Continued: Women's life coach follows own advice

Elisabeth Samson-Lee believes in what she's selling. She believes in it so strongly that she decided to stop selling it for three months.

Samson-Lee runs the Decision Diva, a Stillwater life-coaching business designed to help women make big decisions and pursue new challenges. She's been in business for nearly three years, averaging roughly $20,000 in annual revenues, but early this fall, she realized she needed a hiatus.

"I don't believe in telling people to do things I wouldn't do," she said. "I was telling these women to find things that inspire them or make them happy, and I realized the business was getting to be too much."

So Samson-Lee shut it down for the fall. She took a part-time job working with Alzheimer's patients at Stillwater Good Samaritan Center and enrolled in women's studies and art classes at Century College.

Now, the single mother is ready to start her business back up after the holidays.

"This has been the greatest thing ever," she said. "There's no better lesson about living in the present moment."

Samson-Lee discussed her business and some of the issues she sees women facing. Responses have been edited for length.

Q How did you get into the life-coaching business?

A I became certified as a personal trainer and got my associate's degree in health, wellness and fitness. I worked in health clubs, but that was not my cup of tea. But I watched women in the clubs and decided to open a little studio to teach women how to work out [in 2003]. I saw them add stress to their lives -- they'd beat themselves up over how they were eating or what they were supposed to do -- and I wanted to dig deeper into what the issues are.

I saw women feeling guilty if they did things for themselves. There's an absence of self-worth, not being able to focus on yourself or being obsessed with a calorie count. We give ourselves so many labels. Women can be certain things, but that's not what they are. It's a lot about deconstructing yourself, figuring out why you're you and what we get excited about.

Q What are the biggest issues women bring to you?

A The biggest one is how to juggle everything. After we talk a while, I try to get them to find things that inspire them or make them happy. It can be as simple as taking a painting class or finding a night out with their girlfriends. It's things where they can be an autonomous woman and not a housekeeper or a wife or a mom or an employee. That's something I had to learn for myself.

Q What kinds of things did you do on your hiatus?

A I got a part-time job as an activities assistant at the Good Samaritan Center. I have a big passion for the elderly, because I feel like that's a lost population. And I realized I buried my passion for art in seventh grade. I'm going to take every kind of art class I can -- pottery, painting, drawing. It's scary, but it's fun at the same time. Unless I do that, I have no business telling others to do things.

Q Talk a little bit about how your business is structured.

A I do most of it online or over the phone, so I can reach people who aren't just in this community. I like doing small-group things -- conference calls with three or four women at a time, so they can connect with each other and develop that camaraderie.

Word-of-mouth is a big [driver for my business]. It's kind of a hard business to market. It would be a lot easier if I remodeled houses. Sometimes it's difficult to get people to understand what I do. But the ones who call me are the ones who are ready to make changes.

Q How do you try to grow your business without overloading your schedule?

A If I had to sit there and make it all about business, I don't think I could do it. I get by. I don't live glamorously.

I might structure things a little differently -- maybe do 12 weeks of classes with a month off before working on the next thing [with clients].

I'd consider adding another person in the future, but it would have to be somebody who practiced what they preached.

But a webmaster would be nice.

Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546

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