Anna Goldstein has coached aspiring tennis players, guided job-seekers and promoted models. Her most recent endeavor involves giving life advice to young professionals.
Goldstein owns and operates selfinthecity.com, a website that gives advice to that young and restless crowd.
Not sure what to wear on a date? Anna’s got you covered. Can’t decide between buying skim or soy milk? She’s on that too. Have no idea what you want to do with your life? Oh yeah, Anna definitely has that one covered. Go to selfinthecity.com to become a free subscriber.
After graduating from Wootton High School in 1999, the former tennis player attended Penn State University, where she played tennis for one year and graduated with a degree in psychology.
What are you from?
I’m from Potomac, and I grew up in the Falls Grove neighborhood. I went to Wootton High School and I graduated in 1999.
Family?
My Mom, Robin, is an author. She wrote “The Parenting Bible,” and she teaches Human Development at Johns Hopkins University. My Dad is Miles Goldstein, and he is a social worker. I have an older brother, Ari, who is a content manager for a music mobile phone company, one of those companies that does ringtones for phones.
Where did you get your education?
I went to Penn State University in Happy Valley, PA. I majored in psychology.
Where are you now, how did you get there and what are you doing?
Right now I live in New York City in Greenwich Village. I went to New York after college because I’ve always loved the city. I used to play tennis (at Wootton and also for one year at Penn State) and so when I went to the city I got a job giving tennis lessons and I did an internship at a fashion showroom. Like a lot of people right out of college, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Then I got a job working as an assistant for a model, Dayle Haddon, one of the faces for L'Oreal. I did a lot of public relations work for her. I was still searching what I really wanted to do and then I started studying life-coaching. It was a natural transition for me, going from being a tennis coach to a life coach. Life coaching is about helping people find clarity about what their goals are and helping them to achieve them, helping them figure out how to get there. It’s basically helping to create a map to help people get from where they are to where they want to be. I started working for a company Connect To Success, which is a lifecoaching company.
How did you come up with the idea for “Self in the City” and how did you get it started?
I felt there was this whole group of people like me, people who were looking for the right career, the right relationship—a lot of people just out of college trying to find their way. When I started studying life-coaching I did a little bit of research online and I found there wasn’t a lot of information out there to help people with the big questions in their lives—what to do in a relationship, how to manage money. There weren’t a lot of answers. So I decided to find the answers myself and put them together for people. I had no idea about how to build a website, but I did know a bit about internet marketing. I knew how I wanted my site to look. So I put an ad on craigslist and I hired someone to put the website together.
How does “Self in the City” work?
“Self and the City” is a subscription-based free weekly email. The subscriptions are free because the website makes its revenue through advertising. The emails give tips from experts on working out, eating right, handling your money, relationships, beauty and fashion. For example, I’ll call a doctors office and ask if there is a dermatologist who can give me a tip on skin care. I get a little bit of their background so I know that they are a qualified expert. It’s a good way to get their name out there too, so they are eager to help. Then I’ll put together a letter with that advice and send it out. The letters that get sent out are archived, and there is a directory of the letters, so people who are subscribers to the website can look up articles on whatever their concern is. I think of it as the ultimate guide to living joyfully, that’s what I want it to be for people.
What have been your greatest influences?
Growing up being a tennis player I had mentors and coaches that really influenced me. My mom has been a big help in helping me grow as a person and she has really helped me with my business and creative endeavors.
How would you describe yourself?
I would say I’m very motivated and very active. I love people and I love to help people.
Where do you see yourself in twenty years?
In twenty years I see myself with a nice-sized office with a bunch of editors. The website will be like Self magazine, but online. I see the site having lots of traffic and lots of subscribers and lots of advertisers.