I haven’t always been a business coach. I have a Wall Street background and a degree in economics. I spent 15 years working on Wall Street and ten years working at the New York Stock Exchange.
Many people ask me why I would give up a prestigious job that paid me well.
9/11 was a turning point in my life. I was working for a company located in New Jersey on the Hudson River. My office overlooked lower Manhattan. I happened to look up from my desk and saw the first plane crash into the World Trade Center. I watched the world I knew crumble before my eyes. I’m still trying to heal from the experience. What I didn’t recognize, at the time, was that I was given a gift that day. As people escaped from Lower Manhattan to New Jersey by boat, they arrived at a pier in front of the building I worked in. I was able to talk with survivors and make a difference in their experience on that day. This was the beginning of the of end of my life on Wall Street. I started to feel more and more separated from the faceless traders that I “helped” save a penny or two on their trades.
Then I was given an escape route. In 2002, the company I worked for was acquired. I was faced with a decision. I knew I was very good at my “Wall Street job” but I was uninspired and I wanted to find a way to be home with my children.
I decided it was time to help myself, and help others, make a difference in their day-to-day lives. I went into business for myself.
Over the years my business has gone through many changes. I started a business called The Desk Finder and worked as a professional organizer. The Desk Finder didn’t last long. Within a year, I found myself working as an ADHD and productivity coach. I changed my business name to CarrieThru and ultimately to Carrie Greene Coaching.
It took several years before I realized how seriously I had taken my “escape” from Wall Street and the mistake I had made. You see, I ran away from all of it. There were things I wanted to leave behind, but I closed the door on all of it. I ran away from everything I learned, and that was wrong. In 2008 I re-embraced my own business background, the experience I had on Wall Street in marketing and product development. I also acknowledged the skills I gained as I ran my own business. I established myself as a business coach.
As the years have gone by and my own experience as a business owner has grown, I find myself drawn to helping other entrepreneurs like myself. Entrepreneurs with lots of big ideas who struggle to get them done. Entrepreneurs who want to make money but don’t want to sacrifice their life in return. Entrepreneurs who struggle with understanding, and acknowledging, the value that they bring to their clients.
Sure I help my clients with marketing, strategy, sales, planning and productivity. More than that, I help them create a business that pays them well, on their own terms.
