Gain valuable business advice from an internationally recognized magazine owner turned rancher and trusted friend, Katie O. Selvidge.

I am so excited to get to share with you all a blog series the Creative Law Shop® has been preparing to launch for months. Starting today, the Shop is featuring some of our past clients who stand apart in their industry to highlight how they have created such successful businesses, and helpful advice they’ve picked up along the way. And I can’t think of anyone better to kick off the customer highlights than my dear friend and Creative Law Shop® client, Katie O. Selvidge.

Name: Katie O. Selvidge

Company Name: Katie O. Selvidge

Industry: Creative/Blogging/Publishing, moving into Farming & Ranching

Years in Industry: 7 years

Location: Mounds, OK

Website: katieselvidge.com

Instagram: @katieselvidge

How long have you been in the industry/practicing your craft?

I have been a digital and print publisher for seven years, and a creative business consultant on and off for most of that time.

How did you get started in the industry? 

A heart condition led me to find a less stressful career path which led me to entrepreneurship—that’s the funny part. I wanted to create something beautiful and meaningful so I started my magazine Cottage Hill which is named after a road in my hometown and its mission is inspired by my great-grandparents.

As far as the creation process, I Googled my way to our success and was greatly supported by my family, mentors, and talented artists across the globe.

Because of my heart issue, I was forced to find a way to make this impossible dream happen and not kill myself in the process. Once I understood the basics of business and ‘self-care’ I started teaching other entrepreneurs how to do the same.

What industry changes have you seen since you began? How have you adjusted to those changes along the way?

My industry feels like it has made a complete cycle in these seven years, especially in marketing. Social media had not caught momentum when I first started, then I saw it peak and now I see everyone is exhausted by it returning back to more fundamental marketing tactics.

From the beginning, I’ve always valued real-life relationships and understood the importance of working with good people who are incredibly talented first—not who’s who or whoever is trending at the moment. I think that basic understanding of taking care of people first is what made my business and assets not lose their strength despite trends and made them so appealing to a buyer when it came time to sell.

Are there any mistakes you made early on in your business that you learned from/ what taught you the biggest lesson when you began your business?

Not getting proper legal help was perhaps my greatest mistake. Paige is not paying or encouraging me to say this, but if I had had proper legal counsel and access to templates like hers, it would have saved me thousands and thousands of dollars early on.

What advice would you give to another entrepreneur in the creative industry?

There are many other lessons I learned early on in business, but a common thread along with what was mentioned above would be to be very hyper-aware of who you surround yourself with, who you listen to, and who you trust. Are the people within your circle lifting you up, meaning do they help you think higher thoughts and push you to grow not just wider, but higher? Are they honest with you? Do they practice what they preach and work with integrity? Anyone who does not do these things doesn't belong in your circle.

What was the biggest quantum leap you made in your business? 

Selling my business was the biggest quantum leap for my career. Just because something is very good or going very well doesn’t mean you should keep going down that path. Don’t be afraid to make big business moves so that you can have the whitespace to move on to something greater. 

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