Meet Elizabeth Barbour | Intuitive Life & Business Coach

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

Hi Elizabeth, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I’ve been coaching for more than 20 years. In the early years of my business, I was single and I loved to work. I worked evenings and weekends – partly because I was hustling but also for the sheer joy of it. I loved going to networking events and attending professional development seminars because it was a social outlet for me as well as beneficial for my business. Then, when I became a mother in my early 40s, I had to make a *major* adjustment in my work/life balance. Suddenly I had a baby to care for and I was exhausted. I had to figure out how to manage my successful business with the type of mom that I wanted to be. I could have hired help but instead decided to reduce my hours. That allowed me to have quality time with my family but still be committed to a select group of coaching clients. Then my mom developed stage 4 throat cancer and I took care of her for 3 1/2 years as she fought valiantly to buy as much time for herself as possible. My daughter was just a toddler and I was a sandwich generation caregiver. Again, I only had so much capacity and kept a reduced schedule. Some friends encouraged me to stop working altogether but coaching is my passion – it fuels me, fires me up and helps me to feel good knowing that I’m making a positive impact on the world. So continuing to work, even if only part-time, was a gift I gave myself during that challenging time. My mom has since passed, my daughter is ten and I’m able to find a great balance between work and family. I take time for myself and go away alone or with girlfriends for a weekend a few times each year because I know how critical my emotional well-being is to support the rest of my family’s overall health and happiness! If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy is a true statement! The balance definitely changes as we go through different stages in life!

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I don’t recommend starting a business the way I did. I coach my clients on creating “transition plans” from full-time employment to entrepreneurship. But it didn’t exactly work out that way for me. I had started my coaching practice part-time in Philadelphia while working full-time as an Admissions Director for a women’s college. I was just getting the coaching business up and running when my first husband asked me for a divorce. I was devastated to say the least as we had already sold our home and I had already resigned from my job and we were in the throes of a move to Seattle. My college president offered me my job back but I said “no thanks, I’ve got to get out of here”.

I moved with my orange tabby kitty, Percy, to the sacred mountains of Asheville, North Carolina where my best friend from high school lived. I sat on my mountain top and cried for three months, living on savings. Then I woke up and said “OK I’ve got to get on with things” and committed 100% to my growing my coaching business. One year later, I was still paying rent and they hadn’t repossessed my car, so I figured I was doing OK! I learned during that challenging time that I was much stronger than I ever imagined possible. I learned the importance of caring for my mind, body and spirit. I started going hiking, taking yoga classes, eating healthier and attending a super fun spiritual community church called Jubilee! I formed a book club, I dated a lot and I volunteered my time. I learned the importance of life-work balance and as a result, led dozens of retreats and ultimately wrote my first book called Smart Self-Care for Busy Women. So many women aren’t taught the importance of self-care and it’s critical for our personal wellness and our professional success.

I’m now in the middle of launching a second business called Sacred Celebrations which is all about designing rituals to help us navigate life’s big transitions. That’s one thing I learned during my time in Asheville – how important it is to slow down, savor the moment, celebrate the joys and honor the tragedies. My second book will be coming out in the fall and I’m developing a product line to go with it. We’ll have ritual blessing kits for new homes, baby blessings, wedding celebrations, grief rituals and more.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My 10 year old daughter, Riley, is my inspiration. She’s here to be my greatest teacher. I joke that God knew I wasn’t ready to really learn until later in life which is why it took so long for her to get here. She’s adopted and I was 41 and my husband was 45 when she joined our family. She thinks it’s so cool that mom has a website, speaks and has written a book (about to publish my second). She comes up with creative ideas for my business and she’s had her own entrepreneurial endeavors including lemonade stands, popsicle stands and my favorite – selling her art. She inspires me daily to be creative, to think out of the box and to really embrace life with gusto!

Website: www.elizabethbarbour.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/elizabthbarbour

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethbarbour

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizabethtbarbour

Image Credits
Kelley Sweet Photography, Jenny Midgley Photography, Benjamin Porter Photography