Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Schulte King.
Hi Erica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In October 2022, I posted my first, and very random Tiktok, asking women what they do now that the kids are gone. As an empty nester for the past couple of years, and during COVID, I was having a hard time focusing on myself and somewhat lamenting that that chapter was over. In November, I posted about how hard it is to make friends in Minnesota as a transplant even though I have been here for 22 years. Both of those videos blew up and I realized there was something I could do to celebrate transitions in women’s lives and support those who feel like they don’t have a strong network of girlfriends in this, and other stages in life.
I planned an impromptu meet-up event for the beginning of November inviting Minnesota Women to come to meet each other at Lake Harriet. I only posted this on TikTok and much to my surprise, about 100 women showed up. From there, I realized that I needed to keep going, not only was this helping me but it had the potential to help thousands of women across Minnesota. Fast forward 6 months and we’ve had events all over the Twin Cities with more scheduled. I’ve now started “Magical Mystery Tours” which are impromptu unscheduled events that are a bit more secretive and the only way to know about them is if you are part of a private group on Facebook. All Minnesota women are invited to join but there needs to be a real Facebook profile backing up the request to be invited to the Magical Mystery Tours.
I recently left my job to give this the attention it needs to make it happen. Most events have been centered around the Twin Cities and with one scheduled in Duluth for July, I’d like to expand more into outstate Minnesota to serve our future friends.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a smooth road for the most part. There is a lot of interest and I’ve received amazing feedback and testimonials and the women who attend the events are an absolute pleasure. I’m at the point now where I’d like to scale which is a bit challenging financially as I take on the upfront costs of the events and try to keep the events either free or enough to cover costs, expenses, etc. For the full experience.
I also have scholarships available which I currently provide out of pocket. This is important to me as I never want to turn anyone away for not having the resources right now to attend an event. This mission of mine sometimes adds a bit of financial strain but it’s important to me and it’s part of who I am and how I want this thing to happen. I do not pay myself at this point, everything goes back to being able to plan more events and provide scholarships.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been in Marketing, Communications, and PR for the majority of my career, about 25-30 years. I have since left my most recent position to focus on Kookaburra Meets as it aligns more with my personal value proposition and how I want to contribute to this world.
I am still consulting for small, emerging companies either pro bono or on a sliding scale to ensure my services are fiscally achievable for brands that are looking for marketing support.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Ah, risk…such a scary word. I am a planner, I have social anxiety, and I need reservations when I go out to dinner.
Lol, I had my life planned all out until a few months ago when this fell into my lap. I had no idea this was coming but I’ve also known for a long time that I wasn’t giving back enough and I needed to change that. I had been looking for my “next thing” and was having a challenging time identifying what that would be.
This is so scary to me, SO scary but I know that it is providing a service to women and I know that I am the one to provide that service. I was single, married, married with kids, single mom, single & empty-nesting, and married again.
I have been through a lot of difficult transitions in life and I knew I could create a safe space for all women to come together regardless of backgrounds, religious affiliation, socio-economic status, all of it. I wanted that, to come back together, to really celebrate and support one another. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kookaburrameets.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eckadoo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091455589052
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-schulte-king-42128255/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@eckadoo
Image Credits
Lynn Laumann Photography
