Why I became a creative business coach and tips for choosing one that’s right for you

I have been blogging and talking on my podcast for a while now with lots of tips for running your own creative businesses, but haven’t talked about why I decided to become a business coach. So today I thought I would give you a little insight into how it all happened and why.

My Small Business Background

My working background is pretty eclectic (just like me really!), I started off my working life as a field archaeologist working in commercial archaeology (think road schemes, pipelines and housing developments). It was fascinating, fun, hard work (both physically and mentally) and very rewarding. It was also exhausting, emotionally draining (I was often working away and missed my husband and family a lot) and at the time a very male dominated world, I was frequently the only woman on a construction site, but I loved it and made good career steps along the way. It taught me a lot about my capability for resilience, how to work with occasionally antagonistic parties, how to manage groups of very different people (with very different goals), and how to stand up for myself. I got to see incredible places and landscapes, from inner cities to the vast upland areas of Wales and everything in between. I also had a year working in a museum working with collections (I have a methodical analytical brain alongside my slightly wilder, creative tendencies!).

Photography by Georgina Harrison

When I had my daughter, everything changed (like it so often does when a baby enters the mix). The work was not compatible with motherhood (and a poorly baby at that), so I made the move into archaeological publication and research work (some of which I still do today on occasion). Having a desk job after nearly ten years was very, very different. I loved the mental challenges and learnt a lot about processes and yes, admin! But I did miss the great outdoors a great deal. I also missed the creativity - I did a lot of site photography, site drawing and interpreting of the sites I worked on (telling stories essentially).

And that is when my own business was born in 2011, a way to find other things outside of the slightly confined space I had found myself in. I began hiring vintage glassware and tableware and styling weddings. Being part of a creative industry was like opening the floodgates – I found my passion for artistic expression once again, and this led me through many iterations of my business (eg natural dyeing of silk ribbons and table linens, an online shop and on into photography and branding work), learning new skills and becoming a ‘Jack of All Trades’ as every small business owner has to do. It was being thrown in at the deep end for sure! I built my website, got a logo made, started arranging styled shoots and taking part in them too, and basically just said ‘yes’ to everything that came my way.

I made mistakes, I found friends, and I slowly began to feel confident in my ability to make a successful business. I began teaching others how to design and run styled shoots and set up their businesses, ran courses and workshops, and started up a community for those I gathered around me to talk and raise each other up. Out of this I began informally mentoring other business owners, and this became in such high demand that it sparked the idea of actually doing it on a proper, official footing as a business coach.

Photography by Georgina Harrison

How I approach coaching

Do I have any formal coaching qualifications? No I do not. And I know this is a big controversy in the coaching world at the moment. Anyone can say they are a coach and charge money for their time and advice. Are all of them honest and good? No. So why should you take the leap of faith?

For me I like to think that my results speak for themselves through my testimonials, my clients are wonderful, talented phenomenal women. They just need a little help achieving their dreams. And that’s what I’m here for. My strange and wonderfully interwoven background means that I have a lot of diverse skills and knowledge to help – to be a truly holistic coach who has a good knowledge of the common hurdles when it comes to creating a successful small business. And not just financially either. One that nourishes that creative spark inside you, whilst implementing solid, sensible (yes I know – yawn!), practices that supports you in getting to where you want to be. And I do it because I love helping people succeed, I adore coming up with new imaginative ways to channel your artistic flair into something that sustains you emotionally, mentally and financially. I’ve made the wrong choices for me and my business in the past, I am just as much a flawed human being and entrepreneur as anyone I coach, but that’s where the magic happens – because I know what it’s like, I’ve been there, and I’m still going through it. I can get you out and into the brave new world better and quicker than I ever did…

Some tips for picking a good business coach:

1.      Choose someone you feel you can talk to and be honest with. It might feel obvious, but having a rapport and feeling like someone understand you and your situation is one of the biggest parts of the coaching relationship. If you don’t feel comfortable on your calls the magic won’t happen! (This is why I offer a free, no-strings attached discovery call first).

2.      Commit when it is the right time. You need to show up and do the work as much as your coach does. If you don’t prioritise your coaching then you will never achieve the results you want.

3.      Choose someone who understands your niche (for example I work solely with creative women whose work is rooted in nature) and can address your specific areas in need of assistance (eg audience building, brand identity etc). This will enable you to build that rapport quickly.

4.      Be prepared to put in the hard work. A coach should guide and inspire you, but you will need to put in the required hours to make their suggestions work.

5.      Make your goals time-specific. I like to work with my clients for a minimum of 3 months, but most of them stay with me for much longer than that as we unpick the areas that need work and move forward. If you have one specific thing you want to work on, then that will obviously take less time than if you want help over many aspects of your business. Real, measurable change takes time. There are no quick fixes!

6.      Find one that is affordable for you. More investment does not always equal better coaching. The key is how well you work together. Do they charge up front or can you pay in installments for instance?

7.      Is the coach available for you when you need it, ie are the call times ones that fit with your schedule, how much ‘off call’ support do they offer?

8.      Accountability. How will they track your progress and set you manageable tasks? (I offer two packages to suit my clients’ different needs, as well as an intensive in-person coaching day alternative).

I hope this has given you a little insight into how I work as a business coach, and more generally on how to go about finding the right one for you. If you’d like to book a free discovery call and see if we’re a good fit, then you can do so below.