From The Desk Of … Rachel Camfield

You know when you meet someone and you instantly click?  That is definitely the path I took with Rachel Camfield.  She introduced herself to me and I don’t think my life has ever been the same. I met Rachel at my first Summit almost two years ago.  At the time she was working for Cat Studio and was quite frankly kicking tail and taking names.  She immediately stood out to me as someone fabulous and smart and her smile lit up the room.  Fast forward two years and the impact she has made on my life is undeniable.  Almost a year ago Rachel stepped out of her comfort zone, left her job with Cat Studio and started her own business as a life coach.  I remember when the email came announcing her new business and when I went to respond I couldn’t just say congratulations, I had to ask for details.   It wasn’t something I thought out or planned on, but before I knew it I was having a conference call with Rachel, learning more about her business and signing in pink sharpie on the dotted line.

My trip to the Summit that first year was life changing for me.  I sat in one of the sessions and made the immediate decision to stop calling myself “just a blogger” and start thinking about and building a brand. It was time to make a commitment to a career and not just a few posts a week about things that may or may not tie together.  I recall when I ordered business cards and when I set aside office time and when I decided I was serious about the journey.  Fast forward eight months and now I was hiring a life coach and a brand manager and I was getting very serious about the path I was on.  Rachel helped me achieve every single one of the goals I set for myself last year all the while “forcing” me to set even bigger ones and helping me achieve those as well.   I call her my pocket cheerleader and truly there is no other way to describe her.  She sends texts and emails with confetti, little notes of encouragement and always is there to celebrate when I send messages in all caps.  She is, quite frankly, the reason I have grown in the way I have the last year.

When I was thinking about the desk series lineup for this year I could not start any other place than with Rachel.  I wanted to share the little cheerleader that always rides me with and let you in on the secret behind me.  When I sent her questions I knew her answers would be fabulous, but I had no idea how much she had grown on her own the last year.  She not only went out on her own, but she nailed it and grew beyond her wildest expectations.  She took kicking tail and taking names to a whole new level.  That, my friends, is inspiring.

First of all, tell me about Rachel.

I am a mentor and coach to heart-centered, innovative and personal brands, leaders, creative entrepreneurs and business owners along with being an inspirational writer and speaker. I live in Richmond, Virginia with my husband Brian, and our toy poodle, Wally.

How did your career start and what has the path looked like for you?

I am oh-so excited to be here with you, Paige. You make the world brighter!

My career started about 15 years ago at the audacious age of 13. Maybe even a little bit before that. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to want to create, express, and serve. I started my own greeting card business as a girl and loved the process of crafting something special that told a story, and hopefully, inspired someone.

Fast forward to my early 20’s, I studied two of my passions in college, English and psychology, and had that very popular question asked often, “What are you going to do with that?” Kind of like the Charlie Brown quote when Linus asks, “What do you want to be when you grow up, Charlie Brown?” and CB replies, “I want to grow up and be insanely happy!” – that’s how I felt. My intuition told me to trust my steps, and I believed my career path would involve these two passions, among many others. And it has.

I was a part of the wholesale home décor and gift industry for over 5 years while also keeping my foot in the personal growth and development world and growing a small blog. Looking back, I realize I was giving myself a practical and real-life business education. It was really hard work and sometimes not as glamorous as it looked, but I loved what I did as a sales rep and territory manager working directly with retailers in the community and across the country. I traveled to trade shows, connected with some of the most innovative and creative designers and business owners, and got to learn from the best of the best in sales, manufacturing, product development, marketing, and customer service. As I continued to develop my own skills, opportunities began to present themselves for me to incorporate my passions of brand storytelling, positive communication, and working with the public using social media, online marketing, and public relations to represent the catstudio brand.

Would you do anything differently?

I would trust more! Trust God, my gifts, the people in my life and the people I had not even met yet. Just trust that they were coming and out there. Trust and know that everything was going to be even better than I imagined.