LANCASTER, Ohio — Heather Yakes is a certified executive and business coach, and founder of the central Ohio chapter of ActionCOACH.
What You Need To Know
- Heather Yakes is a certified executive and business coach
- She is the founder of the central Ohio chapter of ActionCOACH
- Yakes was a top-three business coach in the entire U.S. and top-10 coach worldwide based on client results
The Thornville native and Ohio State University graduate decided eight years ago to scale back after decades spent in the corporate world.
“My daughter and my son were getting to the age of, one was getting into high school, one was getting into middle school, and in my corporate career, although I was very blessed, I was on the plane all the time,” said Yakes. “And really felt the need to be home and enjoy those years with them.
For Yakes, it was quite the departure from being a top-three business coach in the entire U.S. and top-10 coach worldwide based on client results.
She currently shares an office in downtown Lancaster with her husband, offering her expertise to small- and medium-size businesses in central Ohio and beyond.
Heather Yakes works in her office in Lancaster. (Dennis Biviano/Spectrum News 1)
“They’re the heartbeat of our communities, so I have a really strong passion personally for helping businesses and business owners,” said Yakes. “Because when that business grows, they have to hire more people, and when we hire more people, we’re not only providing for those employees and their families, but we’re also helping the community.”
Yakes, who has a team of four employees, said her most common advice to business owners is to set goals, dream a little bit and have a plan of action to achieve those goals.
“Along the way, that might require that you do some learning to improve your skills, right, because a business at $100,000 in a year is much different than a million dollars business,” said Yakes. “There’s just a great support system for small businesses, and you match that with the aspirations and those business owners, that’s why we have such great success with businesses here.”
ActionCOACH Central Ohio is at 132 E. Main St. in downtown Lancaster.
