New Orleans is one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. We might not know exactly how we know you, but we know who you are or someone you know.
That’s how I met Julie Couret, first through Twitter, then multiple personal run-ins. But when people asked what she did, I couldn’t pinpoint it. I was used to throwing who someone worked for out as a reference, but it turns out Couret works for herself.
She’s the founder of 7602 Coach, an executive training firm. What exactly is executive training? We asked Couret for ourselves.
What is 7602?
“The address of the house I grew up in the Carrollton neighborhood. It’s a nod to where the executive coach in me was born, literally and figuratively. As a young child, I wrote a family newsletter to help everyone be informed and be on the same page of what all the comings and going were in the family, which is a lot about executive coaching, creating a culture of engagement with employees and ensuring everyone feels valued and informed. I was doing that as a kid at 7602.”
If someone asked what you do, how do you explain it to them?
“I’m an executive coach. I coach people to their best possible potential, whether they are. Are they managing people? Themselves? A culture? Expectations? I work with leaders to help get them out of their own way by personalized one-on-one coaching where everyone is happy and valued.”
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Slinging advice on set for “Good Living with Julie” with @greatdaylouisiana
Did you have a 9-5 job before?
“I worked for Walt Disney World Resorts as a recruiter. I worked with Disney for 10 years, so my last job with Disney was as a recruiter. I was based out of my home near New Orleans and I traveled to about five states recruiting but retired my mouse ears to start a family.”
Did your family have a hand in wanting to start your own business?
“I had a baby and I realized I did not want to be at a desk never seeing my child anymore. When she was 3 months old I decided I’m going into business for myself. People kept coming to me for advice, people kept coming to me to speak at events, and I realized that I had a skill set that I wasn’t tapping into. So with a 3-month-old in my lap at the kitchen table, I launched my consulting business. I grew another baby through terrible twos, and a divorce, I carried that business on. And I leveraged the platform I have now to advocate for co-parenting and educating over parents that divorce doesn’t have to mean the end, it can be a new chapter and that your children can still grow up the way you envision them to grow up. Now I also speak openly about dating after divorce, dating in your 40s, topics that no one is talking about but it’s affecting everybody.”
If someone is thinking about starting their own business, what advice would you give them?
“They should get a business coach. I got a business coach and my profits tripled in the first 45 days. That was a bigger leap of faith, hiring a business coach, than going into business for myself. Going into business for yourself doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. Hiring a business coach certainly did, but it was so worth it. A coach helps you figure out how to market yourself, what’s going to be your niche, what’s your plan? Why are you going into business for yourself? What’s your strategy? Capital — have you thought this out? How are you going to sustain this business?”
What the most fulfilling part of your business?
“Knowing I’m making workplaces a more joyful and fulfilling place to be for employees.”
What do you see in the future for 7602?
“Continued growth throughout the U.S. I have multistate clients, I see that continuing. I see my platform for co-parenting to gain a larger audience. I continue to get tapped to speak on larger platforms, larger events, with the goal in mind to give people the tools so they can go back to work and be happier and more effective.”
Anything else to add about being in business for yourself?
“It’s not for the weary. Fate favors the bold, you’ll work harder than you ever have when you work for yourself. It’s a hustle but I love it. It was very tempting during my divorce to get a job, because the last thing you want to do when going through a divorce is to get clients to coach them when your life is falling apart, but I stuck to my passion.”
Julie is one of the speakers being featured on Very Local’s “How We Made It” entrepreneurship panel, being held May 8. Click here for more information.
