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

Alexis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

For years, I longed to own a business but didn’t believe I was ready or could make it ‘successful,’ though I never defined success. Fast-forward to 2020, when the world reckoned with the question of ‘What’s next?’ On a whim, with no expectation of acceptance, I applied to an accelerated graduate program at New York University (NYU) and was accepted! One of the first classes, ‘Research Process and Methods,’ acclimated us to writing for academic audiences and prepared us for research and thesis work the following Summer. During this course, I became enamored with understanding how my experiences as a Black Woman in corporate America could be explained or validated via evidence-based research, which got me thinking about how to contribute to the academic body while giving back to all the Black Women I knew or had yet to meet.

My research and thesis focused on the intersections and impacts of self-esteem, frequent or infrequent racial microaggressions, and the self-perception of career mobility for Black Women in US-based Tech firms. Speaking to research participants, friends, and family made it evident that I could create a space within the Coaching landscape, which traditionally has not made space for people who look like me, so my business, I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting became a love letter to Black Women. Beyond static research, the mission became helping every Black Woman I encountered know, without a doubt, unequivocally, ten toes down, that she mattered in her own life and was indeed worthy of taking up space and living in ways others may disagree with but felt audacious for her. As a coach, I aim to support and uplift as many Black Women’s voices as possible.

Alexis, 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?

Summarizing myself is hard! Here’s an overview: a French-trained Pastry Chef (Le Cordon Bleu alum) who pivoted from a 20-year Technology career to Executive Coach leading I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting (imattercoaching.com) since July 2021. A computer nerd (logic-brained) now navigating a heart-centered industry. I love physical books, am a big do-it-yourselfer, love good food, and am a passionate advocate for Black Women’s increased representation within Tech. Having spent a fair amount of my career as “the only” or “one of a few,” dating back to my undergrad days being the only Black Women in the Computer Science program, Coaching was never on my career bingo card, though I contemplated exiting Tech for years; I struggled to grasp what set my soul on fire and felt aligned for my life’s purpose – no pressure, right?

Along with the rest of the world in 2020, between bread baking, cocktail innovations, self-imposed haircuts, and furniture making, I imagined post-pandemic life. Finally, I had space to consider my life’s purpose and the legacy left behind with my remaining time on Earth. A career spent making corporations’ money no longer felt fulfilling. I knew I had more to do with my life, though what that was remained ambiguous as hell! Enter an accelerated Master’s program in Executive Coaching and Organizational Consulting at New York University (NYU). Still figuring out this next season, I decided to hone my consulting skills and figured that by the time the program ended, I’d at least have more marketable skills to land a job while I figured out this impact and purpose-filled life thing.

Little did I know a fateful conversation with Dr. Angela Wright during the Summer 2021 semester would change the trajectory of my life. After working in cis-white male-dominated industries for most of my adult life, I resisted coaching. The coaching landscape and our graduate curriculum, articles, and books looked similar to the Tech industry (overwhelmingly white male-dominated). I had no plans to conform my personality (again) to be perceived as ‘acceptable’ in order to fit in. I saw little representation of people looking like me or those exhibiting the fullness of their personalities. A bit of a nonconformist herself, Dr. Wright asked me, “Alexis, when you’re working with your clients 1:1, who said you had to show up as a prescribed coach personality? You get to determine how you show up for the clients you seek to serve.” Her question blew my mind because I’d never imagined showing up as myself, with big hair, big personality, big hips, bold prints, and statement eye frames, and being accepted and getting to do work that was beginning to feel like purpose work. During that same Summer, while simultaneously working and attending school full-time, I also enrolled in an Executive Leadership program where they partnered you with a Black Executive Coach. Every coach in this program was either Black or Latine. Between my professor and coach, I began seriously considering that I could model for Black Women a Coach practitioner who looked like them and whom they could contact when navigating life or career crossroads. I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting launched in July 2021.

Often, individuals and institutions seek our services because they want a change but can’t reasonably determine how to take those next steps to, for example, overcome limiting beliefs, increase confidence, foster cohesive teams or teaming, or cultivate confident leaders. With 1:1 clients, this involves six or nine-month coaching periods, meeting twice a month. With corporate clients, services can run the gamut from ERG speaker series, team alignment workshops, leadership coaching, or group facilitation and training.

For anyone unfamiliar with me or my work, please know this: I am unlike any Coach you’ve met, and I do not fit the typical coach definition (e.g., dull, humorless, staid). I audaciously dream big for myself and my business—to model what’s possible to clients who hesitate to believe they, too, can accomplish great things. My comfort in who I am sets me apart, thus allowing people to show up as themselves, entirely, within conversations— consistently taking up space, standing ten toes down in my self-agency and self-advocacy, and enjoying the hell of life is a journey I want for all.

As an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC), maintaining ethical practices while continuously learning and growing within the industry is essential and a responsibility I take seriously, which I believe involves:
-Checking in to see that people are left better, in whatever capacity better means for them.
-Consistently seeking feedback from senior coaches.
-Staying current via credentialing or certifications to deepen my knowledge.
-Remaining curious about myself and my clients – always!

Finally, at the time of this writing, I am so proud to announce I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting is embarking on the next entrepreneurial adventure by participating in the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business Fall 2024 (cohort #6) business accelerator program. While our adage is ‘shifting perspectives and activating transformative change—connecting you to what matters most,’ this program means to expand our reach by reinforcing the existing foundation, ensuring sustained longevity.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to release my tight grasp on perfectionism! As a business owner, especially if you’re a sole proprietor, perfect is good; done is better. Awaiting perfection resulted in almost a year-long delay in launching my Insights for the Audacious Woman newsletter (https://i-matter-coaching-consulting.ck.page/newsletter). It was initially slated for a Summer 2023 launch. However, I didn’t believe I knew enough about Marketing (yes, ALL of marketing, lol), funnels, or email marketing to begin, and then when I finally dug in to learn, I became overwhelmed and pushed the launch off. Low key, I stalled because I was afraid of failing, but I couldn’t see that taking no action was failing since nothing was getting done! Finally, in February 2024, I announced to my LinkedIn peeps plans to launch in April 2024. By the grace of God, I launched on April 2nd, and it’s been imperfectly perfect since! I learned that nothing, not even sending astronauts to the Moon, is 100%. So, I’ve allowed myself a failure rate, and so long as I shoot above the failure rate, I deem that task successful. This perspective shift accelerated the launch of many items this year!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I think I did what everyone does before they find what works for them—I copied the largest, prominent accounts and tried to emulate their processes. I tried to catch their lightning in my bottle! Looking back, I wasted so much time. Not only that, but I burned out because nothing I did felt like me or resonated with my personality. And it netted nothing close to the results of those larger accounts, and ultimately, I felt like I’d failed since ‘they’ made it seem simplistic, with quick results guaranteed.

When I tired of copying others, I began meaningfully commenting on the posts of people I followed and on accounts that piqued my interest, working to establish relationships with those running the accounts. However, I was still hesitant to put myself out there by posting for fear of judgment, rejection, and all the other pitfalls my brain imagined might befall me. I had to shift, and am still moving, my mindset from “What if a client thinks negatively of me?” to “I’m talking to someone who could benefit from this information.”

For those starting, first off, start. Take some action. Sitting on the sidelines only results in remaining on the sidelines.

Second, start with low-stakes engagement – leave insightful comments for people you already follow. Engage with people you’d like to form bonds with; who wants to connect with people they loathe—no one.

Finally, once you are comfortable using the tool and can commit to some consistency (you define how frequently you wish to show up), begin to post. Here’s where it can get tricky—decouple reality from social media lies. Your first few posts may get no engagement and will likely not go viral. That’s okay! Keep showing up and posting at a pace that feels sustainable for you. If you can, divert from making the process about you/your feelings to how you add value and insights for those who may not have easy access to the information you’ve shared.

Also, have fun! We’re all juggling so many things, so why add one you dislike?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://imattercoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imattercoaching/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexismobley/
• Other: I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting Business LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-matter-coaching/

Image Credits

I, Matter! Coaching & Consulting