Rick Badie / My Opinion
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Life coach helps dreams come trueBy RICK BADIE | Thursday, April 19, 2007, 06:00 AM She made good money and traveled often. But corporate America wore on her, and after years as an IT software contractor, Retha Logan had had enough. “I would go to the bathroom and cry,” said Logan, who lives on the DeKalb side of Snellville. “I was miserable.” Nearly four years ago, misery compelled her to take a six-week course on career changes. The facilitator took a special interest in Logan and, seeing her personality, suggested she become a life coach. At the time, “Starting Over,” the reality TV show in which life coaches help a group of women change their lives, was hot. But TV didn’t inspire Logan to enroll in the Life Purpose Institute near La Jolla, Calif., and get certified in life coaching and career coaching. The Harris County native said she’s been coaching all her life, offering honest, not hurtful, guidance to friends and family. So with training and certification, a hobby simply became a full-time, flexible profession here in metro Atlanta where the idea of having a life coach is becoming more popular. On Wednesday, the Badie Tour observed Logan at work at the Serenity Lakes Wellness Center, a facility off Club Drive in Lawrenceville. It offers alternative programs, practices and classes to improve health and well being. Logan conducts workshops and sees clients there, though most of her coaching sessions take place over the phone. She has clients in cities across the country. With a typical three-month contract, you converse 12 times for an hour each. If you do it in person, it’s $400 a month; by telephone, it’s $300. What kind of person employs a life coach? Well, they typically are ambitious, spiritual, creative, entrepreneurial folk. They are bent on moving forward, not looking back, but don’t know how to get there. That’s why they hire life coaches, not psychologists and psychiatrists, said Logan, a Western Michigan University grad. “They want more out of life than the average person. Some are just starting out. Some are trying to find out what their life purpose is. They are geniuses. They just don’t know it.” Meet Kimberly Watson, 24. She owns Studio 23, a salon off U.S. 78 in Snellville. The number “23” represents her age when she started the year-old business. Now, she wants to take it to the next level, grow it. And for that, she has turned to Logan. Stylist and coach talk in a room with tempered lighting and tonal colors. Logan helps Watson define what it is she does and why she does it, by asking lots of questions. Why are you passionate about hair? What can your salon offer that others can’t? “I know what I want to do, I just don’t know how to put it into words,” Watson said. Finally, after more talking, Watson gives suitable responses, clarity, to help grow Studio 23. This exchange lasts for an hour, and when Watson leaves, she has homework. Draft a catchy slogan that defines her business, and research professional organizations and databases representative of the clientele she wants to serve. And when she does that, she’ll take one more step to her dreams and desires. Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com. |
