We were lucky to catch up with Rebecca Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rebecca, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I love talking about how I got into Life Coaching! Back in 2013 I ended up suddenly moving to Grand Rapids with my (then) young son. My younger brother had just passed away and left us his home. Looking back I can see how so many things in my path aligned in beautiful way, but that doesn’t mean that same path wasn’t riddled with heartache and pain. I had just lost my brother, was also the executor of his estate, and was now a single Mother in a new area, with no support system in our new city. I was formerly in the hospitality industry, but knew that scaling in that industry meant going into management, which would take away my ability to spend hands-on time with my son. And that wasn’t something I was willing to sacrifice. So I decided to apply for several jobs I didn’t think I could get and ended up in Email Marketing.
Exactly 1 year to the day after my brother passed away, the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with passed away unexpectedly. My boss at the time was generous enough to grant me incredible flexibility with where and when I worked during that time, which meant that in a short time my email marketing position (which started out as a base, hourly pay, from their office) turned into a salary, work from home position. I had autonomy over my schedule and could still be hands-on for my son. I could privately navigate my loss and my grief while still having the security of employment. It took several, long, hard months, but eventually I started coming out the side of that double loss. It was then that I started looking into ways I could supplement my income even more, without compromising my availability to my friends and family, but while also retaining the new found freedom I experienced with my flexible schedule. At some point I discovered the AirBnB platform. I’d always been great at creating comfortable and aesthetically pleasing spaces. And I loved having friends and family stay, connecting with them and creating experiences for them during their stays. So AirBnB was a natural fit for everything I already loved to do.
I decided to offer a bedroom within my home to host guests. We shared our spaces, our home, with new people. It’s interesting because I look back at who I used to be – the guarded, passive aggressive, mean girl that consistently kept people at arms length and didn’t hesitate to say hurtful things. I did a LOT of work on myself, and had come full circle to become someone who wasn’t so guarded, wasn’t critical or hurtful, and invited others in AND allowed myself to be vulnerable and supported. Because of all this personal work, I was able to connect with my guests in a really amazing way. I was hosting people from all walks of life into my home. The conversations and connections I had with my guests was beautiful and it filled my soul (I dare say it filled theirs too)! Several of my former guests became friends, and 1 guest in particular became one of my best friends.
While I was hosting on AirBnB I was also continuing my personal development, and listening to the most amazing podcast, “Earn Your Happy” by Lori Harder. This woman is my Oprah. She spoke truth and wisdom into me, and so much of what I’ve learned about entrepreneurship and living my best life was a result of her words or the guests she had on her podcast. At one point I was listening to her (during the time I was hosting on AirBnB) and I heard the term Life Coach. And I knew, I just KNEW, that was it for me. That was my purpose, my next step, my path.
But I didn’t just take that and run with it. I wrestled with going all in on Life Coaching for about 6 months. My mind grappled with the thought of leaving my comfy salary, work-from-home job and going out on my own. I wrestled with it so much that I began to experience physical pain, sleeplessness, and found myself conflicted on an almost daily basis. One night I was with my boyfriend, and something in me said to talk to him about it. I opened up about how I needed to leave my current job and pursue coaching. I told him I didn’t have the answers about what that looked like. I shared that I didn’t need him to understand, but I needed him to trust – Trust that I would succeed (because I refuse not to), trust that I knew what was the best thing for me, and trust that I didn’t have all the answers now but would share them when they came to light. So what did he say? “Okay, babe.” And the rest is history. Within a week I had a meeting with my (then) boss and told him I had to leave and go out on my own. Within 2 weeks I left that position and started figuring things out. That entire chapter, this entire journey, has been the most beautiful and rewarding experience.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For those of you that don’t know me (but feel a little more connected to me after that last part), let’s circle back to introductions. I’m Rebecca Thomas, More Than A Life Coach. I work with women who feel conflicted, chaotic, and confined and help them feel clear, centered, and confident. This shift happens by reconnecting with self-awareness, self-trust, and self-care. Together we build your “internal compass”, which is a combination of core values, emotional goals, and the best version of your future self. This internal compass, along with my ability to hold space, challenge perspective, and uplift you, allow you to live a more authentic and purpose filled life.
I work with individuals AND small teams. Contracts and services for small teams are tailored to the team’s needs, with a commitment no shorter than 6 months. We’ll do a consultation, talk through pain points and goals, then design a coaching plan based on that information. For my 1 on 1 clients I offer a 6 month program – I provide twice monthly sessions (60 minutes), a once monthly check-in (15 minutes), and you’ll get post-session support in the form quick check-ins via text or email AND a running document updated with notes about our sessions, resources that fit your situation, reminders specifically tailored to you, and any connections aligned with things you mention. You also have the ability to do short check-ins for quick questions and for any “hold-the-line” or cheerleading you might need in moments you find yourself wavering.
What makes me really unique is several things. My super powers, Radical Acceptance and Holding Space, allow me to provide a container where you are received as you are, genuinely heard, and given a space where you can voice your concerns, judgments of self, and frustrations, in a way that allows you to move through them, let them go, and choose how you want to show up in the world. Another unique thing about me and my coaching is my energy – Despite the hardships and challenges I’ve been through, I have this unshakeable bright energy that emanates from me. That energy brings a peace, a calm, a stillness that allows others to center and find clarity (along with my MANY open-ended questions). I can relate to more things than most people imagine, which we discover together as we navigate the coaching process. It’s the most beautiful thing for a client to share a hard, painful thing and to be able to provide my own similar experience and then witness their “Aha” about how they get to choose what their experience(s) contribute to their lives and meaning instead of feeling like they’re at the mercy of what happens to them.
I’m also a disruptor and non-conformist. Rules are great, when they are. But more often than not I feel like the rules, the “shoulds”, the “how-we-do-things-around-here” are exactly what keep us stuck. I teach my clients to reclaim their power, live intentionally, and do so THEIR way, making their own rules as they go.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
This is another fun story for me! Launching from my statement about being a disruptor, doing things in a way others most like aren’t – When I decided to go out on my own and start coaching I had zero plan, zero safety net, and not much savings. I knew that I needed to concentrate my time on building my brand and my business vs. trying to work a “stable” job for steady income. I also had a young son who was not only depending on my, financially, but also watching the example I was setting. I remember distinctly, right after the time I left my job to go into coaching I was reading a book, “Secrets of Six Figure Women” by Barbara Stanny. There was an entry towards the end that talked about someone who decided it was time to venture out on their own, in a similar financial situation. They asked 40 of their friends if they could borrow $1,000 from each of them to basically pay their bills for 1 year while they built their business. So my crazy self decided, why can’t I do that?!? I didn’t approach 40 people, but I approached 3 people. I borrowed $35,000 from them, we landed on a timeline to pay them back, and I wrote up contracts with each of them to provide accountability. Let me tell you how humbling it was to not only make that ask, but for them to believe in me so much that they were willing to invest in me in that way…… My mind is still blown about that. And it was a wonderful lesson to learn. It also created enough pressure and expectation around what I was doing that I could NOT allow myself to fail. And guess what? I didn’t! I was able to pay all 3 of them back within a couple of years. And they actually thanked ME for the opportunity to invest in me.
That’s one of the things I love sharing with my clients because…… something I’ve always gotten mostly right is being authentic and stepping into my potential. Because I lived, walked, and talked from that space, those people were willing to invest me in BIG ways. The connections and opportunities that come to fruition because of your ability to be undeniably you is nothing to balk at. Aligned living lets people see who you are, and your people are DRAWN to you.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I couldn’t have predicted 4 or 5 years ago where my path would lead. And I wouldn’t have wanted to. One of my good friends says it this way, “Your comfort zone is being uncomfortable”. I guess you could say another one of my superpowers is my unwavering ability to trust – Trust that things will work the way they’re supposed. Trust that I don’t have to know all the answers right now, and they’ll come to surface when it’s time. Trust that the people and opportunities will arrive right on time. That doesn’t mean that I always remember to trust, but even in my most challenging chapters, when I forget to lean on that trust, I somehow still find myself circling back to a saying, a mantra, that I can tap into and use as a reminder until I fully remember to lean on that trust again.
Which brings us to my current chapter. I have my coaching practice, and I love it! I also had a vision about a year and a half ago about a group, a community, I was supposed to create in my area. I called my friend (the same one that says I’m comfortable being uncomfortable) and shared that vision with her, because – Excitement! But also – Accountability. I didn’t know exactly how that vision would play out. And I didn’t try to force or rush it. After the most creative turn of events over the past several months, that vision is coming to life. Another friend and I recently created a new business, Kaleidoscope Affect Inc., which is an events based company that creates spaces for Women to have authentic, holistic conversations as leaders.
My business partner, Alicia Shumaker, and I have incredibly intertwined lives. We met through a mutual friend, another amazing human. From there we became each others clients (she has her own marketing firm, I have my coaching services). It didn’t occur to me until just now as I was reflecting on this, but I FULLY believe that how our connection evolved was paving the way for this big vision to come into existence. Alignment! EEK! We have an ability to be really honest with each other, in the most loving way, call each other out, and also map and execute big dreams, hand in hand. And I think that’s because of the literal work we’ve done with each other. And I couldn’t be more grateful. Hard things aren’t as hard to say with her because we’ve already talked about so many hard things. Before we ever created Kaleidoscope we had already cried together, belly laughed together, held space for one another, breathed life into big dreams for each other – and now we’re just doing more of the same!
I had another realization last night too – my way of connecting with Women, the craving for in person connection at a bigger level – that’s not something I do through my coaching business. But Kaleidoscope provides the platform and the opportunity to do just that AND marry my coaching and connection style for an experience that feeds everyone involved.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marieofvenus.com/
- Instagram: @MarieOfVenus
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarieOfVenus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marieofvenus/
Image Credits
Phrené Hoeksema, Elise Kutt