Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Analia Mendez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Analia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How has Covid changed your business model?

Covid as we know it impacted so many people negatively, but I always say that there is another side to the negative. In my case the flip side was that it helped me pivot how I delivered my career and professional development practice. Prior to the pandemic I had been meeting with clients mostly in-person. This was fine, however living in San Diego and Southern California can be challenging when you drive from location to location. A lot of my time was spent on the road trying to navigate through traffic, finding parking, and then locating my client. So, when the entire world got a crash course on how to conduct business online, it actually helped me deliver coaching services quickly and efficiently via Zoom. Covid pushed my business to be online and on-demand. I believe in the end it was for the best for my clients and I as now we can spend more time doing what we love and less time on the road fighting traffic.

Analia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As founder of Signature Careers LLC, with over 23 years of career and workforce development experience, I love helping teams work better together through strengths discovery, employee engagement, and professional development.

Today, you can find me devoting much of my time to coaching women and military service members as they transition successfully into new careers. As a servant leader, my passion for helping others stems from being a resilient military spouse and a recent career transitioner as a director for a top-tier university. This change has allowed me to live my best life by working from home while balancing my family life and well-being.

In addition, I enjoy speaking to large audiences and I have been a featured speaker at the U.S. News STEM Solutions: Workforce of Tomorrow (2017), Univision, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers. It is my desire to continue to help career transitioners navigate the ever-changing workforce and help clients find their true passion as they step into their new careers successfully.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As a professional working mom and wife, I was affected like many working women around the world by the COVID-19 Pandemic. At the time, I was a director of a top-tier university helping with all things career programming. I had been in my position for over six years when the pandemic hit our beautiful city of San Diego. I remember it so vividly when I was told that I was to work from home indefinitely. I can’t lie at first it sounded like a dream come true. I remember thinking, “I get to work from home?” Yes!

This meant not having to sit in traffic for hours commuting to and from work. Then the dream quickly faded, and reality set in.

Overnight, I became all things to everyone. I was a wife, mom, pet groomer, housekeeper, cook, counselor, director, friend, toilet paper replacer, and much more! Let me just step back a bit. As a director of a large university, there are many expectations and long weekday and weekend hours. Of course, pre-pandemic I could separate my home life from my career life. Once the pandemic hit my two worlds clashed like nothing I had ever experienced. It was 2020 the height of the pandemic when I realized that what was being asked of me as a career professional and stay-at-home mom was over the top. So, this is when I decided to pivot my career.

As challenging and rewarding it was to be all things to everyone, it also made me stop and think about what was important to me. Of course, my family came to mind right-away. I had been missing out on so many beautiful moments with my children and for this and other reasons, I decided to step down from my prestigious position and pivot to running my business Signature Careers full-time.

As I started to share my story with other working moms, I realized that I wasn’t alone in the struggle of having to balance everything and keep it together as a career mom. This also inspired me to start working with career moms in transition and I have been doing it successfully and happily ever since. As an expert career coach, I am still seeing the effects of the pandemic on so many working moms that want a great career, but without compromising their family life. Today, I have the opportunity to help them achieve their career dreams while having it all!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

As an expert career coach, I realized that I could teach, guide, and coach others on how to transition successfully. I also realized that as difficult as the pandemic was, it also inspired me to focus on helping moms make successful career transitions without wasting time applying online with no response. So, I began to market to working moms on LinkedIn through my designated business service page. It really became a game-changer in my practice. Today, the majority of my working moms can reach me through my virtual workspace on LinkedIn and feel confident that they are in good hands with a coach that understands their wants and career needs while balancing their family life.

Contact Info:

• Website: signaturecareers.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/signaturecareers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/signaturecareers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/services/page/85441b3078b38bb697/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/signaturcareer
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@signaturecareers2109
• Other: https://signaturecareers.mastermind.com/masterminds/32355