The Parenthood Coach

This Start-Up Story comes from Tamsin Williamson, aka The Parenthood Coach. Tamsin is a Life Coach who lives in London, who started her business after experiencng the power of coaching herself.

Tell me a little about you & your family, what your business is, and the inspiration behind getting started…

I’m Tamsin – a passionate Life Coach and business owner, devoted Londoner and Mum to two spirited gorgeous kiddos.

But this wasn’t always my life. After 10 years in my longstanding Marketing career I became a Mum – and my world suddenly felt in major conflict with my new life. I found myself stuck in a massive, disillusioned rut with loads of unanswered questions and zero clarity about what to do about it.

I looked for support and invested in working with a Life Coach, where I tuned into my aspirations, strengthened my self-belief and visualised the life I wanted. And the impact was so profound that I decided to re-train as a Life Coach myself!

And here I am now! Running a business I feel SO passionate about and living a life that allows me to be a more present parent, my own boss and the best version of myself.

And it’s now my mission to empower other amazing, ambitious, passion-led Mums bursting with untapped potential to get un-stuck and step into their own thriving futures for themselves, unapologetically on their terms.

 

How did you make the leap from idea on paper to reality with your business idea?

It was a slow burn, and took a lot of soul searching! My own work with a life coach ignited a spark of inspiration in me, and reminded me how much I loved supporting people with their development. So that definitely got the juices flowing and piqued my curiosity about how I could convert that interest in coaching into a fulfilling and sustainable career!

The most important thing for me initially was to feel confident and credible as a coach – if my ‘craft’ wasn’t up to scratch I didn’t feel I’d have the self belief to show up and shout about my business, or convince people I was worth investing their precious time and money in. So my first step was to get qualified as a coach and get some really good experience supporting real people with their real-life challenges.

I managed to retrain and qualify as a certified life coach within 10 months, and during that time I started to realise that I loved supporting and empowering Mums to step out of the shadows, reignite their spark and unearth their buried ambitions just as I had done. The empathy and connection I felt with those women really lit me up, and I felt that I showed up as the best version of myself for them. So once I qualified I felt ready to resign from my job and take the leap into self-employment knowing that I had the credibility of a qualification behind me and an idea of who I wanted to serve in my business.

I didn’t have a clue how to run a business which was scary, but I knew that my marketing background would stand me in good stead, and my determination and passion would drive me. I also invested in myself (and my business) and enlisted the support of a business coach (Lucy!) to support me so I felt less alone on that journey, which was the best decision I could have made! It most definitely fast-tracked my progress and empowered me to build a business that truly felt like me.

How did you get your first sale or client?

I had developed some good relationships with clients while I was doing my training. They had been paying a nominal fee to work with me whilst I was in training, so once I started my business I decided to be brave and asked them if they wanted to continue working together – but at a higher rate. Which a few of them agreed to and in fact, I am still working with a couple of them to this day on an ongoing basis which is a huge compliment and makes me feel very proud.

My first brand new client however came through a recommendation from a friend. I have found that the power of my personal network is invaluable when running my business. As a mum myself I have lots of mum friends who also have their own mum friends! So continuously reminding the people in my network about what I do and how I can help really does pay off and means I am often front of mind when someone is in the playground and their Mum pal says ‘I really need some support!’.

What ‘lucky breaks’ or helping hands have you had along the way that have really boosted your progress?

Working with coaches has 100% boosted my progress and confidence and it has become a non-negotiable in my business. I know I am at my best when I have the support of a coach in my corner, and I know my business performs at its best as a result.

I have also found that connecting with other female entrepreneurs has given me a huge boost on my business journey. I have made so many amazing connections with talented, inspiring women on the same journey as me and I find that we all show up for each other with advice, cheerleading, professional connections and client referrals.

I am a member of a couple of wonderful business memberships that have been a complete game changer for me and essentially given me the ‘work colleagues’ that I never imagined having when running a business on my own.

What do you LOVE about your business and working for yourself?

What’s there not to love?!

I love having the freedom and independence to make my own rules, to work to my own schedule and to do things in a way that feels good to me. I have the chance to be a really awesome boss, to myself!

I love the fact I can pick up my laptop and notebook and work anywhere – at home, in a cafe, in the park, in another country if I wanted to! And I can also work with amazing women anywhere in the world – I even have a client in Australia!

I love that I can be there for my kids at the school gate and during school holidays, which had felt almost impossible in my past career and filled me with great sadness and guilt. I now believe that it is totally achievable to show up for myself and for my family at the same time, without needing to make any difficult sacrifices.

I love the variety and creativity of working for myself. No day is the same, and every day is full of possibility, opportunity and inspiration which is ridiculously refreshing after years of feeling like I was treading water.

I love doing something that gives me such a powerful sense of purpose by supporting and empowering women to stop feeling trapped and unfulfilled, and to make a change in their lives in the same way that I did. I love inspiring my clients to believe that change is possible, and showing up as a positive and motivating force in their lives. It is an absolute privilege to do the work I do – and the connection, openness, honesty and vulnerability exchanged with my clients every day feels very precious.

What’s the scariest thing you’ve had to do since setting up on your own?

I think the scariest thing I faced in my business was showing up on video on social media. Of course I didn’t ‘need’ to do this, but I also knew how impactful it can be to give your audience a flavour of who you are and what your vibe is beyond the written word. Watching video content from other coaches had certainly helped inform my own investments – so it felt important for me to walk that walk too. I was absolutely terrified to talk to camera and felt really self conscious and inhibited. What if people didn’t like what I had to say? Or found me annoying? So many ‘what ifs’ and fears!
I eased myself into it by doing some short pre-recorded videos on instagram stories which felt like the first step. Once I got comfortable with that, I then moved onto creating longer form video (IGTV mini trainings) and finally I graduated to live video during a launch event I created to launch my new Facebook group.

The first time I went live on Facebook I was PETRIFIED – dry mouth, sweaty pits, pounding heart, blank mind – the works! But, I survived it and people even showed up to watch and seemed to value what I had to say! And the more consistently I showed up, the more the fear dissipated and the more confident I felt. I still get the same nervous energy when I do live videos, even to this day! But I now know how to handle it and I have the evidence to prove I can do it, so I just face the fear, enjoy the buzz and dive in!

What impact has Coaching had on you?

Coaching has been invaluable to both me as an individual and a business owner. In the short term it gave me the confidence to show up every day and take positive steps forward. When things felt hard I knew there was someone to talk it all through with, who understood. And when I felt overwhelmed or despondent I knew I had someone there to pep me up and remind me that I COULD do it. Having a coach stopped me from losing my way when I hit a brick wall – and it felt so good to have someone to bounce ideas around with and build my self-belief that I WAS on the right track.

In the longer term, coaching helped me to build some rock solid foundations for my business. I have learnt so many amazing business strategies and techniques that I’ll probably use forever more to build and grown my business. It also gave me the space to choose the type of business owner I wanted to be and make decisions that have impacted my niche, messaging and marketing strategy long-term.

Who else is in your support network, that you simply couldn’t manage without?

The other biz buddies that I’ve made on my self-employed journey are so important to me. Women that I’ve connected with on Instagram and through business networking groups I’m in. These wonder women are all following a similar path to me, and knowing I’m connected to other people who totally get it is so reassuring and motivating. We have become each others work colleagues in many ways, and we all know that we have each other to turn to to thrash out an idea, navigate a challenge or give each other a big beautiful boost. I have even met some of them in real life now, and call them good friends which feels so special!

It may sound cheesy, but I’m also going to also say my husband. Making the decision to go self-employed was not a straight forward decision as we relied on my income to pay our bills and live our life. We both realised however that something needed to change and that my happiness needed to be prioritised for the sake of our relationship, our family and my own mental health. So together we found a way to make it work, where sacrifices were made and collective risks were taken. And he has never once asked me to go back to my 9-5 and has supported me and my passion every step of the way. That support means everything to me, and has taken a huge weight off my shoulders as I’ve plugged my heart and soul into building this third baby of mine! I really can’t thank him enough for believing in me.

What exciting plans do you have for your business over the next 6-12 months that you’d like to share?

I have recently launched my first group coaching programme; The Un-Stuck Mum Experience. It’s designed to support and empower ambitious but unfulfilled Mums to stop surviving and start thriving. I’m loving delivering this first iteration of the programme to a lovely intimate group and definitely have plans to launch again later in the year with a bigger group, having taken all the insights and learnings on board.

I’d love to run some masterclasses and workshops this year, so I can connect with a wider audience and share my passion and expertise with as many Mums as possible who need support in a more affordable way.

I also ran a virtual retreat earlier this year with a biz buddy of mine which was a roaring success. So we have plans in the pipeline to run this again – but with even more amazing value and content than last time! We may even branch into real life retreats….so watch this space!

You can see more of what Tamsin’s up to online over at her website on Instagram and you can hoin her Group The Parenthood Retreat over on Facebook.