Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to the Solopreneur Sisterhood Podcast. A podcast designed to help heart centered service providers like you build a purposeful, profitable and sustainable business that supports what matters most to you. I'm your host Becky McClary and I am so grateful that you are here.
Now, while I love the freedom of having my own business, I can admit that being a solopreneur can sometimes feel lonely. And at the same time, I think that a lot of what we see online can actually hold us back from success because we slip into comparison and self doubt. With this in mind, I wanted to have conversations with other solopreneurs and so we're doing a special series. Each episode is short so that it's easy to listen whenever you need a little bit of encouragement. My hope is that these episodes will inspire you and and remind you that you are not alone.
This special series is brought to you by the Solopreneur Sisterhood Society, a close knit, supportive mastermind and business community that goes beyond your regular business course or mastermind group. It's a movement transforming how women build their businesses through connection and collaboration. The women featured in this series are the types of women you'll find inside the society and we'd love to have you join us. I invite you to learn more and apply to join our next cohort by visiting thesolopreneur sisterhood.com society in this episode we're talking with Christina Cole, a career strategist and job search coach who helps mid career women land roles that align with their talents, values and goals. A former HR leader turned entrepreneur, Christina successfully returned to the workforce after a 13 year career break and now empowers others to navigate career transitions with confidence, whether they are re entering after time away or pivoting to something new. She's the host of her Next Chapters podcast where she shares real conversations about career shifts, identity and creating a fulfilling next chapter. Welcome Christina. I'm so excited to have you join us here today. Before we get started though, I would just love to learn more about your story. So can you tell us more about what you do and how you found your way to this work?
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for having me on the show. I really appreciate it. And my story is that I have had a career in human resources and like a lot of women, I took time out of the workforce when my kids were young and that time extended a little beyond what I originally planned. And around year 11 I'm like, okay, the kids are getting older. My youngest is in all day school. I had three kids have three kids and I was ready to come back to work. And I had 10 years of experience prior to then and I thought it would just be welcomed with open arms. And that was not the case, as you can imagine. It was a long journey. It took me a couple years of stopping and starting and my confidence was beat up. And even though I work in hr, you know, you think I would know everything, it was still really tough. And it was hard on my. Like I said, my confidence, my resilience was tested and I'd stop and start so many times because it was just hard. And no one I knew was coming back to work. All the stay at home moms that I, you know, joined in my circle, none of them were coming back to their careers. So I didn't really have any role models or examples to look to. So once I finally did come back, it was in 2016 and was in an HR role. And I knew then and there that I wanted to make the process easier for others, effectively becoming the coach that I wish I'd had. And it took me a couple years just to kind of get grounded back in my own career.
And then it was in 2018 that I put out an ad. I don't want to say an ad, a post on the Nextdoor app which is, you know, for communities and neighborhoods and without a. Without a website, without a business card, without a plan or anything. I just put out a post saying if you are wanting. It was in the summers, in June, if you want to go back to work when the kids go back to school in the fall, there's some things you can be doing this summer to get ready for that job search. And I invited my teenage daughter and invited, I asked and paid my teenage daughter to come to the park and we just did it at our neighborhood park for her to babysit anyone that would bring their young kids. And we did have one dad that was there with his two year old and then there was five moms. And I didn't know any of these people before I put out that post. And that really resonated with me that like, oh my gosh, there is a huge need for this. And because I had worked on the HR side of things and had come back after a career gap, I felt like I had a unique perspective to offer. So that's how my coaching all began, was at our neighborhood park from a next door post. And here we are a few years later.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Yeah, that's amazing. I love that so much. I love how your story, your journey inspired you to help Others. And you also had the perfect background with HR as far as helping them with applying for jobs. And I also really love how you thought through. Okay, it's going to be hard for these parents to come to meet with me, and so I'll. I'll bring my child on board to help with babysitting. I think that's just brilliant. And I also really love how you started out without it all being in place and everything being perfect. I think far too many of us feel like we have to have everything in place before we can start, so that's a really inspiring example for us.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I'm like, oh, I have to have a name, a logo, a business card, and like, well, let's just test the waters a little bit and see. And back then I was calling it the Back to Work club because we're going back to work. These days, back to work means something a little different after Covid.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: That is true, yes.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: What it did before, and I found out after I created that name and it had a little logo. My son was studying graphic design in high school, so I had him create a logo logo for me. And after I created that name and I, I didn't check out all the places that it could be, I got the website domain for it, but there was another group that had it on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and all the places, everywhere but a domain. I'm like, oops. So. So I learned from that to like, okay, next time I come up with a name, I want to make sure I own it and all the different platforms.
And so that's when it moved to her next chapters. Because I live in Colorado, we met at the park for that summer until it kind of got cooler. And it doesn't make sense to meet at the park in even October. We get snow. So we moved to the local library and I created a meetup group to help communicate, you know, and reach. Reach a broader audience than those that are just in my immediate neighborhood. And so we met at the library and I did workshops once a month for almost a year.
And it was really rewarding and fun. And, you know, I got a couple of clients out of that. And of course, just the time together in the workshops is what kind of drove, oh, can we talk about LinkedIn? LinkedIn?
Can we talk about LinkedIn next time? I really want to know how to, how to set up my LinkedIn profile. And so the women in those groups really helped me kind of formulate and understand what people were needing and wanting. And, and like I said, I created at least 10 different workshops that I did in person, small group, and just out of my own accord. This is while I was still working in my job and before COVID So we're all in person. And then my job, I got promoted, took on more hours, took on more work, and it got harder to maintain this free workshop that I was doing. And then when Covid happened, I'm like, well, we can't meet in person anymore and I don't know what this job market is going to look like. I had three kids that I was trying to help navigate. College, high school, you know, middle school, all of that, and my own career. And so I really pulled back on the coaching during that time and really missed it.
So I did, I took another job. And in that job it was, I told my boss, I don't have any times. I feel like I'm running a marathon as if it was a sprint. And there was really no extra time to have my, my side project. And I was there for a couple of years. And during that time, my husband's job went away and, you know, related to Covid, the travel industry. And we had made an agreement that once he landed that I would walk away from corporate and do my coaching full time because that's really where my passion is and where I find the most intrinsic reward and value and where I get energized from instead of draining my energy. Yeah, we made that decision. And actually today happens to be the two year anniversary of my last day in corporate.
[00:09:09] Speaker A: Awesome. Amazing. I love this so much. And you, I don't know that you were aware of it at the time, but the way that you got things going with the workshops and just kind of basing things off of what people wanted to learn, I think that's just a brilliant way to build your business because again, so many of us try to kind of guess what people want without actually talking with people. And so I really admire how you just got into the work and just started listening to people and, and building it as you went. And I also appreciate how, you know, there were some world changes that impacted everything and, and you found a way to keep going. And it also just sounds like a really incredible relationship with your husband to have that. Okay, I need to stick with this for now. But then when you get a job, then I can, can go back into the coaching.
[00:10:00] Speaker B: So, yeah, it's been a really nice time because he was out for a year and a half. It took a while for him to land. Part of that was just housing some having Some breathing room for him to kind of take some rest and re. Energize and then dive into his job search. But it was also during. During COVID times. So the job market was, you know, a little harder then. Yeah, but yeah, it's been really nice. And once he did land In December of 22, we thought maybe it'd be like a six month Runway or so. But I was just so ready to make the shift. And in my mind I had a business to come back to, a business that was dormant, waiting for me. In reality, I probably should have taken a little more time to. To build it up.
And I didn't realize like you, you had pointed out, I talking to people find out what they need. I didn't realize at the time that was really market research is what I was doing without really knowing what I was doing. And you know, and so anyway, I picked it back up.
I'm not even sure where to begin.
The, the truth is I. Okay, I took off in March. Today's the anniversary. My.
Between. It wasn't between my three kids, actually two of the kids. There were three car accidents in about six weeks. Oh no, everyone's okay, okay, Two cars were impacted in those three accidents. The two cars were totaled. And so this is right after me saying, okay, I'm taking, you know, making this switch and I'm like high power, high energy, ambitious and turn all that towards my business. But instead it was like, all right, we got to talk to four different insurance companies and then we now have the checks. I need to go shopping for cars. In the meantime, there's a household of five drivers, two vehicles, people need to get to work, school, other things, you know, and we had a medical challenge that one of my kids had a new diagnosis that had come up during that time that, you know, emergency room visits and specialists and all the things. So that on one hand it's like, how would I have functioned if I wasn't. If I was at work right now? So I kind of had my own grace period, if you will, of like, let's just take care of all the things on the home front. And then once things calm down, we had. And I got and I learned the car market and researched and actually bought a brand new car like all by myself and did all the negotiation and did all of that. So it was kind of like confidence building in its own right while my husband was busy working.
So that was kind of the beginning was like I thought I would just jump in and run this business, but in reality, life had some Other things that needed to be taken care of. And then as the year went on, it was more of a planning building up. Like, I went into some conferences. I took a. I started podcast myself in 2023 and started putting things together, putting, you know, laying the foundation of what was going to be my 2024, I think. What else about that to share my.
I'll let you ask the questions because I'm ready to answer the questions that were in the email.
[00:13:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:23] Speaker A: I just want to say before we move on that I really love how you shared that lived experience of. Okay, I thought I was ready to just jump right into my business and then life through some unexpected circumstances my way, and you had to deal with them. And I think you just did a beautiful job of focusing on what mattered most at that time and then finding your way forward from there. And I think a lot of us, when life throws. Throws things at us like that, we almost take it. Like, oh, maybe I'm on the wrong track. Like, I've heard people talk about maybe this is a sign I shouldn't be doing this. And they really get in their head and they worry about it and. And I personally don't think it's a sign you shouldn't be doing it. I think it's just, okay, life happens sometimes and we need to find our way forward. So I find that a really inspiring example for us.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. For me, it was a gratitude in the moment that I had the capacity to focus on what needed to be focused on and not feel diverted. Like between the life, life, work, balance type thing. There wasn't a balance at that moment. What was needed was all life.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:31] Speaker B: And I was grate that I was able to give. Give what was needed to my family.
Yeah. I didn't see it. That's interesting. I never saw it as a sign that I was on the wrong path. If anything, it was reaffirming that it was. I was absolutely right where I was supposed to be. Yeah.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. Well, looking back at your business and you can either go all the way back to the very beginning or back to, you know, after you left corporate, thinking of what you know in your business now, what is one thing that you wish you had known, something that you know now that you wish you had known when you started out.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: I think about that.
I think the main thing that I've learned over this past year is how much as a solopreneur that I personally need community.
Because it's really hard to operate. It's just. It's really hard to operate independently all the time. And of course, in corporate, I worked, you know, I had my own projects, but I also was part of a team and had coworkers and I love working remotely. And I was like, don't make me drive to an office. However, I really missed the rhythm, the schedule, the container, if you will, that a job provided. And I had this understanding like, well, I'm a higher performer, I'm a high achiever. I'm going to turn all of that attention and effort towards my thing. But without having the structure and without having mentors and collaborators, it just made it really like I wasn't sure what to be working on. And there's times I just wanted to work on everything and then I would work on nothing because I couldn't prioritize. And so really joining, I joined a mastermind in, I guess in December of 23 and it actually started in January of 24. And so that really helped me to be. To have that once a week check in, to be talking to others who were having similar challenges and excitement and cheering each other on and that sense of community was really, really valuable. Is really valuable. And same thing with the solar, the sisterhood that we're in together, the Solopreneur, just not having to face everything alone. I'm still the decision maker, I'm still the CEO, but having others to bounce ideas off and so. And other people, you know, and to give too, to give to and support, that was the element that I was missing. I think when I first went into business or first started the coaching. It's just I'm in my own head and not even knowing what.
What I could expect to do or, you know, it's.
So anyway, that, that's been a big learning and that I really appreciate is having a community of others who are in similar situations and learning from each other.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that so much. And I completely agree. That's what the Solopreneur Sisterhood is all about, is that, yes, technically we're the only employee in our business and the decisions do come back to us. However, I think that it makes the journey more fun, but it also makes it easier if we have other people who can cheer us on or help us speed up our journey by sharing recommendations with us or for us to. I know for me it helps to be accountable to other people to say, I'm going to do this and then I tell other people I'm definitely going to do it. Whereas if it's just planning on my own and I Might push things back a little bit. So it has helped me to make more progress to have that community along the way.
[00:18:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And that extra. I know I've learned that about myself even more so as an entrepreneur, that I'm.
I'm more motivated by external accountability than internal accountability.
And even last week, I told two of my clients because there is some materials that I wanted to give them. I'm like, well, I'm going to make a video for you. And. And I said that twice in one day to two different people. I'm like, I'm going to make videos on this and I'm doing them tomorrow. And so I did. So on Friday, I made four videos, loaded them, shared them with my clients, and something that's been on my mind for months, really. But because I said it out loud and made that commitment to someone else, it happened.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:18:50] Speaker B: And so that's something that I. I try to create for myself, is that external accountability. I can provide it really well for my clients. It's harder to provide it for myself. Yes. So that's a skill that I'm working on. And that's what. Part of what the. What the solopreneur sisterhood offers me is like, because we're meeting and checking in, and that's something that my group has done. Our mastermind is, okay, what are you working on this week? And to be able to report back the next week, hey, I did it is. It is motivational for me and helps because, you know, as a solopreneur, if I don't do it, does anyone really care if I, you know, and even, you know. So I have this podcast. I have a podcast that I do, and it's. I'm on episode. It'll be 72 this week. And the only week that I've missed was intentional. And it was between Christmas and New Year's, and I announced, like, hey, I'm taking the. Taking the rest of the year off. I'll see you in January. Otherwise, I haven't missed a single week. And that, for me, is building external accountability. I am showing up every week, every Wednesday, 5am There's a new episode. There's been not as much lately, but there have been times when I'm up till three in the morning making sure it gets done again. I've got better boundaries for myself and better systems in place, but there's times when that was, you know, kind of the norm. Like, I was up really late and I'm a night out to begin with. I'm not a morning person. So that I know that sounds absolutely awful, but probably 11 o'clock is when I go to bed on a normal night.
Yeah. So, anyway, that's been huge. Is having community and not being on the soloprenter.
Solopreneur journey alone.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: Yes. Well, I know so many of us can relate to that, and I appreciate you sharing how much that helps too.
So, looking back on your business so far, what is the best lesson that you have learned or the best piece of advice that you have received about business?
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Yeah, it's funny because this is what I teach. So I'm a career coach, and this is part of what I teach my clients, in particular about their resume, that their resume is a marketing document, not a historical document. And when I look at myself, when I first was marketing, it was about me. This is what I can offer you. This is what I can do for you. When in reality, it needs to be about the client and what their needs are, what their worries are, what they're struggling with, and to meet them there in their struggle and to help show them a way out versus I can do this. I can do that. This is what I'm all about. And of course, you need to get to that part too. But I've learned it just feels so much more genuine and authentic and more connecting with people when I. When I try to understand their situation rather than it's all about me. So, again, and I relay that back to the resume, because I've been working with a few people on their resumes the last couple weeks. I'm like, it's not historical. It's not everything about you. It's about what the employer needs. Mm. So it's same with my marketing efforts. It's about what the client needs and then to be able to. To talk to those pain points. So I'm. I'm a coach. I love coaching marketing and sales funnels and lead magnets and all of that has been huge learning opportunity for me this past year. And not that I've mastered it by any means, but I. I can see the growth in looking back, and that's been a really big part of the shift is that focus on their needs versus selling, I guess, or saying who I am and what I do.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. That's such an important piece of advice, and I think something that it takes a lot of us a long time to learn. So I appreciate that you brought that up with us today.
So thinking of people who are listening, if someone is listening and she's feeling discouraged or she's feeling frustrated in her business. What's one piece of advice you would give her today?
[00:23:01] Speaker B: What's helped me when I. Because I. That's normal. Number number one, it is completely normal. And I've. I see a therapist on occasion and I'll talk to her. I'm like, I don't understand my roller coaster. Like, sometimes I'm, you know, so excited and other times I'm just so down. So just knowing that that's normal to, to have those questions and doubts and then secondly, to remember your why and why you're doing this work and remember that ideal client, the problems that you are trying to help solve and to get out of your own head of. I have to sell. I have to do this. I have to do everything right. And instead think about serving that one person and making a difference for them. So let's go back a moment to when I first started this conversation and I told you I put a post out on the nextdoor app. I was so nervous and scared to push send on that first post. Who am I to be leading a workshop on careers and job search? Who am I to do this?
What helped me push send was I got out of my own head and I thought about that one person who needed my help and who wasn't. You know, it was only a couple years ago I was in the same situation, so I could relate to the feelings. But I really drew that picture in my mind. I can picture it today. This woman that I pictured, she had her hair up in a bun. She's sitting on the side of her bed in the dark afternoon sun setting. She's alone. She's feeling discouraged. She's had a lot of rejection. She's worried she's given up her career. She's never going to get it back. Finances are tight and she doesn't know what to do. She feels hopeless. Nobody she knows is going back to work.
She's just stuck. And she's wishing for someone to hold up their hand and help.
That's what got me to push send on that post. Because it wasn't about me and me boasting or me, you know, selling my services or anything. It was like, no, I want to help her. I mean, qualified to help her.
And so I pushed the post and then we had 10, you know, six people show up. Yeah. So when you. When I get down and you ask for your listeners, when you get down and you feel like you're not sure you're on the right path, get back in touch with who it is you're trying to serve and what problem you're trying to solve and how you are uniquely qualified to solve that problem. And if you need to pivot, then that's an opportunity. Same thing. Who are you trying to help?
And. And doing that inventory of what your skills are. And this is what I teach my clients as well. And. And these days, I don't just focus on the stable mom returning to work. That's really anyone in a career pivot. But what are your strengths? What are your passions? What do you enjoy? What gives you energy?
And, you know, whether you're an entrepreneur or you're trying to get, you know, get a job, it's bringing your whole self to that work because you are uniquely qualified to do what you do. You have natural gifts and talents and experiences and. Yeah, anyway, my soapbox.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:26:22] Speaker B: Probably a much longer answer than you expected, but.
[00:26:24] Speaker A: But I completely agree. I know. You know, I tell people I still get nervous when I'm sharing something, whether it's a post or it's an email I send out, I still get nervous every time. But what helps me do is exactly what you said. If you can think about, okay, if this can help one person, it's worth putting out there. And if you just shift that attention away from yourself onto the person who needs your help, I think it makes it so much easier. And it does kind of reignite that spark, too, because it's very easy to get down if you're just focused on yourself and what looks like it's not working. But if you can shift your attention to how can I help, it makes a huge difference. So thank you.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: I appreciate that. So I want to be mindful of everyone's time, and I know there are going to be people listening who are thinking, I want to learn more from Christina. So can you tell us how we can connect with you beyond this interview?
[00:27:18] Speaker B: Yes. Thank you. So my podcast is called Her Next Chapters, and that is chapters with a plural S because there's more than one, regardless of how old you are or what stage of life you're in. So you can find me anywhere that you listen to podcasts. I'm also on LinkedIn and it's just my name with. And it's spelled Kohl. I always have to spell the last name because people tend to get that spelling wrong.
And within my LinkedIn profile, you'll see a resume template that is for a strength. Strength first resume template. If you download that, that'll also get you into my email list. I have a weekly newsletter that goes out to everyone on my list and of course it'll give you the resume template if that's something that you are interested in and applying your strengths first as you look at the job search. And and again, it's not a historical document, it's a marketing document.
[00:28:08] Speaker A: I love that so much. Well, thank you so much. And then for our listeners, we will have all of those links right by this recording so they're easy to find and you can connect with Christina beyond this session. So thank you so much. Christina. This has been wonderful talking with you and I really appreciate you joining us today.
[00:28:24] Speaker B: Likewise. Thank you Becky. I really appreciate the chance to be on the show.
[00:28:29] Speaker A: Thank you so much for joining us and listening to the Solopreneur Sisterhood podcast. I hope this episode has offered you some encouragement, some insight and some new ideas to support you in building a business that works for you. And if you're ready for deeper support and love the idea of connecting and collaborating with other heart centered service providers, I'd love to have you join us in the Solopreneur Sisterhood Society. You can learn more and apply to join our next group by visiting thesolopreneursisterhood.com society.
Remember that our world needs you. Your gifts, your vision and your work. And I'm cheering you on as you bring your vision to life and build a purposeful, profitable and sustainable business that supports what matters most to.
