We were lucky to catch up with Whitney Stovall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Whitney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

In 2015 my marriage was failing, and it was really tearing my family apart. My husband and I had been married for 8 years, living in Houston, Texas, had a beautiful daughter, leading in our church, and thriving on our jobs. Everything was going great, until I noticed changes in his attitude and that he had become more angry and distant toward me. When I spoke to him, I remember him trying to verbalize that he had started seeing another woman, but his actual words were “pray for me, I’m feeling the need to get away.” I was pregnant at the time with my youngest daughter, and we were transitioning from having to live with friends until our new apartment was ready. As time when on, I had my daughter, thinking it would change his mind, but we ended up going through counseling to try and reconcile the issues in our marriage.

He moved all of his toiletries out of our master bath into the girls’ bathroom. He started sleeping on an air mattress in the living room, and I remember thinking “this is it, he’s made up his mind.” He tried to convince me that he wanted to leave so that he could be a better husband and father, but when 2018-2019 rolled around, I knew I had to make a decision. My husband moved out of the apartment, leaving me with our 2 daughters and our new dog. He said that counseling wasn’t working and that he felt betrayed throughout the process. So I went to a lawyer, started looking into child support, and told my mom about what was going on. I had just gotten a new position, my oldest daughter was in a new school, and I was positioning myself for a promotion.

After much prayer and that year of seeking help, I packed up the entire apartment, and moved myself and my 2 daughters to Dallas to live with my mom and granny for the next 4 years. I was risking my promotion, my husband’s anger and disagreement, but I was also gaining the freedom and resources to raise my daughters in a more stable environment. I was gaining peace of mind knowing that my family would support me in this decision. I knew the kids and I deserved better, and I couldn’t just sit around and wait for things to change. I ended up working in 2 different school districts, starting 2 school wide initiatives for spreading positivity and kindness, and both of my daughters were surrounded with family and love that we all deserved.

After those 4 years, God called me to move back to Houston in 2023! The crazy thing about it was that I was not even thinking about moving! So the greater risk came after settling in, gaining the momentum and support, but recognizing that comfort was not going to help me grow. July 20, 2023 I made my home again in Houston, that December 2023 I started my business, started a prayer group at my new school, and gained my first 3 clients the following December 2024. To make a long story short, my 2 biggest risks, gave me the greatest rewards in terms of growing and showing my daughters that mama is a warrior!

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?

My name is Whitney Stovall. I am 38 years old, single mother to 2 beautiful daughters and I reside in Houston, Texas. I am a southern girl through and through and my passion has always been to write and lead the youth. I graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelors in Education, then went on to receive my masters in Educational Leadership from UT Arlington. My journey began in education in 2009, teaching secondary language arts and reading, and I fell in love with literature and helping adolescents discover themselves in a good book! My roots have been in education for the past 15 years, and as I began to develop relationships with my students, especially the young ladies, it became clear that I was in the classroom for a much greater purpose: to coach teen girls.

What led me to coaching started with some personal reflection and thinking about my own experience as a teenager. I grew up with hard working women, who were surviving, but not very nurturing along the way. My mom and grandma did their best to provide, however, it left me feeling alone, and I struggled navigating those years with relationships, social situations, and academic stress. What I needed was support and a safe space to be heard, develop skills and build habits that would lead me to a successful future. I needed a me. So in 2023, She Blooms, Inc. was born!

She Blooms provides proximity in customized 1:1 coaching for families with teen girls. Our aim is to help families with girls BLOOM into the women God has called them to be. We focus on how to be brave, live with loyalty, embrace optimism, own our originality, see the majesty in mistakes, and strive for sensational!

As a coach, I work to help parents see the power they have as their daughters first cheerleader, mentor and guide in life. I walk alongside them giving them expertise and guidance during this critical phase of life. I work to understand the needs and goals of the families and find joy in seeing the results. Many parents of teens have issues understanding that independence and choice are a vital component of the adolescent period. Another concern I help to break down is the impulsiveness and moodiness that is often linked to the risky behaviors.

What I want parents to know is that they are running a marathon race, but they don’t have to go it alone. Parenting is a continuous learning journey, and as a coach, I give valuable tools and support, allowing them to recharge and be the best parent they can be. For the teens, the greatest benefit is the safe, non-judgmental space for them to talk, empowering them to make the best decisions, and gain the confidence and crucial life skills that will benefit them in the future.

I am most proud of starting my business in conjunction with teaching full time because it has taught me to really get focused on what success I can help cultivate in families. My clients have reported that the communication with me feels real, they are open to talking more when it’s just us, and when teen girls have the opportunity to talk about their interests, the conversation flows easier.

I want to give our teen girls a voice, help restore positive interactions among their families and peers, and empower them to lead the next generation, to be a force for good. When she walks into any space, people will stop and say, “SHE BLOOMS!”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn most recently, actually was that selling turns people away. It’s always been something that annoyed me, and I didn’t understand that selling is actually serving those who need what you have to offer. They just don’t know it yet. This blew my mind, how a simple mind shift took 2 women from mediocre to having 1.2 million in sales in a year! Their names are Kathryn Shubert and Macy McNeely, the SalesGirls. Their intensity and belief in sales skills being life skills shifted my mindset to understand that I’m persuading for good. I’m making an emotional sale, meaning I have to listen to the needs of my potential buyer, communicate my belief, and show them a better way by hiring me as their coach. I don’t even have to have a program fully fleshed out yet. I can earn and learn along the way! This brings me so much relief and confidence as a coach because I know there are thousands of parents and teens out there that need what I’m offering, and I just need to get out there and offer it with love and compassion!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started by giving my personal Facebook Profile a facelift. Meaning, I just changed my bio, profile picture, and created a banner with my business name. This way, I wouldn’t have to create a business page, and it communicates that I am a woman first, who just also happens to have a business. Then I got really loud about coaching through posting my transition since most of my followers already knew I was teaching.

I had to start joining parent groups and farming from them, engaging on other posts and I actually hired a virtual assistant to add friends and initiate DM’s to help alleviate some of the work. When you are starting out, you are adding friends and going for volume, not qualifying your candidates until you get them in your DM’s. Also, start a group because you can have as many people in them as you want. This creates the first step for having people enter your world, learn more about you, and gives them an opportunity to ask questions.

Be authentic, show people the value of what you offer by demonstrating, not just telling them what to do. Also talk about your values and beliefs, share unpopular opinions to get people talking. The goal is to not have everyone like you, but to see you as an expert that can guide them along their journey.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @_whitneycoaches_
• Facebook: Whitney Stovall

Image Credits

KP Tatum II, photographer