are the new “income insurance policy” we didn’t know we needed. If you have a dream that seems too far away, it’s time to consider a side hustle.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I am an educator. In the mornings, I currently work part-time as a teacher’s aid for a first-grade class. After school, I work on my Beautycounter business and read/study. I currently specialize in selling safer personal care products with Beautycounter including skincare, makeup, body care, baby & kids products. However, Beautycounter doesn’t sell everything so I had to take the time to try other products like toothpaste, deodorant, hair styling products, etc. so that I can always have a product to recommend when someone is looking for it.

I’m so proud that Beautycounter goes above and beyond to advocate for better health laws. There are so many companies out there that are beginning to make cleaner products, but not many of them take the time to educate congressmen and women about the lack of regulation in the industry.

Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding a mentor is key! We can’t get better at anything if we don’t listen to those who have gone before us. We also need people in our lives to identify our blind spots, challenge us to leave our comfort zone and call us out when we are sucked into myopic thinking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beautycounter.com/katelynharrison?goto=/
• Email: bckatelyn@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterbeauty.betterlife/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katejeanharrison

Image Credit:
Antonette Jemelka took the ones where I’m wearing black with my husband

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