We were lucky to catch up with Chauncey Pelzer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chauncey, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea for my business by putting together 2 types of roles I had already done. My profession for almost 20 years has been in Human Resources, with a small stint in business to business Sales. I have been trained to advise Managing Directors and C-level executives from the beginning of my career. I also taught several years at a local community college helping adults build their Human Resource development skills. This included resumes, cover letters, linked in profiles, interviewing skills and more. I noticed that students always asked for my help outside the classroom and with urging from my boss at the time, I created my own side business to help students finish what we started in our short time in the classroom together.

During the time of interviewing the student about their background it became abundantly clear that they almost always needed life coaching in addition to resume building skills. I decided to invest in myself as a life coach and began coaching clients full time in my business on how to transition from a job that they really didn’t want, to a career that they would find more fulfilling. Since then God showed me that most people, especially women, lacked confidence and support in the areas that they were already skilled at. From there my company Defining Destiny Coaching & Consulting LLC was born.

I LOVE speaking life into people, especially when they don’t count themselves as special or unique but their backgrounds are actually really interesting. From my Human Resources background and sitting through about a gazillion interviews (eeek!), I can quickly drill down to what are some of the top assets my clients have, as well as some they’re kind of sitting on and have no idea they could use to become more profitable. I find that normally it is the thing that they enjoy but brush off as nothing that could majorly impact their life and turn into an opportunity.

It takes skill to coach someone in the area of mindset. Once we get past the logistics, or the preliminaries of understanding their baseline skillset of what they “think” they want to do. we start to dig a little deeper into life stories. We talk about things they wish they had the opportunity to do, past regrets, future hopeful situations, and of course where they are currently.

I find that women especially have no idea what a wealthy background their history and skill sets contain. We as women and especially minority women play down our skillsets and we often had to juggle multiple priorities to get to where we are today. What’s easy and clock work for you make be what someone is willing to pay for just to get a solution. My job is to up your confidence in your skill level, in your God given talent and abilities, and encourage you to share that with the world. It is truly my life’s work and I can’t wait to see what else there is in store.

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?

Yes my name is Chauncey Pelzer and I’m the Founder of Defining Destiny Coaching & Consulting LLC. I am a proud wife and Mom of 2 – a sweet toddler girl and a smart stepson who is in college. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University and a Master’s of Business Administration in Ethical Leadership from Marist College. Upon graduating from NCA&TSU I first got a job in sales. Sales wasn’t exactly my calling but I learned some awesome relationship skills that I use to this day. I tried to figure out what was like sales but minus some of the pressure and that’s how I got into Human Resources. It was still a pressure filled job don’t get me wrong, but it was definitely manageable.

I absolutely LOVE helping people, and in Human Resources I was able to use those skills to help manage the organizations I worked for. I started off in Recruiting at Insearch Worldwide a private search firm for corporations and I was literally introduced to a whole other world. I’m a southern girl, originally from North Carolina. By then I was working in Stamford, Connecticut at a client, UBS Investment Bank. Working in financial services was eye opening for me. It was really amazing to work with Managing Directors all day seeing how they dealt with the stress of making huge financial decisions and still work with teams to get the work done. That really set up how I treat my clients present day, I always want to provide a professional experience and relieve whatever pressure they are currently under to find a solution that works for them.

I also worked at American Express downtown NYC at the World Trade Center. I enjoyed helping to recruit top talent there as well. I did a stint in local government which is a much different world from corporations. I also served as the “glue” there managing personnel and operations from day to day. What I notice the most was that people want to be seen. They want to be noticed, not just managed or feel like a one off. My company helps clients transition to a new sense of self, one where they become even more aware of their potential to do something the love AND get the confidence to do it.

I think that Destiny is already defined in that we didn’t just get here by ourselves. We came to earth for a reason and 10/10 that is to help others with our gifts and talents. So often we minimize these talents and don’t quite see ourselves as ready or able to fulfill that mission. That’s where my Light Mastermind steps in. I take time out with minority women to enforce that they are valued, seen, and deserve to be heard. We want to assist our clients in their journey to becoming their best selves. In the Light Mastermind we invite our clients to Rest, Relax, Recover, and Restore.

Just to bring attention to the fact that we NEVER rest is a whole task in itself. If you’re like me a busy Mom with a family and a career there is literally always something to do. But, this doesn’t mean that I want to forget about myself (like I’ve done in the past!) or sacrifice the goals that I have in life. In 2020 I along with the rest of the world had major things that happened. A pandemic, the birth of our daughter right in the beginning of that madness, a job that was constantly changing, and my business on the side just to name a few. I realized if I didn’t get some type of rest that I would of course have burnout – but I didn’t know how!

That’s my favorite part, teaching client to engage in rest in terms of what it means to them. If you’re constantly crossing off a to do list, anxious, aggravated and annoyed – that’s kinda going to affect your productivity. But if you’re taking time to identify your priorities and insert planned times of joy and also your own personal endeavors that’s when you can start to live in color again.

I think of it like a journey, let’s take a vacation. Well you’re excited to go on the journey so I’m pretty sure no one really “rests” when they first get in right? There’s stuff to unpack places to see, etc. It takes time to actually get into rest mode, but most of my clients are burnt out or approaching burnout so they welcome someone telling them hey – it’s ok to not like how life is setup right now. I can help you on your journey to better.

Next after getting to that vacation you actually have to relax, by doing activities you love to do, sitting still for a change and being one with your thoughts, etc. This is when you get the enlightenment your soul desires. I love helping clients to actually relax and take some time to themselves that doesn’t concern anyone else but themselves. For most that’s something that hasn’t occurred in years. This is how they start to recover and realize that they’re day to day just isn’t going to cut it anymore. They want something new, exciting, and fulfilling. Together we start to explore what they could be. As a result they feel restored. Restored back to their former selves, the one that was more happy, healthy, and productive because they know exactly what skill set they want to use to create a life they want.

It’s a lot, and then it’s not. For me, after talking to hundreds of people over my career it just comes naturally to hear what my clients are saying, and most importantly what they are not. I think that sets me as well as my brand apart from others. It’s not just find your purpose, it’s lets heal from the current circumstances and deal with the things that are coming up so we can graduate to a new and improved future – aka the path you were always meant to be on. That’s how we define destiny, together.

I am most proud when women come away from working with me feeling happy, energetic, and restored to who they know they can be. That’s worth more to me than all the money in the world because we all know when women acknowledge their power – something in the world gets better. We treat clients how we want to be treated with respect, and with care knowing that we were once in that same position and it’s a vulnerable place to be in. Everyone wants to know exactly what is next. But the only way that can be found out is if we each take our own journey to that next place.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think I’m tough but I’m fair. Tough because I will not give up on you. If you come to me with a desire to move forward, we’re going to get you there. I call it like I see it, and I know without a doubt I understand talent and what it takes to get to the next level. Therefore when a client disregards themselves, or doesn’t believe in themselves we don’t move forward until they really see the “light” so to speak. We all have our own thing that allows us to sparkle. I know that because I’ve seen it time and time again. Your greatest strength could be someone else’s greatest weakness. That’s why it takes you putting your best self out to the world in a way that compliments you and your reality so that others can learn and get the courage to do the same. My reputation with friends, family, and business partners is the same. Chauncey’s down to earth, real and relatable, willing to help, and she’s going to get the job done. We work together with the client to create awesome solutions while providing space for women to grow and relate. That’s what it’s all about.

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

I have had a LOT of challenges in my career and personal life. Hard bosses, hard jobs, and carrying the brunt end of the workload of whole departments by myself. But what allowed me to be resilient is that I always want to do my best and I cared about what I was doing and who I was doing it for. No relationship or partnership is ever easy all the time. But I have a personal belief that everyone should be heard and most importantly respected. I always spoke up and definitely always stuck up for others if the need arose. Therefore no hardship, no relationship, no bad arrangement has ever derailed me from the fact that God has given me some amazing talents for myself, my family, and to share with others. Just like I talk about in the Light Mastermind, you have to refuse not to shine. You’re a star, you have to be who you are. It’s just that simple. We all have something to shine about. Being resilient just allowed me to shine brighter and I pass that feeling on to my clients. Shine and be exactly who you because you’re worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelightmastermind.com
• Instagram: @chaunceypelzer
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/definingmydestiny
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chaunceypelzer
• Twitter: @chaunceypelzer