I never said “when I grow up I want to be a coach” Maybe a fireman or policeman, but not a coach.  So how did I get here?  I guess like most coaches do.  They spend a lot of their time helping people and then decide they’d be good at coaching.  I’ve been helping people my entire life. 

      I've worked as a custodian, farm hand, department store sales clerk, restaurant manager for a big chain pizza parlor, assistant manager at a big chain grocery store.   Then, I went on to work as a sales clerk and repair technician for a home electronics store.

 I had changed jobs so many times, I felt like a constant failure.  But as I look back on it now, I can see where each job actually contributed to my talents and abilities. 

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But what I learned the most about, was serving customers.  I started in my garage, building window and door screens struggling to pay the bills.  I had under 300 customers after my first year.  Then in the second year, with the help of my first yellow page ad, I landed a large contract for 1,300 screens for a local college that netted over $30,000.   I started hiring employees, built a big shop and put up a website.  17 years later, with 10 employees, I bought a struggling glass business and turned it around.

 

  I designed, built and promoted multiple websites for three different businesses, over 25 years, gaining more insights with each one. They ranked #1 or 2 for every search term used for over 20 years. I learned what the web providers algorithms were looking for and what was needed to rank above my competitors.  

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I also learned the importance of good communication skills while ensuring that all the staff and technicians were kept up to date on customer orders and trained in all aspects of their jobs.  We constantly over communicated and constantly over trained.  I lived by the motto "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?".    I later learned that good training and communicating relays into effective coaching skills.   

  

 I had no idea at the time when I took several courses in college that I would be able to put them all to use someday.  I was fortunate enough to have studied graphic arts, photo journalism, advertising, marketing and science that helped me to see what others don't see.  And some courses that gave insight into what people want and think like psychology, sociology, history, literature. 

 

The ICF Coaching certification course I took while running the business is what really helped me put everything into perspective and made it all very useful.  

Like I said, I felt like a constant failure.  It's easy to underestimate the value of something until you see what it can produce.  I highly recommend continuing to learn and expand your experiences, whether it be through a college course, a mentorship, a business coach or a life coach.  Or even becoming a life coach yourself.  You'll never regret it.   

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