Coaching helped me build more than a business

The Path to Coaching

When I reflect back, I realise it was always my calling. I was lucky enough to be trained in  Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) as part of my graduate training in 2001, and as a coach ‘in house’ as part of my management training in 2006. During my corporate career as C-Suite leader, I was very much in the coaching and consultative shape of leadership. On reflection, this allowed me to hone instinctive coaching skills for decades before I actually moved into coaching full time. 

I do remember that during the Coaching Academy's free Introduction to Life Coaching taster event pre-covid – around 2019, we were invited to do a ‘Be Do Have’ exercise. My little group was so inspired by my vision that they nominated me to share it in front of everyone at the event.  At the time I was a Deputy Chief Executive and completely immersed in my life as a corporate leader. I described my vision to run a successful lifestyle business from somewhere rural where I could also have a little smallholding and immerse myself in nature and music. I was absolutely stunned when I revisited my workbook from that event about 2 years later and every bit of my vision was now my reality. 

The Inspiration Behind the Career Change

It became clearer and clearer that coaching was my calling! I eventually made the leap in 2020 as I realised that I would never feel truly aligned and fulfilled working in corporate business. 

I love that by dedicating my life to this work, I get to work on myself every day of the week. I am passionate about learning and developing myself and others and I feel blessed that my ‘day job’ is something I would choose to do even if I didn’t need to be paid for it!   I find it deeply rewarding seeing clients experience personal breakthroughs, grow in confidence and presence and realise that they have the power to create the reality they aspire to. 

The Evolution of My Coaching Path

I have developed a real specialism in the subconscious mind and healing aspect of coaching, initially through my Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Diploma, but extending out into a deeper and deeper toolkit around latent trauma, healing, emotion release and cognitive rewiring. Whilst I started out with coaching as a toolkit in 2006, requalifying as a psychologist in 2018 and a master NLP, Hypnotherapist and Timeline therapist in 2021 gave me a really powerful intersection of modalities that I absolutely love supporting people with.     Without a doubt, the connections I made with fellow coaches in training with The Coaching Academy was the most rewarding part of the coaching journey.   I viewed my coaching qualification as being a bit like learning to drive. It is since I have passed the test and proven my ‘safety’ with the basics that I have really come into my own as a coach. I am so glad I have such firm foundations in the coaching methods and best practise and has been exciting to move into a more intuitive and transformational space with coaching having nailed the basics. 

A Journey of Learning

I love the coaching question “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”  I went to my first taster event in 2013 – the seed was planted, but it was another 6 years before I felt ready and brave enough to take the leap. In 2019 I came to a free taster event with The Coaching Academy, from which I took the full Protégé Package of all the coaching qualifications.    I initially did the Personal Performance (Life) Coaching Diploma, closely followed by the NLP Practitioner Programme. My business took off so readily, but I still want to complete the remaining programmes of study that are part of the Protégé Package as I love to learn and enjoy The Coaching Academy training process. 

I took the leap and quit the day job of corporate leadership around 4 months after I began my first qualification so I didn’t’ have too much trouble fitting it in. Developing myself as a coach was actually a great parallel to the challenges of building my own coaching business and provided me great support along the way. It was a challenging, exciting rollercoaster of a ride!

If you are just starting out, once you have learnt the fundamentals of coaching and the GROW model, start your practice coaching. It’s a bit like playing the piano, you can read all the books and follow all the tutorials in the world, but you’ll only get really good by playing. Work with your peers on the course and make all your mistakes through practise. 

How I Use My Coaching Skills Today  

I run a successful 6 figure coaching business ‘The Success Smith’ and have supported hundreds of clients to experience life-changing transformations. Client successes include 3 marriages, two book publications and average pay increases across numerous clients of 30%. I call myself a Success Mindset Coach under the banner of my Coaching Business ‘The Success Smith’.  My coaching business supports two team members helping me run the marketing and support side of the business. I work with a small exclusive group of clients on a 1-2-1 basis along with many clients through my group programmes ‘The Chrysalis’ and ‘Reality Reboot’. I typically support people with either Business and Leadership Coaching, or with deeper mindset, emotion and healing based work (you’d be surprised about how much overlap there is between these different fields of coaching!). 

One client I particularly enjoyed working with because she came to me in so much ‘pain’ and ‘stuckness’ and left the programme so confident and transformed. But the real icing on the cake was when she sent me her wedding pictures early in 2025. She had joined my programme single, low in confidence and lonely. She met her now-husband about 2 months into the programme and got engaged a few months after our work together finished. She is one of 3 marriages that have emerged from my work with clients. It is lovely to support people in finding love! 

I start working at 10am after meditation, the school run and working out. Most of the time I am working on new programmes, my own development and content and marketing activities. Some days I will have a 1-2-1 client session and most Thursdays and Fridays I have 1-2 hours of group coaching.  I finish work at 3.30pm when my kids get home from school. Life is filled with ease, joy and fulfilment. I barely recognise the stressed, 50 hour per week woman I was 6 years ago! 

Building My Coaching Practice  

I have realised there are three vital pillars to crack if you want to not just be a successful coach, but to run a successful coaching business; those are your coaching skills (of course!), your business skills, and your mindset. Because you are confronted with some aspect of yourself pretty much every step of the way when learning to build a successful coaching business!   After 5 years of experimentation, testing and learning, I am finally in a phase of consolidation and scaling with my business. So for me now, it is about doing fewer things with more focus and excellence and scaling up those things that have been most successful.

Thank you Victoria for sharing your coaching journey and helping to inspire others!