Client Testimonials &
Case Studies
What People Are Saying
Real Clients. Real Case Studies. Real Testimonials.
Candy Hipple
Life Coach (Helping Clients Navigate Change)
From a stalled business concept to a compelling coaching niche
Candy is a very successful senior leader with a 20-year career in the workforce industry. After leaving corporate and taking a sabbatical in 2016, she consulted and briefly started a coaching business. With trepidation, she set aside coaching and continued consulting while struggling to define what her next career chapter should encompass.
Her Career Exploration work highlighted that she was a natural fit for a Life Coach, and would be a superior business owner, so what went wrong?
Candy took my Entrepreneurial Start-up Coaching series to vet her proposed business concept and vision to determine its viability. Those sessions allowed Candy to identify her specific niche in the Life Coaching arena, refine her focus and audience, and formulate a re-designed brand and strategy that genuinely connects with her target audience. With newfound clarity and enthusiasm, Candy is completing her Strategic Planning process and completing the pre-launch work for her new coaching business!
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“Julie is an outstanding coach! Through her Career Exploration program, I was able to see clearly what I wanted to do in the next phase of my career journey. Her insights, challenging questions, and feedback were invaluable in helping me get there, to get 'unstuck .'With her support, I was able to overcome what was blocking me from embracing entrepreneurship. Her program is well-structured and cohesive, with each session building off the previous one. I enjoyed the pre-work assignments and knew that the effort I put in would be reflected in the outcome of our live sessions. I always looked forward to these sessions with her, where I could count on her transparency and genuine interest in what was best for me. We continued working together on preparing to launch my new business. Julie is worth every cent of investment!”
Christine Kinal
CEO, Haven (non-profit, IPV, sexual assault)
From retired police officer to non-profit CEO
Christine was a recently retired law enforcement officer and a current unfulfilled business owner when a former client introduced us. Her earlier purpose-driven career as a police officer aligned closely with who she is and a life of service that was truly rewarding to her. Her Career Exploration work highlighted that she was a visionary with strong leadership abilities, a designated “go-to” person to address and irradicate ongoing issues, and a superior communicator capable of breaking down resistance.
After receiving and distributing her Custom-Branded Resume and LinkedIn Profile, she was approached about a CEO vacancy in a local non-profit serving IPV and sexual assault victims in her county.
Having never held an executive role before, Christine approached me regarding the feasibility of her leading a $5M organization. I shared my support of her pursuit of the position, exploring the opportunities and risks, and after receiving my thumbs up, she applied for the job and was selected as 1 of 4 final candidates.
Her Interview Preparation services were expanded to help her create a presentation for the organization’s Board of Directors regarding her vision and tentative strategic plan. Christine clearly communicated the benefits her unique background and holistic vision would bring to the organization. Despite competing against strong candidates with non-profit experience and executive histories, she was selected as the candidate of choice.
Today Christine continues to make bold moves by putting the right leadership team in place, re-engaging the community and donors, strengthening ties between the organization & local law enforcement, and reinvigorating a service culture.
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“I wholeheartedly would not have had the confidence, trust, or preparation for this new position had I not been connected with Julie. If you are thinking about a career change, need to change directions, need a resume re-write or interview preparations, or want a performance coach by your side, Julie is the way to go! I cannot say enough.”
Chancey A.
Project Manager
From struggling single mom to high-caliber professional
Chauncey was an underutilized high-caliber paralegal and law firm marketing professional seeking guidance on her career direction. Her extensive and varied areas of interest and passions made it challenging for her to choose which direction she wanted to take in her career. As a young single mother, she sought a more fulfilling career with better compensation and greater upward mobility without sacrificing her current work/life balance.
The Career Exploration process identified her superior project management competencies and fearlessness in jumping into unchartered territory.
Chauncey identified an open project management position with an organization recently named #1 on the Forbes list of America's Best Midsize Employers 2022. It was her first and only interview for a new career in project management. Her Interview Preparation sessions ensured she could convey the breadth and strength of her abilities to the CIO even though she had never held a formal project manager role nor worked in IT. Chauncey accepted an offer of employment that included a five-figure increase in pay, commensurate with the value she brings to all her professional endeavors!
Since accepting her position, Chauncey has continued working with me on Performance Coaching and Strategic Career Planning to ensure her career momentum continues well into the future.
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“Hey, Julie! I followed your advice! They came up to $$! (salary offer) I accepted their offer, and I start on the 14th! It still feels surreal- happened so fast, and I couldn't have done it without your help and support! I greatly appreciate your advice and insight!”
Natasha L.
Senior Account Executive
From a 12-month job search to employed within 4 weeks
Before becoming a client, Natasha had spent 12 months sending out hundreds of resumes with zero results and was burnt out and depressed. She was determined to move from her current role in the mortgage lending industry (where her compensation had followed the decline in home sales for 11 straight months) to a sales role in the technology sector.
Insights gained from her Define Your Personal Brand exercise and Career Exploration work clarified her "best-fit" career options, which incorporated her strong networking skills, superior sales skills, and deep real estate and lending expertise.
Additionally, we determined that she thrives in roles that grant significant latitude in achieving objectives and benefit from an entrepreneurial mindset. Via custom coaching, she reinvigorated her growth mindset, which had taken a beating during her 12-month job search.
Natasha secured five perfectly positioned interviews within 10 days of receiving her Custom Branded Resume and LinkedIn profile based on the discoveries from her brand and career exploration work. Her Interview Preparation sessions bolstered her confidence in conveying the benefit of her prior atypical background and pending career transition provided to her target companies.
Three weeks after renewing her job search, she got the job offer she wanted, well above her target compensation, as a Senior Account Executive for an agile start-up selling a SaaS product currently disrupting the real estate appraisal process! A perfect fit for her entrepreneurial mindset and sales/RE/lending background.
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“YAY! It went great Julie! The interview with the owner! I did what you said, and it went so smooth! The resume and the prep, I feel so confident now! I appreciate you so much!
THANK YOU!!! YOU ARE THE BOMB!”
Brittany W.
pre-med, post bacc student
From a 12-month job search to employed within 4 weeks
Brittany connected with me after dropping out of PA (Physician Assistant) school despite being a historically above-average student. She had pursued this career path after several years of jumping from job to job, essentially living her life in "fast-forward.” Her inability to recognize warning flags along her journey led to numerous failed attempts to force her square peg into a round hole to get to where she wanted to go as fast as she could. She felt her peers were leaving her behind.
During her Career Exploration work, several complicating factors were uncovered, including an ADHD diagnosis that aligned with her “fast-forward” job-hopping history, a newly prescribed medication known to cause hyperactivity and memory problems,
and a childhood authoritative family dynamic that prevented her from developing autonomy and understanding what she wanted for her life.
During her Career Exploration work, Brittany wrote
“When I was looking at other careers, I became very frustrated. I was having a hard time finding something I liked. After we spoke last, I processed what you said, and I realized you were spot on that I didn’t know what I did like. It clicked when you said I was always told what to do my entire life.
I never took the time to know myself. When I came to this conclusion, I had to stop the assignment and work on myself. It has led me to an idea I want to try and run by you. On our call, you said things would become clearer once I stopped pushing and let the answers come to me. Since then, I have had multiple people, opportunities, and guidance fall into my lap within this month pointing in this direction.
Update :
1. You told me to up my research efforts which I did. May 4-13 I’m starting a class that is geared toward medical students on how to study and take medical exams. I found this site randomly and found so much worth in it. The president scheduled a call ….. His story was the SAME as mine… He is now a successful ER physician.
2. I also did research on my meds. Since I’ve been off XXXXX I see such a huge difference! I feel like I did before. My processing and memory are working so much faster.
3. Signed up for 3 classes starting June at JC to see if I have the ability. If all goes well, I am considering applying for a post-bac. Their program is geared towards career changers …..before I took accelerated courses and missed so much information. …. I get a fresh start and don’t have my past following me.
4. I purchased 2 Kaplan MCAT prep books to see if I could get through this test. I have been doing relatively well, which felt good for a change.
I took your advice on slowing down and wanted your thoughts on this. I could’ve applied for this fall, but decided it was better to wait for next year's cycle.” - Brittany
Brittany’s realization that she didn't know what she liked was the key to everything. When I met her, she was firming putting the pedal to the metal, so her decision-making was in fast forward, which left no time for research, introspection, etc. Her ability to be more present after a lifetime of acceleration was an incredibly life-changing progress. She restarted her healthcare career with the right resources (ADHD-specific) and at a pace that would guarantee success. She is currently pursuing a pre-med post-bacc degree, a career she had previously deemed unreachable.
At our most recent 2023 check-in, Brittany wrote:
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"Thank you for giving me hope and changing my life. I’m not sure where I’d be without your support and guidance.”
