Judy Rich: Retailer to founder of Rich Coaching
I’ve always joked I’m rich in name only, but that’s not entirely true. I’ve also lived a very rich and full life. Originally from the States, I moved to the UK in my twenties, and this is where the big things have happened to me – I started a company, I married and had a family, and I overcame cancer. And now, I’m starting again at a very rich and fulfilling stage of my life.
My company was Long Tall Sally which specialises in long clothes for tall women, like myself. When I came to London I found it virtually impossible to buy trousers that came down past my ankles. I decided this had to change and I opened the first Long Tally Sally outlet in 1976. Today the company has over 30 retail outlets and thriving mail-order and web businesses. I’m very proud of its success – not just because it became a flourishing business, but because it was so innovative.
However nearly 30 years is a long time to withstand the stresses of the inevitable ups and downs of any business and in the latter years I found I enjoyed it less and less. I also felt increasingly separated from the ideals and values that had provided my original inspiration. So eventually, I decided that it was time to leave my ‘baby’ (which by now was fully grown-up!) and seek new challenges. I found a buyer, agreed a clean break and suddenly found myself facing the rest of my life with no real idea of what to do next.
In the meantime, at 42, an age when I had a young child, I had been diagnosed with breast cancer which was a shattering experience. I quickly realised that I had to take some responsibility for my treatment and recovery myself. I read everything I could about the disease and explored alternative therapies – homeopathy, relaxation, counselling, nutrition. This opened up invaluable knowledge which I still draw on today. I also helped to launch a new charity – Breakthrough Breast Cancer – which became an important part of my healing process and which, today is the leading breast cancer charity in the world.
So I had plenty of experience to draw on one way or another, but no real inclination to just continue in the corporate arena. With no clear path to follow, I decided to allow myself some time out just to rest, relax and reflect on where my future lay. This involved many creative pursuits – writing, painting, therapies - that I had previously always wanted to pursue but had never really had time for. I was also able to spend much more time with my friends and family, working on my house, and adapting to a slower pace -all those things we associate with traditional ‘retirement’. But I knew they wouldn’t be enough, even if I didn’t have a financial need to keep generating some income.
I knew I needed to find some outlet for the passion, commitment and enthusiasm which I still felt and wanted to feel, and sought some outlet that would allow me to channel this to help others. Fortunately, fate stepped in – a friend told me about life coaching, I went along for an introductory weekend and absolutely loved it. Even though at 62 I was the oldest on the course, my subsequent training as a life coach with The Coaches Training Institute (www.thecoaches.com) was everything I hoped it would be and more, allowing me to develop my existing talents alongside developing new techniques and skills. I completed the course and in 2006 set up my own coaching practice, Rich Coaching.
Although I now coach people of all ages on a huge variety of issues, my particular interest is in those who have been made redundant or are facing retirement – people who are now facing new challenges and uncertainties and are unsure about how to create the future they really want, or even what that future would look like. And personally, I have now have the freedom and flexibility to conduct my working life on my terms, far more than has ever been possible in the past.
And the future? Well, happy as I am, I’m always seeking new challenges and hope I always will. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s what my countryman Henry Thoreau said so well. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." It’s really important to have dreams – and it’s even more important to make them happen.
For further information contact:
jr@richcoaching.co.uk
[story posted February 2007]