Catherine Bergsma: Without The Company Behind You

Nearly twenty years of expertise walked out the door with her.The confidence stayed behind.In this episode of Internal Momentum, Ben sits down with CatherineBergsma, founder of STREET Marketing, to unpack what actuallychanges when you leave a big agency, put your own name on theinvoice, and find out which parts of you were borrowed from thecompany all along.Catherine started out wanting to be an actress and was told therewas no money in it, so she went into advertising instead. Thatdecision carried her through media, music, and years overseasbefore landing her at one of the biggest agencies in WesternAustralia, and later into client-side roles running majorsponsorship campaigns. Decades in, running her own consultancy,she found that the skills came with her but the certainty did not.She shares the moment a client stopped her to ask why someone sogood at the work went so awkward the second it came to saying theprice out loud.Ben and Catherine explore what it costs to say yes to everything,why being the jack of all trades quietly confuses the peopletrying to buy from you, and how a network of genuinely capablepeople is what finally makes saying no possible. They also getinto learning to let people down, the difference between a bigbrand budget and a small business one, and why the client who canleast afford you is often the hardest one to serve.Underneath all of it sits identity. Ben talks about the years hisbusiness was so fused with who he was that every complaint landedlike a personal failing, and what it took to let it become its ownthing. Catherine talks about reaching a point in her career whereshe has earned the right to choose what she is known for.Together they land on a simple idea about money that changed howboth of them price, invoice, and decide who to work with at all.If you have ever gone quiet in the moment you had to say yourprice out loud, this episode will make that moment feel a lot lesspersonal.About the GuestCatherine Bergsma is the founder of STREET Marketing, aPerth-based marketing consultancy working with small and mediumbusinesses across strategy, brand, social media, and paidcampaigns. She spent close to two decades in agency andclient-side marketing, including senior roles at Marketforce andnational marketing and communications for Programmed, beforebuilding her own practice. Her strength sits in account serviceand strategy, getting inside a client's business and turning adirection into a plan they can actually follow.Connect with Catherine:Website: streetmarketing.com.auLinkedIn: Catherine BergsmaInstagram: TBCChapters:01:00 Katherine's Journey into Marketing08:49 Transitioning from Big Brands to Small Businesses18:38 The Identity of Business and Personal Growth26:14 Networking and Building Relationships32:52 Embracing Opportunities and Learning from Failures39:51 Embracing the Lows for Greater Highs41:39 The Art of Letting People Down45:27 Navigating Pricing and Client Relationships46:32 The Value of Happy Money52:23 Building Confidence Through Results55:39 The Importance of Client Relationships01:01:15 Choosing the Right Clients for Success01:05:51 Dreams of Office Spaces and Business Growth