Meet Teresa Coleman | Mom/Wife/Entrepreneur/FitPro

We had the good fortune of connecting with Teresa Coleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Teresa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I come from a family of hard working parents who taught me that life was about getting an education and finding a good job. I did not have many influences growing up that showed me what it looked like to be an entrepreneur. It was my husband who turned on this light for me. He started a small business 10 years ago and I served as the Chief Administrative Officer filing paperwork, organizing events and such, but I never had an interest in the creative or sales side. I was so focused on my job in corporate America and what I did well. I didn’t stop to think of how the skills that I was already using could transfer into being an entrepreneur. It wasn’t until 4 years later when I fell in love with fitness that I was able to transition and step into the lane that had always been available to me and become a creator of my own fitness brand and business as an umbrella under SouthWestCoast Product, LLC. Since then I have learned to design and print our apparel as well as serve as the lead apparel printer for our customers. I’ve also been able to positively impact women across the world through my empowerment workshops and my podcast. Many opportunities have opened up for me since I took that leap and added entrepreneur to my resume. I still have a day job that I love, but creating a legacy through our business for our children gives me great joy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am currently employed as a Sr. Administrative Assistant at Honeywell. I’ve been working since the age of 16 and held various jobs in fast food, retail and more. My career in corporate America started at the age of 20 when I secured my first well paying job at Cigna Healthcare, I spent 8 years in this industry with 2 of those years at Blue Cross Shield. It was at Blue Cross that I developed the passion for Human Resources. Listening and watching the HR teams in action, I thought to myself I would love to do that. I have a passion for helping and motivating others. I’ve been this way since I was a young girl. After working to secure a position within HR at Blue Cross wasn’t successful, I decided to look elsewhere.

My cousin was working at Wells Fargo on the banking side and she. told me there was an HR opening, but it was a call center position. I looked up the job and applied. If I had to start from the bottom and work in a call center job again, so be it. I went on to have a great 10 year career in HR at Wells Fargo. During this time I was able to hold positions in Leave & Disability Management, Employee Benefits & Records, Talent Acquisition, Onboarding and Administrative. Unfortunately, I was laid off a few months after I reached my 10 year anniversary. I was devastated because I had my eye on yet another position that would elevate me to the next level in HR. I tried diligently to get back into the company. I even applied for jobs that would be a step down from where I left just so that I could keep my tenure. After several recruiters that I had supported in my last role made recommendations to the hiring managers on my behalf and I still got declined, I knew it was time to move on.

I am a firm believer, that when one door closes another one opens….and another one opened quickly. By month three of my layoff I secured a job at MedAire as a Lead Education Coordinator. This position put me into a space I had never been in before and that was the world of Aviation. I learned a lot there and partnered with many local Honeywell teams, not knowing that one day my career would lead me to work there. I had to make a hard decision in 2021 after my dad passed to quit MedAire. Due to the pandemic my entire team was laid off except me and I was the only one at the company who really knew how to run the class bookings, travel and payroll for the instructors, invoicing, etc. Since we were full time from home, I was working anywhere from 50-60 hours a week and I was exempt so there was no overtime pay. After being on bereavement leave for the loss of my dad I ended up having surgery on my hand and then was in a car accident. No one from company leadership reached out when my dad passed, no flowers, card, nothing. But when they learned that I would be out longer than expected they started checking. After going to grief counseling, I decided that I wouldn’t return to that toxic environment. I had to step out on faith with no job lined up and believe that God would make a way for my family and I. Two months after I quit, I landed my current position at Honeywell and have been there for 2 ½ years.

In addition to my corporate career, I’ve also created a career in fitness. I’m an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and I’ve been teaching group fitness for a little over 4 years. I’m currently employed at Crunch Fitness and Mountainside Fitness. I also offer virtual fitness challenges, empowerment workshops and I participate in several community based fitness events locally and in Las Vegas.

I am a hard working individual who learns quickly and adapts to change. I am well organized and love to excel in all things that I do. I have an MBA from the University of Phoenix and my top 5 Strengthfinders strengths are Achiever, Input, Belief, Developer, Arranger.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is so much to do here in AZ but below some of my favorites spots:

Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que at Tempe Market Place for a sit down meal
Smoke Somethin BBQ food truck for on the go

Benihana Chandler has the best prickly pear margaritas and their spicy hibachi chicken is fire

Mastro’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale – the ambience, the food, everything

Westgage Entertainment District – so much to do here

And of course join me for a fitness event – we like to turn up indoors or outdoors

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout God for blessing me with the gift of living and my parents for catching me every time I failed. I would also like to shoutout my husband (my ride or die), my children, my educators at The University of Phoenix, my circle of love (they know who they are) and my entire fitness community.

Website: https://linktr.ee/mrssouthwestcoast

Instagram: @mrssouthwestcoast

Linkedin: Teresa Coleman, MBA

Twitter: @mrs_southwest

Facebook: tcfitnessfusion

Youtube: tcfitnessfusion

Image Credits
2 of the images are by Z Best Foto