Hands up if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed…
Wow, that’s a lot of hands! You’re clearly not alone.
Although starting a business can be REALLY EXCITING, did you expect to have SO MUCH TO DO?
Are you feeling really busy? All.the.time?
There are a million things to do when you’re starting a business. Somehow you’re ticking them off your to do list and getting some things done. But none of it feels very structured. And are you actually focusing on the right things?
You wonder if there’s a better way. But you don’t have the time to even sit down and think about HOW to fit all of the pieces together. Let alone really think about WHAT you should be doing in the first place!
until now.
Because you’ve had enough of feeling like you’re failing. You are ready to take back control! You are ready to make a plan. To feel confident in your decisions. And to KNOW that this business is truly going to succeed.
Because you know what? Without YOU, without YOUR business, that problem you’re trying to solve in the world will STILL EXIST.
And I am going to help you. I am going to help you make it work.
I founded Step & Stone to create a space where you can make sense of all the noise in your head. A place to get the help you need to structure your thinking so you can get REALLY clear on who you’re in business for. To know how you’ll reach them, and why it all matters.
Because, sometimes, turning your amazing ideas into thoughts and actions isn’t something that can be done alone. Sometimes you need help to focus on the next move you need to take. And help to get other people’s attention along the way.
It’s time to get your business off the ground.
Your time is now.
what I want for you
I want you to make a living doing work you love. I want you to KNOW that you can thrive as a business owner. I want you to maintain your values in the process and still have time for all those other things in life that are important to you.
I want you to be bold! To stop listening to the voice in your head that tells you it’s scary. I want you to get exactly where you want to be.
Why? Because I’m your biggest fan.
And I’m going to help you focus on the work that really matters.
here’s what I believe….
You don’t actually need to have business experience to succeed in business. What you do need is determination, tenacity and the willingness to figure a lot of things out along the way. And be able to accept some help to get you there.
Because support is crucial. Whether you’re on your own in business or have people around to help, having someone at hand to bounce ideas and emotions off of is essential.
why do I care so much about your business?
I know how great it is to step off the ‘expected’ path of education, career, retirement, and run my own business. It’s AMAZING to be your own boss, come up with ideas, and work your little behind off to make those ideas a reality!
I love bringing clarity and joy to the people I now get to work with, and I LOVE that people express gratitude for my support. We should all be able to wake up in the morning and love the idea of what’s coming in the day ahead.
And the truth is, life is short. I don’t want you to be sitting there five years from now wishing that you’d done something differently. I don’t want you to be stuck on an unfulfilling path, living a life you don’t really love.
I want you to live life on your terms and love the work you do. I get great satisfaction from helping clients feel like it’s easy to be strategic in business and to make things happen THEIR WAY.
Bravery, confidence, and adventure also really excite me. Sometimes I simply have to take a leap and hope I land on my own two feet (more on that below). Other times I need to have a bit more of a plan in place (like my never-ending quest to see the world!).
Oh, and in my spare time, I Thai box. (So don’t mess with me, ha ha!)
how did I figure it all out?
As my tattoo says, I was born to do this.
My brain was built to function in a logical, structured way and even as a kid I was fascinated about how business works. I went on to get my degree in Management & Organizational Behavior from New York University, and then (somewhat by accident) ended up in the financial services sector turning big ideas into reality for nearly a decade, first in NYC, then Chicago, and then London.
At any one time, I had up to 5 different projects on the go, with multiple to do lists for each one. I became really good at developing strategy. I figured out which pieces went where and how to follow the steps. I learned how to get people to engage and take action. When things didn’t quite go to plan, I taught myself to take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.
I was promoted to Vice President at JP Morgan before the age of 30 and was considered very ‘successful’. But the more I climbed up the corporate ladder, the more I hated it. I didn’t want that corner office. I didn’t want to manage a large team. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing work that really didn’t fulfill me. Moving to HSBC for a couple years didn’t change any of that.
And so, I left.
With literally no plan and no idea of where I wanted to head.
I knew I was smart. I knew I had potential. I knew I was made for bigger things. Yet I had no idea what those things were.
What I had forgotten was how much I LOVE connecting with people and helping them improve. I realised I wanted to make a difference through my work. I wanted something that would give me more freedom. I wanted to be my own boss.
After a few months of figuring out what was important to me, I eventually made my way to a coaching school and that started me out on my exciting new path. Take two intensive coaching programs, add 3 months of working with my own business coach plus hours of learning, absorbing, networking, and building relationships with startup support organisations – and (cue the music) I present to you…well, ME!
Fast forward 6 years.
In this time, I’ve worked with dozens of entrepreneurs on a one-to-one basis, and hundreds more in incubation and acceleration programs (check out my full bio over on LinkedIn). I’ve relocated from London to Nairobi, expanded my business into this region, and launched a second successful business in the past year.
I live life on my terms, and I want you to do the same!
here’s what I know.
Starting a business is HARD WORK. When I was starting out, people told me to expect it to take LONGER and cost MORE than I expect it to. I remember thinking I’d be different. That since I was going to work REALLY hard on it and be super motivated, it wouldn’t take THAT long.
Boy was I wrong! Even though I had lots of previous business experience, there was a lot of new stuff to learn. I had to learn how to apply it to starting my own business –without the support network of colleagues and others who had done it before. And without people who ‘get it’. I had to figure out how to pay the bills. I had to face rejection. I had to face fear. I had to face my own insecurities about feeling like an imposter. I had to try, learn, change, and try again.
And, you know what? It worked. I turned a profit within the first 18 months AND made an impact by helping amazing people take their business to a new level.
So now I want to help you along your journey. And I want to help you get there faster than if you were doing it on your own. Avoid the mistakes I made and learn the tricks to make it work for you, too.
making your business thrive
There are lots of business people out there who just don’t get it – they only understand business in terms of pure profit and not in terms of the values we want to uphold in the process.
And there are a lot of “conscious” people out there who care a lot about creativity, social justice, the community, the environment and general well-being. But they don’t have the business skills to develop a sustainable strategy, turn that into a plan and take the right action.
And then there’s me.
I bring both sides together and help you get clear and confident in the foundations of your business so you can make smarter decisions and see the impact that you long for!
So whether you’re just getting started with your business or you’re even a few years down the road, you can take back control and really, REALLY get your business off the ground.
