Serving Beyond: Katrece Boyd – Transforming Lives One Person At A Time

Katrece Boyd – corporate trainer, business consultant, and coach to financial service representatives who are new business owners at Horace Mann Educators Corporation – has the privilege of working with individuals seeking to change the lives of families. In this role, she believes her day job has helped her stretch and grow her skills as a coach and has further solidified this type of work for her. She understands starting and constructing a business is tough work for her clients. It tests every bit of who they are because it’s impossible to grow a successful business without growing yourself; and for Katrece, that’s where the work begins. She believes it’s a perfect place to serve in this capacity with her gifts of business coaching and transformational coaching.

A Michigan native who moved to Raleigh in 2012, Katrece is active in Raleigh and Durham and believes in serving beyond the healthcare insurance and financial industry. Through various interactions with Katrece in the community and social settings, and witnessing her passion for others to live out their creative value, I have had the opportunity to learn about transformational coaching, the role it plays in our overall health and well-being, and how Katrece came to the notion of serving others in this way. She freely and enthusiastically shares her journey.

What attracted you to the coaching profession, particularly spiritual & transformational coaching?

I’m a lover of people. I love how God has shaped and crafted each of us to be a unique representation of Him. All throughout my life I’ve found myself in these leadership and mentorship positions where I was pouring into people and having natural conversations around purpose, heart-calling, and identity. One day I was praying and asking God what I should do with what I believed are my gifting and strengths. How could I best serve Him and others with them? He led me to Christian Life Coaching. I found a few resources on it and something burned inside of me. It felt like it aligned exactly with how I show up and I wanted to show up for people every day. Several years later, I’m still walking this journey.

How would you describe coaching?

This is a great question. Before I answer that, I’ll say that most people are confused about what professional coaching is because it’s not a “regulated” profession. Meaning, there’s not one singular body that states “this is coaching”. There are independent reputable organizations that help to create coaching standards that people can depend on. One such organization is the International Coach Federation (ICF), which is the body that I align my practice with. With that said, the ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

What do you believe others gain from having a coach?

There are so many benefits to coaching! Les Brown once said, “The graveyard is the richest place on earth,” meaning that our greatest potential as mankind is buried in the dirt. I believe coaching is a beautiful tool that helps you unearth your own potential before it ends up in the grave. And it does so in a collaborative way in which you are heard, seen, and fully present with yourself in the moment. That’s critical to self-development. Being able to see and reflect and grow from that reflection. I like to consider coaching as part of my personal “soul-care” toolkit. Everyone’s personal coaching journey is different, but the overall outcome I generally hear is the same. The experience of coaching helps you show up fully in this beautiful and oftentimes complex life. It gives you the opportunity to leave nothing behind.

When did you know it was time to extend beyond your 9-5 role and assist others in the community?

My plan has always been to own something of my own since childhood, and my heart’s always been drawn to women and our unique perspectives and journey. However, marrying my husband in 2012 and seeing his heart, love and compassion for serving his community is what truly empowered me to serve in a greater way. He has served adults with special needs, currently a volunteer for the Special Olympics Summer Games here in NC, and train and coach young men and women across the Triangle. I love the giving heart and witnessing the impact of putting your “hands and feet” to work in service of others. Marrying him has definitely caused me to become more whole-hearted in reaching out and giving of myself.

Tell me how you are helping others live a healthy & well life, and specifically how you are helping others in your community?

I serve my community in three primary areas:

• Women’s Empowerment
• Urban Economic Empowerment
• Urban Food Sustainability

Women’s Empowerment

With coaching I have the benefit of doing a lot of one on one work with women, helping them shape healthy identities and live from a healthy space. It seems we are in the age of “the woman”. And I love that! With our many accomplishments, we are also worthy of healthy identities. Through my church (Vision RDU) and several other organizations I partner with, I have the opportunity to mentor and disciple young women. Young women are my heart space. I desire to witness the generation behind me become more than me. I want them to be my wildest dreams. I also believe I serve in this space through my friendships. I have been blessed with an outstanding community of women where we build up and challenge one another! It isn’t always easy, but it is beautiful. Being loved and supported in a community is critical.

Urban Economic Empowerment

I coach and consult with business owners (mostly pro-bono) in starting and launching businesses. Everything from the basics such as structuring their enterprise, to working on the “tough stuff” like mindset, clarity and focus, strategy, money, etc. I am also a volunteer with Black Wall Street: Homecoming, a non-profit organization based out of Durham, NC that promotes thought leadership and provides access to capital networks for minority entrepreneurs to increase diversity within the technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Urban Food Sustainability

I’ve served with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle here in Raleigh, NC. I first started serving because I love the idea of growing my own food source and was curious about learning how a farm works while giving back. But since moving to Raleigh I’ve lived mostly on the Southeast side and it’s a perpetual food desert here. We can’t seem to keep a grocery store in the area and finding quality produce requires you to travel over 10 miles one way contingent upon where you’re located. That’s ridiculous. So, my husband and I recently joined the Fertile Ground Food Cooperative to help increase access to healthy and affordable food in Southeast Raleigh. I’m excited to start working with this group!

What, or who, has served as your inspiration to focus on total health, wellness and transformation from a spiritual perspective?

Definitely my mother who, in my eyes, was the most full-hearted woman I’ve ever known. Her life’s challenges, and how she faced those challenges is what’s so attractive to me about her journey. She grew up in extreme poverty, like not eating for several weeks, and had family members who suffered from mental illness, which greatly impacted her life. In spite of those encounters, she lived her life with grace, dignity and faith. She was a gifted woman, mother, and whole-hearted human being who taught me faith, trust, joy, peace, and love in how she walked with Jesus. She was also a Geriatric and Psychiatric Nurse, therefore, physical and mental well-being was very important to her. After she passed, the Lord sent me other beautiful women who have really touched my life. My sister, coach and friend Sackeena Gordon-Jones is one of those women and serves as a constant inspiration to me. She walks in this amazing grace and flow with the Spirit of God and her trust in Him is aspirational. It encourages me to lean deeper, trust wider, and rest in the care of my Father.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years as a transformational coach?

There are two scriptures in the Word that helps me answer this question:

• 3 John 1:2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
• Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Wherever our heart and souls go, is how our lives will flow. I believe the starting point of an abundant life (with self, in relationships, in career, in business, etc), starts with where our heart and souls are centered. Therefore, in 5 years I desire to continue doing work that focuses on the health and wellness and total transformation of the heart and souls of those I serve. For me, I envision more group coaching where I can serve more women in the areas of identity, self-worth, purpose, love and soul-care. I’d also love to create spaces where women can practice this type of living whether it be retreats or conferences.

What tips do you have for others desiring to branch out into an area beyond their traditional job and serve beyond in their passion?

Release it to walk in it. I’ve spent a lot of time wrapping myself around the “idea” of being an entrepreneur. Like I said, I’ve wanted to own my own business since I was a child and I placed a lot of my identity in achieving this goal. But often, when we hold too tightly to an ideal (whether that be an ideal career, relationship or self-perspective) we find ourselves missing out on the very thing we so deeply desire. This can be due to fear, false expectations, or lack of trust in the God who gave it to us in the first place. Learn to release those desires to God. Give them over moment by moment and trust Him to manifest the dream He’s given you. Once you release it, you start seeing errors that were actually preventing you from possessing what’s been yours all along. I’ve found that when I allow God to hold what is His anyway, I am freer, less self-absorbed, more thankful, and more open to His leading. It may not be easy at first (it hasn’t been for me), but it invites God’s grace into our lives to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. So yeah, let that puppy go!

For more info, visit https://www.facebook.com/katreceboydcoaching/