Interview by Mercedes Arnold

All photos provided courtesy of Katie Brunelle and taken by Madeline Harris.

Maine Vibes Magazine: Hi! I would love it if you could introduce yourself, state your pronouns, and then tell me about your business. 

Katie Brunelle:  I'm Katie Brunelle, my pronouns are she/her/they, my title is CEO and Marketing Director at Muse Global. I am one of our co-founders. Muse Global opened in January 2020 as Muse Relations, a PR agency, my friend and business partner, Maggie Knowles, and I opened it. We had a lot of big plans and a pocketful of clients that then became non-essential within a few months, and we still managed to become a viable agency. We had marketing and some public relations clients. What we found though, is a lot of people looking for commercial production and YouTube channel production. So, we pivoted, where Maggie has a lot of background in production, and we both have this area of expertise as well, we've started to add it on as a service and start doing production. We ended up helping produce and host a local TV show for someone who was out on maternity leave. In the middle of that, we won The Amber Grant, a grant for women in business.

MVM: Wow, congratulations! 

KB: We won this $10,000 Grant and started production of our own TV show, Plate the State, we put together a sizzle reel and pitched it, it got picked up really quickly.  We finished season one on News Center Maine and now we have a few interim episodes airing right now while we are filming season two. We’re switching it up to include more chefs from restaurants as opposed to the one executive chef that we had in the kitchen for season one. We're going to have chefs around the state be in their restaurant, in their own kitchen. 

“That is one of our goals with this company…to create a model of a business where the feminine leadership part is playing such a role…that it is successful for what I think of as a real work-life balance.”

MVM: That sounds great. 

KB: We really want to include more. I'm from the Bangor area and we decided to try to connect Bangor and boost up that area. The economy there is really important to a lot of people that I know and I reconnected with some people I knew. Everybody's really excited about this and we have some potential hosts, restaurants, and farms up there that we're going to try to expand throughout the state. That’s one thing that our media side is working on. Currently, that is the forefront project. We’re starting a podcast for Plate the State and a Patreon and an e-cookbook. We want to build off of that and have as much collaboration as possible. We still have the PR and marketing side, which is what I want to focus on. I put that department on ice to reconfigure what it looks after we got the TV show up and running. I'm now breathing life back into it and really going with what I love, which is the strategy. We have people on our team and contractors who handle social media management and implementation. I love the strategy aspect of our company and sitting down saying here's the roadmap; either you can do it and I can encourage you, or we have people who can do this and you follow a plan. We are working on a new website for all of that fun stuff too. We have all these different plans and projects. 

We shift the conversation to Brunelle’s podcast, Redefining the Rainbow.

KB: It’s a passion project that my company is producing. I've had the idea for a few years. My co-host, Nicole lives in Oklahoma so it's a little tricky because she's not an online entrepreneur like everyone else in my life. She is a lesbian mom, her wife carried one, and then they had adopted, and they were in the middle of adopting when they found out that their IVF worked. She has a gay queer community following, but also hetero parents, everyone loves Nicole. I'm 41 now and I came out at 35 and I had no idea. I was married to a man, I did all the things, I had kids and it wasn’t until after I got divorced, that I was like, “Oh, this is actually an option.” I attribute that to lack of representation, and a lot of compulsory heteronormativity, and media. I decided that I wanted to be a larger, louder voice and have a platform where I'm represented, but also bring people on the show and have conversations around more representation. I grew up in the 90’s; I loved Ani DiFranco and Ellen but I wasn't attracted to them. I thought that was what [being a lesbian] looked like. On the podcast, we talk about all kinds of topics that have to do with the queer community, but at some point in the conversation, a lot of it is mental health and parenting and the day-to-day, so to have the concept of getting rid of labels and getting rid of what heteronormative looks and feels like. Do we have answers? Not really, but starting the conversation is important because once the conversation is out there, I think it has a ripple effect. 

“It takes a lot of being in different circumstances to break the patterns that were created for us, that we fall into.”

MVM: Yeah, absolutely. 

KB: That’s where we're at with podcasts. We have season two which just started. We put it out there in front of the Twitter crowd and got so much feedback, it started to grow. It was really interesting, because it was like, “Oh my god, there's actually people listening.”

MVM: Yeah, that's amazing. Redefining the Rainbow is the name of your podcast?

KB: Yes, Redefining the Rainbow, we are on Spotify and Apple and everywhere you can listen to podcasts.

MVM: So you have a season one, how many episodes did you record?

KB: We did 10, and we didn't intend to pause, but the holidays came and we decided to take a break and then come back with Season Two. We’ve since recorded seven episodes of season two, and I'm editing the sixth one right now. So there are five [episodes] out on season two right now.*

MVM: So you've put out season two episodes already?

KB: Yeah!

MVM: Are you planning on a season three?

KB: Yes, I would love to figure out how to invite guests, and what that timing looks like. Nic is such a vital part of the show we co-host together. We want to get more guests on, but with our job schedules, we're figuring out what that looks like time-wise. We’ve had a few guests, friends of ours who jumped on Zoom early in the morning before work or while in their car.

MVM: You’re doing so many amazing things and have a lot of projects going on, you're breathing life back into your PR business and building your website. How do you stay grounded and focused on your goals and what you want, and focus on where you're taking all of these projects? 

KB: It’s been years of practice. When you're talking about making goals and reaching them, I think it ties into your support network. Maggie has been my support, and now we have another business partner, Erin Elizabeth. On the days when I feel like I can't do this anymore, they’ll say, “No, we're doing this!” I’ve also listened to a lot of podcasts. 

MVM: Work is stressful! For moms especially, we have so much on our plates, especially if someone is a single mom. We definitely need to have a good work-life balance. How many kids do you have? 

KB: I have two kids. They're nine and 11. Their birthdays are coming up though, in April and May. So almost 10 and 12.

MVM: Yeah, it's really hard. You're doing all the things and you want to go and support them at school and in extracurricular activities, and then you feel the pressure to do all the things that work.

KB: Right. I recognize that work-life balance means different things. There’s a corporate edge to it. For some people, they are almost brainwashed into it, like this is the corporate route that you're taking, so this is what a work-life balance looks like. I think it affects men too, their ability to be a present parent. It inspired me to start conversations about what this [a better work-life balance] could, and maybe should look like.

“I decided that I wanted to be a larger, louder voice and have a platform where I'm represented, but also bring people on the show and have conversations around more representation.”

MVM: It's crazy how things can evolve, and begin like that. I was talking to someone the other day who was telling me about her business and how it started. It's not deciding you're doing something and then you become successful, you have to build up to it and try different things, and have a strong support system. When I was growing up and seeing what was in the media,  it was all these messages that women have to look a certain way or do certain things to be successful and give up time with their kids. I wanted to ask you how you feel that you've broken those gender stereotypes, and how we can continue to break them down and show other women that you can be multifaceted and successful and define your own terms of success? 

KB: Absolutely. I love that. I know when Elle [Elle Darcy] was talking about that, how success looks different for everyone. It’s almost like a marriage, where someone has to be in it, and you have to take turns, it can't be one person all the time. When one person is tired and worn out, the other [person] has to support them. I'm lucky that I have two amazing business partners right now. I’ve also learned to ask for help and support. I'm surrounded by a lot of women who would do anything to help each other out. Just knowing that I have that and that I can figure anything out because of that is huge and makes me feel successful, as is. Myself and my business partners, we want to have financial freedom and success and all of that. We have so many creative projects and things we want to accomplish, we’re taking risks, making money, and then putting it back into the company in order to see the bigger thing grow, and that's really cool, too.

MVM: Yeah, it’s wonderful when it feels so good when you have a great group of supportive women, it does feel you can do anything. I think part of being a business owner is making mistakes and getting back up, but when you’re ready. I know society tells us, “Oh, you have to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and keep going, but sometimes we need to have that space and take the time to rest and then get back to what we want to do.

KB: Right. Before I needed to push, push, push, until I felt like I’d accomplished this thing or that thing and then I'll rest. Now I'm definitely in a place where it's okay to rest. I have my commitments and my tasks for the week, etc. and when I really need to put the laptop away and go take a bath, I do. My business partners and I have created a company where that is the norm.

MVM: Yeah, it can be a lot! You have your TV show, Plate The State, your podcast, Redefining the Rainbow, and your PR company, Muse Global. When you imagine success, is it having the time to yourself, spending time with your kids, and also, signing contracts, and doing your personal projects? Is there anything else that ties into what success looks like for you, and how do you create that?

KB: I have a lot of success that I can count right now, but further success would look like being able to grow the company. I’m working on a webinar and one-on-one calls and getting systems in place for our company and a roadmap for the business.

MVM: You are more than welcome to share and contribute to the magazine! Could you share what being a woman-owned business means to you, and breaking down gender stereotypes in your own company?

KB: I went to a workshop one time on feminine leadership and masculine leadership and evolving companies where there are both kinds working together. That is one of our goals with this company, is to create a model of a business where the feminine leadership part is playing such a role in this, that it is successful for what I think of as a real work-life balance. Similar to what I was describing with being supportive of each other and our families and taking time to rest and take care of your health and supporting each other. That's what looks different to me, and having a women-owned business is that our hours are not drilled in as working 9 to 5. Muse Global has three platforms that we're building out right now. One of them is with marketing, and we're calling it Authentic Foundations, based on building your operations in your systems authentically to carry you through growth, no matter what stage [of business] you’re in, the systems in place will help you. Erin works in sales and financing and she's building out what intentional finance looks like, which would be the opposite of cheesy sales pitches and more towards what actually works for both parties; how can you set up your company to profit but also give back. Our third platform is strategic storytelling. We want to help other voices be heard in strategic ways with our PR marketing. As a woman-owned business and with feminine leadership, those three platforms would look different than if it were a male-run company. From experience, I have a wall up in feeling women are walked over. I want to figure out how we can best support and encourage and help other people while also not being penniless and giving away our services and being burnt out, and the things that women tend to do because that's where those are the places that we've been put in society. We’ve done a lot of reading and talking about the redistribution of wealth. When we do that with women, people of color, and other minorities, the world will look different, so we’re really trying to roll the ball in that direction. 

MVM: I love that so much. There's no guidebook and if you're the first one doing it, you can define it on your terms and what works for you, collaborate with other women, and determine what the best systems are. That's so important for starting out in business, you ask yourself, “Okay, how do I do this? Where do I go? Who do I talk to?” There are so many unknowns. For you to share those systems with others is so beneficial.

KB: It takes a lot of being in different circumstances to break the patterns that were created for us, that we fall into. Working with clients who are men, I'm constantly wary of feeling like I'm going to end up with the raw deal or not paid enough. In trying to get a contract, my business partner and I have talked a lot about how we don’t want it to be about our looks, etc. I’ve been able to use my voice and set boundaries, which has been important to me personally, as well as our company.

MVM: The more you do it, the more comfortable you feel, and seeing boundaries is so important. For me, that's part of what keeps me grounded, are my boundaries. I don't want to answer work emails on the weekend. That's the rest time that we were talking about. 

KB: Absolutely. Even if it’s that intuitive feeling that we're not getting the best deal or I don’t feel a client is working out, I’ve ended contracts based on that feeling before and I've never regretted it.

MVM: A big part of knowing is using your intuition. We're taught to ignore that through messages we receive as we're growing up. I don't think men receive those messages, they just go with it. That's part of also their makeup too, I recognize our brains are formed differently. 

KB: They pass it off as emotions because they don't know what intuition is, so they think it's an emotion. It’s like, “Oh you’re feeling like this is going to happen.” No, I know. A lot of people think you can't run a business or a country or whatever, on emotions, actually, you can. 

MVM: If you look at the women leaders of the world, those countries are better off. There's a study that came out that, throughout the pandemic, looks at the countries led by men and the ones led by women. The countries led by women fared better in the pandemic and were at the top for quickest response times regarding Coronavirus. It was about keeping their countries safe, and people are a lot happier in those countries.

KB: Right!

MVM: I love your new pillars for your company, it sounds amazing and so exciting. Being in Maine, what is your favorite part about this state? 

KB: I love Portland. I've traveled a lot, I’ve been to the biggest cities in the world and I love them, but being able to drive seven minutes to my office, and we have everything here. Maine is so beautiful and I couldn't want more types of restaurants. It’s also a small state, it’s a good place to start a platform if you want your voice to be heard.

MVM: Katie, congratulations on season two of Plate The State and the third season of your podcast! I know you said you want to showcase women-owned farms that you're working with for Plate The State.

KB: There are some amazing women chefs around the state that I feel are not recognized enough.

MVM: Right. Do you want to give a shout-out to other women-owned businesses? 

KB: Absolutely! I’d love to give a shout-out to Jess Howell and Alexis Sullivan at The Lady in the Moon shop in Portland. My favorite witchy, tarot, and crystal shop. 

Links:

The Lady in the Moon: llullshop.com 

Thank you to Katie Brunelle for taking the time to talk with MVM and share your story. We SO appreciate you and what you’re doing and we are excited for all that comes next!

Web: museglobalgroup.com

Web: platethestate.com

Instagram: @museglobalgroup

Instagram: @redefiningtherainbow