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

Catherine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

CHBM Services started as a hustle during my last maternity leave; I wanted to help people who looked like me succeed in the workplace and writing affordable resumes was a way to do so, it grew into so much more and I keep aiming to do more with the opportunities afforded to me via the relationships that I build. Today, CHBM Services LLC, is a holistic career, employee, and workplace development consultancy; we provide a variety of products and resources that bridge the gap between “the understanding of” and “solving problems for” professionals in the workforce.” It took us six years to have our “break out” year. I quit daily. I cried a lot. And I second guessed twice as much but I didn’t give up. No one will ever believe in you more than you do yourself; that belief in yourself will convince others. If you want to be “successful”, own your greatness, even in the dark days. Keep striving and the right relationships will come. Through the right relationships come the opportunities but you don’t get to the opportunities absent the healthy relationship with yourself first. Believe in, love on, nurture you!

Catherine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an IO Psychologist and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, an Author | Speaker | Coach who became a parent at the age of 20, causing me to drop out of Penn State University prior to entering my sophomore year. I leveraged my unique educational and occupational journeys to help find my purpose and support my now, three children. Occupationally I’ve worked across a variant of customer service-oriented industries ranging from real estate, transportation and most recently, as a Talent Development Consultant for one of the largest utilities in the country.

CHBM Services started as a hustle during my last maternity leave; I wanted to help people who looked like me succeed in the workplace and writing affordable resumes was a way to do so, it grew into so much more and I keep aiming to do more with the opportunities afforded to me via the relationships that I build.

Disruptive INC is a 501c3 that reduces poverty among single parents between the ages of 18-40 by providing support via career development and related resources.

Today, CHBM Services LLC, is a holistic career, employee, and workplace development consultancy; we provide a variety of products and resources that bridge the gap between “the understanding of” and “solving problems for” professionals in the workforce.” That can look like, supporting the transition from minimum to living wage via self-led virtual development resources by way of CHBM Services U; short reads that connect the dots between parenting and leadership; career development flashcards and decks that help you better understand the miseducation of career development and owning how you show up and fun development themed apparel. As the Principal Consultant and Owner, I also provide workforce development coaching and consulting to not for profits and small businesses.

CHBM Services is the primary for profit funder and partner of Disruptive INC, to date, this organizational partnership has hosted over 20 events, touched over 3,000 households, and raised over $50,000 in corporate, financial, and individual support.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

“We’re self – made!” I am a true “American, pull yourself up by the bootstraps” success story filled with an understanding that we accomplish nothing alone especially without bootstraps.

America has attempted to condition us that the playing field is level, and we all have the same opportunities regardless of where we come from. “As long as we work hard, we can be great.” We can all be successful, that I agree with, however it’s the relationships that we build that lead us to the opportunities to be successful. Relational currency is what helps us navigate rooms. How we show up impacts who we know and who we know impacts how far we go.

The job opportunities, development programs and networking opportunities afforded to me were all by way of individuals with connections, sharing their circle of influence with me because they believed in what I had shown them and wanted to invest in my success. Our ability to make meaningful connections is what impacts our success. You can absolutely start from the bottom and make it if you are able to connect with others.

To connect with others, you must be comfortable enough in your own skin to own that you add value.

Then you must articulate that value add!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Disruptive INC started as an L3C named CHBM Services Development Programming. I never wanted to found a not for profit. Not for Profits have consistently been given bad reputations in black and brown communities. They are also political. To obtain the funding required to truly make an impact, you need to show a large impact and the definition of impact can be ambiguous. There’s an abundance of organizations that say they do great things yet don’t produce real tangible change in the communities they serve. I’m resentful of those organizations. So, I opted out. In 2019, we were invited to be a part of the Facebook Communities Summit. FCS 2019 was comprised of 400 not for profits, groups and businesses that were making impacts in the community. We were hosted, all expenses paid, at Facebook headquarters in California. During that weekend, we learned more about the tools available to us and the other organizations making an impact. I walked away from the summit understanding the greater potential that we could make in the community if we learned to play the not-for-profit game. By June, I had dissolved the L3C and launched Disruptive INC, our DBA. At the core we remain Single Mothers Navigating Parenting | Careers | Entrepreneurship INC. On the surface, we’re Disruptive INC where we focus on Career Development | Employment | Education of single parents ages 18-40 by providing support via related resources.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/CHBMServices
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asccatherine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHBMcNeil
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chbmservices/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/CHBMServices

Image Credits
All images are owned by me and events that I have participated in.