We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike James a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mike thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea of life coaching came from many years of experiencing life, and then getting to the point where I wanted to help people more beyond just the physical. I was a personal trainer for 15 years prior to venturing out into life coaching. I recognized that many of my clients had other reasons that kept them from reaching their goals that had nothing to do with exercise. Now that I knew that life coaching is what I wanted to do, I had to come up with a name for my business. My business name is a nod to both my parents, who have transitioned on, and my siblings. I always tell people that even if I never grow to hiring and get the opportunity to hire a family member, I will always be a family business just by name alone. My parents were the late great Prince James Jr. and Izola Edmonds James (affectionately known as Zola by her siblings). That is where the P&Z comes from in P&Z Life Coaching LLC.
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?
As a life coach, I partner with those that feel stuck or lost in life to unlock their power and gain their 5Cs. That is they become capable, competent, confident, conscious, and courageous to achieve greatness in life and become their best version. As a speaker, I bring my high energy disposition to motivate individuals, groups, teams, and organizations to go to the next level in their journey. I always share my personal mission, which is to share my light, love, and positivity with as many people as I can in the time and space that I have. My energy and sense of humor is unmatched, and I truly believe that energy and emotions are contagious, so I guarantee that anyone that hires me as a coach or speaker will be thoroughly pleased and motivated to achieve in life.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In 2017 I was in a horrible motorcycle accident that could have took me out. The very fact that I’m here is a miracle within itself. It took a certain level of resilience to go from being an active personal trainer and active person in general, to be wheelchair bound and having to learn how to walk again, not to mention getting back to exercise and training other people. It was then where I truly realized how resilient I am, and how to encourage others to find that resilience inside of them.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
I truly believe that everyday how you show up in spaces is part of your marketing plan. Each time someone encounters you, they will attach that interaction with your business. I’m also a facilitator for the Certified Life Coach Institute where we certify individuals in 3 days to be a life coach. Just in the way I show up for those classes led me to establishing and amazing professional relationship with a startup company that I now have a group coaching program with. Shout out to Plank Nutrition Bar in Evansville, Indiana. That showed me something I always knew, and that is to remember that someone is always watching and paying attention to you. It was a Joy to know that some of my former students became clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.coachmikejames.com
- Instagram: @coachmikejames
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/coachmikejames
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachmikejames/
- Twitter: @bycoachmike
- Youtube: Coach Mike James
Image Credits
Davenport Designs Shooting Your Shot Erika Perry