We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eric Marsh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eric, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken is betting on myself … and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I started my career in the building trades as a union carpenter in Philadelphia in the late 90s. I worked many years in light commercial, commercial and heavy and highway projects. During my time in the union I was also a single father. I’d gained custody of my sone years before and I saw my work as a carpenter as a solid way of earning a living and building a future for my family. Unfortunately the work took me a way from him for long hours, sometimes 6 days a week for most of the year. My mother cared for him when he wasn’t in daycare or school. One day, they both were ill and needed to see a doctor on different days in the same week. I decided to ask for some time off from my job to care for them but was met with “We don’t need people like you on this job.” I was shocked by the blatant disrespect. Apparently there was a trend of guys leaving and asking for unemployment wages. Despite my insistence that I had no such intentions I was never allowed to work for that company again. While I could have gone on to another company I was so insulted by the idea that someone could hire and fire me on a whim. I was incensed that someone could determine when I worked and when I was able to feed my family. I knew that God had given me the gifts of my hands and my creativity and that with those I could make a way for myself. That’s when I resolved to start my own company. To bet on myself and make my own way with my own two hands. It wasn’t long after that I launched my company and for ten years I was able to work, hire others, train apprentices and complete multiple projects for many satisfied clients. Yes, I made some mistakes along with way and have the scars to show for it but the sense of pride and accomplishment I feel to this day when I look back on how I bet on myself makes all the hard times worth it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Over the past 18 years I’ve owned and operated several businesses. My first business was as a general contractor doing residential and light commercial remodeling. In 2020 I started EOM Enterprises, a multimedia organization that’s home to my podcast, ‘The Fathering Circle’, as well as my writing and public speaking work. Additionally I started EOM Coaching where I provide professional development and life coaching for emerging social entrepreneurs and grassroots nonprofit leaders.
Through this work I am able to help individuals and organizations grow their capacity to solve problems for others and be a force for good in the world. Through one-on-one coaching and consulting I help clients identify major goals and build a framework of behaviors, skills and strategies to accomplish them.

The things that set me apart from many other coaches and consultants is how I combine my lived experiences with my natural empathic abilities and my training in trauma-informed practices to identify the deep emotional and subconscious barriers clients face, draw out their fears and dreams and help them build their own roadmap to success. I stick with my clients, many of whom have become my friends, and help them maintain accountability to themselves and their dreams.

I’ve combined this coaching work and my experience as a father and a caregiver into my work with fathers and families in my nonprofit The Fathering Circle. TFC is a peer-support organization that provides one-on-one coaching, peer-support and group circles that supports fathers with become healthier, more engaged parents and parenting partners. TFC uses the arts including writing/journaling, poetry, painting and photography to help men unpack their childhood and upbringing in order to learn new ways of parenting and undo generational trauma.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

From 2007 until 2017 I was the owner and operator of a general contracting business in Philadelphia but after a rough patch where I lost some staff, my wife became unemployed and the economy began to buckle I decided to shutdown my business. This decision came at a time when I had lost my home and had to move my wife and 3 kids into my childhood home with my mother. The strain was too much to bear. My wife and I had a falling out and she left, taking my children with her. I fell into a deep depression for many months with no hope for myself.

My wife eventually found a job but needed me to watch the kids before and after school and make sure they got to school on time. So my days consisted of dragging myself out from under the covers in a darkened bedroom, down the street to the bus stop to wait in the cold for them to arrive. These moments became the one bright spot in my day I’d pick them up, feed them breakfast, walk them to school and come back home to crawl under the covers until it was time to pick them up. We did this 5 days a week for nearly 2 months before my daughter asked me to come into the school building with them. Over the course of a few weeks, her and her brother’s invitations encourage me from the front door to the lobby, from the lobby to the cafeteria and eventually to sit down with them while they ate breakfast with their friends. I started reading books to them and playing games, talking to them and encouraging their classmates before first period.

Eventually the principal and staff began to appreciate my presence and I was asked to serve as a parent leader and then the SAC President. This growth and acceptance drew me out of my depression and my isolation and showed me a path forward. Over time I was able to use this as a path towards working with other fathers in the community, hosting ‘Doughnuts for Dads’ in the schools and growing my circle of influence into a full-time position with a major public health organization serving as outreach coordinator for their fatherhood and parenting programs. From there my career grew and I’ve been able to speak at conferences both national and international. I’ve helped men and boys, fathers and families build deeper, healthier connections with each other and with their communities. I think back to that day when my daughter asked me to come inside and sit with them and how my depression could have won out. I remember her face and her brother’s face. Her smile when I agreed and their pride when I sat down with them. That moment was the pivot. That decision changed my life. That was the day my children saved my life and showed me my purpose in life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As an entrepreneur, resilience is a prerequisite for success. Without resilience none of us can be successful, Life will always bring challenges. In fact, building resilience is just like building muscles and physical endurance; it can’t happen without pressure and difficulty. My journey as a business owner and nonprofit leader has been filled with tests of my resilience. Like most of us, the pandemic hit me and my life hard. I lost my only sister early after quarantine. My work at the time in city government had me tracking COVID deaths and nursing home cases. The isolation from my children strained my wellbeing. It wasn’t until late 2020 that I began to see a way forward. I had started my coaching business prior to COVID, and while Zoom provided a way to stay connected, like the rest of the world I had to learn to adapt what I had been doing face to face to a new platform, a new normal. In an effort to adapt, I decided to host a virtual play date with the fathers and families that I had been working with the previous years. Normally we’d gather once a month at a local playground or schoolyard to play games and interact. We’d climb and swing and run but none of that was possible under quarantine. The physical play brought out a different energy and created a bond between the families. How was I supposed to create that in a virtual environment? This required some ingenuity and creativity. I gathered a few dads together including one who was an actor, one an artist, one a teacher and we began to create games and quizzes. We planned a scavenger hunt and timed the kids and dads to run around their house and collect items and the fastest one wins. Those few months before the world opened up were so scary to so many people but for our brief moments of time, every weekend for a few hours, we were able to create a safe, happy, reliable space where those dads and kids could show up and see familiar faces, free from masks and worry and find connection and love during a time of uncertainty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thefatheringcircle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefatheringcircle?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefatheringcircle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thefatheringcircle/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/jeFVGV_jHW0?si=zFBD4Nn39NwLVumV
• Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4I19WdvDJdYrqXuVdGjNkd?si=84758e1067344f72
• Other: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/fathering-circle-eric-marsh/

Image Credits

Derrick Dean Photography, Eric Marsh Sr.