Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Carrington.
Hi Kathy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It took writing a book to tell my story so to summarize it here will be challenging. While my story contains abandonment, abuse, and trauma, it also contains the amazing resiliency of what it means to be human.
I know what it’s like to feel unloved, unseen, and unworthy.
At two years old, I was abandoned by my parents. At fifteen, I was trapped in an abusive relationship with a predator. By eighteen, I was a single mother searching desperately for belonging — first in a church that would betray me, then in relationships that could not heal me.
For decades, I lived in survival mode. I gave away my power, silenced my voice, and believed the lie that I was broken beyond repair. I sought love, safety, and worth in all the wrong places — in men who couldn’t see me, in institutions that silenced me, and in roles that required me to disappear.
But all of this led me to a path where I discovered something unexpected: what I’d been searching for my whole life was already within me.
By spending time in solitude and learning to listen to the noise that surfaced in the quiet, I was able to find my way to healing and to wholeness. I learned to give myself what I needed instead of seeking it through others.
Now my mission is to help those hurting to find their way home – their way to the answers they carry within.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The path I have traveled has not been easy. There were times I would take great strides forward in my personal growth finding some modicum of peace only to be triggered by a painful memory and I’d spiral into deep despair and depression.
There were many times the fear of more heartbreak caused me to sabotage relationships to protect myself. Talk about a catch-22. I longed for love and belonging, but when it showed up, I was so afraid of it that I destroyed it before it could destroy me.
But something inside me wouldn’t give up. I’m like the little train in the classic children’s story called, ‘Little Engine that Could’ in which the little train ‘thinks it can’ succeed against all odds by applying optimism and hard work.
The work of healing and personal growth is hard work but it is absolutely worth it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My career, much like my life story, was one of carving my own path against all odds. I dropped out of high school due to the trauma I experienced during those years. In my early 20’s (facing a divorce and needing to provide for my daughters) I took the GED test without a day of study and passed it with flying colors. I then enrolled in an adult education class to do administrative work. Most in my family went the route of factory work. I chose a different path. During my training, the school hired me as a receptionist. Over the next 12 years I sought jobs in which I could get better pay, learn new things, and I always said yes to taking on more responsibility.
I navigated all of this while experiencing mental health issues that I told no one about – and frankly – no one at the time in leadership at those jobs even cared. The rules of most organizations back then (and many today) didn’t allow people to be human. Unfortunately, they think this is the only way to grow the company’s bottom line. That’s changed some with better human resources management but still has a long way to go.
When I’d gone as far as I could because employers considered having a degree was more important than natural talent, hard work, and intelligence, I started my own business as a virtual assistant in 2001. I was working in the cloud before it was a thing. I have worked remotely with my clients in a home-based business ever since. I replaced my job income within 6 months and doubled it within a year. I’m very proud I had the foresight and tenacity to carve my own path for a great career.
From 2001 – 2015 I was a sponge for learning. I taught myself a vast number of software programs, including how to build websites. I worked with entrepreneurs, small business owners in a variety of industries, and professionals like doctors, lawyers, and attorneys all over the USA and Internationally during this time. What set me apart was (and still does) is my ability to learn each client’s business, work style, and serve them from my strong skillset, and support them each day in a way that allows them to do what they do better, easier, and more productively.
Over the years, a common thread kept showing up among the businesses I worked with. While they were experts in their respective fields, they lacked business planning, strategic marketing, and overall business management. This led me to learn more about business management and marketing. I’ve trained with leading business and marketing professionals including a certification in business strategy at Harvard Business School Online. Learning is something I’ll do until the day I kick off.
From 2017 to present my business evolved to helping clients through business management and digital marketing with results like taking a skincare business from $250k to over $2mm annually in 3 years. I now serve as Director of Administration for Steamworks Consulting LLC working with a young entrepreneur who is passionate about the steam industry and skilled trades. This business relationship has been the most rewarding of all because the mission and vision align with my desire to help others in a positive way. This business owner is proving you can have a healthy bottom line and treat people with compassion and kindness.
In my spare time I’m working on a passion project of my own which is my book, The Quiet Path Home, and mentoring others with their personal growth.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
As a result of my history, pleasant childhood memories are few but there were a couple things I did that gave me moments of joy. One was swinging on the swing set in the back yard. It felt like flying and I loved that. The other was times I was alone in the basement with a record player listening to music. Alone was the only time I felt safe and music carried me away. To this day nothing comforts me like music does. From rock-n-roll to Bach, I love it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kathyjocarrington.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thequietpathwithkathy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathyjocarrington/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyjocarrington/
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/KathyCarringtonQuietPathHome/
