Q1: Why did you decide to start a coaching business?
Several years ago, a coach helped me wake up. I was literally sleep walking through life. I wasn’t unhappy but I was going through the motions whilst living a very busy life. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was operating in autopilot.
The catalyst to start working with a coach was the loss of my father after a relatively quick battle with cancer which left me feeling like the rug had been pulled from under me. Alongside the inevitable grief, this led to a period of uncertainty about where I was heading and what I wanted from life. Whilst I had a successful career and was a busy Mum of three young children, I wasn’t tapping to any specific purpose or passion which left me feeling adrift.
I began to ask myself questions I’d never really explored such as:
- What makes me happy?
- What is important to me?
- What do I want to achieve?
- How am I getting in my own way of making important things happen?
An incredible coach helped me navigate my way, connect with myself and my purpose and ultimately gain control and shape my next chapter. A huge part of the changes I made was to switch careers and become a coach myself. Whilst leaving my comfort zone, of a salaried job that I was excelling in, was daunting but the coaching helped me switch gears – giving me not just the clarity but the confidence.
As you can probably see, my eyes were opened to the incredible value that coaching can deliver and I was well and truly hooked. I jumped into studying and learning coaching frameworks before specialising in the core areas that I wanted to coach and honing my unique coaching style and approach. I am now on a mission to raise awareness of coaching and support people who are looking for that support in their business, life or career.
Q2: How does your business differentiate itself from other coaching businesses?
Not a cookie cutter in sight.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
- It’s super important to me that my coaching doesn’t take the ‘cookie cutter’ approach. I am deliberate not to be formulaic and prescriptive in the way I coach. My client leads the way. I am their coach… I plug into their world (not the other way around). As their business coach, I join their team.
- I don’t offer packages or a step-by-step program. I design my coaching 100% around my client. I take the time to understand exactly where they are at, what they are looking to achieve and where (and how) I can add value. Then I suggest a plan of action and we dive in without a massive upfront payment or block payment for sessions. I take great pride in offering a ‘pay as you go’ model. I understand what a huge step it is for someone to start working and trusting a coach, it shouldn’t be made harder by adding a significant financial burden to the relationship. I am very unusual in this approach (and it’s not a business model that my accountant likes) but working like this is deeply aligned with my values and is obviously attractive for my clients as I have no problem retaining them.
Business and mindset coaching toolkit.
- Yes, I help create a killer strategy but that won’t be enough by itself. A winning mindset is critical too. I help people master both sides of the coin. My clients get to tap into my unique blend of business and mindset know-how, experience, and mentoring expertise. I understand that owning a business can be the most rewarding yet most challenging thing someone will ever do. My 20 years’ Marketing experience working in the corporate world and with start-ups combined with being as a qualified behavioural change coach means that I can shape strategy and build a business whilst being an expert at spotting how someone is holding back. Where and why, they are tapping the brakes.
- I have an extensive coaching toolkit (it’s more like a suitcase!) which is packed with proven strategies and techniques to enable my clients to find focus, plan, and act. I have endless resources which I share so that my clients create their own toolkits.
- My mojo! I’m called The Mojo Coach for a reason! My energy and passion are contagious and genuine.
Q3: What are the most common problems faced by women starting or running their own business and how can these problems be overcome?
- TIME is often a real limiting factor. Women are often wearing many hats which can leave them time poor and struggling to find enough quality time to invest in their business.
My advice is:
- Be realistic about what you can achieve and then allocate your time accordingly. For example, are there some hats which you need to wear less or take off altogether especially when you are in the very early days of your business when significant effort and time is required to get things off the ground and moving in the right direction.
- Delegate and outsource – don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to be doing everything yourself especially if someone can do it much quicker and better than you (it’s a false economy to spend your time on it.
- Time map – this is a practical way of planning your day and week. Map out specific blocks of time for your most significant tasks and activities ensuring you are realistic with the time they will take. Remember to include both business and personal activities. This helps you easily spot if you are overloading your week as well as planning your time.
- Spend time working ON your business not just working IN your business. It’s easy to get sucked into the day to day running of your business and lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s important to keep a strategic steer on your business.
My advice is:
- Ring fence focus time for you to wear your Business Owner hat. My clients called this ‘CEO time’. This is dedicated time each week where you work on the bigger picture items. I suggest booking a meeting with yourself in your diary (which is as precious as a client meeting rather than a ‘if I get to it’ meeting). Have an agenda of what you want to work on/think about and take yourself out of your usual work environment if that will help reduce distractions and switch gears with your headspace.
- Work with a coach or a business buddy to gain accountability and strategic / independent input. Having someone kindly interrogate your thinking and make informed suggestions is incredibly useful as it can be easy to get into a ‘way of thinking’.
Q4: What are the key elements of a successful business?
- Wear a commercial lens. A business is only viable if it is a going concern (i.e., financially stable enough to meet its obligations and continue for the foreseeable future) otherwise it is an expensive and time-consuming hobby. It’s important to get comfortable with your numbers; know your costs, what your customers are prepared to pay, and understand what making a profit looks like. This can help you avoid undercharging, not factoring in your time (you shouldn’t be working for free) and even not charging at all. Whilst the numbers may not be ‘your thing’ you can’t dodge them or shy away from talking about your price and charges with customers.
- Don’t hide behind your business. Regardless of the type of business, people buy from people. Even in this digital age, your customers want to develop relationships and relate to brands that they can trust. Storytelling is a powerful way to achieve that, and those stories need to be about more that the product or service; they need to include the person (and people) behind the business. It’s also important to maintain “the human touch” and deliver a personal service. It will have a lasting impact on your customers and brand reputation.
- Know who you are targeting. Take time to really understand your target market and then clearly define your target persona (this is a segment of your target market). What are their demographic details, interests, and goals? Understand how they behave and how they buy as well as their pain points. Then be sure that everything you do talks to your target persona and is compelling. Stay away from being vanilla and targeting the masses.
It is often appropriate to have more than one target persona, but too many will dilute your focus so aim for a maximum of three. remember that the point of this is to narrow your focus, so you don’t want to have too many.
Q5: How should women business owners face the fear of failure?
The fear factor can be debilitating however it’s important to remember that fear is a sign that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone and/or doing something that is important to you i.e., the outcome matters! These three steps will help you face that fear and gain control so that you can thrive.
- Redefine failure. Framing a situation, that you’re fearful of, differently will help you reduce your stress and anxiety. Think of it as the lens that you choose to wear. The fear lens will focus on the potential disastrous scenarios (e.g., a launch flopping or the loss of a major client) whilst the reframe lens will focus on what you might achieve (e.g., learning from the experience, building new relationships). Reframing failure will help you focus on what will help you and prepare you for future challenges.
- Dig deeper. It’s critical to drill down into what the real fear is. Many fears of failure are rooted in worry. Worry of doing something wrong, looking foolish, not meeting expectations i.e., not being good enough or being ’found out’ (good old imposter syndrome).
- Avoid emotional hijacking. Fear is an emotion. Emotions are your primal response to uncertainty; they appear instinctively. This can be extremely helpful if your life is under threat but let’s face it, in a business context it is not appropriate response and instead leads to your thinking being emotionally hijacked. This means that your emotions are dominating your headspace and getting in the way of your rational brain. Your rational brain sticks to the facts, looks at the evidence, and takes a logical approach; all essential to think clearly and strip out the emotions. Feed your rational brain by focusing on what you know to be true and challenges the emotional narrative that is self-sabotaging.
Q6: What three pieces of advice would you give to a woman planning to start her own business?
- Build your support network. Connect with like-minded business owners who you can relate to; ideally at different stages in their business journey and operating across a range of sectors. It can be incredibly lonely running your own business and you can spend a lot of time in your own head. This can lead to overthinking, procrastination, and self-doubt as well as stagnate thinking. Find your people… use them as your sounding board to talk though ideas, support for navigating challenges, keep you accountable, and boost your inspiration and motivation. Surrounding yourself with people who you trust and value their opinion is invaluable because whilst your friends and family may be supportive, they are not walking your shoes so can struggle to relate plus they can simply be too close. They are invested in your happiness so may sugar coat advice which isn’t always helpful and can unintentionally sabotage your progress.
There are many opportunities to find your people:
- Join a business membership group
- Network in real life and online (networking can get a bad reputation but there will be a set up that works for you… it’s not all about meeting in a hotel function room, wearing a name badge and making small talk
- Be active on social media and connect with independent brands and businesses that you feel share similar ethos and values
- Develop a flexible mindset. Being able to flex is essential as change is the only constant. You will be learning every day, customers’ wants and needs will evolve and competitors will always be doing their thing. What’s more, the last couple of years has shown us how the marketplace and world around you can switch literally overnight.
Yes, having a robust and strategic plan is critical, providing you with focus and clarity however if you stick to it too rigidity you will miss out on opportunities, fail to learn and be too blinkered in your approach. Clients sometimes say to me “But this wasn’t in the plan!” This frustration is a result of fixed thinking.
If you can be open to (and expect to) adapting your best laid plans, it will serve you well. Working with a mindset coach is a great way to master your mindset as well as a master your business plan!
- Believe in Yourself: A killer strategy and business plan is only half of the equation. If you’re not backing yourself, then you’re starting off on the back foot.
Have you ever said things like ‘This is kind of a hobby’ or ‘Why would people want to buy from me?’
You really need to believe that you can achieve great things in your new business venture and recognise the value that you bring. Your confidence and clarity when communicating your value will be infectious in everything you do and will instill trust and belief with your all stakeholders including customers!
Plus, you’ll no doubt be operating outside your comfort zone at times and therefore feeling vulnerable. This is a natural response but underlines why it’s so important that you know you worth and back yourself. Rather than become paralysed with the uncertainty, you’ll feel able to make decisions and find your voice… ultimately be showing up in your business.
BIO
Roo Davies (aka The Mojo Coach) is the go-to coach in the UK if you want to find your Passion, Positivity & Purpose. If you’re looking to rediscover your mojo, build your confidence and make things happen, she’s your gal!
Roo is a pretty unique coach as she wears a few hats… Business Coach, Mindset Coach, Leadership Coach and Strengths Coach. Whatever hat she’s wearing she works with her clients on a 1:2:1 basis to thrive in their personal and business life. She is a regular guest speaker and panel member at business events and on podcasts whilst featuring in national press as an expert coach.
Roo is a qualified behavioural change coach, holds a PG Cert in Coaching and is accredited with the Institute of Leadership & Management and the Association for Coaching.
