director of operations for a start-up gets her health condition under control
“Health and productivity go hand-in-hand. If you’re not healthy, you can’t be productive. Period.”
situation
Often when business owners find themselves feeling stuck, getting unstuck is more about mindset change than business strategy transformation. This was the case for Kendyle Woodard. Kendyle was the director of operations for a start-up she created with her business partner. She serviced several different companies reviewing legal documents, managing vendors and external consultants, offering financial advice, helping with contracts, licensing, and business development, as well as assisting with day-to-day operations.
The work was stressful, and Kendyle knew she needed to find ways to reduce the number of hours she was working. But before Kendyle could focus on increasing productivity and efficiency in her business, she needed to get her health issues under control. Kendyle knew she needed to find the space to focus on her health, even while she scaled her business.
opportunity
When Kendyle first met Marcey, she had an uncontrolled genetic disorder that can lead to life-threatening heart conditions if left untreated. She was 40lbs overweight, taking medications with unacceptable side-effects, seeing doctors who weren’t helping her feel better, and all of this was adding to her stress. Kendyle distinctly remembers her tipping point: She was at the beach on vacation, when she realized, after five days of not working and giving herself time to relax, her energy levels hadn’t returned to normal. She felt just as tired at the beach as she felt when she was at home. That’s when Kendyle knew there was really something wrong.
As it happened, she also had her first call with Marcey during this vacation. The rest is history. While engaging in the 6-month Power Plan, Kendyle discovered that her medication was actually zapping her energy and making it harder to exercise. She changed medications and found a new doctor. Through exercise and healthy food changes, Kendyle lost 25lbs in her first four months of working with Marcey. The coaching reintroduced Kendyle to the good health habits that she had pushed aside as her business took over. Marcey even found unique ways to incorporate exercise into their coaching meetings.
result
She has kept the weight off and has lost more than 40lbs! Once Kendyle had her health condition under control, work became easier and faster. Using Marcey’s batch processing method, where Kendyle would work through all of the issues with one company before moving onto the next one, she became more efficient and reduced the number of hours she needed to work each day. Being more productive during her work day also meant that Kendyle had more freedom to focus on her health. She incorporated time to exercise and cook healthy meals for herself into her daily schedule —habits she continues to this day, six years later. She has kept the weight off and has lost more than forty pounds!
“Marcey really helped me learn to put me first.”
Because of Marcey’s overall approach to accountability and following up with encouraging words, Kendyle felt empowered to be her best self. But more than being an accountability partner and offering encouragement to keep Kendyle on track, Marcey offered Kendyle strategies for dealing with new challenges as they arise. Kendyle says, “forget about finding that work-life balance everyone talks about. For me, it’s really about living a life-work balance.”
“Marcey is a wonderful inspiration. She’s always there for me. It’s just so obvious that Marcey really wants her clients to succeed.”