Meet Katie Nessel | Founder of Soberish Mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Nessel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I started my “sober-curious” journey I couldn’t find the information I was hungry for, such as what nonalcoholic products actually taste good, and tips on how I could cut back my drinking without working a sober program. A lot of the information out there is very black and white: you drink and don’t think about it, or you’re completely sober. I wanted to strike a balance somehwere in the middle and help educate people on how they could be more mindful about their drinking habits and change their relationship with alcohol for the longterm, and that’s how Soberish Mom was born.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Soberish Mom is dedicated to inspiring people to look at their relationship with alcohol and normalize the choice to drink less or not at all, for whatever reason. The goal with my blog and social media accounts is to reach the person that might be drinking too much out of habit and not even realize it, or the mom who is reaching for her nightly wine to deal with the stress and enormous pressure of motherhood. My hope is to inspire them to get to a place they feel comfortable with, whether that’s cutting back significantly or cutting out alcohol all together. I do that by sharing education and resources around mindful drinking, how I moderate my alcohol intake with an app called Sunnyside, nonalcoholic product reviews, no-and-low abv cocktail recipes, and how the struggles of motherhood impacted my drinking. The majority of my community is on Instagram, where I’ve been fortunate enough to receive messages every day from woman all across the world who are considering cutting back their drinking, and help them along that journey.

I started Soberish Mom with an idea and no following or resources. In just a year, I’ve been honored to reach millions of people with the message of mindful drinking and build a community of people that are inspired and brave enough to look at their relationship with alcohol. It’s been truly humbling and the best professional experience of my life. I also consult restaurants and hospitality operations on how to incorporate no-and-low alcohol programs into their programs, and can see the tide is changing on how inclusive hospitality is becoming the norm.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If you come to Seattle there is an amazing itinerary of things to do and see without drinking. I don’t get to frequent them often as an exhausted mom of littles, but a few of my favorite outings would be to go to Madison Beach and stroll along the water and shops, then have dinner at Kamp Social House, which has an amazing inclusive bar program and drag brunch on most weekends. If it was your first time in Seattle, we’d have to go to Pike Place Market and then take a nice walk up through the city to the Amazon Spheres, finishing off with dinner and zero-proof cocktails at the Deep Dive. If time allows, a day trip on the ferry to Bainbridge Island is amazing and will give you the most breathtaking views of Seattle and the PNW.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The one person who has been behind me 1000% every step of the way is my husband. Soberish Mom truly would not exist without his encouragement and support. He believed in Soberish Mom before anyone else and really pushed me to go for it during every moment I doubted myself. In addition to emotional support, he’s also poured in hundreds of hours to the business, from spending extra time with the kids so I can work in the evenings or weekends, to helping me edit content and behind the scenes business management. He also greatly inspired my “soberish” journey in the beginning as he stopped drinking awhile before me, and it’s nice that we both have less interest in drinking. I think if he was throwing back margaritas in front of me it would be really hard for me!!

Website: https://www.soberishmom.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soberishmom/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@soberishmom

Image Credits
Credit Soberish Mom