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

Hi Carolyn, thanks for joining us today. When you were first starting out, did you join a firm or start your own?

As a 1st-gen college graduate from a blue-collar immigrant family, I fumbled into the professional world after earning a degree from UC Berkeley, unfocused on what I should be doing in the world, but knowing that I had to land a job that was secure, stable, and looked reasonably good on paper.

I went from one marketing or public relations job to another for 5 years until I broke into the tech scene of early-stage, high-growth startups in 2009, helping scale and build companies like Yelp and ClassPass Mindbody.

After a traumatic birth experience with my 2nd child and feeling severely burned out from my corporate life, I left my last corporate job in 2020. Within weeks, the pandemic happened, and I became a stay-at-home mom for my 4-month-old and 2.5-year-old. During that time, I did a lot of deep inner work and decided to launch Wildlight in 2021, my coaching practice that helps 1st & 2nd gen women professionals redesign their 9-5s so they can live the lives they want. My methodology merges my experience with deep, values-driven inner work and proven sales & communications strategies.

I’m grateful that I’ve had my 15 years in corporate in order to start, build, and scale my business effectively. And for the network that I’ve been able to build.

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.

(See previous question/answer for more on this.)

After spending 15 years in marketing, communications, and primarily corporate sales, I realized that for me, a 1st-gen college grad who grew up with English as my second language and working-class parents, being in the same rooms as Fortune 500 executives and having them say YES to multi-million dollar deals that I’m putting together, I was on to something. If I can get to the YES, succeed in sales, earn money, and grow in my career, I can use those same sales principles to teach other women to get YESES in their careers. That was my first aha moment.

During the pandemic, when I took time away from my corporate job and was a stay-at-home mom to my two young kids, I did a lot of deep, reflective inner work and rediscovered my identity, strengths, values, and abilities.

As a social extrovert who has always relied on external validation and resources for decision-making, I began to see the importance of introspection, learning to listen to my thoughts, synthesize them, and trust myself.

With all those significant realizations and finding that flexibility and freedom were at the top of my values list, I decided to take a chance. I launched a pilot coaching program in November 2021 that merged inner/clarity work with sales, communications & negotiation strategies. I piloted this with six people, got great feedback, and decided to launch in January 2022 officially.

Aside from being able to start and scale my business, I’m most proud of the impact that I’ve made. I’ve coached ~200 people in one-on-one and group capacities through coaching programs, mentorship, and leading workshops. I’ve helped clients find clarity in their abilities and purpose to design lives they truly want to live. I’ve helped clients land salaries at 20-197% higher than previous rates and 6-figure sign-on bonuses. Overall, my clients always walk away with more confidence to go after their desires in their careers and lives.

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

After a successful first year in business in 2022 with a b2c strategy, targeting and working with individuals, I began to experienced “shiny new objects syndrome” the following year, in 2023. I was estatic as a solo-preneur and wanted to try everything possible and emulate what others were doing — creating group programs, attending and planning in-person events, going after corporate workshops and speaking opportunities. While several of these opportunities worked out, I began to realize that I was quickly losing touch with my b2c messaging, and my efforts didn’t feel as impactful or exciting. Working with corporations didn’t have the same meaning for me as working with individuals. That year, I decided that my core messaging and the areas where I felt I could make the biggest impact on others was to serve my individual clients. So I pivoted my business back to being ~80% consumers (private and group coaching); 20% business (corporate workshops, consulting, speaking engagements, etc).

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Since I started my business, I’ve prioritized sharing my voice and story in a way meant to inspire others to do the same. This is the meaning behind the name of my company — to help women’s wild light (their story, authenticity, natural talents) shine through. Being genuine, vulnerable, and authentic has been my strategy from the beginning, which has helped me shape my reputation. My marketing and social media messaging speaks to a particular target audience – 1st and 2nd generation immigrant women professionals with 10+ years of work experience looking to create more meaning in their careers and lives. I help this marginalized group of women who have felt silenced in the corporate workplace for many years rediscover their stories, unique abilities, and strengths, which helps shape their confidence to go after what they truly want. And because I speak to this specific target demographic, I also hear from people in the LGBTQ+ community or those who identify as being neurodivergent or introverts that my messaging resonates with them and that they can feel that I understand them — as they have also spent many years being overlooked, misunderstood, and marginalized.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thewildlight.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_wildlight/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildlight
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynlaimoore/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@the_wildlight
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wildlight-portland

Image Credits

Leahanna Byrd Photography