Community Highlights: Meet Annie Allen of Starting Over Stronger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Allen.

Hi Annie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Having always been drawn to helping women find their way to healthy relationships, as I have had to, I found my way to Certified Divorce & Life Transition Coaching® through the route of personal experience–the loss of my own marriage and family of origin connections.

Once my marriage found its completion through a divorce, I shifted from my former training as a Certified Marriage and Family Counselor to help people like the former me (and not just women) exit irreparable and toxic relationships so they can execute the fair and equitable divorce outcome they need to launch into a new life they can love.

For those facing a divorce and a move, my training as an RCS-D REALTOR® and a KC native and born-negotiator means I work hard to ensure my clients make fully informed decisions about the marital home and a “fresh start” home. Those who build a team of support professionals, rather than just relying on a divorce attorney alone, fare better in regard to the length of time spent in the divorce process, the stress level involved and the money spent.

Overall, I understand that life sometimes takes us to unexpected places—some moves are welcome, while others are not—and the last thing someone going through a divorce needs is to do it alone or to struggle through a complicated real estate transaction where they have to deal with an STBX more than they would like — so I take care of all that, allowing my clients to decompress and find space to enjoy their transition.

At last tally, I’m currently loving my lucky thirteenth home where I live with the love of my new life–and it is my greatest pleasure to walk alongside women putting my passion and expertise to work for them to help as they are starting over stronger!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road to where I am has not been without its potholes, stalls, and overheated engines. If you had asked me when I was young what my life would look like in my upper forties, I very much doubt I would have predicted divorce, abuse, family estrangement, or over a decade in therapy to rebuild through the haze of Complex-PTSD.

I also would have had no idea just how quickly all of that pain and turmoil could fade into the background when you finally learn how to shift your mindset to a space that allows for the peace that comes with personal responsibility and self-awareness. Whoever said “it’s all in your head” may not have a lot of fans, but they are right.

If I have learned one thing through it all, it is that it’s not what happens to us along the way, it’s how we think about what happens to us.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Starting Over Stronger is an umbrella of divorce support services that include private coaching, support groups, online mini e-courses, a weekly podcast, real estate consulting, and post-divorce healing retreats.

I specialize in assisting women and men in their thirties, forties, and fifties who are leaving toxic or abusive marriages to find their voices and advocate well for themselves through the divorce process so they can then create a life they love.

I am known for my resourcefulness and wisdom in making smart decisions in the face of difficult circumstances and assisting others in doing the same. I know several divorce coaches across the US and beyond through my training, but I am not aware of any others offering the breadth of services that Starting Over Stronger offers. The most frequent feedback I get from my hundreds of listeners across the world is that the podcast is providing them with information and encouragement they were in dire need of when they found it. For that, I am grateful.

I want people who are facing a difficult divorce to know they do not have to do it alone, or with only the help of their attorney. and that they can actually fare better if they retain a divorce coach first and work from there to build a team of support professionals to make smart decisions from start to finish–and that they will spend less on their divorce overall if they do.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
With Certified Divorce Coaching being recognized by the American Bar Association, the industry favors coaching as part of a shift toward more of a team or collaborative approach to divorce because frankly, everyone is tired of business as usual when it comes to the expensive litigious route most of us have always known, or at least heard horror stories about.

Divorce does not have to be what it too often becomes for people, and even when, perhaps especially when one of the parties in the divorce has a high-conflict personality, the collaborative or team approach to divorce is the answer. And that starts by connecting with a Certified Divorce Coach.

Pricing:

• $55/month Support Group
• $30 Online Courses (coming soon)
• $380-590/month Private Coaching

Contact Info:

• Email: Annie@StartingOverStronger.com
• Website: startingoverstronger.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/SOSDivorceCoachAnnie
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sosdivorce
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCArAGt5dtbh0GOCa8qy3neg

Image Credits
Jerry Chavez Photography (913-530-9063, chavo.smugmug.com)