It’s always nice to have someone to talk to. It’s even better if that someone can help you sort out career changes, define goals and streamline projects. Jerri Udelson, owner of Entrepreneurial Coaching and Consulting, has been doing just that for 17 years.
“I not only help business owners and self-employed professionals create successful careers, but (I help them) have great lives,” she said.
A master’s-certified coach, Udelson said it’s very common for self-employed people to work themselves right out of fun. “I help people find a balance between work and pleasure,” she said. “My priorities are simple,” said Udelson, “They’re yours.” That’s her motto.
Udelson, a business woman with a background in real estate and two degrees in psychology, has guided hundreds of clients to more fulfilling paths.
Seven years ago, she began focusing on working with top-producing agents of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Mass. “Many wanted a life outside of real estate,” she said. “Together, we worked out various ways of doing that and still feeling successful in the work force.”
Udelson also works with people in transition. When Julian Bullitt learned his division at Polaroid would soon lose its funding, he began rethinking his choices.
“A friend had worked with Jerri and raved about her,” he said. “I called, and we worked regularly for 10 months. She asks good questions and helped figure out what I wanted to do.” Bullitt, a chemist, said Udelson asked him to come up with a list of things he wanted to do.
“Then she helped me winnow it down,” Bullitt said. “She had me really describe what I envisioned, and putting it into words helped crystallize it.”
Another client, Tracey Smith, a Boston Realtor, has worked with Udelson three years. “She helped make my professional life a little more bearable,” Smith said. “She has good management ideas. She also helped me find a personal life. I’m a workaholic, but now I have a boyfriend and actually take time off from work.”
Smith calls Udelson once a week, which is typical, though some people might want more contact. Clients can also work by e-mail. Udelson tries to meet with people face to face at least once. “It’s just easier talking together when you have a face in mind.” She works with 12 to 20 clients a month.
Udelson was certified by the International Coach Federation in 1989. Ten years later, she founded the National Personal and Business Coaching Week.
Udelson and her fiancé moved to Santa Fe in March. “He’s an attorney and wanted to reinvent himself as an artist,” she said. “Because I work by phone and e-mail, it was easy for me to move.”
She’s looking for a few more clients. “What I do is not a social call and it’s not therapy. It’s all about active listening,” she said.