by Patricia Weeks

Ford R. Myers is the perfect example of an individual who has found his way to a rich and rewarding life by following his inner voice. Possessing a deep background and sustaining interest in consulting and training, his professional life evolved to his current role as a leading Career Coach and author (www.getthejobbook.com). Ford is deeply gratified that he helps people get to where they want to be in their careers.

Ford began his career in marketing communications, owning his own firm for many years. In 1992, he left that business because, as he notes, "the industry and I were both changing significantly." He decided to go back to graduate school, where he studied Human Resources and Organization Development. Ford took an elective course called Career Development which he loved, and realized that he was interested in it as a profession. Always an "armchair psychologist" (his brother and closest friends are therapists, and he was a psychology minor in college), Ford graduated and was immediately offered an opportunity with Right Management Consultants, staying for more than 5 years. Despite having owned his own successful company, this was a new field ... so Ford started at the bottom and worked his way up, eventually joining two other major outplacement firms, Manchester International and Lee Hecht Harrison. He credits the 12 years he worked with these big companies with learning the business "inside out and backwards."

At the same time, Ford got to see a lot that was wrong and right with the outplacement industry. When he decided to go out on his own again and start Career Potential, LLC (www.careerpotential.com), Ford was able to bring that accumulated knowledge with him. Since the founding of his career services firm, he has been working hard to realize his goals and has enjoyed the satisfaction of achieving many of them.

Ford continues to be surprised at how many potential clients don't know about coaching, and concludes that this represents a real business opportunity. At the same time, he is amazed at how few coaches don't make a full-time living at their profession. Ford believes that this issue arises partially from the relative lack of skills in management, sales, marketing, and pricing among coaches from the helping professions. He acknowledges that career coaching has its own "built-in challenges," in that if the Career Coach is highly-effective, he or she will not retain the client for very long. Some clients do stay-on for continuing career development - sometimes for many years - but most clients leave once they've met their employment objective.

Ford feels that coaches in general have a problem articulating their value proposition to the client - what the specific benefit is to the client, and how coaching would relieve the client's pain. Too often, the initial conversation focuses on what coaching is about, what it costs, or how coaching works logistically.

Asked who he loves to coach, Ford names management professionals and senior executives - people who have extensive experience and achievement in business.

Ford is now committed to one overriding goal: to work less and earn more! In 2010, he engaged his own business coach to help him achieve this. A key strategy is moving part of his business from the "one-to-one model" of coaching to the "one-to-many model." To this end, Ford has started a unique group career coaching program. Another initiative is his licensing and training program (www.ultimatecareerconsultants.com). This program allows aspiring career coaches to leverage Ford's proven systems, methodologies, materials, track record - with unlimited coaching and support - to establish or build their own successful career coaching businesses.

Given two weeks of free professional development, Ford would love to do some sort of retreat with a top coach or "mastermind group" focused on business goals, management, profitability, and taking one's business to the next level. 

Ford is most proud of having been successfully self-employed for so many years, while facilitating the professional growth and success of thousands of clients.

Asked if he has any "words of wisdom" for coaches to live by, Ford responded: "Take charge of your career, create the work you love, and earn what you deserve!" In other words, do for yourself what you encourage your clients to do. 

 by Margie Cherry

Having lived my "past life" as a visual artist, it was images, naturally, that sprang to mind when I sat down to write this article about the benefits for PACA members attending ACP meetings.

One image was of the two acronyms side by side, with the final "A" in PACA overlapping the "A" in ACP.  What a simple, graphic way of representing the overlap of the two organizations! 

The second image was the classic Venn diagram showing the intersection of the individual organizations.

To paraphrase George on Seinfeld, it's where my worlds collide.  Working as a full-time Career Coach by day at a community college, and as a self-employed Life Design Coach by night, I feel like I live in that Venn intersection.  Because I wear these two (very stylish) hats, I often attend both PACA and Association of Career Professionals meetings. As a PACA member I enjoy attending ACP meetings at the member rate, a courtesy that we extend to ACP members, as well. 

When I attend a PACA meeting, I get ideas for not only my life coaching clients, but my career coaching clients as well, and vice versa.  It just makes sense- "life" and "career" are organically intertwined in our multi-tasking, multi-dimensional lives. My career clients may come to me initially for employment-related issues, but inevitably the discussion morphs into broader life concerns.  The same holds true for my life coaching clients- whatever issues bring them in almost always involve an element of career concerns, confusions, or conflicts. 

I owe it to my clients to be well-versed in the latest research, best-practice methods, and innovations in both spheres.  Whether I'm experiencing the value of play at a PACA meeting, or learning about keyword trends from a nationally recognized resume-guru at an ACP career conference, I know that having a foot in each of these worlds-and in each of these organizations- helps me deliver a holistic, multidisciplinary service to my clients.  Rather than colliding, it's where my worlds converge. 

Maximize your Coaching Impact

Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to offer your clients better support between calls. Imagine if your coaching relationships could deepen and flourish. Imagine if it was easier to attract new clients and retain the ones you have by providing even better service and greater resources. Imagine if you could do all this while saving yourself time and effort.

As founders of the Coaching Sanctuary, we designed this unique service to help you be more successful. We know what happens between coaching calls is as important as what happens on the calls. This service gives you the ability to provide better support between coaching sessions, and for your clients to engage more easily in working toward their goals.

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Attend our product demo webinars (30 min): every Thursday in January, February 3 and 10 and every Thursday in March at 5pm EST. Please send an email to bettina@coachingsanctuary.com to sign up.

Bettina Jetter is a co-active coach, entrepreneur and author with a passion for creating meaningful products that positively impact people's lives. Her creations include Life Coaching application, Coaching Sanctuary (http://www.coachingsanctuary.com/coaches); a technology company Mindjet; and an inspirational book, The Cancer Code - How a Journey Through Leukemia Led to a Software that Changed the Way People Work.

Join us at a PACA Board Meeting to get better acquainted with your Board: 1st Thursday of each month from 10:15 AM - 12:00 Noon. 

As location varies, please contact PACA Secretary Dena Lefkowitz secretary@philadelphiacoaches.org or 484-442-8210 to confirm your attendance at a Board meeting and receive instructions.

If you have suggestions or observations about our community, please feel free to contact any of the Board members http://www.philadelphiacoaches.org/contact.html.