Employment to Empowerment™
By combining her passion for health and fitness and savvy business acumen, Jennifer Smith is on her way to achieving the American dream by taking the leap from Employment to Empowerment™.
Smith was at a crossroads in her career when she made the decision to discover a new path with the help of Mark Thomas, a Career Ownership Coach™ with The Entrepreneur’s Source®. Smith spent her career working in the corporate world, most recently as a plant manager for a company in the aerospace industry. The outbreak of the pandemic forced airlines to ground planes as people canceled travel plans to help flatten the curve. To cut costs, her employer made the difficult decision to lay off valuable staff, including Smith. Her initial search for another corporate role failed to bear fruit as many companies froze hiring during that difficult time.
TES provides career ownership coaching at no cost to individuals who are trying to discover their Career 2.0®. The nation’s leading career coaching franchise helps people who have been downsized, right-sized, or let go after years of dedicated service find a path forward and discover self-sufficiency. TES coaches help their clients identify their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth and Equity™ goals to determine if they want to take another corporate job, start a business from scratch or invest in a franchise. Every TES coach makes it a priority to act as a source of guidance and support and hold their clients accountable to their dreams to help them attain financial freedom.
“I liked the idea of being my own boss. I always wanted more financial freedom and a better work-life balance,” Smith said. “Mark [Thomas] asked the right guiding questions to help me make my own decisions.”
Thomas started his coaching business with TES five years ago after a successful career leading companies in the technology industry. In addition to helping people achieve financial freedom through entrepreneurship, Thomas empowers chief executives and business owners by building, leading and facilitating private advisory boards where they can share best practices. His two complementary ventures allow him to share his experiences as both a business owner and former chief executive.
“Jennifer wanted more control of her own destiny. She recognized that she was doing the job of a CEO in terms of roles and responsibilities, but she lacked the authority that comes with being a senior leader in a company,” Thomas said. “She is ambitious, smart, and possesses one of the most important qualifications or attributes of a business owner — she has self-confidence.”
Thomas made sure Smith kept her goals top-of-mind as she researched opportunities. Franchising gave Smith the opportunity to take charge of her future with a proven business model, training and support. Entrepreneurship also allowed Smith and her husband, Adam, to work together to achieve self-sufficiency.
“I had always worked in corporations and been in a structured environment where you follow systems. A franchise business gave me a model to follow, and I just had to execute it,” she added.
After significant research and soul-searching, Smith and Adam made the decision to go from employment to empowerment with The Exercise Coach, a fitness facility offering customized, 20-minute workouts on proprietary equipment. Smith signed a multi-unit deal for three locations with The Exercise Coach in August 2020. She already has two locations up and running in the San Gabriel Valley area of southern California, outside of Los Angeles.
“The Exercise Coach has a strategic advantage,” Smith said. “It features a whole-body workout that’s accessible for everyone, and the parent company is passionate about the brand.”
Discover a New Path
If you are at a crossroads in your career, contact me your personal Career Ownership Coach™ to learn more at no cost to you and see what is possible.