Ocean Coaching – Launching a Coaching Business

Tell us your name and a bit about your family?

My name is Anita McAloren and I am mum to three children, wife and business partner to Mick.

When did you become a Mum and to whom?

I became a mum purely by inheritance in 1997 at the tender age of 23 when my mum in law passed away from cancer, Shaun was 3 (he is now 22) at the time and we took him on as our own son, we then were blessed with two daughters, Eleanor 17 and Grace now 10.

What’s your business called?

Ocean Coaching – your wave of inspiration

Can you describe it in one sentence?

I am your other set of eyes on your business helping you on the road to success and harmonious family business relationships.

When did you become a Mumpreneur and what inspired you?

I became a mumpreneur in 1997 when I had to leave a career in Marketing to become a mum to Shaun. I decided to put my marketing skills to good use and help Micks Auto Electrical business grow. In 2013 I graduated as an Accredited Performance Coach and Ocean Coaching was launched. My inspiration to launch Ocean Coaching and become a Family Business Coach was purely down to our own family business and learning successfully the art of juggling a business and a family, I wanted to share my experiences, tools, and techniques with others to help them achieve success.

How did you fund your start up?

Savings, cutting back on unnecessary spending and hard work!

How do you manage working around your children?

I work school hours so when they are in school, I work. When they are off on holidays, I make good use of technology, emails, smartphone and time management to get as much done as possible without it being detrimental to family life, I am a big believer in boundaries.

Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?

Morning after the school run, coffee, breakfast and post on my social media business pages, check emails, answer emails and any client enquiries. One morning a week I attend networking meeting and then continue my usual morning routine.
Lunchtime and afternoon is usually spent on coaching calls, marketing and planning.
Then I usually stop at 3pm pick my daughter up from school and while cooking dinner, I help her with homework and answer any emails or enquiries from my website. 5pm is strict cut off time for me as I then have the evening with my family, I do however confess to sometimes working once the youngest daughter is in bed!

 

What challenges have you faced in your business and how have you overcome them?

Worrying about what other business coaches are doing and how I compete, I no longer worry so much, people buy people and will connect with the right person, also, I have such a great targeted niche that many other business coaches do not specialize in or have experience in, top tip. You are you, people will know, like and trust you, and only you have walked your journey; only you have your knowledge and skill set. Nobody else is you; therefore your services and products are unique to you.
I have worried in the past about confidence and guest speaking, but using NLP, which I am trained in, I have overcome those issues and now I love getting out in front of my ideal clients.

What’s the best thing about being Mumpreneur?

Freedom to work around my family and have no ceiling on my income. Being able to show my girls, you can have a family and a business or a career. They have superb work ethic already!

What are your plans for the future?

Travel more, coach as many family business owners as I can and build my business to a point where I have a passive income, retirement plan and financial freedom.

What advice would you give for someone just starting out in business?

Just do it! Plan, prepare and research your ideal clients, your target audience, don’t spend a fortune on glitzy websites or shiny stuff that is not productive or makes you money and reach out for help and support, you cannot possibly do it all yourself or have all the answers!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I absolutely love being an entrepreneur, love helping and coaching family business and always happy to jump on a Skype coaching call with my clients and potential clients to see if we are the right fit for one another. Business Coaching is all about rapport!

www.oceancoaching.co.uk
www.facebook.com/oceancoaching

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