Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Parks.
Courtney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I went to grad school for Counseling Psychology and thought psychotherapy was it for me. I spent a few years working in the field and while I was proud of my work, I was struggling financially and I cried a LOT. I’d had an idea for years to use my skills and support women in a more positive, less intense way – and eventually gave myself permission to “create my vision” and indulge my idea. I literally imagined how I’d work, who I’d serve and the schedule, income and lifestyle I wanted.
When I finally got the courage to reach out, I had an informational interview with a man who told about coaching. Around the same time, Oprah had her first coach on her show – and as she talked, it was like she was reading my vision to me on the TV screen. I literally thought she stole my idea!! But I also realized that I was being served…and soon I went on to get trained and certified, knowing coaching was the perfect fit for me.
I’ve been coaching now for 14 years and while a lot has changed, that original idea and the challenges I faced early on still drive my business. My tagline is “success without exhaustion for women” and everything I do is designed to help women love their work and do it in ways that truly support their lifestyle. So much of what I imagined when I wrote my vision I am actually living now – which is really cool because that’s a huge part of what I teach.
Has it been a smooth road?
Early on, it was difficult not to take on my clients’ “stuff” like I had when I was doing more intense therapy work. I had to learn how to set boundaries – literally and energetically – to keep myself and my happiness intact. I also had to learn how to run a business – which as a business coach I now know is a completely different skill set! I’ve spent lots of time and money on my own business training and personal development. I’m lucky that I can use my experience (the good, the bad and the ugly) to serve my clients and my community.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Courtney Parks Coaching story. Tell us more about the business.
I’m a Business & Career Coach and my company specializes in helping women create more success with less stress – it’s really about working smarter, not harder, so you still have time for your LIFE. My clients come from a variety of industries but they have certain things in common – they all want to do work that makes them happy and be as successful as possible without giving up their time, energy and sanity to do so.
Women hire me to help them make career changes, scale up in their current job or business and reshape their work so they can avoid burnout. Most of my clients are already very successful and want to grow further – but they’ve reached a cap and need to think and operate differently to reach their next level. My coaching method blends the nuts and bolts of business and career growth strategy with what I call “the psychology of success” – because when women match what they feel inside with what they’re doing professionally on the outside, that’s when success takes OFF.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I love seeing how coaching has blown up over the years and how many people are embracing it. While coaching really began in the corporate world, I can see more industries bringing coaches into their organizations, projects and productions to both raise the bar on performance and support the personal and interpersonal dynamics involved. Coaching has always been at the forefront when it comes to having a virtual model (one of the reasons I was able to relocate to L.A. years ago without losing any clients or income) – but I imagine the reach and the technology used to deliver services and training to expand even further.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.courtneyparks.com
- Email: courtney@courtneyparks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneyparkscoaching
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyParksCoaching
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtneycoach
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/courtneyparkscoach, https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyparks
Image Credit:
Vanessa Maldonado Photo and Alex Schmider
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