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

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

Through the pandemic, I decided to leave the corporate world because my passion for supporting women in leadership grew. I found that no matter what consulting job I took or what CEO I coached to build their teams, the conversations were the same; women were still continuously being left out of important conversations, denied growth opportunities and the pay gap was going unchecked. So, I decided to move my consulting business into a coaching business that focuses on the feminine leadership process; normalizing it, supporting it, and empowering it. I have taken on all kinds of Lady Leaders across Colorado since then and I find my work incredibly rewarding.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Ashley Coffey Coaching is a reflective coaching education program that takes on powerful Lady Leaders who want to step fully into their GREATNESS. We welcome any Lady Leaders who are ready to receive powerful, life-changing tools that will support them in navigating living a BIG life. ACC supports feminine leaders in discovering their true confidence, self-expression, and how to take a stand that inspires others effectively. We do this by providing a safe and supportive platform for women to look and reflect on their own leadership, authenticity, and impact in the world.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Ashley Coffey Coaching has been my dream since I was in my undergrad. I have always been passionate about helping others discover their power but I knew I didn’t want to be a therapist. So over the last 10 years, my coaching program has been growing and developing. It’s not easy and finally taking the leap to take on clients 3 years ago was just as scary as it was exciting. However, I can’t coach women to trust their instinct, if I wasn’t going to trust mine. I had the skill, I had the education, and I had the experience. All I needed was the right brand to attract the women I wanted to take on coaching. #queens!

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

My story is long and complicated. I have massive child abuse and trauma, I am an adult survivor of domestic violence, I got pregnant at the age of 20 and was a single mom by the time I was 23. Add in the fact I am a pansexual now married to a woman in active recovery from Alcoholism and my life looks like I must be the master of resiliency. The truth of it all, is that I take it one day at a time, reminding myself I ALWAYS have a choice in the matter.

We are not victims to our lives when we choose not to be. Again, not easy, but worth it. The road is more challenging at times when deep self-reflection is needed and I won’t lie that it takes grit but know you are not alone on this journey and the lessons you gain will change your life for the better.
My life lessons opened my eyes to the real world around me; specifically, its beliefs about women in general, women’s sexualities, women as business professionals, women as mothers and wives, and women as objects. What I repeatedly found was more and more people, even other women, telling me what I could and couldn’t do because I was a woman. I remember the judgment I would get for being a young mother, wanting to finish school or god forbid taking a night to go out with friends. I remember being called entitled for wanting more pay and told to wait my turn while the less experienced male got the higher positions I applied for. I remember when a boss took credit for my hard work because it would “look better” for the company. I remember every time I was asked to smile more and talk less. My personal favorites were all the times I was asked about my credentials to prove my worth in a conversation. I remember every single one.
I also remembered my choice in the matter, and no one could take that away from me. The more I stood in that choice, the more I wanted to teach other women how to do it, with just as much power and grace. So that is what I started doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleycoffeycoaching.com
• Instagram: ashleycoffeycoaching
• Facebook: Ashley Coffey Coaching
• Linkedin: Ashley Coffey