Carla Akalarian, left, a business and life coach, talks with one of her clients, Wendy Juergens, a nutritional supplement distributor. Juergens credits Akalarian with herlping her make certain decisive business decisions and uncovering growth opportunities.
Business and life coach helps clients kick-start personal, professional work
Sparkplug Coaching
Owner: Carla J. Akalarian
Type of Business: Business and life transition coaching
Location: 35 Lafayette St., Pawtucket
Year Founded: 2003
Employees: 1
Annual Sales: WND
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
While most people associate coaches with wins and losses on a sports field, business and life coach Carla Akalarian works on designing plans for the game of life.
Akalarian founded Sparkplug Coaching two years ago. The former executive recruiter works with small-business owners and helps them balance life with work, and vice versa.
“I help clients with their vision of growth and what that vision will do for them,” Akalarian said.
Akalarian acts as a sounding board to her clients and helps them explore different ideas and strategies for running their business and meeting their personal goals. After an initial meeting with a client, she schedules three 45-minute phone coaching sessions over the course of the month.
“Carla gets me to think about things I wouldn’t otherwise,” said Wendy Juergens, one of Akalarian’s clients. Juergens owns a business with her husband, and is working to make her part-time nutritional supplement distribution business a bigger enterprise.
Before each phone session, clients fill out a coaching prep form to outline the challenges or problems they’re dealing with that week. Most times, Akalarian said, their responses on that form are the focus of that week’s session.
“My focus is totally on them,” Akalarian said, “and helping them find the right answers for themselves.” She said she often finds herself doing a lot of digging to find those answers.
At the end of each phone call, Akalarian and the client agree on an “action plan” for the next week. The client is usually given an “inquiry” to ponder over the course of the week, Akalarian said, which sets the basis for the next session.
The business of life coaching appeared on the radar about 15 years ago and has gained popularity in the past few years. Akalarian received her training from the Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, Calif., and became a certified professional co-active coach in August 2003.
“I help people integrate all aspects of their lives,” Akalarian said. “There’s the kick-in-the-butt aspect – my job is to find out what’s going on, look at why someone isn’t taking action and then help them get back on track.”
Juergens said she knew she needed a coach to help her balance work and life. She said she met many people who receive coaching and Akalarian was a casual acquaintance before the coaching relationship began.
“It’s worked,” Juergens said of the coaching. “The changes I’ve made are really incredible.”
Juergens keeps all the coaching forms from the sessions to see what issues she’s worked on, “and which ones I’m avoiding.” Coaching homework often helps Juergens address issues. When she sits down to write a few paragraphs to address her inquiry question, “all of a sudden I have a realization and it unblocks something that has been blocking me.” A recent question Juergens had to answer was, “What do I want my business and life to look like in 2006?”
Akalarian said she can relate to issues small-business owners run into because she co-owned a recruiting business and later started a company doing business-to-business telephone prospecting for small-business owners setting appointments for them.
“I can relate to them – I know what they’re going through,” said Akalarian, who has an economics degree from Brown University.
Between phone sessions, Akalarian is available to her clients via phone or e-mail. Those contacts usually come right when the client is in the middle of a business issue and needs to talk to a coach. Akalarian said those calls are one of the most satisfying aspects of her job.
“If I can be a help in making a critical business decision, that’s great,” she said.
Juergens said she’s a very independent person, but having a coach has broadened her horizons.
“Before I started getting coached, I thought I knew everything,” Juergens said.
Juergens said working with Akalarian has taught her to think creatively. She’s made three major decisions to which she credits Akalarian’s coaching.
“I tend to take on too much,” Juergens said. “Carla keeps me on track.”
Each client requires a highly customized approach.
“Sometimes people have goals, but they haven’t defined why they want to achieve that goal,” Akalarian said. “The why of what someone is doing is really important.”
