Inspiring Conversations with Carrie Thrall of ABC Coaching, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Thrall.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
For just over ten years, I worked as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in service to America’s Veterans and Active Duty Service Members. I excelled in this career and moved up quickly into an administrative role. While this career was rewarding at the start, more and more, I found myself hunting for something more significant that moved beyond reacting to problems to creating something proactively. I was frustrated with the bureaucratic tape blocking progress. I worried each day what new “fire” would need attention, I doubted that systemic problems would change, feared that I would not have the answers to the many issues brought to me daily. I even found myself putting what I value most “on the back burner” until I could find more time or energy to deal with it. I began to dread the end of a weekend, knowing that I would need to prepare for doing it all without the needed passion or energy to make it all happen. I then realized that what I had been telling myself was “just a phase” in my career was actually burnout peeking its ugly head into my every day. I was not happy or finding much satisfaction in the minor or even major successes in my job and could not see an easy way to regain the energy or drive needed to do the job well. I know I was not alone in this process, as many in this system were feeling the weight of doing more with less support.

For me, though, I came to realize that my holding blind loyalty to something outside of myself was quite disappointing and, at times, demoralizing. I began to look for more, something that does not focus on problems, diagnoses, or deficits. What did I find? Coaching came to the top of the list as it views people as whole beings with inherent gifts, strengths, and greatness that, with some support, can be accessed and flourish. I knew then and I know now that I have so much more to offer than what could be placed in any specific “box” defined by an organization, and I began to transition from therapist to coach. After much reflection, training, certifications, and coaching sessions, I decided to leave my position and go out on my own. I faced many anxieties and fears taking this risk leading me to learn I could rely on what I have within me, my values, and my passion for helping others to move into this new world. I know some of you reading this can relate to the journey because if you are working in a professional setting, own a small business, work from home, are retired or whatever your current context is; burnout, ignoring your values and passions or putting yourself last on the list will affect us all.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were big and small struggles to face in making this leap to start my own coaching business. The first big struggle along the path was trying to determine where to start when I chose to become a coach. I knew I would be walking away from a guaranteed job, with good pay and benefits, to go out to do something that was my own. There was fear, uncertainty, and various obstacles faced to get to where I am at today. The most recent bump is the pandemic particularly since many people are not choosing to prioritize their well-being due to other needs or focuses. I get it, when faced with tough choices like putting in extra hours to increase income versus taking care of one’s own needs, it is easy to place something like coaching on the back burner. I would and do say that without self-care and well-being, something will break or give way and coaching can help get values, goals and focus back on track. The pandemic also increased the speed at which I transitioned my business to a virtual practice. While I was in the process of moving to a completely virtual program, COVID put that plan on hyper-drive and I am not ready and able to “see” people more easily.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ABC Coaching, LLC, founded in 2015, is a life coaching business focusing on helping adults overcome or prevent burnout in the personal or professional lives. I stand apart from other life coaches in this area since I both experienced burnout in the past as well as know the difference between coaching and therapy keenly to assist my clients find the right resources for their needs. When someone comes to me, they tend to be waking up most days feeling tired, anxious, or just run down and no weekend in quite long enough to recuperate. They feel burned out, struggling to figure out where to turn and realize, something has got to change. At ABC Coaching, LLC, I help by partnering with clients to rediscover their purpose and get back to thriving in their lives. This unique partnership recognizes that a client is a whole person who is facing struggles and needs a helping hand to move out of the way of success. I use various tools to assess values, well-being and goals to help each client discover the path out of burnout or stress into thriving. I am proud to offer four different coaching packages that can be adjusted to meet the client’s needs. These packages are Stress to Resilience training, Break Through Burnout Coaching, Wellness Inventory Coaching and Goals and Accountability Coaching. When a client is interested in working with me, they will receive a free 30-minute consultation session to discover which package is a good fit for them and begin to set goals. As I also hold a special place in my heart for those service providers in mental health and for veterans who served this country, I provide special discount pricing for those groups to help support them and their needs.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Contribution and growth, personally, in my family and in the community, matter to me the most. My entire career has been about how to give back to those needing support, and I believe that contributing to the greater good helps cultivate meaning in my life. I see contributing time, energy, and focus on my family is my top priority, and by creating this business, I see how I can give back on a grander scale. Also, without growth, there is no thriving, only surviving. Going through the struggle, figuring out your assets, strengths, weakness, and overcoming to make it on the other side is growth, and without it, nothing would move forward or change. I want to help people through this change process into that growth state where they can discover a better life to live on their terms.

Pricing:

• Stress to Resilience Training (6 Sessions)= $750
• Break through Burnout or Wellness Inventory Coaching 14 session Package= $2500
• Break through Burnout or Wellness Inventory Coaching 26 session Package= $6500
• Goal and Accountability Coaching (8 Sessions)= $950

Contact Info:

• Address: 1140 US Hwy 287 Suite 400, PMB 251
• Email: ctthrall@abccoachingllc.com
• Website: abccoachingllc.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abccoachingllc

Image Credits
Jan Pelton Photography