For this month’s Cohere coworking member profile, we’re talking with Michelle Chartier about her coaching business, Fort Collins’ best coworking space, and non career-related passions.
Michelle Chartier
Entrepreneur • Dating Coach
The Date Doctor
A San Bernardino, CA native, Michelle moved back to Fort Collins in 2016 after seven years in Portland. A travel enthusiast, movie buff and entrepreneur, she’s ramping up her career as a dating coach. Michelle came to Cohere last year after a six-month traveling sales job.
“My life is always marked by adventure and travel. While the traveling job was too much, my adventure and travel defines me and it will always be a part of me. I am my happiest seeing new sites, trying new foods, seeing new cultures.
“My desire to be an entrepreneur is so I can travel where and when I want without restrictions.”
Michelle has a healthcare industry background with an emphasis on nutrition, but she’s also traveled a lot, worked in sales and, most recently, ran a tax franchise.
“The common thread in all my vocational pursuits is that I love to help people. That is my overall mission in life: to help others in unique and powerful ways. Whether it’s saving money on taxes or helping women date smarter, that is the core mission that I follow.”
The Date Doctor
By and by, Michelle realized she had a knack for dating coaching. She’s building her new business, The Date Doctor, while scaling down her tax franchise.
Michelle thinks that while some of the other things she’s done were an expression of her interests and values, they weren’t an expression of her working style. The Date Doctor is all three.
“I really wanted to do something that was more from the heart and less from the head and that’s what lead me to dating coaching,” she explains.
“I see so many of my girlfriends that aren’t married have so much self-defeating things that they do in dating. They get all up in their head and they major in the minors and focus on all the wrong things. And I’ve had those same problems and it wasn’t until I made that shift in thinking that I was able to have success.
“I want to help other women have that success as well because I think it is important to have a companion. I don’t think we’re not whole until we find someone–I don’t believe that should be true–but I do think that life is a lot nicer having someone that you can count on. Having that companion in your life is such an added, beautiful thing, and I want that for other women.”
What brought you to Cohere?
“As I was leaving my traveling sales job and facing going out on my own again I realized that being at home by myself wasn’t the best formula for success. Even though I’m an introvert I need community and I missed that. I missed showing up for work and having a place to do my work.”
Michelle and fiance in front of Walter White’s house in Albuquerque. (For those of you who are culturally illiterate, that’s Walter White of Breaking Bad.)
Michelle visited every coworking space in Fort Collins before settling on Cohere. It was an easy call based on her needs and temperament.
“Cohere was by far my favorite in how it really focused on community rather than a workspace.”
What makes a good Coherian?
“I guess a willingness to participate, to help out in the ways they can help out. Not everyone is Chatty Cathy and not everyone is going to say hi to everyone as they walk by if they’re really busy or whatever, but where they can contribute they do. Whatever their gift is that they can bring to it, they bring it.”
Favorite walkable restaurant
Lucille’s, hands down.
“I absolutely love Lucille’s. I think I moved back to Fort Collins for Lucille’s sometimes. I really like them. It is my favorite place to eat in the whole world for breakfast. They’re consistent, ten years ago to the day, their stuff’s the same and I never get tired of it. It’s always really good.”
Favorite movie
Bandits, with Bruce Willis, Billie Bob Thorton and Cate Blanchette.
“It’s kind of the perfect movie for me. … I even visited some of the places that they filmed [in Oregon]. It has romance and humor and sarcasm and some surprises.
“I am a huge, huge movie buff.”
Little known fact
“I have the next 50 Shades of Gray novel inside of me. … But it will be about dating. It is my dream to write and publish it someday.”
John Garvey is a Cohere member, marketing copywriter, storyteller and writing coach. Read his blog The Garvington Post for business communication and writing tips (and the occasional rant). Also stay posted for John’s GoFundMe campaign to build an evil, multinational business empire.