Why Coaching?

After the birth of my first son, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Teaching two and a half days a week would be a perfect fit. Ah, plans always seem so perfect while they are still in the future!

Then reality hit, and I found the preparation, marking, commuting, childcare and stress far tougher than I had imagined. My solution? Have another baby. Does any of this sound familiar?

During my second maternity leave, I started to think about career choices again. What sort of work would allow me to pick up and drop off my sons from school, and really focus on my family?

I made a list of women I admired, the sort of people I would catch myself thinking "I wish I had her job!" or "I wish I wrote that book!" I noticed many of them were life coaches, and not knowing what a life coach was, I decided it was time to do some exploring.

I soon met Vancouver life Coach Laura North who continues to be a mentor and inspiration for me. I hired her, did my coaches training, and embarked on the roller coaster ride of self employment. It has not always been easy. But the flexibility, steep learning curve and chance to do work I love have been deeply rewarding.

Why Baby Steps?

I really struggled with what to name my coaching business. My own coach challenged me to come up with 100 names, and I did, but none of them seemed quite right. Yes, I am a recovering perfectionist!

But then one day I was walking over to pick up my boys after some frustrating work, feeling very impatient with the glacial pace of my progress, and the wise voice of knowing said "Baby Steps, Sarah, Baby Steps." It was both the advice I needed and the name I was looking for.

The hard part was going with my intuition. Some more experienced coaches warned me I might not want to go with a name that would so clearly suggest a limited niche market. But once I jumped off that cliff, I have never looked back. In fact, it has been but one of many experiences that have taught me to trust my inner voice. As much as market research is valuable, in the end what matters is my opinion. Success comes from acting with integrity and it is important this business reflects who I am, not what others think. Only when we jump can we fly.