July 25, 2024

What is your area of expertise or focus and who do you help?  

I currently work with women and groups of women in corporate or senior leadership roles. I support them on where they want to be taken professionally and personally. I work to make sure that they are ready to grow in their careers but also ready to improve the relationships they have with themselves.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I spent 25 years in education. Sixteen of those years were spent in middle school and as a high school principal. I was one of those leaders that I’ve worked with, one of those leaders who was navigating her personal life and trying to be the best version of herself but felt a big disconnect between her personal life and her leadership style. That tension became so big that I decided to leave education in 2022. 

There’s a real power behind carrying feminine energy forward but it took me a year to figure out that what I do now is what I wanted to do. My gift is about spreading light, love, and energy to the world around me. So, I asked myself “What can I do right now to keep that positive energy flowing?” I started an Etsy store. I took my core values, one of them being creativity, and opened an Etsy store with all these really cool sayings on sweatshirts, T-shirts, and hats. From there, I finally landed into coaching which is what I’d been thinking about the whole time. It’s definitely been a journey to get where I am today. But, I know that I’m here to serve people. 

When I moved out of town to San Diego, I kind of got this dopamine hit. I felt what it was like to take a risk and go somewhere and do something different. And it worked out, it always works out in some way, shape, or form. I’ve lived in a lot of different places: San Diego, back to Seattle, Seattle back to San Diego, lost everything in a fire and ended up moving to LA, then from LA my dad passed away and I moved to Chicago. When I came to Chicago, I spent six years in a principal position getting burnt out and I didn’t know if it was what I wanted to do anymore. I left that school and fell back into education at a new school in Mexico. I was there for three years. I finally left in 2022 and then when I moved again, I chose to go back to Chicago because it felt like home.

What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about being a coach?

The opportunity to sit with people and just listen and have the conversation go in a lot of different directions. Holding people accountable but still being their cheerleader, or sometimes it’s helping them feel empowered and confident. Being able to be all of these different facets, supporting somebody else to become those supports for themselves, and being fully present in that moment with them are the most beautiful aspects. It’s all about watching them grow over time. 

It’s why I got into teaching in the first place. I wanted to see everybody become the best version of themselves. And so, being able to work with leaders, especially female leaders, who often feel disempowered in so many ways in their lives is so rewarding. 

What is the most challenging thing about being a coach? 

It’s interesting because I feel like this is so much easier than what I ever did before. I was doing this so often as a principal, but I wasn’t able to be fully present. So I feel like it might be hard for me to put a finger on the challenges of being a coach. It might be just finding a balance, which can also be a challenge in education. You’re working with people you care about deeply so it’s important to not get too wrapped up in our world and be able to set boundaries. The other side of that is not getting so wrapped up in everybody else’s world that it takes you away from yourself. I had to recognize that I don’t have to be their sole problem solver. I think that has probably been the biggest challenge.

What are some of your top tips for starting, running, and growing a coaching business?

I will tell you the greatest piece of advice that I would give to my clients who are in a transition from one career into a completely different career, and that is to know what your beliefs, strengths, and core values are. If you don’t have those down, you’re just jumping from one thing to the next. You have to really understand what makes you tick, what’s important to you, and what you’re good at before you move into something new. 

As far as growing my business, I’ve had to learn how to dismiss the noise. There’s a ton of noise out there that’s telling you how to do things and it gets in your head and can make you think that maybe you shouldn’t be doing this because everybody else is doing it better. Just find the time to think about how what you’re doing connects to your values, strengths, and belief system. What gets you excited as you keep following your heart and leaning into those “say yes moments?” Just make an effort to try even if you’re going to fail. Out of the failure comes the greatest opportunity to learn more about yourself and your business. You’re learning so much, so give yourself the grace to be okay with slowing down and taking in the information. 

Where can people find you and your business? 

You can learn more about me and my business Soul Growth on my website. I’m also active on Linkedin and Instagram.