Marche' Pleshette: An unlikely entrepreneur experiences an extraordinary outcome

With a “secure and comfortable” job, entrepreneurship was the last thing on Marché Pleshette’s mind.  She had built a successful career during 11 years at Grady Health System, one of the largest medical care operations in Georgia.  But something began to change about five years into her position as manager of employee retention.Marche' Pleshette

“I started [the management position] very happy and feeling excited in 2000,” Pleshette said.  “But it just did not allow me to be as creative as I would have liked. It did not allow me to really make a difference with individuals as I would have liked to. The job had become very secure for me. It was a steady paycheck; it was a sure paycheck and I had advanced over the years in Human Resources. So it was just a sure thing. Even though I knew there was something more,” she said.

Pleshette says the safe and secure mindset might sound odd now but it was quite real for her at the time. “I was coaching other people to step out and go after their dreams. And while doing that my dream began to develop in me.  But I feared stepping out of the safety.”

“Fear is the great preventer. The great paralyzer. My fear caused me to stick with something that was not fulfilling at all. And pursuing my dream happened in a really rightful and developed time and I guess it could not have or should not have happened any earlier than it did,” she said.

Though unsure of herself and certain that she was not cut out for entrepreneurship, Pleshette finally resigned from her position in 2007 to launch Extraordinary Outcomes, a personal and professional development firm.  She coaches, trains and consults with individuals and organizations that want to solve isolated problems or create major change.

“Before [I resigned], I was searching for the journey.  I had a purpose with no title.  When I think about it, I have always been a coach. I have always had people say ‘It’s so easy to talk to you.’ I have always been inspired by people telling me I was helpful to them in making decisions about which way to go or what to do,” Pleshette said. “But I was always looking for how to name what I had. I just went through this phase of ‘there is something more, something more’.  At some point I realized I was on to something. I didn’t set out to do this. I never would have guessed that I would have left Grady and gone out on my own. I never would have guessed it!”Marche' Pleshette

Having experienced the same kind of breakthrough that she helps her clients achieve, Pleshette is now in a far different place.  “I feel a lot more empowered. A lot more certain about what I do. I feel like I own this space and I’m not talking about physical space. I’m talking about this coaching space. Before I felt like I was doing it but I didn’t feel confident. Now I feel like this is really what I do and I feel empowered to do what I do,” she said.  “I know I am now really walking in my destiny.”

She also has a different perspective on risk.  “I still do not take very big risks but I now realize that what I do not do is more a risk than what I do.  It’s a risk to not look for new clients. It’s a risk to not follow up with people I meet. It’s a risk not to have my own coach. It’s a risk to not understand the latest as it relates to what I do,” Pleshette said.  “Then there is the risk of investing in some of those things. The risk of saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to pay $500 for one call or $800 for one event.’ The risk for most people is about money. But I realize the need to renew myself and stay sharp is a necessary investment even when the funds may not be flowing as much. I realize that the risks not taken are much more risky.”