Jane is the founder of a craft workshop studio in London that covers a wide range of modern creative workshops, hen parties, birthdays, baby showers and corporate events.

Her customers loved her events, but she felt she was pulled in so many directions, and could see that things could be simpler to run, giving her more breathing space to focus on growing the business.

I asked Jane about her experience, insights and results after working with me for the 3 month coaching package.

Before

My business needed a lot of hand-holding from me before, and it took a lot of my time. Now it does a lot of the work for me and taken away some of the unnecessary headspace that consumed me daily.

I had lots of hesitancy around finding a coach; I thought I needed one but didn’t know where to start looking, or how to find the right person.

I really didn’t think anybody was genuine. I was so sceptical – they claim they’ll triple your revenue, and it sounds like such rubbish, it puts me right off.

I knew that you were authentic – and that the successes you had in business were genuine. We chatted informally about different situations that had come up for me and your advice was always so considered and useful. You weren’t trying to sell me some ‘off the shelf package’, it was really tailored to me. I had that faith, respect and trust in you and I think this makes all the difference.

Why Coaching

I decided to go ahead with coaching as the timing felt right – I was going through change in my business. I had to make a support role redundant so that left me pulling my hair out with where I was at, and I knew things had to change.

Business life felt quite overwhelming on a daily basis. It was less overwhelming to make those changes with a coach by my side, to support me through anything I needed. An investment in myself for 12 weeks.

Business Changes after Coaching

The big one is going from business systems that were fully reliant on me manually doing everything, to having a lot more systems in place. It freed up a lot of headspace and thinking space.

What used to really, really worry me all the time was if I’d missed a hen party booking or important corporate event or made a mistake with some important detail about the event – and it’s taken that whole worry away from me. It’s taken away a lot of the tedious admin too.

I also felt like enquiries were coming in and being missed, and now that I can keep on top of it systematically I’m seeing more conversions now because nothing gets lost. The whole leads system is just incredible! I used to miss enquiries. You know what it’s like having too many emails! That’s not happening anymore, it’s been brilliant and a game changer.

Looking back at the 12 weeks I can confidently say I’ve developed and I’m now running a section of my business how I’ve always wanted to run it. There’s still more to do – once we got going it was clear I needed to focus on the backend, because without this I don’t think I could ever move forward, so I’m really grateful for that in depth work we did.

It was also useful to during our catch ups to talk about ad-hoc situations that were coming up / came up and and talk through that too because so much came out from those conversations too – the notes I made were PLENTY!

This whole 3 months has just been amazing for me – it’s everything I wanted five years ago but have been unable to move forward with, I just wish I did this sooner.

Mindset Shifts

When I first started coaching I was very frustrated because I felt I shouldn’t be at this stage of my business, I should be further along, it’s ridiculous I’m doing things this way.

I think one of the reasons I felt so comfortable with you, is that you were (are) very non-judgmental, this put me at ease; so much so, I think I was just so open about everything and I’m sure that made a difference to helping me push forward in 12 weeks.

I realised I did have a family, wider commitments, and sometimes things don’t happen as quickly. It’s hard for me to not compare myself. But I genuinely felt that sense of, ‘don’t worry, we all have to start from somewhere”.

I’m no longer thinking, ‘I should be further here or I should be there …’

I also never realised how many people actually do have coaches. It was such a valuable insight for me to understand that you don’t have to do it alone; and that seeking support doesn’t diminish my abilities in any way but in fact quite the opposite, it just enhanced and gave me so many learning opportunities.

Exceeding Expectations

You had genuine interest in my business, and took the time to learn about and understand it. I never felt at any stage that what you suggested didn’t apply to me – it was all directly applicable because it’s so bespoke.

You have a really good grasp of a lot of areas of business – you understand so much. You’re not just talking from just theory, I know that you’ve done it, and I can see that you’ve done it.

Your help with setting up Airtable exceeded my expectations! I did not expect that level of in-depth knowledge.

Your organisation was just incredible – you always came back to me so quickly as well. I think this will be another area I tackle with you in the future!

Advice for others thinking of coaching

I’d say don’t hesitate! With Moira, what you see is what you get; you’re going to get somebody who’s genuinely passionate about helping you, removing overwhelm and making your business work for you – and who’s authentic, who’s ‘been there, done that’.

Coaching is an investment in yourself and in your business. I’d say to others, make a plan to invest in yourself, because that really is what it is and you’ll just only reap the benefits from it.

I keep saying to my husband that I’m so amazed with what’s changed. Because the thing is, it doesn’t even stop after you. You’ve given me such a great basis to take things forward.

I’ve really, really appreciated everything. I’ve felt genuinely looked after and properly coached. For my first experience of coaching, it’s been wonderful, and you’ve completely changed everything I thought about coaching. But I will put the caveat that it’s because of you, I don’t think everybody that you find online is genuine.

I would say if you’re a solopreneur and you’re working by yourself, think of your coach a bit like your chief operating officer. It might be for 12 weeks but you have this person by your side that is yours, and she’s amazing. This person dedicates time focused on you alone and feeling supported for those 12 weeks was such a powerful experience.

Who would have thought so much can happen in three months? I think it’s amazing what you can do in 12 weeks when you have somebody you’re accountable to. You move quickly!

The accountability was a good driver for me and I also felt that you gave so much back – each week and after every session too. That itself kept me on my toes for the entire duration.

I think if anybody is feeling stuck (I certainly was), coaching will get you out of that rut. I couldn’t seem to think beyond where I was – which was stuck on this hamster wheel, it’s such a frustrating and sinking feeling.

Thank you so much Moira, it’s been great!

If this has inspired you, and you’d like my coaching support with your business, you can learn more about working with me here.

And, if you’d like more content like this in your inbox, join Simplified Strategy, my free weekly email series to create a more spacious and aligned business, tailored around your strengths. You can sign up below.