Celebrating National Small Business Week and Empowering Success: Transformative Life Coaching

2026 National Small Business Week

National Small Business Week honors and celebrates the resiliency and tenacity of entrepreneurs and innovative startups.

For more than 60 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week (NSBW) and acknowledges the contributions, hard work, ingenuity, and dedication of entrepreneurs and small business owners.

For more information about National Small Business Week (May 3-9, 2026) and educational webinars, resources, and opportunities to start, grow or recover your business, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.

How A Pivot from Corporate Global Pharmaceuticals Led to Impacting Lives

"There are two amazingly unique moments in every small business owner's life: the day you decide to start your business and every single day when you wake up."

One True You, LLC is a women-owned business founded in 2015, specializing in healthcare executive coaching, leadership development, and navigating mid-life career and life transitions. Sharing our unique story:

Deborah Petropoulos' vision of impacting lives and inspiring successful outcomes became a reality 11 years ago.

Deborah is a Transformational Career and Life Coach. She founded One True You, LLC after retiring from a corporate career in Global Pharmaceuticals.

One True You, LLC provides career and life coaching guidance, knowledge, practical tools, and resources for leaders ready to make a change.

Deborah works with high-performing professionals to address career and life transition needs relating to career change, leadership roles, retirement planning, work-life balance, communication, confidence, enhancing relationships, and more.

The why for founding One True You, LLC was inspired by Deborah's own career and life transition experiences.

Deborah spent more than three decades in Global Pharmaceuticals leading, mentoring, developing, and coaching high-performing teams and individuals. She was with Abbott for thirty years and AbbVie for three years balancing a full-time career and leadership responsibilities when several significant life changing events altered her personal and professional direction.

Early Retirement and Career Transition

At fifty-one, Deborah began planning an early retirement from Corporate to provide greater flexibility in her life to support her families’ needs.

Deborah knew she wanted to remain in a professional leadership role and make a difference for other leaders that were experiencing significant challenges in their lives and careers.

Before leaving Corporate, Deborah successfully completed an International Coaching Federation-accredited coaching training program with the Co-Active Training Institute and became an International Coaching Federation Member.

Deborah knows that navigating through challenging times alone can feel like being in a relentless storm. Within the dark clouds there is a silver lining, but sometimes it can be difficult to see.

As a professional coach, Deborah's vision for One True You, LLC is to serve as a “guiding ray of light” helping other leaders weather their difficult challenges and lead more fulfilling lives.

The transition out of Corporate and into Career and Life Coaching was the best decision Deborah made for her life.

Easing Leadership and Life Transition Challenges with Life Coaching

Deborah Petropoulos has a special affinity for working with corporate executives and leaders in global pharmaceuticals and other industries.

Many of the professionals Deborah works with are experiencing leadership challenges, wanting to change careers, or are nearing retirement and want to develop a plan for what’s next.

Leaders choose to work with Deborah because she understands their challenges and shares a unique perspective and professional coaching guidance that her clients value.

Deborah provides a holistic approach to coaching and addresses all aspects of life that may be causing challenge or imbalance so that the professionals she partners with can identify what needs to change.

Virtual Life Coaching Creates Successful Outcomes

Virtual life coaching provides an effective way to easily collaborate with leaders locally in Lake County, Illinois as well as throughout the Chicagoland area, and in other states, as well as outside the U.S. Deborah values the coaching relationship with each client. Referrals and shared connections create trust in the coaching relationship and lead to successful outcomes.

Deborah coaches leaders and small business owners that are experiencing transition challenges in their careers, work and life.

Many are in corporate leadership roles and want to make a new career change or are experiencing organization shifts or a reduction in force.

Some are nearing retirement and want to create a plan for achieving retirement and deciding what’s next.

The professionals that Deborah work with, are ready to commit to a coaching relationship, and can meet on a regular basis (at least twice a month) to gain forward movement.

Gratitude Defines Success

Deborah is grateful for the many lives that have been touched through her "Create Your Best Life" workshops and "Make Your Best Even Better" speaking engagements with universities and business networks.

Deborah is most grateful for the successful outcomes that each One True You, LLC client has experienced through their coaching work together.

All of these leaders have inspiring success stories. To learn more about how One True You, LLC clients are changing their lives, surpassing their limitations, and achieving their personal and professional goals through coaching read:

Coaching Changes Lives | One True You (onetrueyoucoaching.com)

Changing Lives

Deborah's mission is to inspire successful outcomes. One True You, LLC clients value the coaching partnership as they navigate leadership and life challenges, and transition from long-time corporate leadership roles to new roles or retirement.

For clients relocating across the U.S. as well as internationally, Deborah maintains these valued relationships by providing virtual coaching services.

Talk With a Professional Coach About Your Career and Life Coaching Needs

If you’d like to about the challenges you're experiencing, or the changes you’d like to make in work or life, reach out by reserving a complimentary Clarity Call. During the call we’ll get acquainted and talk about a next step you can take to address your challenge or change.

Reserve a Complimentary Clarity Call to meet virtually with Deborah Petropoulos about a leadership, career, or life challenge you’re experiencing.

About the Author:

Deborah Petropoulos, Executive Life Coach and Founder of One True You, LLC works with small business owners, entrepreneurs, and high-performing leaders in Global Pharmaceuticals and other industries who are experiencing mid-life challenges, workplace stress and burnout, considering a career change, or want to create a plan for retirement and what's next in life.

Professionals that choose One True You, LLC for their leadership and life coaching needs learn new ways to navigate their challenges and find renewed satisfaction and fulfillment in their careers and lives.