It’s not uncommon for Southwest Florida parents to employ athletic and educational coaches for their children, but now more are also hiring coaches for themselves—business coaches, that is. Like Heather Christie.
Christie, 37, is president and co-founder of ActionCOACH, a local franchise of an international firm. Her company works with other Southwest Florida businesses through executive coaching, leadership development and strategic planning ideas to strengthen and grow their organizations.
"If someone is starting a business, they’re going to begin saying, ‘OK, I need my attorney, my accountant and my Action coach,’" says Christie.
The Chicago native spent 10 years as an attorney there, made partner at a prominent firm and decided "it was time to reach out of my comfort zone." She then became a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, where she learned a thing or two about networking. Those relationship-building skills paid off, she says, when she moved to Fort Myers and started up an Action International franchise with her father, Dale, and husband, John. Together they shook up the Action system, which consisted of 900 individual business coaches worldwide, with their team-of-coaches concept. After only eight months with the franchise, the firm earned International Franchise of the Year kudos. More awards followed, and the group now has the rights to all territories in Central and Southwest Florida.
"I wanted to be part of a business I was truly passionate about and give back to the community and the world," Christie says about the lure of coaching. She also notes the job offers unlimited earning potential, but "the thing I most enjoy is watching people break through their limiting beliefs and realize their potential."
One of Christie’s most memorable moments was when a business owner she was coaching realized his failure to quit smoking was holding him and his business back. "He decided then and there to quit, and within that month he had eight new transactions. Coincidence? I don’t think so," she says.
Christie isn’t committed only to her clients’ success. Recently, she was named the 2007 Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year for serving as chair of Women in Business and as a member of the board of directors. She also sits on the executive leadership team for the local chapter of the American Heart Association.
—Lauren S. Bernaldo and Caroline Stetler
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