Before this programme my life had taken quite a drastic nosedive. I had been building a couple of businesses - one of which was a women empowerment coaching business - quite successfully when my father passed away in 2013. In hindsight I realise that after his death I was quite vulnerable when I rekindled a relationship with a boyfriend I had dated in my teens who knew my late father and other family members in Ireland. It turned out to be an abusive relationship which though short-lived left me with anxiety, my income source gone, life savings wiped out and debts accruing. (The irony of being a woman's empowerment coach is not lost on me!)
My first degree was in business studies and education, I always had an interest in business and developed a couple of businesses of my own when my daughters were young alongside helping my ex-husband grow a chain of 6 pharmacies from a single shop. The first shop cost £175k and we sold the business 7 later for £2m profit.
I qualified as a life coach and studied a counselling degree for 3 years after my marriage broke down.
When I came back to the UK after the disastrous relationship, I felt about 25% of the person I had been when I met the man again. My confidence had plummeted, I didn't want to see people and I felt embarrassed about the whole situation, so I isolated myself quite a lot and stayed home - seeing only my inner-circle of friends who I trusted wholeheartedly.
When I saw the ad for the CBC certification something clicked in me. I just KNEW I had to do it. I was struggling to get by financially but asked a dear friend if she could fund the programme while I waited for my inheritance from my father to come through. I'm so grateful she did and I got to do the programme.
What drew me to the programme was that it promised how to teach me to how help businesses to build in a really caring way - building on the passion of the owners / leaders and creating an organisational culture where people love their jobs and thrive within them, always having the opportunity to become the next best version of themselves and really feel valued at work. This was so different from what I had seen in business before and I wanted to be part of that movement.
I recommend this programme to anyone who really wants to make a difference by helping business owners / leaders create a business that is truly aligned with their purpose, working with people with similar values who are passionate about the mission and happy and empowered in their respective roles.
Different studies suggest that between 50-80% are unhappy at work. If I can reduce those bleak numbers with the businesses I work with, this will make a real difference for everyone who has anything to do with those businesses - owners / managers / more junior employees and customers. I believe this course has armed me with the knowledge, tools and skills to do this.
My personal top three take-aways are
1. In my opinion this course teaches exactly the kind of business coaching the world needs now and I feel blessed I found it when I did.
2. Then ongoing support from the community of coaches I worked with during the course will help enhance my skills on an ongoing basis.
3. The experience I had with the abusive ex-partner was I believe in some part a catalyst to me being ready to listen to my gut and enrol on this programme - even though I couldn't afford it at the time. I believe that by putting the learning into practice I am going to be wildly successful at helping business become what their owners dream of. The ex can stick that in his pipe and smoke it!