Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Wachman.
Stephanie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My whole career I worked as a Corporate Executive in Business and Product Development. I travelled a lot – coast to coast on a weekly basis. I was doing all this traveling and had young kids that I missed terribly and I’ll never forget sitting in a hotel room in Tucson Arizona eating a Whole Foods Salad out of a paper container and thinking, “this stinks, I need a change”. While I was eating and feeling sorry for myself, I started flipping through channels and came upon a show called, “Billy The Exterminator” this guy was radical wearing a long leather coat, studded fingerless leather gloves and tiny framed glasses with long flowing hair. The whole show he was pumped because he was helping people rid their homes in Louisiana from “coons”, wasps and snakes.
He was loving it and you could hear his enthusiasm as he spoke to the camera. I got to thinking that I wish I had something to be as passionate about in my work. Then it came to me “coaching and training”- I’d always loved that part of my job and in that moment decided to go for it. I called my husband from the hotel room, told him my “big idea”- said it would take a year to go to coaching school and start my business and he told me to go for it. The next day, I quit my job and started my business. Literally it happed that quickly and I’ve been at it for 11 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been smooth with bumps and detours along the way. When I finished my coach training program, I built my website printed up business cards and couldn’t believe that nobody was calling me. That’s when I really understood the value of building your brand and your network. I had to hustle to get started. I had given up a big corporate salary and benefits and this wasn’t a hobby business for me. The beginning was very difficult and just as I started to get some business, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I was 42 years old. That slowed me down a lot, but didn’t stop me. I decided to continue coaching and training and networking despite being in treatment. I learned that you have choices and you can modify your choices along the way. As my treatment started to fatigue me, I slowed down how many clients I would coach and how much work I would do. Once I started to recover and feel better, I ramped back up but decided to make sure that my work didn’t wear me down and I stuck with that philosophy.
Please tell us about the company.
I have a coaching, speaking and training company. I specialize in productivity and time management, relationship/business development and leadership. I’m known for coaching and training around how some of our behaviors decrease our productivity and increase our stress and I teach people how to manage their distractions so they can live happier more balanced lives. I’ve written a book on the topic called OWN your Time. I’m also a firm believer in how our relationships with others in business, personal etc. are so important. Connection is huge and if you don’t have a good network, then growth is limited as are opportunities. I wrote a book on that as well called Sell without being salesy and it’s all about relationship networking. I’m also a student of Neuroscience and Positive Psychology. Our minds are so powerful that when you can understand how you sabotage yourself and get in your own way, it can really impact your well being. So, I tie everything I do in with neuroscience and behavior to help people grow and understand themselves better. When you know yourself, you can really help others and this is particularly important when you are in a role of leadership.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I love skiing. I grew up in Montreal, Quebec Canada and started skiing at three years old. My family were all huge skiers and my favorite memory was getting a new pair of skis for my birthday and hitting the slopes with my family. Of course, it was –28 so finishing off the day with a good hot chocolate and marshmallows makes the memory that much sweeter.
Contact Info:
- Address: 825 E.Speer Blvd. Suite 214 Denver, CO. 80218
- Website: www.stephaniewachman.com
- Phone: 720-232-3693
- Email: [email protected]
- Twitter: salescoachsteph
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachsteph/
Image Credit:
Danielle Uhl
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