WELCOME!

I know we are going to get along.

Why? Because you’re here.

You’re the kind of person who thinks,

“Okay, great, this all sounds interesting. But who is this Amy Coats person? What’s her background? What experience does she have? How can I trust that she really can help me?”

And so you came to check out my About page. I like that. And I always do the same thing.

Because while I love learning—emphasis on the love—I also know there are a lot of resources out there, some are helpful and some – not so much. There are numerous business courses that fail to deliver on generating meaningful, actionable results. And trust me, I've tried them all.

So let me introduce myself, tell you why I became a Corporate Exit Strategist, why the strategy I eventually created made all the difference, and what my life is like now.

My last corporate position had become a crummy job. It wasn’t always crummy, though. For the first 11 or so years it was pretty good. I learned a lot, met my boyfriend there, and I felt like I was growing. I became passionately involved in, and committed to, the success of the company.

But something happened along the way. The company changed, lost their focus, and suffered from the same poor business practices that I had worked tirelessly to correct just a few short years before. It was no longer a good situation. And when it wasn’t good anymore, it was bad.

Real bad.. Awful.

And believe me, I was still hustling and working as hard as ever. The problem wasn’t me, though it didn’t stop me from trying to be better. If you’re in, or have been in, a toxic environment, I’m sure you can relate.

After much soul searching and deliberation, I realized that my 9 to 5 was limiting my ability to grow and draining the motivation and energy I took great pride in. The reality is that corporate careers aren't for everyone. And for some, they work for a period of time until they reach the point where fulfillment and independence becomes a bottled up dream. It was happening to me and I needed to take a leap of faith, a faith in my ability to achieve, succeed, and grow.

Luckily, by some stroke of magic, I’d had an idea to try building a consulting business in my free time. My company was Virtual COO Solutions and I was just that—a remote COO for all kinds of different companies. I had outside income, so that made the decision to quit my day job easy, right?

Wrong. So wrong.

It was a painful leap, to say the least. There was no net, no parachute, and many days and weeks of self-doubt. I immersed myself in all of the courses, coaches, and advice I could find. I like to tell people that I was consuming information but I wasn't creating success.

That's when I got smart and created the right way to realize my goals and dreams. The right way involves a plan and a system for ensuring financial obligations are met while nurturing your emotional and creative needs. What I learned - and what I teach my students—is that there is a smart way for going about quitting your job and a way that makes it pretty torturous. There is a right way and a wrong way to transition into self-employment.

And the good news is that it absolutely can be done. It’s perfectly possible for you. The wonderful women that I’ve worked with are living lives in which they actually enjoy what they do. And not only that, but their time is their own. They’re free.

Today, I live a life where I enjoy what I do, cherish the people I work with, respect the time and efforts of others, have time for friends, family, and the volunteer groups I am fortunate enough to be engaged with.

I take impromptu vacations during the week, on the weekend, or anytime I want. I don’t have to ask for “permission” to take time off or be limited by how much personal time I’m “allowed”. My schedule is no longer dictated by the arbitrary and unpredictable whims of others. I set my own hours. I volunteer for my favorite non-profits. I do amazingly creative, effective work. No one tells me whether I’m allowed to work from home or not. I’ve escaped the 1960’s, finally. I work where I want, when I want, and the quantity and quality of work I do is better than ever.

But honestly, the best part of all of this is that I can do work that I love. Work that makes me feel respected, appreciated, valued, and good about myself. And I can do it all without worrying about jeopardizing my finances or my financial future.

After much soul searching and deliberation, I realized that my 9 to 5 was limiting my ability to grow and draining the motivation and energy I took great pride in. The reality is that corporate careers aren't for everyone. And for some, they work for a period of time until they reach the point where fulfillment and independence becomes a bottled up dream. It was happening to me and I needed to take a leap of faith, a faith in my ability to achieve, succeed, and grow.

Luckily, by some stroke of magic, I’d had an idea to try building a consulting business in my free time. My company was Virtual COO Solutions and I was just that—a remote COO for all kinds of different companies. I had outside income, so that made the decision to quit my day job easy, right?

Wrong. So wrong.

It was a painful leap, to say the least. There was no net, no parachute, and many days and weeks of self-doubt. I immersed myself in all of the courses, coaches, and advice I could find. I like to tell people that I was consuming information but I wasn't creating success.

That's when I got smart and created the right way to realize my goals and dreams. The right way involves a plan and a system for ensuring financial obligations are met while nurturing your emotional and creative needs. What I learned - and what I teach my students—is that there is a smart way for going about quitting your job and a way that makes it pretty torturous. There is a right way and a wrong way to transition into self-employment.

And the good news is that it absolutely can be done. It’s perfectly possible for you. The wonderful women that I’ve worked with are living lives in which they actually enjoy what they do. And not only that, but their time is their own. They’re free.

Today, I live a life where I enjoy what I do, cherish the people I work with, respect the time and efforts of others, have time for friends, family, and the volunteer groups I am fortunate enough to be engaged with.

I take impromptu vacations during the week, on the weekend, or anytime I want. I don’t have to ask for “permission” to take time off or be limited by how much personal time I’m “allowed”. My schedule is no longer dictated by the arbitrary and unpredictable whims of others. I set my own hours. I volunteer for my favorite non-profits. I do amazingly creative, effective work. No one tells me whether I’m allowed to work from home or not. I’ve escaped the 1960’s, finally. I work where I want, when I want, and the quantity and quality of work I do is better than ever.

But honestly, the best part of all of this is that I can do work that I love. Work that makes me feel respected, appreciated, valued, and good about myself. And I can do it all without worrying about jeopardizing my finances or my financial future.