From burnout to soul alignment, Erica Carrico guides entrepreneurs to uncover their calling—and live it.
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Show Notes:
In this Mission Matters episode, Adam Torres interviews Erica Carrico, Founder and CEO of Soul Business Collective, about how she turned a life crisis into a global coaching company. Erica shares her journey from corporate life to cancer recovery, and how she now helps others find their purpose, heal deeply, and build businesses rooted in soul and strategy.
About Erica Carrico
Erica Carrico is an Award-Winning Soul Business Success Coach for women who are ready to transform their lives by creating 6 & 7 Figure Soul-Aligned Businesses, while lucratively expressing their own soul purpose.
Through coaching services and speaking, Erica helps women discover their life purpose, build & scale their businesses to global empires, quit their 9-5’s, and make fabulous money on their spiritual path so they can finally earn a living doing what they absolutely love… what they were put on earth to do.
Erica has a BS in Psychology, a Masters in Business Management, and 12+ years in international business leadership experience. She built a Multi-Million Dollar Coaching Business (with two kids in tow!) in just over 4 years and is obsessed with helping her clients all around the world transform their lives by creating soulful, global businesses, while lucratively expressing their own soul purpose.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to mission matters.com and click on BER Guest to apply. All right, so did I have Erica Ko on the line and she’s founder and CEO over at Soul Business Collective.
Erica, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here. All right, Erica. So we got a lot to talk about today. I definitely wanna get into the 28 day purpose revolution and really how you’re helping individuals discover their calling and really make some money from it, turn it into profit, so lots to talk about there.
And just to get us kicked off here, maybe tell us a little bit more about , how you, I see the founder, CEO, how did Sole Business Collective come about? What was the idea? Yeah, well my, I guess I was always that person who didn’t wanna live a traditional life, and I never wanted to end up, like in corporate.
I never wanted to, I don’t even think I really wanted to get married. I just knew from an early age that I wanted to follow my heart and I wanted to do what I love and. I think, you know, like so many people, that sounds so great, but as you get older, you know, like society the expectations kind of start to hit you a little bit different.
And there’s that like family pressure to, you know, grow up and be responsible and, and get a real job. And as I was getting married you know. My well now ex-husband I suppose was like, well, you can’t mm-hmm. Start your own business. You need to, you know, have a real job and we need security and we need money and we need benefits and all these things.
So anyways, really long story short, I did of course end up in corporate. I did end up getting married and. I woke up one day at 36 years old, just completely miserable and depressed and anxious, and every day felt like Groundhog Day, and I didn’t love what I was doing. I felt like my life was pointless and I was earning millions of dollars for a company that had millions of dollars, and I was unhappy in my marriage.
I was unhappy where I lived, and it was like. My world was kind of screaming at me like, you are not happy and this is not what you came here as a soul to do. You did not come here as a soul to slave away in a life that is not yours. And mm that was when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Wow. At the age of 36.
Yeah. Well, I was still, I was breastfeeding a baby. I had a toddler and that was a huge, I mean, obviously that was a huge wake up call. You know, I think when anyone faces their own mortality, you realize like, I can either live the rest of my life at based, you know, in fear and, and scarcity and like following the society roles of what I feel like I should be doing and what everybody else feels like I should be doing.
Or I can say, screw it. Mm-hmm. And I can really live the rest of my life. Being of service and fully in alignment with why my soul came here and my purpose here on earth. And that was kind of a promise at the time that I made to myself. And you know, I made to God or spirit or source or the universe or whatever it is that you call it, that the rest of the time that I have on Earth, I will be.
Living it of service and using my medicine and my divine gifts and helping people to, I guess, awaken to their own purpose. And that was when I started my company and I started out, you know, just doing private coaching one client at a time, and I suppose 10 years later here we are a multimillion dollar company that impact people all around the world and helping them to awaken to their purpose and figure out what they’re here for and really.
Step into a whole new way of being. Hmm. Wow. What, an amazing story. And I’m curious on the, like, let’s stay in the early days just a little bit longer. How did you know, now, obviously there were a lot of events that happened, but was there a moment or was it a progression? Like how did you know when this was actually gonna be like a business for you?
Not just a calling, not a hobby. A lot of different ways to help people. But how did you know this was gonna be like your thing, a legit business? I think, you know, at first it definitely started as more of a calling, and I still was working my full-time job the whole first year. Mm-hmm. That I was coaching with.
I was coaching clients and I started holding workshops and started getting some recognition and started winning awards, and the media started paying attention and I think the year it was actually COVID or right after COVID. Mm-hmm. My business really blew up and I had to hire a team. I couldn’t keep up with everything and I think it was.
Forbes and the New York Times reached out in the same month. And that was when I was like, okay, I think this is actually a legit thing. Mm-hmm. That’s awesome. And let’s get into your program. So the 28 day the, 28 day purpose revolution, how’d you come up with this and maybe give us, tell us a little bit more about the format.
Yeah, so it actually, I’ve just released my first book, which is the process of, you know, of taking people through the process of, I guess, figuring out what their purpose is and then sort of a strategic process of almost like career coaching, you know, and I think, mm-hmm. I. The process was created over years of me working privately with clients and I was actually in corporate recruitment.
So I had done career coaching for like almost a decade and I was also really into my own personal and spiritual development as well. So I guess you kind of look back and it’s like, that was where I was really creating the seeds and the foundation of this process was before I even realized that’s what I was doing.
And when I started out. as my own. And when I started my own business, I started out as a heart-centered career coach, which really started to evolve into my Awaken Your Purpose program, which is now the book. And it’s a process that I took, you know, thousands of people through, I suppose, either private coaching or group coaching.
And then it became an online course and it just, it has a hundred percent success rate and it’s really around. The first half of the process is really around stripping back those layers and peeling back almost like an onion, right? Peeling off the layers of who you feel like who you are because you feel you should be, and getting to the core of who you really are.
And, you know, before society came into play, before responsibility, before the to-do list, before all those things came into play, who are you underneath? All of that. And then the second half of the process is more of a. Strategic process. So I call it soul meet strategy, and that’s more of like a career coaching process that I take people through and really researching different options of what could I be moving into?
Is it a business, is it another career? And then I help them to evaluate and narrow it down, and then they choose. So it’s really about providing clarity, direction, and a plan. Wow, that, that’s amazing. And I mean, you’ve claimed to help, you know, many, many individuals find their purpose, but your success rate, I mean talk to me a little bit more about your success rate and, the secret behind that.
’cause it’s pretty outstanding. I know. Well, I mean it’s, you know, in the business coaching side of things, it’s not a hundred percent right, but like, I think finding clarity, it’s so I’ve never had somebody go through my process and not figure out what they wanna start, right? Like whether they’re gonna change careers, whether they’re gonna start a business that’s aligned with their purpose.
And I think it’s because it’s just so clear and someone who’s starting the process, they’re ready, they feel ready for a different life, they know that the life they’re living is not. You know, to their capacity. Like they know they’re meant for more, and so they’re actively searching and they’re actively ready to quote unquote find their purpose.
And so when they go through my process, it’s just an easy process to follow and we all have to start somewhere. And so at the end of the process. You choose where you’re gonna start now, you know? And of course over the years that will evolve and it’ll look different. And of course my purpose looks very different now, and my business looks very different now than 10 years ago when I started.
But we all have to start somewhere. And so it just gives them the first steps and from there, obviously it grows and evolves. Wow. what a story. , Is there any like, learnings that you’ve gone along the way? I’m sure there’s many, but like what are some of the things that, as you’ve gone down this path, ’cause when I think about when somebody that’s worked with, let’s say, a thousand plus people, or, and I know you’ve worked with many like when you start in the beginning versus where you’re at now, I mean it’s usually kind of light years away.
What are some of the things that either surprised you or learnings or thoughts that came up like on that journey? Yeah, that’s a really good question. I think there was a lot, you know, I think, mm-hmm. I think one of the things that really surprised me was that I’ve seen, I mean obviously I’ve coached thousands of people at this point.
Yeah. And one theme that I’ve seen across everyone is that for people to feel truly fulfilled in their life. the one thing that those people have in common is that they are, their career or the way that they’re earning a living is somehow attached to a deeper mission, like a deeper sense of purpose.
And they truly feel like they’re doing that because it is part of their calling and part of why they came here and, I’ve just talked to so many people, and unless they have that, there’s always some kind of underlying, I guess unsatisfaction, right? Like there, there’s this underlying restlessness, this underlying sense of not content with their life. And they’re always kind of searching or seeking for something, I suppose externally that might not be there. But really when they’re going to find that is when they turn inwards and do the work internally. You know? And I think that’s actually the second thing too, is like I, spent 10 years trying to.
Quote unquote, find my purpose in my twenties. And I traveled through, I backpacked through like 50 different countries. I mean, I like camped for six months in Africa, I did so much volunteer work. I lived a really different life. And what I also found was that no matter how we change our external environment, or no matter how much we’re seeking and searching, we’re never gonna find something that we’re never gonna find our purpose externally.
Right? Like it’s always gotta come from the inner work.
So Erica um, talk a little bit about healing , and that part of how that works in the process.
Is it crucial? Does it have to happen? Like when we’re talking about doing this inner work, like, talk to me about healing. I think the healing part is so important because when we are. Choosing sort of the path that we want to go down, right? Whether it is starting a business or changing careers or whatever.
If we don’t do some of the inner work and start to heal some of our past traumas or our rewiring of our subconscious mind and how our blueprint is and how our brains really work, we’re going to choose a path from where we are as sort of that. Unconscious unhealed person, right, which is going to look very different than if we choose that path and make that decision and embody the new way of being from a healed place or a stripped down place, or a surrendered place.
Yeah. And if, and if somebody doesn’t do the, work, and maybe, I know for everybody that’s gonna look different, by the way, so I don’t want that to be an unfair question. Like what doing the work is and how long somebody’s healing is. Some may be further along in their journey than others, right?
But for somebody that doesn’t do the work, like, How does this stunt their process? Or like what’s their, I mean, I’m just trying to see is there shortcuts? I mean, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. People listening like, what was the shortcut? That’s what everybody wants. I know you might be like, Adam know you.
I’m okay with, no, it’s not possible, but I gotta throw it out there from my audience. Yeah, totally. Well, first of all, I, that’s why I say in the 28 days, like of course nobody’s gonna be healed in the 28 days, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Nobody’s gonna be healed in two weeks. But you can start the process of healing and then when you start and choose your journey you’re continuing to do the healing as you’re.
Building your business or you’re continuing to do the healing as you’re, evolving in your career. And so as you continue to do the healing and you sort of get to know yourself at a deeper level mm-hmm. Your work will evolve to a deeper level as well. But I think I made the mistake, right?
So like I, when I first was wanting to leave corporate recruitment, I was so burnt out. I knew I was meant for something more. And again, everybody was telling me like, you can’t start your own business. And what I really wanted to do was start my own coaching business, but I fell into the trap of I didn’t do the inner work.
And I took a. I guess a, A detour and I went and did the safer thing, quote unquote, as to what I thought would be, and I took out a $60,000 loan, decided to go back to graduate school and get a master’s degree and work for the not-for-profit industry, which seems so crazy because now I was $60,000 in debt and I took a six figure pay cut.
To be the executive director of a not-for-profit organization earning $29,000 a year. Mm-hmm. So if I had truly done the inner work and released a lot of the fear and released a lot of my desire to please other people and make other people happy, I wouldn’t have made that mistake. Right. Like, I would’ve started my business six years prior to when I actually did save $60,000 and avoided that six figure pay cut.
yeah, that’s a, big one to, take in right there. And I feel like there’s others that may be listening to this and that are either on the, you know, beginning side of maybe taking a leap, maybe similar or otherwise. Or maybe they’re actually still in the middle of it and they haven’t, they’re, and they’re feeling the pain of when you first you know, when you first do that.
And now obviously you’re, like, hindsight it worked for you. Right. You know, you got a, a great. Business. But what kind of kept you moving and going, like in those tough times? Like, how’d you persevere maybe for some of those people that are going through it now? Well, I think that’s why my program, I have a business building program and it’s called Sole Business Accelerator because I think that I’ve seen, obviously, you know, I’ve been there myself as an entrepreneur.
Mm-hmm. And I’ve had my own failures and my own challenges and my own course corrections. And being an entrepreneur is hard. And I have coached thousands of entrepreneurs as well. And I think the. There’s a big differentiating factor. When you feel like your business is part of your purpose and you’re doing this for something greater, like it’s more attached to a personal mission, you’re more likely to see the challenges as like a bump in the road.
You know? And there is no plan B. You’ve burned all bridges behind. This is why you’re here. This is the work you’re here to do. So it’s so much easier to get back up when those failures happen and to continue going. Whereas I’ve seen a lot of people wear. They may have just started the business for the sake of money, or they may have started a business that they don’t even really enjoy, but they’re doing it because they think it’ll earn them a good living.
And it’s so much harder to keep going when the challenges arise because it’s like, well, I’m not, what is the point of this? You know, I’m not, there is no sense of greater purpose behind it. That’s wonderful. Erica, this has been great having you on the show today. I know we could talk about this for quite some time, and I know my audience, I’m sure they want more of your content and the book, the content, the program.
I mean, how do people follow up? How do people connect? Yeah, well the book, if you just Google Awaken Your Purpose by Erica Raco, all the places it’s available pops up. I think it’s on iBooks, Kindle Audible, Amazon, all the places, but everything is on erica carrico.com. So if you go there, obviously you can find my programs, you can find my social medias everything.
But if you Google Erica Carow, pretty much everything pops up. Wonderful. And for everybody listening, just so you know, we’ll definitely put some link in the show notes, so you can just click on the links and head right on over. And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet, hit that subscribe or follow button.
This is a daily show. Each and every day we’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way of your journey as well. So again, hit that subscribe or follow button. And Erica, this has really been a pleasure. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Thanks for having me.
