We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Karen D. Lomax a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Karen D. , thanks for joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
My entrance into the Life Coaching field came on the brink of my divorce. I was bitter, broken, and depressed. I couldn’t see past my trauma and just wanted nothing to do with nothing. How does a leader in ministry encourage others to believe in God, while they are experiencing His silence? I remember laying on my living room floor, screaming “What the hell do you want from me?” God’s response, “EVERYTHING!” I want your anger, your bitterness, those broken pieces, and your depression.” Once I released it all, there was peace and calm that came over me. For the next few weeks, He began to show me my life coaching business and how it was to be structured. Once it was all laid out, I realized that God had used everything I had experienced to create a platform to empower women who were going through the same thing.
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
I am the Founder and President of Karen Lomax Ministries International, KAIROS Editing & Publishing, LLC, H.E.R.R.S. LLC Professional Life Coaching and H.I.S. outreach ministry. I got into life coaching after a bitter divorce. I was so broken that I didn’t feel as if I had anything to give. I started to think about all of my past failures and realized I was stuck. After prayer and a lot of counseling, I stepped into the world of life coaching and never looked back. I loved watching the transformation in the lives of clients, but I still felt unfulfilled. In May 2018, I founded and launched the H.E.R.R.S. Life Coaching Academy to provide training and mentorship for other life coaching professionals. I finally found my niche. I am where I need to be, doing what I was created to do. My program is exclusive and coaching candidates must be selected to attend. This helps to keep the integrity of the academy and credential coaches who are READY to help others move forward in their journey. To date, we have credentialed and graduated 26 life coaches and mentors.
In addition to life coaching, I launched a writing course called “Let’s Write” 2 Week Writing Intensive. This is a Master Class in which I teach participants how to write a book in 10 days. This literally was created from a pdf file. I was bored one day and decided to put together a workbook just to see what it would look like. Once I created it, I felt led to use it as the foundation of my writing class. In conjunction with my publishing company, I have graduated over 60 students and published 27 authors. This just goes to show that you can do whatever you put your mind to.
At the age of 17, I dropped out of high school, got my GED, and joined the Army. My grandparents had adopted me and taken care of me all of my life, so I didn’t think twice when they became ill and needed extra support. I later married and had 2 beautiful and intelligent children. I put my life on hold to be a mother and a wife. Unfortunately, the marriage ended and I had to start my life over again. I was bitter in the beginning, but I was blessed with a daughter who has a modeling career and a son who followed my footsteps and is also serving in the Army.
In spite of the fact that I dropped out of school, I am proud to say that I am an honor graduate of Columbia College of Missouri where I received an A.A. in General Studies, an A.S. in Criminal Justice, a B.A. in Psychology, and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. I’m also an honor graduate of Liberty University, where I obtained my Master’s of Divinity for Chaplaincy, an M.A. for Pastoral Counseling – Life Coaching, and an M.S. in Criminal Justice. I have four life coaching credentials in Finances, Health & Wellness, Marriage, and Business from Light University. Moreover, I have 2 business diplomas in Billing & Coding from the Universal Schools & Colleges of Health & Human Services, and a Doctorate of Humanities from Elbon Solutions College of Ministry. In June 2020, was credentialed as a Board Certified Master Christian Life Coach and a Certified Christian Mental Health Coach from the International Board of Christian Care. I am currently working on my second Ph.D. in Pastoral Counseling & Life Coaching.
Volunteerism is at the heart of who I am. I love to give back to my community and I do so as a member of the Assistance League of North Coast and a volunteer at Dynamic Church Planters International in Oceanside, CA. I proudly serve my country as an Army Reserves Chaplain as the Battalion Chaplain for the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in Fallbrook, CA. Interestingly, I am the only African-American chaplain (male or female) that has served as the Battalion Chaplain for this unit and the only African-American female officer within the entire Battalion.
I am also serious about community outreach and founded I’M A H.E.R.R.S. GIRL, Inc to bring other together with other women coaches, consultants, mentors, and entrepreneurs for collaborations. It was an opportunity to show women that we are better at working with each other than competing against one another. I didn’t forget about the men and the H.I.S. Men’s Outreach was created in 2017 to mirror what the ladies were doing. Men need support and safe spaces to share and know that they are necessary and appreciated. In addition to my outreach endeavors, I was asked to sit on the board of directors for Healing Hearts Angels Outreach Ministry in St. Louis Missouri. This opportunity to opened the door for me to positively influence women and young ladies who are seeking to be part of something bigger than themselves and make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. On April 10, 2021, I was appointed as the Lead Advisory Council with the Federation of International Gender and Human Rights.
I am the author and co-author of 8 best-sellers, which are all available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and Books-A-Million.com. In addition, I have a variety of ebooks, workbooks, and journals available for purchase for retreats, coaching seminars, and women’s groups. I’m currently working on four writing projects due to be released in the next 2 months. My various literary skills and knowledge has positioned me as one of the most sought after Christian Coaches, motivational speakers and mentors, globally. Because of the work that I have done with women in the international arena, I was inducted into the Global Library of Female Authors.
When I’m asked to share my story, it sometimes feel like I’m the spectator of someone else’s life. My desire and focus is to help create a better life for those who come across my path by helping them identify and break self-sabotaging habits that keep them stuck. I want to leave a lasting impact on humanity as a whole. I want men, women, boys, and girls to know that they were seen and heard and that I was watching and listening.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My entire business is built on integrity, authenticity, and transparency. I have always been upfront and honest about who I am and what I offer. I connect with my target market on a personal level and allow them to see the real me. I don’t promise anything that I cannot perform or provide. My guarantees are based on results and word of mouth by actual clients and customers. I don’t put on airs and treat my clientele like family and not sales. We are in a time where people want to feel involved and appreciated. When you have a life coaching business, how you treat others can make or break you.
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
My first investment was made by a friend-turned-consultant. I had no idea about business financing or how I was going to get my business off the ground. So my now business consultant, Dr. Kaston Anderson-Carpenter (Michigan State University), woke me up at midnight the day after I made the announcement about launching my business. He guided me through the process of creating my first PayPal account and he invested the first $200. The following day, I was on Facebook doing a live video and was holding a coffee mug with my logo on it. A viewer inboxed me and asked how much were the mugs? I had designed that particular mug as a motivation to keep me focused on my business. I had no idea anyone would be interested. So, this viewer ordered six mugs and asked if there were t-shirts as well because she wanted them for her women’s group. From there, I started getting calls to come speak at different events and was asked to bring merchandise to sell. The rest, as they say, is history.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.herrsllc.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herrsllc
- Facebook: facebook.com/
drkarendlomax - Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/h-e-dr-karen-d-lomax-bcmclc-78485552/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChaplainLomax
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrKarenDLomax
- Other: www.karenlomaxministries.org www.karenlomax.weebly.com