Ernalou “Balot” del Rosario
Professional Coach and Marketing and Social Media Consultant
The personal journey of Balot Del Rosario into coaching can best be encapsulated by this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
Balot had a solid 15-year corporate career in Marketing with companies like JG Summit, Canon, EastWest Bank and China Bank before she ventured on her own in 2019. Learning and performing the marketing function in the FMCG, consumer durables and banking industries allowed her to broaden her expertise and accelerate her growth in the field. However, personal circumstances led her to contemplate a decision to let go of the corporate path and instead pursue professional coaching and consulting.
She knew it was what she needed to do, but naturally, she was hesitant at first to let go of the security of a 9-5 job. So Balot worked with a coach, who had asked her: “What’s the worst that can happen?” That was the a-ha moment for her. She needed to give it a try, and if it didn’t work out, then she could always go back to corporate.
After having finished the Accelerated Coach Training Program of Benchmark Consulting, her focus at first was executive coaching coming from her corporate background, but soon realized she wanted to concentrate on life and grief coaching, because of her own experiences. “Experiencing several personal tragedies firsthand, I wanted to be able to help other people like me who may be looking for ways how to navigate through personal challenges,” she said.
Aside from being a coach, Balot is also a social media and marketing consultant and today manages 10 brands. “The interesting thing is that I incorporate coaching in my dealings with my clients, to help them discern what they really want out of their marketing and social media campaigns.” While doing this, Balot also teaches Stress Management and Aromatherapy, and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Developmental Psychology to further deepen her learning.
Personal branding is one of her passions, encouraging her clients to be clear about their values first, because this is where it should all be rooted, and then letting their personal brand grow with them.“For us Filipinos, personal branding can seem a lot at first. We don’t usually like to draw so much attention to ourselves and exposing yourself at the risk of being judged by others is scary. Impostor syndrome is real, and it takes grit, guts and your own wellness tools to shake it off. But I always remind my clients—if your message can reach even just one person that you can help, it makes it all worth it.”, she explains. “At the end of the day, going freelance is a journey of trust.If you serve from the heart, the client base will take care of itself. All you need to do is take that first step and the process will reveal itself.”
