Client Case Study
From Eye Rolls to a Believer.
How a self-described skeptic of business coaching found the best investment she's ever made — and rebuilt two organizations in the process.
Results at a Glance
She Used to Roll Her Eyes at Business Coaches.
Loree Tamayo will be the first to admit it. When she used to see a business coach at a networking event, she had a reaction most independent, driven people recognize — a quiet dismissal. The assumption that coaches are the people who couldn't do it, so they teach it instead.
She had an MBA. She had built Yesterday's Gone Women's Shelter from the ground up. She was the kind of person who figured things out herself.
And then she met Jodee.
"This is the best thing I've ever done in my entire life, and thank God that you got placed in my pathway — because I don't know how I would've gotten through things without you."
How It Started — A Chance Discovery at a Networking Event.
Loree had met Jodee at a networking event. Jodee, being the humble person she is, hadn't mentioned her background running the United Way. It was only at a second event that Loree found out.
Her reaction was immediate: why didn't you tell me? I need help.
Loree was two years into building her nonprofit and was the first to acknowledge she didn't know everything about the nonprofit world. When Jodee offered to come in and do an analysis, Loree asked if she could do it cheap. Jodee laughed and said yes.
What happened next was a gentle, thorough assessment of where Yesterday's Gone needed to grow — delivered in a way that made Loree feel inspired rather than criticized. That's when she knew she was working with someone different.
What Was Actually Going On.
When Loree engaged Jodee, her nonprofit was in transition. Two of her three full-time employees had left — one had moved, one had to resign for personal reasons. She was managing leadership vacancies across multiple roles while simultaneously trying to launch Defining Tomorrow, her new for-profit designed to support the nonprofit through books, workbooks, and remote support groups.
She was also, by her own admission, a big-ideas person who struggled with getting things out of her head and onto paper. Everything lived in her mind. If something happened to her, the organizations she had built would have lost everything she carried.
"Jodee's like, okay, we've gotta figure out how to get this out of your head onto paper, because if you die, what is Yesterday's Gone gonna do?"
What Jodee Actually Did.
The coaching work with Loree operated on two tracks simultaneously: stabilizing Yesterday's Gone through the leadership transition, and beginning to build Defining Tomorrow with the right foundation.
Leadership Transition Support
With decades of nonprofit experience including running the United Way, Jodee brought a level of institutional knowledge to the leadership transition that Loree couldn't have gotten anywhere else. She helped Loree navigate the vacancy left by two key departures, think through what each role actually needed to be, and approach the rebuilding process strategically rather than reactively.
Getting It Out of Her Head
Loree's biggest liability wasn't her skills — it was that everything she knew lived only in her mind. Jodee's solution was practical and modern: use AI to do the transcription work. Talk into Zoom. Let AI convert it. Edit the output. Stop letting the aversion to typing be the reason her organizations were undocumented.
Watching Jodee use AI to handle notes and follow-up in real time was a revelation for Loree. It wasn't just a tool tip. It was a mindset shift about how to get organized without fighting against your own nature.
A Thinking Partner Without Shame
One of the things Loree returned to repeatedly in describing the coaching relationship was the absence of shame. When she had an employee issue and asked Jodee directly — is this a me problem? — the answer was honest. It was about 10% her, 90% the employee. But Jodee addressed the 10% first, and did it in a way that left Loree feeling empowered rather than criticized.
For an independent, accomplished woman who had always found it hard to ask for help, that quality was irreplaceable.
The Skeptic Became the Advocate.
Loree saw a 3x return on her coaching investment. But the transformation she describes goes well beyond the financial return.
She went from someone who privately dismissed business coaches to someone who wanted to record a testimonial specifically to tell other business owners — especially nonprofits, especially solo operators, especially the ones who think they have it figured out — that there is value in having someone help you see the forest for the trees.
"I will never roll my eyes ever again when I meet a business coach. I am a believer. I drank the Jodee Kool-Aid."
The person who came in skeptical, with an MBA and two decades of independence, is now one of the most vocal advocates for what coaching can do. Not because she was convinced by a pitch — but because she lived it.
If Loree Can Change Her Mind, So Can You.
The people who need coaching most are often the ones most convinced they don't need it. If you've ever rolled your eyes at the idea — Loree understands. She was you. Start with our free Owner Dependency Score.
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