What are "the collective combination of all [my] experiences, hopes, dreams, achievements, setbacks, meanderings and accidents of birth" that bring me to do this work?

And - just as importantly - how does my onlyness support you as you launch your business?

In 1994 at the age of 26, I moved from London (where I was a trainee attorney) to New York for six months. Almost 30 years later and I'm still here.  During those years, I've gone from being a lawyer to a life coach/preschool founder/business coach/equus coach with some stand up comedy thrown in for fun! 

I have 18 years of experience in the trenches as a business owner. I started my first business at the age of 37 (which still exists) and am starting this business at the age of 55. So please trust me when I say that I know a thing or three about starting a business as a slightly more mature entrepreneur!

i've learned as much or more from my meanderings and setbacks as a business owner than i have from my achievements.

So what is my
"Onlyness"?

In 2005, after being an attorney for a decade, I started a business called The Creative Groove Studio offering music, art and dance classes for toddlers and a preschool prep program for 2-3 year olds. It grew from one class a week in a church hall to a business with 100+ students each week, a staff of 10, two studio locations and a gross revenue in 2023 of $300,000. 

I learned a lot from building that business - I learned what worked incredibly well (I was very clear on my story and my customers' stories which meant that my business story resonated) and I learned how much I got in my own way (no business strategy or planning, zip, nada).  

I worked incredibly hard because I wasn't clear on the things that only I could do. For years, I did everything in the business - from the $10/hour jobs to the $300+/hour jobs. It felt like I never switched off. When I started to hire staff, I overpaid everyone because I valued their time way more than I valued my own.

​I also spent way too much time doing things that I should have hired someone to do. 

It all started with a Latin Dance class for toddlers in a church hall ...

During the first decade of building Creative Groove Studio, I pursued my interest in coaching. I became a Master Life Coach trained by Martha Beck, a branding strategist trained by Reach and, in 2016, a Quiet Power Strategy certified business strategist trained by Tara McMullin, author of Quiet Power Strategy and creator of the What Works Network.  

When I was 48, I started Ink: The Story Studio which took everything I had learned in the previous 11 years of running Creative Groove Studio to help other creative business owners to start and grow their businesses with less unnecessary effort. 

When I was 50, I started The Midlife Courage Lab, offering coaching, courses and community to women in their 50's who want to make the next chapter of their life the happiest and most satisfying chapter yet. Some of my Midlife Courage Lab clients were starting their first businesses which inspired me to start The Midlife Launch Co. I feel especially passionate about supporting midlife women to launch businesses as effectively and with as much ease, joy and success as possible.

i believe that our businesses can be an important part of our legacies

My journey as a coach

As a Master Life Coach and a Quiet Power Strategy® business strategist. when you hire me you get two coaches for the price of one. Because the more I do this work, the more I learn that the business stuff and the life stuff are completely intertwined. You can't work on one without working on the other (especially when you are starting a business in your 50's and blending decades of experience with the unknown and often terrifying territory of entrepreneurship).

With me in your corner, you will have support with your life and business dreams. 

What I have learned from the past 18 years and what I now share with all of my business coaching clients is that your most effective and most satisfying role in your business will be doing the work that only you can do. It is also the work that will create the greatest financial rewards too.

I can help you to create a successful business by being more you. While also helping you to get out of your own way. 

So that you can reach your full potential and so can your business.

I want you to have the time and energy to live a life that you love. ​While doing work that feels meaningful and important to you. Creating and maintaining satisfying and fulfilling relationships and friendships. Supporting causes that you hold dear. Building successful businesses that make a difference in our communities - which feels more important now than ever.

I believe that you and your business can thrive.