Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Campbell.
Hi Carrie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Horses have been the one constant throughout my entire life. I have a corporate background in the insurance industry, specifically property reinsurance underwriting, and horses were consistently woven into my free time and extracurriculars. I also have a long history of volunteering with therapeutic riding centers. The disability community has played a significant role in my life, mostly by showing me how we can better understand ourselves and the world we live when we surround ourselves with people who experience it much differently than we do.
Covid was a big life catalyst event for me. During this time of global upheaval, I seized the opportunity to do a big life reevaluation. What do I want my life to feel like now if tomorrow isn’t guaranteed? So my husband and I made some big changes: We adopted a dog, rescued a horse, left our downtown high rise apartment, moved across the country, bought a house with a barn in the backyard, changed jobs, and in the whiplash of these major life changes, I made the decision to leave my corporate job and take a long pause.
It was during this pause I explored a lot of different options. If something interested me, I followed it until a new interest evolved. If there was a workshop or conference that piqued my curiosity, I attended. If I heard an interview that stirred something in me, I kept listening. If a book provided new insight, I read more. Essentially, I fell back in love with learning.
Simultaneously, I spent this time volunteering at a local therapeutic riding facility. I find that service work can provide a lot of answers during times of uncertainty. When a positioned opened up to join their staff as a new instructor, I seriously considered it. However, much of what I experienced there reminded me too much of the corporate routine that I was looking to leave behind. Feeling a bit like a wanderer without a home, the idea struck me: If I can’t find the community I’m looking for, then I’m going to have to build it.
That is the origin story of Mane Mentors.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I identify as a perfectionist, and one of the biggest obstacles of perfectionism is sitting in the discomfort of the discrepancy between the ideal image I have in my head, and what it looks like once I finally start taking action to make it happen. It is much easier to keep everything perfect in my mind. Bringing it to life is the hard part.
Another early challenge which still makes me laugh as it illuminates just how much there is to learn: I remember realizing that I had no idea how to get an email address that includes “@name of business.” Every former job I had I never considered how the company had its own email. Now I know! That was an early lesson!
Doing something on my own is a daily recommitment to my purpose. I find it much easier to promote someone else’s business or idea because it doesn’t hold the vulnerability of personal attachment. Bringing my own business idea to life is like introducing myself with my heart in my palms. It really matters!
One final thought: In our culture that loves to promote rugged individualism, I’ve found that it is essential to have at least one person who is fully in my corner and who can encourage me to keep going even when it feels more rational to stop. It is not enough to stare at myself in the mirror and repeat “I am enough” because sometimes, I alone am not enough. I still need support.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Mane Mentors, we work with horses to teach horsemanship skills to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) while also exploring the life lessons horses teach us.
We serve the population that has aged out of the school system. There are many programs available for children, but fewer programs are available once they reach beyond school age. We aim to fill that gap.
We are different than other therapeutic riding facilities in that the horses are not used as equipment here, the horses are the true teachers. Most of our learning happens without ever getting on their backs. We work with horses Bee and Amigo who make up a pair herd. They both have vibrant personalities and are very different from each other. Their different needs help hone our ability to show up for them in the way that best serves them. We learn how to care for them from basic skills such as feeding, grooming, first aid, barn and equipment maintenance, to more intricate skills such as understanding nonverbal communication, body language, sensory and self awareness.
We aim for depth, not scale, focusing on one-on-one sessions in a quiet private barn environment that promotes deeper relationships between the horses, the client, their family, and me.
We hold the belief that teaching is a conversation. I may be the one with the horse experience, but this isn’t about me. I find my clients have a lot more to teach me about life than I have to teach them, so the interaction is structured as an open dialogue: What can we all discover about ourselves through the time with the horses today?
Using the word “Mentor” in the business name was very intentional. If nothing else, I aim to serve as a positive influence in someone’s life. My life has been shaped by many different mentors, and this is my way of paying that forward. What we practice here can carry us forward in life, whether that be developing a better understanding of our own internal landscape and how we show up to simply working up a sweat by slinging a pitchfork.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Pay attention to when something is stirred inside you. Often when we encounter something that evokes a significant reaction inside ourselves, it can be a clue for what we desire most. For me, these indications arose when I grew intolerant of listening to other people’s entrepreneurial success stories, or learning about other people starting programs with horses, or attending a conference where I was just another audience member. This taught me how desperately I wanted to be in the arena. I didn’t want to remain the listener, or bystander, or casual observer anymore. I wanted to do my own thing. I wanted in.
To credit civil rights activist Howard Thurman, the inspiration behind my work is well summarized in his quote, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Be intentional about creating a lifestyle, not just a business. Covid taught me what elements in my life were most important, and how no new business idea would sustain me if I had to sacrifice too much. These elements were flexibility with my time, control over my schedule, my desire to work from home, my ability to spend quality time with my husband, and being surrounded by my animals as much as possible.
We have a lot more agency than we’re led to believe. If you have a desire to make an impact in the world, it is much more accessible than most people realize. Everyone on the internet has a microphone, but few people speak up within the corners of their own communities. In-person work is the heart of it. If you want to make an impact, start by putting yourself in situations where you can meet people face to face. That could be the local Chamber of Commerce, church, business networking group, volunteer organization. Find the groups with a shared mission and show up.
Finally, to get started, you need less than you think. Ask around and you’ll likely discover most people who are preaching their life success stories started out with a lot less than you. What you uniquely bring to the table is what matters,
Pricing:
- $85.00 per session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://manementors.com
Image Credits
Headshot taken by Mayank Prasad (husband), silhouette in the barn aisle photo taken by Kristen Wertz (friend and founder of Wolverine Hoofcare and Rehab). all other photos taken by Carrie Campbell
