KG Consulting owner Karen Goodridge has come a long way from where she started.
Growing up, education was not a priority and she dropped out of high school as she stepped into motherhood. At 28 years old, Goodridge and her husband learned she couldn’t have another child—throwing a wrench into her life plans.
“I was broken because being a stay-at-home mom was what I planned to do. I started thinking that I had to do something for me.”
Goodridge decided to go back to school, although she didn’t stop after earning her GED, going on to earn a master’s degree before being hired at BRCC. Nearly two years later, she was recruited by Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Student Services, where she worked with students for 11 years.
However, like thousands of others in the Capital Region, Goodridge and her family lost their home and nearly everything they owned during the August 2016 flood. She had been pursuing her doctorate at LSU—expecting to graduate the fall or spring 2017—but the flood destroyed her dissertation and backups.
The stress of losing her house, car and research made her feel like giving up. She took a year off from her studies while rebuilding.
“After the flood, I started thinking if I weren’t afraid and could step out and do anything, what would it be? I started praying and had a vision for KG Consulting.”
She left Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in January 2018 to launch her consulting firm KG Consulting. She focuses her practice on mainly helping people during pivotal transitional stages of life, such as high schoolers, college students and adults changing careers. Dismissing the idea of being a “one-size-fits-all” business, she also works with business owners and managers. In the future, Goodridge wants to build her brand in the community, develop a series of workshops and transition into becoming a keynote or motivational speaker, especially for women.
This story originally appeared in the Sept. 24 edition of Business Report.
