Breaking Out the Box
Breaking Out the Box is a 6-week career clarity program for women of color who've outgrown their role (or their whole lane) and want to know what's next, and finally trust the answer.
Grab a ConsultationWith LaToya Sharmaine, Career Coach & Strategist · 100+ clients coached | 15+ years helping people make career decisions · HR & Talent Acquisition Background | Certified Coach | Certified Hogan Practitioner
You're not lost. You've just been working inside a box that was not built for your uniqueness.
Hey friend. Let me take a guess at what you’ve been dealing with.
YOU know something has to change. YOU'VE known for a while. Maybe it's the Sunday night dread that now starts on Saturday. Maybe it's the fact that you've done everything this job has to offer (you've trained the team, built the process, fixed the thing that was broken before you got there) and the only "next step" on the table is more of the same, with a slightly longer title. Maybe it's the person you trained who got the promotion, or the "great work" that came with a bigger workload and not a bigger title.
So you open LinkedIn. You scroll. You search. And every job you find falls into one of two piles: the ones you know you could do in your sleep, and the ones that sound exciting but make you wonder if you're delusional for even looking.
Meanwhile the questions keep running in the background.
- Do I have to start over at the bottom?
- Can I afford a pay cut? (With the tuition, the mortgage, the daycare, the college fund, the answer is no, and you shouldn’t have to)
- Is the problem my job, or my industry, or me?
- Do I need another certification, and if so, which one, because I'm not spending $3,000 to find out I picked the wrong one?
- Am I just supposed to ride this thing out until retirement?
You want to know what's next, and to actually believe you can achieve it
You don't want another list of "careers that match your personality." You want to look at one specific direction and think, yes. That one. That's me, and I can get there.
You want to stop going after jobs just because you know you can do them. You want to go after the one that fits what you're good at, what you care about, and what you need to be paid (because mission is great, and so is a mortgage).
You want to look at your own experience and finally see it the way a smart employer would: as proof you're qualified for more than you've been told, and not a pile of unrelated jobs you're trying to explain.
And you want to quit asking yourself whether you're crazy for wanting something different. (You're not. You're a woman who's grown, and your job didn't get the memo.)
Why this is so much harder than "just pick something"
Let's be honest about why you haven't figured this out already (because it isn't a character flaw).
- You're too close to it. It's very hard to see your own range from inside the job. Everything you're good at feels like "just what I do."
- Your résumé is telling the wrong story. It lists job titles, so everyone (including you) sees a straight line from where you've been. That makes a pivot look like a leap, when it's really a step.
- The advice you get is based on what worked for the person giving it. Your friends, your sister, the career quiz, and the guy at the networking event all have opinions, and none of them are you.
- The stakes are real. You aren't 24, living with roommates, free to "find yourself." You have people who depend on you, a standard of living to protect, and no appetite for jumping from the pan into the fire.
- And you've probably been funneled. A lot of us built careers around the doors that were open and the need for stability, so what you want and what you've learned to expect got hard to tell apart.
Being underestimated your whole life can impact the career choices you even make.
You take on the extra work, collect the credential, and pick the safer role, because it feels better than being told you're not ready.
A lot of Black women and other women of color know this one by heart. And it makes a career change harder, because it's hard to tell "this isn't my path" from "I've been taught not to expect more."
Not every setback is about race or gender. But some of them are, and it's okay to say that out loud. I won't start from the assumption that the problem is something you're doing wrong. A coach who skips that part isn't going to get you to the right answer.
What you've probably tried (and why you're still stuck)
You've been working on this for a while, so I know you didn't just sit there:
- You've taken the career quiz, and the other one, and the one your coworker swore by. They all said you'd be a "great fit" for about eleven completely different jobs.
- You've asked ChatGPT what you should do with your life, and it gave you a polite list based on your résumé, which is the exact thing that got you stuck.
- You've talked to friends, your partner, your mom, maybe a therapist. All of them love you. None of them know how to hire for the job you want.
- You've looked at a certification, or two, or a whole master's program, and wondered whether you're fixing the real problem or just buying time.
- You've applied to a few things that sounded "close enough" and felt your stomach drop when they called you back.
None of that was a waste. But here's why it didn't work: every one of those started with a solution, and skipped the diagnosis. A quiz hands you answers without knowing your question. A certification assumes you already know where you're headed. A résumé rewrite fixes how you look on paper, for a job you may not even want.
That's how you end up getting really good at pursuing the wrong thing.
And if nothing changes?
Let’s play it forward, because you’ve probably already done it in your head at 2am. Another year at the same ceiling, with the same Sunday dread and a slightly longer title. Another round of applications to jobs you could do in your sleep. Maybe the certification you weren’t sure about, or the master’s program you’re still not sure you need.
And the other cost: another year of watching people with less experience move up, and another year of wondering if it’s you. A wrong move can cost you the salary, the time, and the confidence to try again. A clear direction is a decision you only have to make once.
What you really need
You need someone to get to know you first, before anyone prescribes anything. Someone who'll look at your whole story (the patterns, what lights you up, what drains you, what you've been quietly settling for) and help you see possibilities you haven't considered. Then someone who'll help you test those options against real life, choose one, and build your plan to get there. Someone who understands what you're up against without making you explain it first.
That's why I created Breaking Out the Box. It's a 6-week, start-to-finish program for women of color who know it's time for something different but can't tell what, or whether they're qualified for it. It's built around one idea I believe completely: people have possibilities beyond the boxes they've been put in and the paths they've been prescribed. And the way you find them is by understanding the person before prescribing the path.
Hi, I'm LaToya!
As a driven, Black woman, I’ve been underestimated, pushed aside, and told to "be patient" countless times; all while knowing I was more than qualified for the roles I wanted.
As a member of HR and Talent Acquisition teams across industries, I spent more than a decade on the hiring side, seeing how talent decisions are actually made (spoiler alert: it is rarely the way the job posting says). Time and time again, I watched talented women share my lived experience, being passed over for roles we all knew they had already earned.
I got tired of watching brilliant women lose out on opportunities. So, I decided to turn the tables and built my business around helping women align their careers, recognize their abilities, and Break Out The Box.
Best. Job. Ever.
If you want to find out what is really standing between you and the role you want, I'm the bestie you didn't know you needed, and I keep it real. You're welcome.
What my clients say
Breaking Out the Box
A 6-week career clarity program for women of color, designed to help you:
- Understand what's really been shaping your career (your patterns, your strengths, what you've settled for, and what's actually in your way), so you stop guessing
- See career directions you haven't considered, and test them against real life (pay, level, transferable skills), so you can choose without starting over at the bottom
- Choose one clear target direction and know why it's the right one, so you can say it out loud without second-guessing
- Reposition your résumé and LinkedIn around that direction, so recruiters see the story you actually want to tell
- Walk away with a plan: where the roles are, who to talk to, and what to do first, so you aren't staring at LinkedIn wondering where to look
What's included
- A pre-work questionnaire and three career assessments (career personality, work values, and interests), plus a review of your résumé and LinkedIn before we begin
- A 60-minute kickoff call in week 1, so we set your starting point and goals
- Your Career Insights, shared in small, bite-sized sections with reflection questions, so you aren't hit with a 20-page report you never read
- A personalized look at what's been shaping your career progress, and a comparison of the direction you already have in mind against two lanes I recommend
- Real market research on your top lanes (roles, levels, and what they pay), so you can see the opportunities actually exist
- A 60-minute lane decision call in week 2, to choose your direction with confidence
- Your Career Alignment Summary: your chosen lane, the evidence behind it, example roles, what to watch for, and your next steps
- Your action plan: titles to search, where to find the roles, who to talk to, and what to say
- A 45-minute résumé and LinkedIn call in week 3, which kicks off two weeks of async updating, with two rounds of feedback from me so your materials point toward your new lane
- Two weeks of follow-up support (weeks 5 and 6) for anything that comes up as you start your search, with guidance and feedback from me
- Private coaching access with Google Space: voice notes, messages, and feedback from me with follow-up responses on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I may occasionally reply on other days, but Tuesdays and Thursdays are my scheduled follow-up days.
Total time commitment: about 2 to 3 hours a week, plus 3 live calls (career alignment calls for the first 2 weeks, and a résumé and LinkedIn call in week 3), about 45 to 60 minutes each.
Your investment: $1,800 $1,200
Limited-Time Introductory Rate Available through November 2, 2026
Save $600 when you enroll at the beta rate.
Payment options:
- Pay in full: $1,200
- Payment plan: 3 monthly payments of $425 ($1,275 total)
For comparison: a certification can run three thousand dollars, a master's degree can run well past twenty thousand, and a year in a role that's stalled costs you the raise you didn't get. This is the cheaper way to find out what you actually need before you spend on any of them.
I take on 6 women of color at a time, so everyone gets real attention.
Spots remaining right now: 5
Next Start Date: Monday November 2, 2026
Let’s talk about your next move.
We start with a complimentary consultation call so we can meet and make sure this is a fit.
Grab a ConsultationThis is for you if...
- You know you're ready for a change, but you can't say what it is, or you aren't sure the direction you have in mind is right
- You're mid-career or beyond, with real experience, and you've outgrown your role, your industry, or both
- You’re a woman of color who’s tired of being the one with the track record but not the title
- You're good at a lot of things and tired of being "good at it" as the only reason you keep doing it
- You want a plan that works with your real life, including the money, and not a "just quit and follow your passion" pep talk
- You're willing to reflect, answer honest questions, and do something with what comes up. (You don't have to feel confident. Frustrated, discouraged, and a little scared are all fine.)
- You’re ready to invest in this decision
This is not for you if...
- You already know exactly what role you're going after and just need to land it. That's Land the Role, and I'd love to see you there.
- You want me to hand you the answer. I'll guide you to it with you in the driver's seat, but I won't prescribe your path.
- You're looking for a quiz result, or a quick fix that skips the thinking
- You want a guarantee that you'll get a job. I'll never promise that, and you should run from anyone who does.
- You can't give this about 2 to 3 hours a week for the next 6 weeks
"But can't I just ask AI what I should do?"
You can, and it'll hand you a lovely, confident answer in about nine seconds. Here's why I wouldn't bet your next five years on it:
- It only knows what you tell it, and what's on your résumé. Your résumé is the box. AI will suggest more of the box, with nicer fonts.
- It can't tell what you said you wanted from what you've learned to settle for. I can. (It usually shows up in the third sentence, when you say "I mean, if I have to...")
- It agrees with you. I ask the question you were hoping I wouldn't, and then I wait.
- It doesn't know the money part is real. It doesn't know about your kid's tuition, your mortgage, or the pay cut you can't take. So it can't tell you which direction is both right for you and doable for you.
- It never follows up. It won't ask whether you actually had that conversation with the person in the field you said you'd reach out to. I will.
Use AI to brainstorm. Then bring the results to someone who can tell you which ones are actually you.
Questions you might be asking
Can't I just do this with ChatGPT?
Use it to brainstorm, absolutely. But it can only work from what's on your résumé, which is the box you're trying to get out of. I cover the rest higher up on this page.
Can’t I just figure this out on my own?
You can, and plenty of smart women try. The trouble is that you’re too close to your own story, and everyone around you has an opinion based on what worked for them. Going it alone usually means another six months of the same loop: a quiz, a certification, a hunch, and a lot of second-guessing. Working with me gets you an outside view, someone who knows how hiring actually works, and a clear finish line.
Do I have to start over at the bottom?
Usually not, and I'd be surprised if you did. Part of what we do is figure out how your experience translates, so you can move into your next lane at the right level for what you already bring.
What if I can't afford a pay cut?
Then we plan around that. Pay, level, and what you need to live on are part of how we choose your direction. I won't send you chasing a passion that doesn't pay the bills.
Can you guarantee I'll find my answer, or a job?
I can't promise a job, and I'd be wary of anyone who does. What I can promise is a clear process, a direction you can defend, and the materials and plan to go after it. I'm accountable for the quality of the coaching. You're accountable for showing up and doing the work.
I already know what I want. Is this for me?
If you have a specific role in mind and just need to land it, Land the Role is your program. If you've got a general idea but you aren't sure it's the right one, this is the place to test it.
Is this only for women of color?
Even though this was built with women of color in mind and designed for what they are up against; members of marginalized groups find this to be a good fit for them as well. If you think this is a fit for you, schedule your complimentary consultation.
What if I think my problem is my company, not me?
Then we'll look at that head-on. Sometimes the answer is a new lane, and sometimes it's a better version of what you're already doing in a better place. Either way, you'll know which one it is.
I'm so busy. Will I have time?
You'll need about 2 to 3 hours a week. Most of the coaching is async (voice notes and messages, not weekly 45-minute sessions), so it fits around your life. And if you're already spending your Sundays dreading Monday, you're already losing the time. Let’s put your limited time to better use.
Can I split up the payment?
Yes. 3 payments of $425. I run the payment plan myself, so no waiting to see if Klarna approves you.
What happens after the 6 weeks?
You'll leave with a direction, your materials, and a plan. If you want help going after the role once you've picked it, that's what Land the Role is for.
You don't have to keep guessing
You've spent long enough wondering what's wrong with you, or whether it's too late, or if you're allowed to want something different. There's nothing wrong with you. You've outgrown the box, and it's time to figure out what comes next, with someone who understands the whole picture.
Let’s talk about your next move.
We start with a complimentary consultation call so we can meet and make sure this is a fit.
Grab a ConsultationGrab a Consultation
The Complimentary Consultation is a casual, no-pressure conversation designed for professionals who have reviewed my services and are seriously considering investing in professional career support. We will use this call to help us both decide if working together is the right next step.