“Working With Terry Was a Life-Changing Experience
“As vice president of recruitment and operations for a $40 million staffing firm, I oversaw three offices and an offshore recruiting team. I’d been with that company for 12 years and thought I would retire from there, but my legs were cut out from under me in January when the owners told me they had financial hardships and had to close two offices and let 15 people go and I was one of them. That totally blindsided me. I believe there is a silver lining to every situation and I was prayerful in thinking there was more for me somewhere. There was a lot going on in my life at the time. I was selling my house and getting married and COVID-19 hit, but I started interviewing for jobs. I had some interests from other recruiting firms, but it just felt like I’ve been there, done that, and out of the blue I heard from Terry Coker through a LinkedIn message. He said he had helped other business executives who had a track record of success get into business for themselves. I didn’t think much of it, but I thought, okay, I’ll hear this guy out. So we set up a call.
“Terry explained what he does and he came across as truly genuine. He said he wasn’t positive that he could help me but that he had helped similar people in similar situations and suggested we go down this road together to see if franchising was right for me. He said, ‘Let’s explore this whether you ended up buying a franchise or not.’ There was nothing high pressure about it. I really appreciated his approach. I knew what I didn’t want – I didn’t want to just jump at a paycheck. I wanted something more fulfilling, I wanted to do something that I’m passionate about. And my relationship with Terry began from that.
“Terry has a detailed process. We explored what I’m passionate about, what I could see myself doing, what motivates me, the kind of life I want. it was a lot of introspection. It was identifying my ‘why.’ He really challenged me to think about those things. He asked great questions and guided me and I put in the work because that information can’t come from anyone but myself. I figured I have one more run. I had an 18-year career at General Motors and 12 years at this recruiting company. I love to work, and I’m passionate about helping others. Terry’s process is what helped me get my arms around what I wanted.
“After a couple of weeks, Terry came back with three really good suggestions and I considered all three. One was out of left field that I didn’t think I would be interested in and come to find out, that’s the one I picked – Focal Point Coaching. I probably had 20 phone calls with the company. I really fell in love with their core values. Everyone was wired the same way and their processes and their materials were solid.
“I’ll be helping business leaders whether it’s optimizing their business performance through time management, profitability, with their teams, and to improve their operations and their costs. I’ll also be doing training and public speaking.
“This was a life-changing experience. Terry and I connected on so many levels. He really gets that personal side, he cared not only about me but my wife, my puppy, and my family. We definitely forged that personal relationship and all the while, he was an advocate for me, helping me find something that was really fulfilling. It is great to have an advocate like that.”
