Her Story
About Eartha
I've been a business consultant and life coach for about 8 years, since I semi-retired from education in 2018. Before starting my own business, I was a high school English teacher for about 12 years. Teaching high school children how to read was one of my most rewarding accomplishments - so many children get to high school about to graduate and don't know how to read, and being able to help them break through whatever barrier was preventing them from learning was very important to me. Prior to teaching, I worked for the University of Texas Medical Branch for about 15 years, starting as a secretary and working my way up to department administrator. I even worked for the president, serving as a right-hand assistant as an administrator with a team. That was very exciting and challenging, presenting lots of challenges we overcame on a daily basis. My main area of expertise now is coaching women, though I coach men and women. Most of my work lately, over the last several years since COVID, has been predominantly coaching. I love giving back and coaching people through different aspects of life or towards achieving their goals. I'm very involved in my community and have worked and served as an avid volunteer in several different industries, especially with children. I'm passionate about children, which was my reason for going into teaching after leaving corporate America. I'm also training to become an advocate against human trafficking, and childhood sexual assault is included in that now under that umbrella. This has been so powerful because in my coaching practice, about 75% of the clients that come to me have gone through that and have never talked about it or told anybody. It's very emotional for me because it's still personal - it happened to one of my grandkids. Every time I think it's too much and I don't want to do it, I'll get another client where that's the most profound thing they're struggling with. I guess folks don't realize how much it touches so many different areas of your life and keeps people stuck from becoming all that they could be until they're completely healed. A typical day for me involves scheduling meetings throughout the day, mostly Zoom or phone calls with my clients, to assist them with whatever we're going through at the time. I find this very rewarding and get most of my joy out of being able to help them achieve their goals and accomplish things they set out to do.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Eartha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my strong work ethic and determination. I grew up in a single-parent home, and my mother worked very hard because we had a large family - a family of 12. I watched her work very hard to provide, and I acquired her work ethic. I learned from her about working hard and being determined to set goals and reach them.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from a boss who was super, super mean when I was very young. Looking back in hindsight, she told me to learn how to accept constructive criticism and see it as a stepping stone. What she meant was that she saw more potential in me than I was aware of, and the reason why she was always hard on me was because she was trying to pull that out of me. I would say the key lesson was to see criticism as stepping stones.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to never lose the passion for people and seeing people get better. Never lose the passion for helping people to become a better version of themselves. When you're in a people-serving business, it's easy when you get so focused on your financial needs and not on the people, and sometimes you can lose focus. The field I'm in now is really over-flooded, and a lot of people come in for different reasons. When you're older and you talk to people for a little bit, you can kind of tell what their real heart is and where they really are. If they're really into it for whatever reasons, you can tell. But the most important thing is to never lose that passion for helping people.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is the fact that there are a lot of coaches, and the field is overcrowded now with a lot of folks in it for different reasons. There's also a thin line between coaching and therapy. A lot of folks that come to me, I don't accept every person because sometimes I'm not qualified - sometimes they actually need a therapist. I don't form a work relationship or client relationship with them just because someone comes to me. I let them know that I think they would be better served by seeking a therapist. I do have relationships with other coaches who are skilled in certain areas, and then therapists who are better fit to help them.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is number one for me. Transparency is also crucial - I guess trustworthiness kind of goes with the honesty. And then to be considerate and compassionate. Kindness is so important - just to be able to be empathetic towards others.
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