“I Stopped Hiding, and Now I’m on the Right Path”
In today’s podcast episode, I’m going to introduce you to Carina Lawson. Carina has an inspiring story of starting something new that she had wanted to do for a really long time. She had a big year last year and since we recorded this interview she has gotten certified as a Career Coach here at Classy Career Girl. I wanted you to hear her story and hear what it feels like on the other side of making a commitment to try something new since I know so many of you are starting a new career journey this year.
“I’ve been growing quite a bit, I’ve always wanted to help women make empowered decisions with their time. I wanted to stop hiding from my physical planner business. I’ve taken certification to be better equipped to help more women. I now feel that I am on the right path to help more people.”
Career Coach Certification for Spring 2023 is now open until March 22. If you want to submit your application, go to www.classycareergirl.com/certification and apply. We have limited spots and two really exciting study options to choose from. We have the normal 6 month training program that Carina did which was great for her to really transform her life slowly. But if you want the fast track and want to start coaching clients by summer and become an alumni by summer, you can join the fast track Career Coach LIVE on May 2nd – May 4th where I am teaching the entire program in 3 days and you can get 75% of your requirements done. So cool!
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In this episode:
- Challenges Carina faced in order to launch her coaching business and get on the right path for her
- How Carina learned about the program and what made her take the first step to join and become a career coach
- The difference between the Classy Career Girl certified coaching program versus the other ones
Resources and Links
The Career Coach Certification Program for Spring 2023 is now open until March 22. If you would like to submit your application, you can go to www.classycareergirl.com/certification and apply. It will be the best decision you ever make and you’ll never look back!
Transcript:
Anna: Hi, everyone. Hello, hello, it is Anna Runyan here, I am super excited to introduce you to real life women who are launching their dream careers and businesses. We have three women here, I’m going to be interviewing today. They are incredible, and I cannot wait for you to meet them. So let’s start right off with Karina, one of my favorite people to speak to welcome Karina. So excited you’re here.
Carina: Oh, thank you so much, you’re definitely one of my favorite people to, to speak to Anna, thank you so much for having me, it’s always such a pleasure to pour into this community that I’ve been a part of for so long. And so anytime that I get the opportunity to talk to be able to have the ability to impact more people that that’s really I’m really grateful for it.
Anna: Yay! We love having you here. So for those that don’t know you, give us a little background on kind of where you’re at in your career and business journey.
Carina: Sure. So my career and business journey have taken, like, quite like I’ve grown quite a bit in the past few months. So most people may know me as the founder of Ponderlily Paper Planners and Anna, you know, like I’ve always wanted to be able to help women make empowered decisions with their time. And I wanted to stop hiding from behind, like my product based businesses, which I love dearly. So over the past few months, I’ve taken quite a few certifications, so that I would be able to be better equipped to do just that. And so I became a high performance coach, an accountability coach, and more recently, a career coach, which I’m going to be going for certification very soon. So I’m very excited. It’s been, I now feel like I’m precisely on the right path to be able to help more people. And, I cannot wait.
Anna: Yay, I love it. And you had so much business knowledge before like, what was it about, like putting yourself out there for as a coach, like, what was the challenge and the problem that you were facing in order to launch this coaching business?
Carina: Yeah, like, I felt like I didn’t know enough. Like, I felt like I needed more structure. And, and I work a nine to five job. So in my role, like, I often get those, like lunch break talks about like, how do you navigate this? Or how do you deal with a situation like that? So people were naturally asking me questions about business and career, and it just felt like such a natural fit to be able to do this. So yeah,
Anna: I love it. And you were in CLASS beforehand. So, you already had gone through some of the tools and trainings that we have, right?
Carina: Yeah, I feel like nobody teaches like you do in terms of like, you get the there’s no fluff, like you get to the right information at the right time. And and if you’ve, nobody pushes me to do, which I welcome and deeply appreciate, and sometimes you do need a coach that can help you, you know, in that respect, and so, yeah.
Anna: Awesome. So how did you find out about the career coach certification that we are putting out there? And what made you like, what were some of the thoughts that were running through your head?
Carina: Yeah. So I believe that you happen to mention it. And like, even though you mentioned it briefly, it was like I need to know more. And because thankfully, I know that you’re very approachable. And I was able to, to basically ask, and then you sent me an application that I could not wait to fill it out. So yeah.
Anna: And did you have any doubts, like when you when you joined?
Carina: Yeah, I was like, I’m scared. Like, how much time is this going to take because I’m already in like, you know, other certification programs. And I remember talking to you about the time commitment, and I’m aware that I work a nine to five job and I have twins and I just wanted to make sure that it was going to be if I had such a little time left that I was going to learn as much as possible, and get the ball rolling because like in previous courses and things like that, I just felt like I had a lot of theory but like the practice of delivering a coaching session where I felt I was really helping people with something that I really wanted to learn how to do and nail it. And I believe that I’m able to do that now.
Anna: Yeah, and I love this because like when you filled out the application I was like, she would be an awesome coach. Like I want coaching from Karina too, you’ve built such an amazing business too. So what? When did you like actually, like commit to this? Like what was kind of like the first step that you made when you’re like, Okay, I’m going to be a career coach, like what was that first step and commitment look like?
Carina: Of course it was reaching out and making sure my application was filled in. I was all in by the time that I filled out that application before we even got on a call. I was all in because I have these conversations often with other women. And like, I feel that if people are coming to you with these questions, they’re coming to you for a reason. And when you and I talked about how you were going to structure the program, that’s when I knew and the type of accountability that we were going to get in the support. I didn’t need to hear any more. I was like, Where do I like, how do I sign up for this? Because I had this pressing need to, like really do a good job in helping others. And I’ve learned so much from you already. That I knew this was going to be like a wonderful program.
Anna: Yeah, so let’s, let’s talk about, Gosh, you’ve gone through like such a change. I feel like over the last six months, because it is a six month program, like, tell us about like for you personally, I’ve seen it from the outside, but I want to hear from you.
Carina: Yeah, so I would overthink everything in the kitchen sink. Like, I would feel like before I was like, no, no, like, my sales page needs to be perfect. Or my Calendly link needs to be like, you know, have all these bells and whistles and all the things and I would get so paralyzed by thinking about all the different things that I had to do. And then I would get very distracted over and I knew exactly what I was gonna say I recognize this pattern. But I always felt like I wasn’t ready. And so since I joined the program, I was able to design a, like a sales page myself so that people could sign up for my free workshop before, which was, you know, now I can be like, oh, yeah, sales page. Let me just do that right now. Like, it’s just there’s no resistance anymore. And I feel so much more confident I had the most signups for my workshop ever. And no ads, by the way. And I was just so I feel so much more confident for having gone through this process. And one of the things that I was really hesitant about was that I was most scared of was, am I really equipped to deliver a stellar coaching session? Am I going to be prepared to like, you know, what does that look like? And I’ve gotten glowing reviews from the people that I’ve coached in this program. And so yeah, I’m just so happy. Like, I would walk away from the calls that I’ve had with some of the members in CLASS. And there’s no better feeling in the world and knowing that you’re, you’ve done that you help somebody like there’s no better feeling in the world.
Anna: It’s amazing. And you your confidence has just skyrocketed for sure, as well, which is awesome. So, like you’re getting ready to graduate. I love it. So how do you feel now? Like what’s what is the future look like now, as you’re about to be a certified career coach?
Carina: Yeah, I am unstoppable. Like, I will come to people all day, every day if like, honestly, if I had the opportunity, and I feel so much more confident, not only in my skill set, but knowing that I have something to offer and knowing that like, like the impact that people could make on in their own lives and in the lives of others, like that’s so like near and dear to my heart, you know, so I feel more confident I feel prepared. I’m a lot more equipped to you know, to take charge of my own business because you hear so much like, oh, you know, you need you need like five people in your team to be able to do X, Y and Z which may be true for some businesses, but I am so confident that I can run my coaching practice on my own and even though I work a nine to five and I have a planner company, the systems that you taught me and how to set up. I can literally run it like on run, like the back end of the business that operations on autopilot. And so I just have to, my only job is to deliver the best coaching session that I know I’m capable of doing for others.
Anna: Yeah, I love it. And you’ve done their certification programs as well, too. So I got this question yesterday, but like, what was different about the Classy Career Girl certified coaching program versus the other ones that you’ve been in?
Carina: Oh, my goodness, I remember talking to you about this. Most programs. They’re either super short, like you get certified in just a few days. And then you’re left with all these questions like, Oh, my God, like, I forgot to ask this because it’s only like, a few days. So you’re not going to think of everything. And because these programs that are kind of short, they are taught to hundreds and hundreds of people. So you’re just one more person in the room. Okay, that on the other end of the spectrum, you have a program that is 12 months long. And while you’re learning a lot of the coaching skills for the first six months, then you’re the entire time you’re like, Yes, but how do I turn this into a business? Like how do I and you’re, and it’s really frustrating. So I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum and having a six month program that goes through the content, you have the opportunity for q&a. And there’s a channel where, you know, you provide assistance to all of us. Anytime we have a question we can ask and the people that you meet in this cohort, you actually meet people it’s the group is small enough that you can have an actual conversation, make friendships with and I don’t know, the pace was just right, the content was just right. The support that you give us is beyond is beyond sorry, my computer decided to get down there. And yeah, and the value was just like I would and I even got in a one on one with you what because of the early bird which was great. Yeah, so awesome. It was great.
Anna: Yeah, I love it. So I gotta give a shout out to our listeners here we have. So Emily says you’re unstoppable. We all love your quote, quote Karina she is unstoppable. So I love that she says thanks for sharing your experience and then woohoo, I can’t wait to join the program. And Emily, I know we got you. I know for sure that would be amazing to have you with us. So if you are interested in the Classy Career Girl certification program, you can fill out an application just like Karina did. And add your name to the waitlist at classycareergirl.com forward slash certification. Big thank you, Karina, for joining me here today and we’re gonna have a party when you graduate. So this is just the beginning. This is what I’m telling all the coaches, this is just the beginning. Karina is gonna be back and we’re gonna have you on again when you are all graduated so we can celebrate all of your accomplishments. So awesome job so far. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks so much for being here. All right, bye. Bye, guys.
