Coach Focuses On Pathways
(Business Wednesday, July 25, 2001 South Sound Profile)

Alex Goff, for The Olympian

Versoria helps businesses, individuals make right decisions

OLYMPIA - Sports fans see coaches guide, train and motivate their players, and some might think,
"that's what I need for my life - my own coach."

Those coaches exist.

According to the International Coach Federation, individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses are increasingly turning to business coaches - to the tune of three figures an hour.

It is into this environment that Terry Taylor stepped this summer to start Versoria, a business- and life-coaching business.

Armed with an organizational psychology degree from Antioch University in Seattle, Taylor has worked with several businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals.

"I help people and companies find their passion," said Taylor. "I'm an objective person who can come in, see what's possible, and help develop an active plan."

Finding solutions

Sometimes the plan involves business solutions, but other times the solution is more personal.

"We worked together off and on for some time," said Olympia artist Sherry Buckner. "I thought that Terry was very helpful. One of her main strengths was she was very clear about being assertive.

"I started out wanting to work on my career, but we ended up talking more about the way I responded to things and people in my life."

Taylor said she is not a clinical psychologist. Instead, Taylor helps people and organizations set goals.

With large companies, Taylor helps executives with their relationship skills and in tying the business mission to the individuals and the bottom line.

With individuals, the changes aren't in management structure, but how the individual can adjust his or her thinking.

"I like to work on having people set stretch goals - really audacious goals - and then think how we can achieve them," Taylor said.

Taylor's stretch

For Taylor, starting Versoria was the result of setting her own goals.

Taylor was involved in corporate coaching for almost 10 years, and she was influenced by a trip she took to Russia and Uzbekistan to train students and deliver a coaching presentation.

"The effect of that trip on me was phenomenal," Taylor said. "We're worlds apart socioeconomically, but I saw that the issues are pretty much the same. People have the same anxieties and barriers to success there as we do here."

Following the coaching credo preached by organizations such as the International Coach Federation, Taylor said she believes there is plenty of untapped potential out there. To unlock it, Taylor said it helps to find something you love to do.

"When working with a client I hit on a passion and find a way for them to pursue that passion and grow," Taylor said. "A lot of times people get tied up in ambiguities and barriers to success. I help them find the path that works for them."

Versoria

Owner: Terry Taylor.
Location: 1001 Eastside St S.E., Suite B, Olympia, WA 98501
Phone: 360-754-0929

What I wish someone had told me: Be courageous anyway -- there's no such thing as financial security.

The Olympian Copyright 2001