 Online mentor
helps people
take charge
of their lives
By ANITRA D.BROWN
CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Forty-five years in the construction and sales industries gave Frederick Pearce the chance to travel the world.
Not including his native England or the United States, where he has spent the last 18 years, Pearce lived and worked in five other countries — Germany, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai and Trinidad and Tobago.
But when he was ready to settle for good in 1987, he chose the Bayou City and has lived in the north Houston area ever since.
When he retired from his career a couple of years ago, he wasn't quite ready to give up working. He thought of how he enjoyed helping his wife get her small business started. He had gotten involved with the Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce. Business was still in his blood.
So about two years ago, he started a new enterprise — online coaching and mentoring.
"I just didn't want to give up business," the 63-year-old Pearce said. "It has always interested me."
And coaching people looking for a little direction in achieving business and personal goals would allow him to stay connected. Right now, he has four clients, he said.
His wife of nearly twenty years, Anne-Marie Pearce, said helping people determine and reach their goals comes naturally for her husband.
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"It's not so much me telling them what to do. It's about finding out what they want, getting a person to dig down and find out why they do something."
–FREDERICK PEARCE
life coach
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He coached her, helping her realize her skills and penchants were perfect for opening a pet-grooming businesss.
"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do," Anne-Marie Pearce said. "But he sees a goal, and he makes it seem easy to attain though it takes work. It's always been part of his character. He's a perfectionist. There is no gray, and he does nothing half way."
The reason Pearce chose to mentor online is that it gives the person seeking advice time to think about questions to ask or information they want to divulge and gives him time to think about his response.
Here's how he works. Once a person contracts Pearce's service, usually on a monthly basis, they begin an online relationship. The client will tell Pearce about his business or career goals or maybe some of the things going on in his personal life. And Pearce responds to the client. The back and forth exchange between Pearce and the client becomes what is called a "coaching thread."
"It's not so much me telling them what to do," Pearce said. "It's about finding out what they want, getting a person to dig down and find out why they do something."
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THOMAS NGUYEN: FOR THE CHRONICLE
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MENTOR: Frederick Pearce helps others organize their lives.
His clients aren't people who come to him with problems, Pearce said. Problem solving is not part of his mentoring technique. Instead, he compares those who seek his services to skilled athletes.
"They don't go to a coach because something is wrong, they go to a coach to get better," he said.
"Everything you need in life, you already have. If you don't already have it, you know where to get it. My job is to just pull that out."
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Georgiana Avram is one of Pearce's clients. An aspiring actress living and working in New York, Avram had a virtual meeting with Pearce about two years ago while chatting on some other online self-improvement and community boards, she said.
She had worked with other coaches in the past, some by phone, but said she liked working with Pearce via the Internet best. She will update him about her progress and he will respond within a few hours or a day at the most.
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FREDERICK PEARCE
Age: 63
Occupation: Online coach and mentor
Community connection: Spring resident
Web site: www.frederickpearce.com
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Although she first began chatting with him two years ago, she has only been his client for a few months.
"Frederick's coaching has helped me with great ideas," Avram said. "He's really helped me learn the difference between setting goals and having a plan to reach them. I have faith in his advice."
Avram, who is busy rehearsing for a play and auditioning for other roles, said she corresponds with Pearce at least once or twice a week.
Pearce said on average, he works with clients for about three months. Some seek his services longer.
He recently started working on his own personal self-improvement project — developing his public speaking skills. To help him with that goal, he has joined a local chapter of Toastmasters, he said.
Pearce said he recognizes the benefits of setting new goals and taking steps to meet them for himself. His philosophy for his personal life coincides with his approach to coaching his clients.
"There's never an end," he said. "Self-improvement is a constant."
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
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