My Business Values

I’m here to serve wholehearted coaches and solopreneurs who want to make money and have a positive impact.

*Citing Kelly Diels work on Feminist Business Principles in inspiring this page

Ultimately, I always strive to do business in a way in which I’d like business to be done with me.

I believe in social justice and for me one of the best ways I can support the kind of world I’d like to see is through supporting women (including Black women, Women of Colour as well as women from low income backgrounds) to start thriving coaching businesses where they get well paid and in turn, get to create a bigger, positive impact in the world. 

Less than 1 in 5 job opportunities ofter flexible working which is often essential for women with families to thrive. In my work I wish to support as many women as possible to create flexible working opportunities without having a negative impact on their earning potential.

I’m also particularly passionate about giving back to my local community and working with women from here in North East England which has some of the most deprived communities in the UK.

I’m a feminist who’s feminism is intersectional and I work to embed my feminism in my business practices – this is ongoing work for me.

In my work, much of which is around honouring yourself and what you need to thrive, and showing up wholeheartedly as yourself, I understand that this is easier and or different depending on many factors including race, sexual orientation, ability status and gender expression.

I have taken the Anti Racism Business Pledge and will actively work to support the Black Lives Matter Movement and address racism in my work.

I understand that I am likely to get some of this wrong and I welcome any constructive feedback.

Here are some of the ways I put this values into practice in my business:

A Disclosure Of My Privileges

In the world of coaching and online business I feel it can be helpful to understand the privileges you hold yourself and to be able to see the privileges of the people you may choose to work with. Here are mine:

I’m a white, cis, heterosexual woman who benefits from all of the privileges associated with that.

Family and education:

I was born into a two parent working class family in Gateshead in the North-East of England (grandparents were dinner ladies and factory workers, my parents office workers / factory workers) however due to social mobility my upbringing has felt more middle class. I attended state primary and secondary schools. We always had a secure roof over our heads and money was never a serious worry. I went to Sunderland University and funded that with student loans. Later, I went to Durham University for my MA which I self funded. 

Career:

I volunteered out of University to help gain more experience to seek an arts related job, when that didn’t work out (because arts roles in the North East are like gold dust!)I worked for several local councils in community oriented roles before finally working for a charity.

Support:

I am the main breadwinner in my family, earning more than my husband. His earnings are not enough to support us so my work is essential in bringing in income. However, I benefited from support from my previous employer through flexibility when I was working to start my own business. We have benefited from financial support from my parents to enable us to buy our current home after we found ourselves in negative equity. 

Faith:

I was brought up very loosely as a Church of England Christian, I would now describe my faith as more earth / nature based spirituality. I have never experienced any oppression due to my faith.

Body:

My body size is currently a UK size 16 which I feel is generally still seen as acceptable in society and to date I don’t believe I’ve experienced any weight stigma.

I am generally in very good health and have access to free health care.

Mind:

I occasionally suffer from anxiety and low grade PTSD as a result of my child’s previous ill health, however I would consider myself to be generally mentally well. I have not needed to take any meditation for my mental health.

People I’ve learned from

 As a coach and a business owner I believe that learning is an ongoing process and I actively invest in my own learning and business development so I can continue to build my business and support my clients.

This list is not meant as a list of recommendations, rather I’m sharing this for the purposes of transparency as who we learn from can impact the way we in turn do business.

Here are some of the people I have learned from:

Coaching:

• Jo Gifford
• Lucy Sheridan
• Sarah Leather
• Elizabeth Goddard

Programmes and Courses:

• Janet Murray’s Build Your Audience Online
• Selena Soo’s Impacting Millions
• Denise Duffield Thomas’ Lucky Bitch Money Bootcamp
• Regina Anaejionu’s SERVE Academy
• Claire Pell’s Absolute Facebook Ads
• Many, many other small courses and programmes in topics ranging from copywriting, sales to manifesting and more!