This week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Cheryl Parks, sales and mindset coach. Cheryl works with my business coach, Liz J. Simpson, and has provided me invaluable advice and confidence boosts as I reboot my business.

Cheryl and I immediately connected, and I was especially lucky to meet her in person in early March, since the Big Money Movement coaching program happens all on Zoom and social media. It was a delight to delve into her background and discover how many ways our lives overlap and connect.

I was surprised to discover that Cheryl has not always been a confident, outgoing, and self-assured businesswoman. At one point she was so shy she wouldn’t ring the bell to get off a city bus.

“I became so shy. People they'd say, oh, I know you from, and I would say, no, you don't know me. I know you don't know me. You probably know my cousin. You probably know my sister. There were so many times Marie. I was just shrinking and shrinking and shrinking. I literally stayed in my room.”

After a successful corporate sales career, Cheryl now has a growing sales and mindset coaching and consulting practice. She trains leaders and founders to sell in their own unique voice without being salesy or scripted.

Before she turned 30, she found herself as a shy single mom of two. She realized her shyness was going to derail all of her dreams, goals, and plans for life.

She created a plan and took intentional action steps to march herself out of debilitating shyness and into a successful corporate sales career, which lasted for over 25 years and $25M in sales.

“There's still a shy part of me…but for the most part I'm in control of the shy girl and say, ‘okay, you gotta be quiet for a minute because I have some things I have to handle.’ So the great part is just being in control of that and not having the shy girl overwhelm everything else.”

Cheryl’s greatest passion is helping people who don't feel they have a voice discover their unique style and voice. Every day it amazes her that she stands out front: visible and proud to be her!

Please drop me a line at marie@fertilegroundcommunications.com or on social media to let us know what you thought about this episode.

I help professional services firms avoid BORING and boost employee engagement, productivity, and readership. I translate technical, complex, and lackluster language into accessible, dynamic, story-driven text. Get known in your industry through outstanding thought leadership content. Walk your talk through outstanding, effective communications with your employees and clients.

As a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police.

Fertile Ground Communications LLC is a certified women-owned business enterprise, disadvantaged business enterprise, and emerging small business.