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Major life decisions have hatched in Laura Neff's office, a sunny outbuilding flanked by organic gardens at her north Charlotte home.
One woman, feeling she wasn't living the life she imagined, moved to England. Another decided to trade her corporate job for full-time jewelry design. Still others have followed longtime dreams or, especially in these daunting economic times, sought Neff's help navigating layoffs, financial instability and other heartaches.
Neff, a life coach, is part of a growing community of coaches in the Charlotte area who guide clients on everything from careers to communication skills to personal relationships.
“Coaches help people really identify where they want to be and are not,” Neff says on a balmy afternoon in her office, surrounded by inspirational quotes and potted plants, an overflowing bookshelf and a ledge full of organic teas. “My whole thrust is to get you empowered in every part of your life.”
As the recession has deepened, leaving many wondering whether they'll have a job – or whether their work is meaningful enough to make up for the stresses that come with the times – interest in coaching is higher than ever, some local coaches say.
Because coaches know potential clients have tightened their belts, they're responding with free workshops, group sessions and reduced individual rates. So now could be a better time than ever for some professional soul-searching.
Life coaching, a relatively new and largely self-regulated industry, evolved in recent decades from executive coaching. Coaches develop a relationship with clients in a series of in-person or phone sessions, asking questions and encouraging personal discovery to help people realize their visions or goals.
Coaches, many of whom have a corporate background, say they're organizers, cheerleaders, sources of accountability. They're also careful to say what they're not: mentors, consultants or therapists.
Typically, the process consists of 30- to 60-minute sessions several times a month. Costs range from $250 to $1,000 per month.
Kym Motley, 38, calls it a personal investment. She has worked in marketing at a major Charlotte bank for a decade but has long dreamed of something more – designing jewelry for a living.
“I've always been creative, but I've also always gotten the message that you want to be safe,” she says. “I couldn't figure out how to get from A, my cubicle, to B, doing the jewelry full time.”
Then, she attended a free workshop Neff held at her church, and in August 2008, became a client. During the first session, Neff asked Motley to think about the things she liked and disliked. She loved color, Motley recalls saying. Hated gray and artificial light.
Motley realized the things she disliked described her work environment. It didn't take long to decide to pursue jewelry designing, she says.
When she started working with Neff, Motley's jewelry was being sold in one local store. Since then, she has set up a home studio and expanded to six stores, she says. May was her last month with Neff, and Motley hopes to quit her job and design full time within the next year, she says.
“I think, had I not met with Laura, I would be exactly where I was back in August,” Motley says. “Life is short, and I think we tend to read from scripts. ... We spend a lot of time suppressing the things that make us passionate.”
Embracing those passions has become more important for many as the economy has squeezed budgets and eliminated jobs, coaches say. Joy Blackmon, who has been coaching about a year and has four clients, started to see a shift last fall: More clients were asking for help with their careers, in addition to general life coaching. Most of her clients are over 40 and working in banking or nonprofits.
“Their passions are taking a front seat,” Blackmon says. “They're doing things now that they might have otherwise waited to do until retirement.”
Coach Jeannie Fennell of Lifeworks, a psychologist by trade, has held group sessions and seminars that combine academic research with self-help and spiritual teaching, she says. She has started a group called Transitions, through which people in the midst of major life changes can meet twice monthly for just $45 a month.
This summer, she plans to launch a support group for families of the unemployed, she says.
“Looking for a job is kind of like being on ‘American Idol,'” Fennell says. “You're always being judged. (A coach's) job is to help you see your potential, see what you can do and maybe gently push you toward it.”
A version of this story previously appeared in the July issue of the Observer's SouthPark Magazine (www.southparkmagazine.com).
