Meet Erin Higgins

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Higgins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, how does your business help the community?
I help the community by supporting individuals in their growth through structured storytelling and collaborative gameplay. Using role-playing games as a guided coaching tool, my coaching method creates a space where participants practice communication, emotional awareness, problem-solving, and leadership in a safe and supportive environment. Through creative play, participants develop real-world social and emotional skills that strengthen both personal growth and community connection.

The sessions are particularly effective for individuals who benefit from experiential learning, including youth, neurodivergent participants, and people who may struggle with traditional coaching or classroom formats. By framing personal challenges through story and character development, participants are able to explore identity, values, and decision-making without fear of judgment.

The broader social impact is community connection. Sessions bring people together who might otherwise feel isolated and encourage cooperation, empathy, and mutual support. Players learn how their choices affect others, practice healthy boundaries, and develop resilience through shared storytelling.

Through partnerships with libraries, community centers, and online groups, Design and Develop Life Coaching expands access to social-emotional learning in a format that is engaging, inclusive, and culturally adaptable. The goal is to help individuals develop confidence, self-awareness, and meaningful relationships while strengthening the communities they are part of.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Design and Develop Life Coaching is built around the idea that growth happens best when people have a space where they can practice being human. I am a board-certified life coach and a certified therapeutic game master, and my work focuses on helping people build bridges of connection in a world where isolation often takes root. Through positive psychology and structured coaching, I provide a supportive framework where individuals can explore their relationships, decisions, and personal goals with intention.

What sets my business apart is the way I combine traditional life coaching with tabletop role-playing games. I offer standard coaching sessions, but I also run games like Dungeons & Dragons as a structured “social lab.” In that environment people can practice real-world skills—communication, emotional regulation, leadership, and collaboration—in real time. The game creates a low-pressure setting where individuals can experiment with choices, see consequences play out, and reflect on their experiences in a meaningful way. It allows people to develop social and emotional skills through experience rather than just discussion. What I’m most proud of is proving that this concept works and seeing people grow more confident, more self-aware, and more connected through collaborative storytelling.

Getting to this point was not easy. Building something unconventional meant starting from the ground up with an idea many people didn’t immediately understand. My first year in business was filled with networking, marketing efforts, and long stretches with no leads. There were plenty of doors that never opened and many conversations that sounded promising but ultimately went nowhere. By the end of that year I was completely burnt out.

Even so, that difficult year ended up being one of my greatest teachers. I learned that you can’t hold onto sand by tightening your grip—it only slips through your fingers. I had to refine my approach, set stronger boundaries, and accept that meaningful progress takes time. Just like in a game, what doesn’t kill you gives you XP—experience points. The challenges themselves became the lessons that helped me grow stronger and more resilient as a business owner.

One of the most important lessons I learned along the way was the difference between interest and commitment. Early on, many people expressed excitement about the idea. Some offered to promote the program, invite me onto podcasts, or connect me with opportunities. A few even scheduled appearances and then canceled at the last minute, promising to reschedule but never following through. At the same time, I also encountered people who loved the idea of the results but weren’t ready to engage in the work required to create real change. Those experiences taught me to treat opportunities as uncertain until a real commitment was made and an agreement was in place, allowing me to focus on partnerships that were truly invested in meaningful growth.

What I want people to know about my brand is that imagination is not something childish or frivolous—it is a powerful tool. Stories connect people and give them the freedom to explore identity, values, and choices in ways that traditional environments sometimes cannot. When someone steps into a story, they gain the opportunity to experiment, reflect, learn, and build something together with fellow party members or teammates in a space where their voice matters.

At its core, my work is about helping people realize they are not just passengers in a story someone else wrote for them. We all carry labels placed on us by the world around us, and those labels can quietly shape how we see ourselves. My goal is to help people develop the awareness, skills, and confidence to step into the role of author in their own lives and design the story they want to live.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a best friend were visiting, I’d skip the typical “sunrise hike up a mountain” itinerary and show them the places that really give Colorado its character. The mountains are beautiful, but what makes this area special to me are the community spaces where people gather, share stories, and create memories.

I’d start close to home in Frederick and the Carbon Valley area where my business is based. Georgia Boys BBQ would be an essential stop. It’s a local staple and, in my opinion, the wings are the best you’ll find anywhere around here. After that, we’d head to MeCo Coffee Collective. It’s one of those rare places that shifts seamlessly from a welcoming coffee shop in the morning to a relaxed taphouse later in the day. The staff are incredibly friendly, and the space really captures the spirit of the local community.

From there we’d spend some time in Boulder. A morning at the Boulder Farmers Market followed by a walk down Pearl Street Mall is one of my favorite ways to experience the energy of the city. There’s always great food, street performers, and some of the best people-watching you’ll find anywhere. For something quieter, I’d take them to the Boulder Zen Center for meditation and then over to the Dushanbe Tea House for tea. If the weather cooperates, we’d walk along the nearby Boulder Creek Path, which is a beautiful way to enjoy the scenery without needing to trek up a mountain.

For a bit of activity, we could stop by the Boulder Rock Club for some indoor climbing or spend time at Gateway Park. And of course we’d make a trip into Denver to experience the rides and energy of Elitch Gardens.

To round out the week, we’d take in some culture. That might mean catching a show at the Buell Theatre or seeing who’s playing at the historic Boulder Theatre. We’d also spend some time at Chautauqua—probably relaxing on the lawn or near the community house where you can enjoy the incredible views without committing to a long hike.

For me, the most exciting part of living here isn’t just the altitude or the mountain peaks. It’s the places where people gather to share experiences—whether that’s over great food, live music, quiet reflection, or a good story. Those are the moments that really make this place feel alive.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutouts & Gratitude

The Institutional Vote of Confidence
I want to give a massive shoutout to Vocational Rehabilitation and the Erie Community Center. For a government agency to not only approve of a business model as unique as mine but to actually invest in it and help me get it up and running is a huge deal. Their support wasn’t just administrative—it was a real vote of confidence in an unconventional idea. That belief gave me the foundation to turn the concept of a collaborative “social lab,” where people grow through storytelling and gameplay, into something real that could serve the community.

The Mentors and the Lessons
The heart of my work today started with my first Game Master, Briten Peron. He introduced me to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, and through his storytelling I experienced what it meant to grow as a character and as a person at the same time. That framework became the backbone of how I think about growth and transformation, and I will always be grateful to Briten for sharing it.

I also owe a great deal to Gabriele Wright at the Carbon Valley Library, who gave me my very first job as a Dungeon Master. That opportunity was a turning point. It showed me that sometimes the doors you don’t expect to open end up defining your path, and it proved that storytelling and games could have a place in community spaces.

And I have to thank my partner in crime. The very first time I ran a game, he challenged me in a way that taught me one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned as a facilitator: don’t railroad your players. He never had to explain it outright—the experience itself made it clear that a person’s agency is everything.

The Community and the “Why”
My Weekend gaming group deserves recognition as well. They remind me constantly why I love this work. Their creativity, humor, and willingness to show up and build stories together keep my passion alive and reinforce how powerful collaborative storytelling can be.

The Unwavering Support
Finally, I have to thank my family. Most of them don’t fully understand the mechanics of how I use these games as tools for growth, but they support the mission anyway. They ask questions, they cheer this project on, and they trust that the vision matters. There’s a special kind of strength that comes from being backed by people who may not understand every detail but believe in the journey all the same.

Website: https://www.designanddeveloplifecoaching.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dsignanddvelop/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-higgins-33666154/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dsignanddvelop