Should You Get A Creative Business Coach? 5 Coaches Explain Their Process
When I started coaching there was one thing I kept hearing from clients that stuck with me: at some point on our first call they’d ask ‘am I doing this right?’. No matter how much I explained the process and approach on our consultation and emails, there was still this worry about what coaching actually is, and what’s ‘supposed’ to happen on a call (‘supposed’ being heavily in inverted commas there).
This feeling was especially common among my UK clients; coaching here is a little more woo-woo and less established than it is in North America and elsewhere in the world. So those of us here in the UK not only have to shake off our cultural urge to ‘keep calm and carry on’ rather than seek out help, but also get our heads around an industry that is in a lot of ways alien to the mainstream of our society. And I wanted to help you with that.I wanted to give you a broader view of creative coaching in the UK and the different coaching options out there. So today I’m introducing you to my favourite people doing wonderful, empowering things in this industry (and having a little fangirl on the side too). I asked us all four simple questions: “what do you do?”, “what’s your coaching style?”, “what happens on a coaching call with you?” and “what benefits do your clients get?”.It is not enough to say that no two coaches are the same – while our job titles might match many times that’s the most we have in common. If you’re thinking about coaching it’s important to find a coach whose approach, methods and experiences mesh with what you want to achieve from the experience. I hope that by us talking frankly and openly about this here it helps you on your journey to success.
Lola Hoad
Lola is a creative coach as well as a speaker, writer and podcaster. She is also the founder of the One Girl Band co-working space in Brighton, a place for women to connect, support and empower each other. In her coaching work, Lola helps female entrepreneurs and creatives who either want to start their journey as a small business owner, or want to get to the next level of their creative venture.
What do you do and who do you help?
I’m a creative coach, writer and podcaster, as well as the founder of One Girl Band (a collective and co-working space for female entrepreneurs and creatives). I work with women who are either just starting out in the world of entrepreneurship and feel they have no clue what they’re doing or have been doing it for a few years and are starting to lose faith; whether that’s in themselves, their approach or their offerings.
How do you describe your coaching style?
A lot of what I do is created on the basis that it’s either purposeful or practical. I spend a lot of time working on the mindset side of business and life, such as overcoming self doubt, your inner critic, building confidence and the notion of 'busy doesn't equal success'- how we need to look after ourselves more than our businesses because we are our businesses. The other half is spent working on the practicalities such as content creation and scheduling, productivity, social media, your ideal customer etc.I’d describe my style as very relaxed and casual (which I know most coaches do, too!), but I really like to hone in on that. I’m especially not one for tough love or for telling them what to do; I make it clear to my clients that I’m not going to bellow at them down the phone if they don’t do a piece of homework! It’s all about them and how they feel at that time. Rather than just giving my two pence all of the time, I ask questions and guide them towards their true answers as I think that can have so much impact. I know just how magical it feels when you’re working through something and then it clicks and you suddenly understand everything you’ve been dealing with, so I want them to experience that.
What happens on a coaching call with you?
In my Power Sessions, we usually focus on 2-3 challenges the client is having at that moment in time. These sessions are for a more consultancy-based approach, or I’ll work with clients on figuring out which direction to go in and how to evolve and grow their brand. Over the two hours, we go through each challenge one by one, spending time and energy on it until they feel good. Then, towards the end of a call, we’ll map out 3-4 actionable goals that they can take away with them and leave with something tangible to do.In my 6 month package calls, it’s a bit less structured and more purposeful. The clients who choose this package are those who need focus and clarity within their business- they’re feeling stuck and are deep in a pit of negative narratives. They need help with their mindset as well as the practical side of business, but mostly, they need someone who understands it all by their side. Within these calls/meetings (I like to try to do 6 month sessions face to face when I can), we go over how the time since we last spoke has been and if anything has come up that they may want to talk about. We’ll work through any challenges that have arisen, as well celebrate any wins. Then, we work on creating 3 or 4 actionable goals for them to complete before we speak again a fortnight later. I think it’s vital to give something to the client that they can take and do in their own time to further their self-development, and having a few goals for them to achieve can keep that motivation from the call going until we next speak.
What benefits and changes do your clients see after working with you?
They feel like they have the resources and tools needed to create a sustainable and consistent brand whilst still looking after themselves. They feel like they have a hold on their mindset. The reason I started coaching was to show women just how powerful they are, even though they might not be able to see it just yet. That power can pushed down inside of them by their self-limiting beliefs and lack of confidence, and that’s definitely something I see change within them after our time together. They rediscover that power and feel they can do anything- and that’s all I ever want.You can find Lola on Instagram and at lolahoad.co.uk where you can also subscribe to her Weekly Letters. I also heartily recommend you listen to The One Girl Band Podcast, and if you're Brighton based check out the One Girl Band co-working space.
Sas Petherick
Sas Petherick helps people transcend self-doubt. Through workshops, group programmes, personal coaching and the popular Courage & Spice podcast, Sas helps you cultivate self-belief. With a masters degree in Coaching & Mentoring and as a certified coach, Sas’ approach is heartfelt, evidence-based, effective and immediately applicable to your life.
What do you do and who do you help?
I am a Coach, Teacher & Podcaster and my work is focussed on helping people to transcend self-doubt. I work primarily with women who are leading families, their own business or teams within organisations.Through my masters research, I found that self-doubt is such a complex and deeply subjective phenomenon and I am fascinated by the tentacles it weaves into our lives and work, our creativity and relationships.
How do you describe your coaching style?
I’m probably not a typical coach, in that I am not that interested in goals and outcomes, mostly because I have found that in the process of chasing some future definition of success, you miss out on the gold of who you are right now.My approach is about creating the space for a client’s deep transformation. This involves acres of compassion. I’m comfortable with ambiguity, can hold tension; I’m willing to slow down and look at things that most people would want to distance themselves from. I can be with the discomfort of facing the root cause of your self-doubt. I'm lovingly detached from feelings of shame, sadness, anger, anxiety or fear people bring to coaching. It sounds like fun doesn’t it?!My coaching is informed by several bodies of knowledge, including Attachment Theory and Adult Development Models. I’m particularly interested in how our past experiences form the narrative threads that are woven into our lives, how our culture influences and exploits our self-doubt. And how we can change the stories we tell ourselves, about what we are capable of. I’m fascinated by the shadow and light in all of us.
What happens on a coaching call with you?
I work with people for at least three months, because cultivating self-belief while living a complex and busy life, takes time.Usually you’ll have an intention or an idea of what you want to change, and this acts as a guidepost for the arc of our conversations. We start with where you are right now - how self-doubt is showing up, what it’s holding you back from, what you suspect might be going on. I’m here to help you bring the unconscious into the light so we can have a poke around and see what’s what. I take a thoughtful enquiry approach, asking questions and giving you the space to reflect. But I also have a tonne of evidence-based approaches to help you make meaningful progress.We get to the root causes of your self doubt and help you make sense and meaning from different perspectives. So I help you connect the dots and interrupt patterns. The idea is to create opportunities for you to think and feel differently about your relationship with your self-doubt. This offers a greater capacity for taking new action that is ease-filled.
What benefits and changes do your clients see after working with you?
From the feedback I’ve had over the years, people say they see positive changes in both the external reality and internal experience of life. The external changes tend to be tangible and involve progress towards whatever brought them to coaching. Personally, I am so honoured to have been thanked in several published books clients have written!The unseen changes are less easy to measure but seem to be powerful and long-lasting. Clients say (often years later), that they think and feel completely differently about themselves. They say they have much deeper levels of self-awareness, self-belief, and self-trust, and feel armed with tools and resources.For some clients, the insights and new perspectives from our first session can mean changes start happening right away. For others, it's a slower, steadier process and honouring your own pace is all part of it.You can find more from Sas at www.saspetherick.com and listen to her podcast, Courage & Spice (I obviously recommend this episode where she interviewed me!). She is @saspetherick on Instagram and Twitter.
Jen Carrington
Jen Carrington is a creative coach and writer living in Manchester, UK. Jen works with big-hearted creatives who are ready to bridge the gap in their creative work and life between where they are now and where they truly want to be, and is passionate about supporting creatives to reach their goals on their own terms and by their own rules every step of the way.
What do you do and who do you help?
I'm a creative coach and I help my clients cultivate and build impactful, fulfilling, and sustainable creative lives. And what that basically means is that I work with awesome creatives like writers, coaches, designers, copywriters, illustrators, photographers, and bloggers and I support them to bridge the gap between where they are now and where they really want to be in their creative work and life.Maybe that means helping them to finally get their creative business off the ground or start writing that book they've been dreaming of for years, or maybe it's helping them to pivot their business to a more sustainable and fulfilling place so they feel less burned out and overwhelmed along the way, or maybe it's helping them to get to the finish line with a creative project like a podcast or a new course they want to create and launch.
How do you describe your coaching style?
My coaching style is very collaborative - I coach from the core belief that my clients are the experts in their own works and lives, and it's not my job to tell them what to do or how to live their life or run their business. Instead I'm here to help them cut through all of the noise and actually start listening to themselves and trusting their own instincts, and also hold space for them to explore their ideas, fears, and biggest hopes and dreams in more depth too.I don't believe in one-size-fits-all-solutions or quick fixes - instead I'm here to support my clients to live their creative life and run their business on their own terms and reach their goals in a way that works best for them. My clients always tell me that I'm a blend of being their creative therapist and biggest cheerleader, a strategic partner in crime, and their accountability buddy too.
What happens on a coaching call with you?
Every call is different depending on what's happening for my client in that season - my number one job on a client call is to meet my clients exactly where they're at. To create a judgement-free safe space for them to really dive deep, ask themselves the big and important questions, and make intentional and purposeful decisions to help them move forward in their creative work and life.So in some calls we're having deep and meaningful conversations, diving deep into fears and mindsets that are holding them back and uncovering stories that they've been holding onto for years. And sometimes we can spend a call in strategic planning mode and outlining a launch or growth plan for their business, or exploring and outlining an idea they have for an awesome new project like a book, podcast, or workshop. We always end our calls setting goals, intentions, and action tasks for them to work on between now and our next call, and the goal by the end of a coaching call together is for the client to feel lighter, inspired, energised, motivated, clarified, focused, and fired up and ready to make things happen.
What benefits and changes do your clients see after working with you?
After three years and working with over 150 clients now I have seen time and time again the power of coaching. It's a safe space that is completely focused on the client - they're able to have conversations that they're unable to have in their professional and personal lives, and by making the commitment to working with a coach they are telling themselves that they are worthy of wanting more for themselves in their business, their health, their relationships, or whatever it is they're working with this coach for. I've seen my clients launch brand new businesses from scratch, trust themselves more as a business owner and find the courage to really pursue their creativity, get booked out months in advance, quit their day job and work for themselves full time, double and triple their income, finally start that creative project they've been dreaming about for years like a blog, a book, or a magazine, and I've seen my clients take back control of their business so that they can make it work better for them along the way.But more than anything, the coolest thing I see time and time again with my clients is when they astonish themselves and realise that they were capable of so much more than they ever thought they were, when they move past fears and mindsets that have been holding them back for years and give themselves permission to really build the creative career and life that they've been aching for. And it's all due to them showing up for themselves and being brave enough to go on this journey - I always tell my clients that the magic happens in coaching not because the coach has all of the answers (because we can't and never do) but because the client shows up for themselves fully and gives this journey 100%.Jen shares weekly content for creatives over on her blog and through her Weekly Letters, and is also the host of the Make It Happen podcast. She also writes mini books for creatives.
Ray Dodd
Ray Dodd is a Motherhood and Business Coach, and general believer in the magic of mothers claiming the space they were made to occupy in the world. She has a thriving Facebook community group and coaches women 1-to-1, in groups and at workshops in the South of England.
What do you do and who do you help?
I’m a Motherhood and Business coach. I give women the tools to build self belief, confidence and clarity in who they are and in their plans and ideas. This often leads to a shift in their ability to find a balance between motherhood and work. It’s important to say that I don’t really believe there is a perfect balance as it’s a unique and very personal thing for each individual. But by uncovering their wants, beliefs, values and needs they are able to find how that balance looks for them. We talk a lot in my Facebook group (Finding the Balance: Nailing Motherhood + Business) about peeling off the layers to reveal who we really always have been, shedding layers of expectation that are put on us particularly as mothers and as women.
How do you describe your coaching style?
I’m just myself, it’s not unlike hanging out with me normally but if I’m your coach I’ll get you to dig deep and really figure out what’s going on for you. If something’s blocking you or scaring you, together we’ll uncover it and help you move forwards. I encourage the women I work with to sit in their feelings until they find the thing they need. I’m certainly not all about sunshine and rainbows. I have a deep belief that there are no bad feelings just less pleasant ones, but they are all there to communicate things to us. I also strive to be as honest as I can, although always with kindness. I aim to leave people feeling motivated and with a deep sense of belief in what they are capable of.
What happens on a coaching call with you?
It’s always a video call, so that we can get a sense of each other’s body language. There’s normally some chai tea (with a splash of maple syrup - if you haven’t tried that, do it! You can thank me later!). There’s often lots of laughter, sometimes some tears. I’m very client led. So normally start off asking how the person I’m talking to is doing, what’s going on for them. Then I ask questions mostly, and reflect any thoughts I have. There is no right or wrong way to do a call. I’m not looking to pass on my opinions, more enabling the person to see their circumstances or feelings in a new light.
What benefits and changes do your clients see after working with you?
I work a lot around confidence and really notice the effect Motherhood has on lots of women’s identity. I often notice the women I work with start to step out and become more visible on social media once they are working with me, I can think of two brilliant women I’ve been working with who found it excruciating to even do a video chat with me when we had our initial call, now you can’t keep either of them off Instagram Stories! My clients tend to up their prices, sell more of their work (because they are actually asking for the sale more), take more risks and invest in themselves. Working with mums I see lots of people who find it tricky to prioritise their own needs, We work on that a lot. It’s an amazing thing to be doing as my job. I love every second of it!Find out more about coaching with Ray at raydodd.co.uk, or find her on Instagram. Ray mostly hangs out in her thriving Facebook group where she does regular Live sessions and provides tons of support.
Kayte Ferris (me!)
For those that may not know me, I am a creative business coach and marketing mentor, blogger and Instagrammer living in the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. I was a Marketing Manager for four years, but after an ill-fated marketing conference I realised that my job was incompatible with the world I wanted to live in. So I started to use my marketing skills for good, helping creative people bamboozled by all the advice to build and grow their businesses in a soulful way. You can read more about my story on my About page.
What do you do and who do you help?
I believe that marketing can, and should, be a valuable and soulful activity that enriches both you and your customer. The issue is that most online marketing advice isn’t tailored to creative minds and small lifestyle businesses, which leaves many feeling overwhelmed. Everyone should believe that their creative business can give them the lifestyle they long for, and everyone has the capacity to market and grow that business in an effective way. The only thing that’s missing is the ‘how’ – and that’s what I do.Many clients come to me when they have a brand new business, or even just an idea, and I help them to gain clarity over what that businesses is and the direction they want to go in. I simplify key marketing concepts and processes to make them effective and actionable, working with clients to build a marketing strategy that will help them grow with soul.
How do you describe your coaching style?
I always say I’m much more at the mentoring end of the coaching spectrum – my approach is very practical and actionable. Clients tend to come to me after they’ve done their soul-searching and now they’re ready to commit to action, so we focus a lot more on what we can do with marketing and on building momentum and direction.Because of this, I have more of a distinct process than some of the other coaches here. On my 3 or 6 month packages it’s all about building from the ground, so helping people feel completely clear and at home with what their business stands for, and then building a framework and strategy based on that foundation. Our time together is based on action, so I’ll set exercises to get you thinking in a different way and practical tasks that will start to move your business in the direction you want it to go.Overall, I encourage my clients to think of me as their colleague, just one not sat in the same office as them. So between calls we’ll communicate regularly via email, bouncing around ideas and having the ‘what do you think of this?’ and ‘this opportunity just came up, what do you think?’ kind of conversations.
What happens on a coaching call with you?
What we talk about on a call very much depends on what’s going on with the client and what stage they’re at in their coaching journey.With my 3 or 6 month Design Build Live package, we work through the distinct process I mentioned earlier. So our earlier calls tend to be a lot more thoughtful, discussing the exercises I’ve set and how that’s changed their thinking, talking through ideas or issues and brainstorming together. Later in the process, when we get more into the nitty gritty of marketing, our calls become more focused on talking through specific marketing concepts, helping the client to understand them and working out ways to use them in the business.Wherever we are in the process though, the conversation is pretty free and easy. We follow interesting tangents if they feel productive, I’ll ask you questions and make suggestions to help you get to the heart of the issue, and we get really excited about ideas. After a call we both feel really motivated and inspired by all the possibilities you’re making happen.
What benefits and changes do your clients see after working with you?
One of the biggest things my clients love is that ‘a-ha’ moment where they see how everything clicks together and into place. So many of the people I work with come to me because they’ve been overwhelmed and bamboozled by the advice they’ve read and just want to talk it through with someone. The moment that they realise it doesn’t need to be as complicated as they thought, and that they can see a future for the business that they can create, is magical.As well as a-ha moments of clarity, there is the slow build of confidence in their abilities. As my coaching style is very practical, every week we work together they are ‘doing’ the work of marketing. After our time together finishes, they are amazed at how much they achieved and by the realisation that they now know how to do it for themselves, and build the life they wanted all along.If you want more from me I'm most active on Instagram, you can find loads of resources on Pinterest and I do a monthly Live on Facebook, If you want more than you see here, all my podcast interviews and guest features are on my Press page. You can get all my free resources and Monthly Mail to get you inspired and working towards your marketing.
