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Name: Jessica Lorimer
Business: Jessica Lorimer – Success Coach and Business Strategist , a coach and consultant for entrepreneurs
Industry: Coaching & Consulting
Location: London, United Kingdom
Reason for starting: A year ago, I was a successful corporate career woman. I was the ultimate City Girl; rushing around the tubes in heels, racing constantly from meeting to meeting and using my BlackBerry to check my work emails on beach holidays.
In the corporate world of 70+ hour working weeks, never-ending Starbucks runs, power suits and trying to outperform the men in my office, I was considered a success. In my head though, I was a mess. I was so tired of being constantly stressed. Tired of getting to my desk for 07:45 and not leaving until 21:00. Tired of having family occasions ruined by the constant buzz of a BlackBerry and the inevitable “work emergency”. I spent years helping large companies set up new businesses and new divisions across the world – and wanted to create that for myself.
I finally decided that enough was enough – and that I wanted to create a business where I could help other women like me. Where I could teach them to break out of the KPI driven, constant stress work model. And so I decided to become a Success Coach and Business Strategist – to work with other female entrepreneurs looking to ditch their 9-5, monetize their passion and create a business that they loved.
Related: Read about another coaching entrepreneur here.
How do you define success? For me, success is defined by two things; happiness and freedom. Running a successful coaching business means that I am financially free and gives me the freedom and flexibility to work when and where I want. The most important thing though is happiness. Running a coaching business means that I spend most of my day cheerleading the success of other women – the most amazing job in the world, when we live in a society where women tend to focus on putting each other down, rather than helping each other succeed.
Biggest Success: My biggest success so far? The day I got my first client after quitting my 9-5! I was terrified that I had given up my stable job and great benefits and might not get any clients – it was a huge risk. But the day that my first client signed up after I quit my job was amazing – she was brilliant to work with and it gave me the confidence in myself that I needed!
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? Asking for help! When I first started my business, I didn’t want to ask anyone for help because I didn’t want to put them out! I didn’t ask friends to ‘like’ or ‘share’ my social media pages and was worried that I’d be putting lots of spam on newsfeeds. Eventually I realised that I was limiting my business by constantly turning down offers to help with social media management, branding or even the occasional venting opportunity. I decided that I needed to take ownership, be proud of my business and that letting other people help me out in their areas of expertise would only contribute to its long-term success.
Related: Helping All Ladies Become Financially Savvy
Who is your most important role model? Without a question, my most important role model is my mum! She’s the strongest woman I know and one of the most business savvy female entrepreneurs around. She runs her own business, regularly helps others and always has a positive mindset. On top of that, she’s a fantastic baker and a Scrabble legend..!
[box_light]Website www.JessicaLorimer.com
Twitter @JessicaLorimer
Facebook www.facebook.com/JessicaLorimerSuccessCoach
Pinterest jesslorimer90[/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange