Personal Growth Coaching
Arecia is a professional development coach who meets you exactly where you are, giving you to the tools to succeed and take your life to the next level.

Taking First, LLC is deeply committed to serving Black Indigenous Women of Color (BIWOC) and their allies. As a Black woman, Arecia is deeply committed to bringing lived experience, cultural competence, and deep understanding to the coaching relationship.
Based in Los Angeles, Arecia offers in-person, locally grounded coaching for clients who want to connect face-to-face and benefit from support rooted in the city’s diverse environment.
“Arecia brings a rare balance of clarity, professionalism, and genuine care.”
– Richard Baker
“Arecia doesn’t just teach leadership she embodies it. Her mentorship helped me communicate clearly and lead confidently.”
– Eva Bryant
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Arecia Hester is a certified personal life coach in Los Angeles and the founder of Taking First. As a Black woman and trauma-informed coach, Arecia brings lived experience, cultural awareness, and compassionate structure to her work. Her coaching style is grounded, affirming, and focused on helping clients move forward with clarity and confidence.
A personal life coach helps you gain clarity, navigate transitions, and build momentum in your life and career. As a personal life coach in Los Angeles, Arecia supports clients through identity shifts, burnout, building confidence, setting boundaries, navigating career changes, and fostering personal growth, all while honoring the realities of living, working, and thriving in a fast-paced city.
Arecia primarily works with Black women and women of color who are ready to prioritize themselves without guilt or explanation. While Taking First welcomes anyone seeking growth, Arecia’s approach is especially supportive for clients who want a coach who understands cultural context, lived experience, and the emotional weight that often comes with ambition and responsibility.
Taking First offers trauma-informed, culturally competent coaching that goes beyond surface-level motivation. Arecia doesn’t believe in pushing clients past their limits or offering one-size-fits-all advice. Instead, sessions are personalized, emotionally safe, and designed to support sustainable growth, not burnout or performative productivity.
While our services can have many benefits related to improving your life, Arecia is a Certified Professional Life Coach, not a therapist. Therapy often focuses on processing past experiences, while coaching centers on forward movement, clarity, and intentional goal-setting. Arecia’s coaching approach is trauma-informed and emotionally aware, offering a supportive and reflective space that many clients find empowering without feeling clinical.
While Arecia is based in Los Angeles, she offers coaching sessions virtually, allowing clients to work with her from anywhere. She offers the choice of having sessions by phone or online video (via Zoom, Google Meet or Teams) or a combination of both.
To get started, reach out to schedule an initial conversation with Arecia. This call is an opportunity to share what you’re navigating, ask questions, and determine whether Taking First is the right fit for your goals and season of life. Schedule a free consultation today!