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

Hi Lisa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The funny thing is I didn’t set out to start a business at all! After I received my Masters in Social Work, I began working in hospice and fell in love with helping patients and families find closure with their lives and create a good death. When I became a parent a couple of years after that, I realized I knew I didn’t want to parent in the way I was parented but wasn’t sure what we should do instead. After spending many hours reading and researching, I stumbled upon Dr. Laura Markham’s work when my daughter was just a few months old. After reading her books, website, and taking her online course, I knew peaceful parenting was what resonated well with our family – it’s grounded in research and also intuitively felt right. My entire life I have been the go-to person in my friend and family circles for advice and support along with resources. I like to say I was basically born a social worker. When Dr. Markham announced she was accepting applications to train directly under her to become a Certified Peaceful Parenting Coach, it seemed like the next natural step. Even starting the six month intensive training, I wasn’t sure what I would do with it other than to help our family and friends. About halfway through the training, I decided I would start up “a little side business” just to see what might happen. I didn’t have any business experience or knowledge but figured at the very least I might help people and make back the money I spent on my training. Quickly, I found there was a profound need for support and coaching for parents. From the time I offered my first parenting workshop, they began to sell out immediately. My “little side business” quickly became a full time job and I am so grateful to have been able to support, educate, and coach parents for the last five years.

What should our readers know about your business?
I provide one-on-one parenting coaching in private sessions to help parents become the best version of themselves. Any other job in the world requires education, training, and support – but not with parenting – which I would argue is the hardest job any of us will ever do. Parenting is secretly a self-improvement project in disguise and we all need help to sort through the triggers, joys, and struggles of raising our children and ourselves as parents. In addition to one-on-one coaching, I provide a free weekly support group, parenting workshops, and a guided book club. One of the primary things that sets me apart from other coaches is that I have a Masters degree in Social Work and have 25 years of experience working with families in various settings. This provides me with a base of higher education and practical experience not all coaches have. Additionally, I am in the trenches as the parent to an almost 9 year old. I often share my own experience with clients including the areas in which I have and do struggle. Being able to relate is one of the things I look for most in my teachers and guides. I strive to be real and vulnerable because I do all of the things I suggest to clients and nothing works perfectly all of the time! Becoming Peaceful has grown steadily since I started and when the pandemic hit, I transitioned everything online which created a whole new opportunity to reach parents all over the world. I’ve always seen clients worldwide as well as seeing them in person but Zoom really created an opportunity for people to embrace online learning and coaching. It’s different to teach and coach virtually but it has really worked once I surrendered to technology!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have lived in San Diego since I was five years old and in the Mid City area for the last 25 years. We are blessed to have a dozen coffee shops in walking distance so we would have to try each – coffee is my favorite drink and I am so grateful to be able to support so many local businesses. San Diego is also a haven for vegetarian and vegan food so we would have to try all of my favorite places including Plumeria and Grains. Hiking would be mandatory especially at the beautiful Torrey Pines.

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 couldn’t have taken this leap into becoming a small business owner without the support and encouragement of my spouse, Scott. When I applied for the coach’s training with Dr. Markham, he told me without a doubt, I would be chosen and he was excited to see what I would do with it. He has always believed in me. When I was one of the fifteen folks chosen worldwide, his response was, “Of course you were.” He pushes me with love and kindness to trust my instincts and is supportive and full of grace when I make mistakes or when my business interferes with our family life. He is the ultimate partner in both our family and in Becoming Peaceful – always willing to step in and carry the load when I need him even if I don’t realize it at the time. Being a small business owner can often feel like you are working all of the time and Scott encourages me to find a balance.

Website: www.becomingpeaceful.com

Instagram: @becoming_peaceful

Facebook: www.facebook.com/becomingpeaceful

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/becoming-peaceful-san-diego

Image Credits
Chris Wojdak

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.