We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erin Keam. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erin below.

Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

I believe it is women undercharging and underearning – basically messages we receive about money as women and sexism. I have rarely seen a webinar about “imposter syndrome” aimed at men, or have had men introduce themselves as a father first when asked what they do, or had a man worry he was charging too much.

Check out https://www.underearnersanonymous.org/
it’s not only men, but women are fighting a harder battle.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The big bad in your life? Vagueness.

Seven years ago I went from chaos to clarity. It started with a clear vision and led to being married for the first time at 48, moving to another country, and starting my own business. I still have moments of vagueness, but I have methods that bring me back to clarity and from there, the next right thing to do is instantly clear.

My coaching is based on:
Over two decades in the recovery field. What do I mean by recovery? Doing things differently so you can have a better life. 24 years = over 10,000 hours of mentoring, problem solving, identifying disruptive and painful repeating patterns, tackling dysfunctional mindsets, and beliefs, and seeing lives transformed.
30 years in marketing, retail, sales, customer service, radio, TV, film, print, advertising, acting, copywriting, managing, and recruiting.
5 years of running my own business, which has pivoted and evolved – just like me.

And here’s something else about me. I have struggled with depression since I was young, along with its sidekick, anxiety, But I never gave up and I won’t give up on you, either. The more women who thrive and make money, the better the world will be.

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

There have been so many! When you have bipolar and are also fighting depression, you have to be open to change. I have lived in three countries, have a resume that resembles a pinball machine, and have pivoted multiple times. Most recently I pivoted back from offering personal branding, which included wardrobes to my roots in marketing, mentoring, and money recovery – by money recovery I mean recovery from compulsive spending and scarcity mentality. I’ve worked as everything from a Customs Officer to an instore DJ at HMV in Tokyo. The common theme has always been wanting to help women to live the lives they want and to have the freedom to choose.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up in an alcoholic home. The chaos and emotional abuse triggered my bipolar at 13. I have had to unlearn lessons from the way I grew up, regarding sexuality, morality, codependency, addiction, and emotional regulation. I learned many lessons the hard way, including getting clean and sober 25 years ago, therapy, and peer support. I also never stopped learning and growing – courses in everything from video production to content creation to how to load a film in a cinema. The biggest lesson? No matter how bad it feels, hold on a little longer, reach out to someone and try something different. Business-wise, I had to learn how to charge for my time (women are taught to be of service for free), how to set boundaries with employees (be a boss, not an enabler), how to delegate, how to be visible (scary for many women), how to negotiate.
I also learned my particular zone of genius, and what environments I need to thrive. We all have personal Venn diagrams where we can flourish, and it is important to not only know yours but have your needs met.
I am 54 and still in therapy – but I have broken the cycle and I grow in wisdom every day. My biggest joy is knowing I make women feel seen and heard and inspired.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erinkeam.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinkeamlife/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErinKeamMills
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-keam/

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