We were lucky to catch up with Sheri Riley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sheri , thanks for joining us today. What’s something crazy or unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

I owned a successful consulting firm for 17 years and I knew I was being called to a different way of serving my clients. I also had NO CLUE what that meant.

It was the Tuesday, before Thanksgiving, and I had a meeting with my Team. I said to them, “I am lost and I know I need SOMETHING, but I don’t know what. I don’t feel like it’s a PHD. I don’t feel like I am suppose to go to seminary school. But I know there’s some additional training I need to gain clarity on my next level of service.”

I was really down and frustrated. In my almost 20 years of being an entreprenuer, I had never been this lost and confused about the direction of my business. The only thing I knew for sure, was God was directing my steps and I just needed to stay obedient to His guidance.

That following Sunday, I overslept for church. (I NEVER oversleep!!). It was too late for me to attend in person, so I grabbed my iPad to watch service online. As soon as my iPad turned on, a tweet from Sam Chand popped up. He shared information about John Maxwell’s coaching certification.

I had never heard of John Maxwell, other than seeing his books in the airport newsstands. The details on his website for the Certification was EVERYTHING I had shared with my Team on that Tuesday that I felt like I needed.

I called Raoul Davis, who was in that team meeting and is one of my business coaches. I asked him, “Is this a good program for me? Can I trust John Maxwell?” He laughed and said, “ABSOLUTELY”.

I signed up that day and became a Founding Member of the Maxwell Leadership Certification Team (MLCT).

This has been one of the top 2 best business decisions of my 25 years of being an entrepreneur. And I only place it at 2 because having God as my CEO is my number 1 best business decision.

For months, I had been searching for clarity for my business through seminars, webinars, attending business functions, talking to business executives and mentors, and the answer came from oversleeping, opening that tweet, and joining MLCT.

From that moment, I have gained global business, developed friendships around the world, became friends with John Maxwell, and been featured in two of his NY Times best selling books.

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?

As a trendsetter in the entertainment industry and former Sr. Director of Marketing for LaFace Records, I helped introduce the world to some of the most influential, multi-platinum artists of the 90’s including, Usher, TLC, Toni Braxton, and Outkast. I spent over 22 years “developing profitable partnerships” and providing consultation to corporations, personalities, products, sports brands, foundations and national cable networks like CVS, BMW, The Atlanta Hawks, NBA Entertainment, UNCF, BET Networks, The Ludacris Foundation, TNT, NIKE, Converse and many more.
I rose to the top of my field, yet I was miserable. Sure, I was successful, but something was missing. I couldn’t buy peace, and material possessions didn’t bring me clarity or joy. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t really have a life beyond my career, and I felt like I was losing my connection to family and friends because I was putting work before everything. In 2014, I transitioned the business from consulting and marketing to personal, professional, and leadership development.

I resigned from my dream job at LaFace Records, at the height of my career, to pursue my mission of finding peace, clarity, and a courageous life. My family and friends thought I had lost my mind. But I knew something had to change.

This is what inspired me to create the 9 Principles of Exponential Living®, which is the hallmark of my award-winning book, Exponential Living® – Stop Spending 100% of Your Time on 10% of Who You Are (Penguin Random House). It’s the ultimate guide to help high achievers learn how to integrate their personal desires into their life, without detriment to their professional achievement, and teaches them how to make choices, that lead to less stress, better clarity, and more fulfilling lives. The book has garnered several Self Help “Book of the Year” awards, it was an NAACP Image Award nominee and is a Porchlight Books Business Bestseller. It has also been translated into Romanian, Vietnamese, and French.

My company, Exponential Living® empowers high performers to win in life and their career. Exponential Living’s 360° Champion™ curriculum is specifically designed for the growth and development of professional athletes, coaches, and entertainers. The company’s PowerBroker® Coaching + Training curriculum is tailored to increase the productivity of corporate executives and entrepreneurs.

I speak around the world at companies and conferences, that include JP Morgan Chase, Delta Air Lines, Prudential, The Coca-Cola Company, Humana, and Chicago Bears, sharing my message of “Peace is the New Success®”.

I am a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and serve on the University of Louisville Alumni Board of Directors. My proudest accomplishment is being a wife, mother, and daughter.

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

What allowed me to build my reputation and equity in my brand is integrity. I’ve never made decisions for my business with money being the primary component in the decision. With integrity, there have been times when I’ve had to stand alone. There are lucrative contracts I have declined. I have never oversold my company’s capability and deliverables, AND always over deliver for our clients. I have always charged premium pricing because my company is committed to excellent service and execution. I respect and am courteous to everyone, from the parking lot attendant to the CEO. And with integrity, I am always focused on a “Broad Vision and a Keen Focus” for my business and my clients. My company takes ownership of our clients goals and commits to exceeding them.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

For 17 years, my company was a strategic consulting firm. Our clients included NBA, Converse, NIKE, The Coca-Cola Company, to name a few. It was a very successful and lucrative business. When I transitioned from a consulting firm to personal, professional, and leadership development, I ended all of my consulting contracts. I “stopped going everywhere, talking to everybody, and doing everything”.

I spent all of my time training, learning, and writing my book, Exponential Living – Stop Spending 100% of Your Time on 10% of Who You Are.

I literally started from scratch. And my commitment to this new industry, having two children in private school, and several other factors put my family in a position where we used all of our personal and business savings. We were financially at (less than) zero.

But I stayed focused on my purpose and committed to the impact I was destined to make globally. My husband and I made many financial decisions to downsize and our primary financial investments were in our children’s education and my training and development as a speaker, coach, and trainer.

There were many financially lean years but the outcome has been priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SheriRiley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheririley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheriRileydotcom/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheririleydotcom/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sheririley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sheririley

Image Credits
Nick Nelson and Christian DelRosario