Today we’d like to introduce you to Candice Lapin.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I actually started my business in the last financial crisis. I had been raising money for a different company but felt a complete disconnect. I was alone as a woman raising money in a predominantly male field of internet startups before Bumble and these amazing young female CEOs were coming up. I had to really become the woman I am today in that climate. I had to believe in myself when no one else would. Initially, it was exciting but I didn’t feel connected to the mission of the business so after a while, it felt empty. All the excitement and the buzz of being the lone woman raising capital in Silicon Beach (before it was Silicon beach) only took me so far.
I knew I needed to feel more connected to what I was doing but I didn’t know how that was going to happen.
I started working with children just on the advice of my friend. Then parents started to hear about the work I was doing particularly with children that had emotional distress or academic distress.
I could relate on such a deep level because I had grown up in turbulent home. So I started to teach positive mindset and routines to kids that were really dealing with the same issues I had experienced. It was very healing for me.
So by day, I was raising capital but by afternoon, I was working with kids. Eventually, I had to make a decision and I am so glad I did.
I wanted to make a difference and even though I couldn’t see it at the time, working to help these young kids feel more positive and learn how to do that habitually was incredibly rewarding!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
You know it was pretty rough at the beginning because I always say it’s hard to read the label on the jar when you are in the jar!
When I made the decision to leave the fast-paced world of internet start-up for the world of “helping others”, I had so many people tell me I was doing the wrong thing. I was always getting told that I was in the wrong field! At the beginning, the business had a lot of components. We were working with schools and educators and therapists who would bring me children that had hit a roadblock in school but so often that roadblock might also be the product of bad routines, executive functioning and other compound issues that we were able to uncover. Parents might not understand that it wasn’t math but rather the environment that was distracting the child from being present to learn math!
Again, I was hitting my head against a lot of resistance! And, as a spiritual person, I thought well if there is this much resistance, maybe I am wrong? There were a lot of years, where I questioned whether education was the right field for me.
These questions helped me refine my purpose and my business. I continued to ask: How can I feel like I have more purpose? Where is this work most helpful?
As I started to answer those questions, my business shifted from kids who were in more academic distress to children, families and adults who needed more of the routine building and the positive mindset work.
I think confusion and feeling lost is part of my story and my journey towards listening to my own inner voice for the best guidance!
It was funny looking back. I was really getting incredible experience for the world that we live in today!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Ladder Method story. Tell us more about the business.
The Ladder Method started out as a tutoring agency. But parents started to realize they were sending kids and teens and university students to us for a lot more than tutoring! We were helping kids solve issues around distractions and accountability and responsibility and also those critical executive functioning skills that everyone seems to be talking about!
Private schools from across Los Angeles and now New York have sent us kids that need to cultivate those good life habits: time management, prioritizing, etc.
It has become so central to learn how to navigate our world with more distractions but also more responsibilities. When I was growing up, we didn’t have portals and children didn’t need to understand how to track so many projects.
Today they need those really important skills much earlier. The more we can teach children those skills but with patience and compassion the more they thrive!
It all those micro-tasks that help people manage their lives better. And, where we are really moving the needle is around technology, distractions, balancing screen time in the pandemic, positive thinking in the family!
What we do amazingly well is routines, habits and positive thinking. We help families really cultivate those key skills to help their children/teens/ young adults thrive in this new world.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think you can call it luck if you understand that it was all the preparation meeting an incredible opportunity!
Contact Info:
- Address: 616 N La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood CA 90069 - Website: theladdermethod.com
- Phone: 310.684-2543
- Email: clientservices@theladdermethod.com
- Instagram: @theladdermethod
- Facebook: @theladdermethod
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-ladder-method-los-angeles-4
Image Credit:
Kara Coleen
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