Career change happens. You lose a job. Take a package. Decide to leave. Buy a business. Close a business. The Legacy Center helps people take control and make a change on their terms. Peg Stookey is the founder of The Legacy Center and an OfficeKey Client. Get to know Peg in her client spotlight!
Tell us about The Legacy Center.
- In its current iteration, The Legacy Center is just me. I help professionals that are employed, unemployed and self-employed to lead their future career/business success by providing career coaching and leadership training. Many of my career clients are in a job change situation so we work on “Change Readiness” and job search confidence.
- I lead mastermind sessions for solo business owners to help them accelerate their success.
- Because it’s a necessary tool for all of my clients, I spend considerable time helping them with overall personal branding, LinkedIn, resumes, elevator speeches, networking, etc.
- The personal branding work has become so integral and enjoyable that I’m in the process of launching a new company, MaxPotential U and rebranding myself as a Personal Brand and Career Strategist. This is truly where my heart is; helping professionals to unleash their unlimited potential in order to create better work, life, relationships, retirements, etc.
Who is your ideal client?
- Proactive, employed or unemployed professionals who want to go further, faster. Many of my cli
ents come from P&G because I have a Change Readiness program that qualifies for their retraining benefit which is a huge win-win for them! - Solopreneurs who don’t want to be alone on their entrepreneurial journey, want help to lead their success as a business owner and also want to help others do the same. I offer individual strategic leadership training/coaching as well as small group mastermind and accountability sessions which I facilitate.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
- I’m especially good at helping others see what they can’t: what’s good and right about them AND what they can do with that insight. I LOVE helping people to quickly make a huge turn-around, achieve more than they ever thought possible and learn to embrace change and uncertainty. This is transformational work which is extremely fulfilling.
- Another aspect that I LOVE is that I work with brilliant people who have very different experiences and knowledge. I’m privileged to get to know them at such a deep level and learn from them.
- Finally, I’m a StrengthFinder® believer! I’ve created a business model that leverages my top strengths of Futuristic, Strategic, Ideator, Activator and Maximizer. People often will say things like, “Wow! Your strengths really match your work!” It’s actually more strategic than that. I’ve created work that leverages my strengths. With very little effort, my work is joyful because I get to use the best of me nearly every single day!
What is the best career advice you were ever given?
Be authentic. Don’t try to be someone else, even if it seems to be what is demanded or expected of you. I struggled as a franchise consultant with the “good ol’ boys” way of doing the business. Ironically, it was a man who was hired by one of the “boys” to do a session on networking best practices who gave that advice. It transformed my approach and lifted a 5-ton weight from my shoulders. It was then that I started to succeed and then that I realized that I didn’t want to be part of that particular group. My first company, Legacy Connection, LLC was born not long after and I’ve never looked back. Another irony: I LOVE working with men (50%+ of my clients are men) and they sincerely appreciate my approach. I guess it’s both insightful and refreshing for them to have professional, purposeful, heartfelt conversations that help them explore areas that they’ve never traversed before.
What do you enjoy most about your partnership with OfficeKey?
- I really appreciate that I can present a professional presence without having to invest in a full-time office. I’ve done the Panera/Starbucks approach and even had a dedicated office for several years. In order to do my best work as a coach and strategist, I need a quiet office space. I also need space for groups to meet and to do workshops. The diversity and flexibility really work for me.
- I LOVE that there are 5 locations so that it’s convenient for me to meet my clients where they are.
- Finally, the staff rocks!!
How do you spend time outside of work?
I read a lot and love to cook, garden, play with our dogs and grandkids. I’m especially interested in learning about nutrition and how food acts as medicine when used correctly. It’s been pretty shocking to realize that nearly everything I’ve learned about nutrition is wrong.
What is the last book that you read?
I’m reading Food: What the Heck Should We Eat by Mark Hyman. It’s easily the most comprehensive, credible and life-changing nutrition/wellness book I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot of them).
To learn more about Peg and The Legacy Center, visit her website or join us for her Key Connections Presentation.