We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susan Maranto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Susan, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from my parents, who built an insurance agency from the ground up. They literally started that company in a breadbox, selling to family members and friends; in short, anyone who would take a chance on their fledgling company. Dad was constantly educating himself on all matters insurance in order to bring that knowledge to his insureds. He worked all hours-weekends, holidays, weeknights till late-just to keep pace. And his insureds learned that they could contact him at all hours for help and guidance. His insureds became his community, and he faithfully attended many of their celebrations, as well as occasions like viewings and funerals. All this was done with my mother’s support, not as the “woman behind the man,” but rather the woman walking next to the man; offering suggestions, and sometimes pulling back the reins when she saw that my father was working too hard or going in the wrong direction.
From him, I learned to work hard, to continually educate myself in areas pertaining to coaching, to make sure that I am consistently serving my clients in the best way possible, and to take seriously the needs of my clients. From her, I learned to make sure that I am also taking care of myself as I attempt to build this coaching business. My husband is an integral part of the business, as my mother was to my father’s, as he walks next to me, making sure that I have “office hours.”
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the owner of SLM Life Coaching. I am a retired librarian, and this profession prepared me for my current job of coach because it taught me to listen carefully to my customers during our reference interviews so that I could then locate the information they desired. The best part of my job as a librarian was being able to help people-that was my “calling,” and this calling dovetailed nicely with my current job of coach. As a Life Coach, I help people in many different areas of their lives; their jobs, their relationships, their aspirations. It makes my job extremely interesting, enjoyable, and never dull! I have coached one-on-one, in groups, and also helped present a library program on coaching last year. Coaching feeds my soul because once again I am helping people.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Listen to what is being said, and notice how it is being said. Learning the skill of paying attention to what another person is saying is invaluable. Too often, great misunderstandings occur in today’s world because people just weren’t listening.
2) Have fun in your job. Really. Look for ways to creatively bring “you” into it. You’re in that environment 8-plus hours a day-it gets tiring to wear a mask all the time, doesn’t it? Be you.
3) Read. Read everything. Turn off the computer, Facebook, and all the other stuff, plus the TV, and read. (Kindles are ok.) Let your mind soar. Expand your horizons. Shutting off everything is a hard thing to do, but it is a skill worth learning. Reading will help in that endeavor.
Advice? Keep practicing your craft, no matter what it is. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others for help, suggestions, leads, or ideas. Get to know others in your field.
Also, try not to be discouraged if business doesn’t quickly come your way. Going back to my parents, it took years for them to build their business into a success, but as my father always said, “You have to keep plugging away.”
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did was to teach me the importance of being kind to others, to show that you care, and to reach out to people-say hello, make eye contact. In this world, people are lonely, and I have found that saying hello to strangers, just as my parents did, goes a long way to warm up this sometimes cold world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.SLMlifecoaching.wordpress.com
Image Credits
Photos by T. Juliete Photography
