This is how I decide what to do when I need my own coaching as I take on new learning opportunities and need extra support in a growth area. Individual Coaching I choose individual coaching when I have a very specific challenge that can only be resolved with one-on-one support. I also assess if the response to my questions would snowball to a series of questions that need dedicated time. For example, I'd like to learn to carry a tune. I dont' want to be a singer but I want to learn to singing the best I can. Once I'm ready to get this goal of my bucket list, I will hire a singing coach and pay for the time-intensive individual teaching and coaching. Learning to sing is a time-internsive skill to develop and much more for someone that doesn't sing and has no experience. Group Coaching I choose group coaching when I want and need a community of people who are addressing the same or related challenges I am facing. If I don't need individual (walk me through this) support, group coaching if my default. As long as there is a way to get support from the coach or my peer group, group coaching is my preference. I would not choose group coaching for my goal of learning to sing a tune because that amount in deep learning I need to learn to developt this skill is intense. I can't even hear the beats in music or follow fast-pace lyrics. I'd choose group coaching once I've reached a level of proficiency that does not require intensive support. When I decided to join the entreprenuerial world, I bought BSchool, a group coaching program for women by Marie Forleo. I chose this group coaching because I needed a well-thought out program that gave me a process to follow and customize. In this case, I wanted Marie Forleo's thinking, experience, and guidance in the entreprenuership world but didn't need her direct coaching. Plus, I don't think I could afford her if she did offer direct coaching. The level of coaching she offers in her group coaching is enough.

I offer group coaching because it connects me to more people than individual coaching. I also find that group coaching is better than doing individual coaching if your are not clear on your coaching goals and outcomes. I learned about the value of group coaching from college group office hours. As a first-gen college student who always worried that I was not going to succeed at UC Berkeley, I showed up to office hours a lot. Some professors held individual office hours and other held group office hours. I found that I liked group office hours most because I was able to listen to the range of challenges my classmates were facing. Often times their struggles prompted question or other times it gave me the opportunity to share with them how I understood a topic or idea. I also got to hear from other classmates on how they understood the content. Sometimes I would show up and say, I don't have any questions yet but I would like to listen to the discussion. When professors offered individual office hours but I didn't have a clear purpose for meeting with them, I would schedule office hours for an alternative time and bring classmates and friends. I learned more about our class topics through group discussions because it taught me to anticipate potentially challenging topics and allowed me to recall past discussion and the professors responses to their questions. I love individual coaching because it allows me to go deep with a clients on a clear challenges or outcome.

All people are welcome to my community regardless of all the -isms in this world. I specialize in supporting Latinas and women of color because I know my communities are looking for people who look like them and who can speak to their unique experiences. I can do that because I am the first in my family to go to college, and I've faced a variety of personal and professional challenges that positively and negatively impacted my career and influenced my life. Some of the roadblocks I've faced and the women I've coached are related to their first-gen experience, culture, immigrant status, childhood economic status, and so much more. I'm here to have hard and important discussions. Join the community.

In the simplest terms, a first-generation professional is a person who is the first in their family to attend and graduate from college and the first to have a profesional career. With tech advancements, however, first-gens are finding their way into professional careers without a college degree as entreprenuers and self-taught coders, developers, copywriters, and so much more. But what makes a person first-gen is the fact that they are the first to enter professional workspaces that their parents did not have access. Since they are the first, first-gens face many career roadblocks related to their lack of networks and industry know-how. That is why I coaching, guide, and mentor first gens professionals like me.