We hope you enjoy it…
What was/is your profession before becoming a coach?
My background prior to becoming a coach was in office administration. I worked for many years as a secretary, PA and admin officer but I always wanted more out of life.
What inspired you to join The Coaching Academy?
As a result of my own struggles with lack of self-belief and low self-esteem, I developed a passion for helping other people to believe in their ability to fulfil their potential and build the life of their dreams.
I realised that the best way to fulfil my passion, and help myself to become more confident, develop self-love and a healthy personal image, was by becoming a life coach.
What was the most rewarding part about the course for you?
The most interesting part of my coaching journey was learning to understand other people, how they’re wired, their personality and what makes them tick. Becoming more conscious of the other person has really improved my ability to communicate with other people. It’s also been fun profiling everyone I know since I learned about the DISC Personality Profiling.
What I’ve found most rewarding is how much I’ve learned about myself and how much I’ve become more self-aware since I became a coach.
I really enjoyed attending the Accelerator Days. It provided a great opportunity to meet, interact and make friends with other inspiring coaches.
How did you fit coaching training into your busy life?
I managed my very busy schedule by coaching some of my practice clients as early as 5am and as late as 10pm, including weekends.
Where are you now?
I am in the process of setting up my coaching business, which is aimed at transforming the lives of young women struggling with low self-esteem, lack of confidence and poor body image. My vision is for such young women to fall in love with who they are, take control of their lives, reach their full potential and live happy, balanced lives.
How are you using coaching skills?
I chose to coach teenage girls because as a teenager, I struggled with all the issues I mentioned above, in addition to being bullied. I would have given anything to have had someone to talk to; someone to empower me and help me to see that I did not have to believe the cruel taunts and labels from my bullies as the truth.
Recently, I started volunteering as a coach and mentor in my local community. I help vulnerable people to achieve goals like developing the confidence to go out on their own, making friends, giving up smoking, taking up a hobby, etc., and I really love it. It’s incredibly rewarding and fulfilling!
I am starting volunteering in a school coaching students and I am really looking forward to inspiring them and making a positive difference in their lives.
I love seeing the people I coach take that first little step towards their goal and develop the confidence and conviction to keep working at their goal until they achieve it. I enjoy the process and feel quite honoured to be in a position to empower them and to facilitate their growth and development.
Your tips for:
People looking to get qualified as professional coach
• Take that first step and attend The Free 2-Day training to really understand what Coaching is all about.
• Then if you decide that Coaching is for you, get on and enrol with The Coaching Academy to get your qualification.
For those currently in training
• Please keep on top of your learning record sheets! I can’t stress this enough. It will make all the difference to the time it will take you to qualify and stop you from feeling overwhelmed, stressed out and tempted to give up, because it’s been left piling up.
• Join the community of coaches local to you. You will get lots of support particularly when everything is still so new to you and as you grow on your journey, you get to support those in your community as well.
• Start practising how to coach sooner rather than later. I made the mistake of taking ages to book my first practical assessment because I was terrified. Find people around you to coach – family, friends, fellow coaches, anyone. Make mistakes, fail… but more importantly, use your learning from each experience to improve your next coaching session. The more you coach, the better you become as a coach.
• Enjoy your coaching journey! You will make friends and build new relationships that will expand your circle of influence and add more value to your life.
Coaches that are about to qualify
• Feel proud that you have made it to this stage.
• It helps if you’ve managed to figure out your niche or what you want to focus on as a coach but don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t. Things will fall into place if you focus on your values and the things you love to do, as you embark on your journey as a professional coach.
• And have a big celebration when you qualify!
TRANSFORM LIVES THROUGH COACHING
If Stella's words have inspired you and you feel that Coaching could be a potential full or part time opportunity for you, or if you would just like to know a little more about what Coaching is and how it can benefit you and the lives of others, please contact our Specialist Course Advisor, Jamil on 0208 996 4830 or email: Jamil@the-coaching-academy.com
Take your first step towards a rewarding & fulfilling career with our FREE 2-DAY FOUNDATION IN LIFE COACHING COURSE
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
