Voice Notes is an occasional special feature. We take you inside the online brand presence of a business owner we think you should know — through a dozen evocative sentence-starters.

Abby (Chief Voice Bureau Officer) says:

The first time I heard Laura Simms’ business name — Create As Folk — I said, Create as WHAT? And then the very next second, I loved it. There’s something so crafted, organic, grounded and well, folksy-feeling (it’s the new, modern folksy) about the work Laura does with people who are looking for their great work in the world. And if her message wasn’t compelling enough, her lovely and well-organized website is a delight to spend time exploring.

Although we’ve never yet met in person, I consider Laura a kindred spirit and a friend. She’s leading the Career Homecoming movement, by believing that making a living and making a life should go together. I love this quip, from her About page: “By purpose-driven, we simply mean that we want our work to make a difference. Money is important, to be sure, but it’s not what springs us out of bed in the morning. We want to do something meaningful, be who we are, and wrap it up in cash (if we could carry it home in an Anthropologie bag, we would).” Oh, my kind of woman.

Now she’s come out with a new book exploring how to make the leap from the “Boomer Blueprint” into a purpose-driven career. It’s called The Purpose Paradigm, and you can get your own copy right here.

Friends, I give you our Q&A —

Laura Simms, Creative Career Coach

Laura Simms helps purpose-driven people find careers that feel like home. She’s the leader of the Creative Homecoming movement and the author of The Purpose Paradigm.
→   Find Laura on: Twitter; Facebook; Pinterest; Instagram

MY TOP 3-5 VOICE VALUES ARE:

Intimacy, Depth, Audacity, Playfulness, and Power

(Note: Discover your own Voice Values when you subscribe to The Voice Bureau’s Insider Stuff e-letter. Look for the sign-up box in the upper righthand corner of the site.)

Personality typing? Why, yes! I’m:

An INFJ, also known as “The Protector” or “The Foreseer Developer.” (Abby’s note: Me, too! Although INFJs are said to make up less than 1% of the population and are the rarest of the 16 Myers-Briggs types, The Voice Bureau seems to attract a disproportionately high number of them as clients, readers, and friends!)

I do the work I do because:

I love being part of a person’s shift. Lest you think coaches are just a bunch of selfless do-gooders, many of us are hooked on the high that comes when a client realizes she can do what she previously thought was impossible. I LOVE that.

An unlikely source of creative inspiration for me is:

Acting. It’s not unlikely to me because I was an actor for a decade, but most career-centric professionals don’t have a history with auditioning for Cirque du Soleil and on-camera flirting with Joe Mantegna.

My brand is all about:

Being at home. In your work and in your own skin.

One thing I know for sure about my Right People is:

They are down to earth — all people I’d want to hang out with at a cookout.

On social media, I find I get most triggered when I see:

Female entrepreneurs reassuring me that their newsletters are just “Hey, girl!” emails and shouldn’t be considered promotional in the wake of Gmail’s new tabs.

I find the richest social media conversations take place:

In private Facebook groups because: the members have self-selected, they are united by an interest, and are there for conversation more than promotion.

The next big business challenge for me is:

Reaching more people while staying true to my Intimacy and Depth Voice Values.

If my clients only hold onto one piece of advice from me, I hope it’s:

To trust their intuition.

If I couldn’t do the work I’m doing now, I’d:

Run an otter rescue farm. (Abby’s Note: I can honestly say I never saw that coming.)

I can never get enough:

Of cuddly mammals. Cats, dogs, rabbits, otters . . . does it have fur? Then I want to pet it and rub it on my face. Which is, incidentally, how I discovered that I’m allergic to hairless rats. So I’ll even break the fur rule for critter cuddle.

My favorite question to ask people is:

“Have you ever seen a ghost?” No matter what they say, good conversation always ensues.

In the comments, we’d love for you to:

Tell us what having a purpose-driven career means, or would mean, to you. We’re all ears and we look forward to saying hi in the Comments.