Client Case Study: Helen Cowan

Founder of The Tall Wall, Helen came to Jennifer as a first-time founder in the early stages of her business, ready for growth. As a high-growth business leader, Helen recognises her business growth relies on her personal development and having space to think clearly - to feel confident in her decisions.

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Client Case Study: Helen Cowan, The Tall Wall

Coaching Contract: Helen Cowan works with Jennifer in monthly 90-minute online coaching sessions. Helen has been a client for 5 years.

When did you start working with Jennifer and what stage were you at then?

Jennifer's been coaching me for about five years now. I'm a female entrepreneur running a coaching business, and I really believe in coaching. I wanted coaching for myself, but very specifically on being an entrepreneur and running a business. That's Jennifer's absolute area of focus - her niche was exactly what I needed.

What made you decide to get a coach at that point?

It's lonely at the top. It's lonely when you start a business. I also believe in coaching, so I think if you're going to sell coaching, you should have a coach. But really, the driver was I had a number of business challenges, and you really can't talk through these things with many people. Everyone's got an agenda, everyone's got an idea. It's really hard to find a space that's independent and can help me do my best thinking. And that's what Jennifer does - she helps me do my best thinking without judging, without having an agenda of her own.

What's it like working with Jennifer? How would you describe her coaching?

Where I think the problem is when I come into a session, is rarely where we end up! She unpicks the problem in such a way that helps me to think about it differently. She'll go very deep into something - I'm often quite surface level about things and she'll really want to unpick why. What's the beliefs behind that? What's the values behind that? Which helps me get to a better decision at the end of it. It can be tough working with her at times, because I might come in with three things, and then only ever touch one because she wants to really go into it.

What difference has coaching made for you?

It gives me confidence. It allows me to make better decisions. It's like a sort of release valve of worry. I always breathe this sigh of relief when I've had a session with Jennifer because I come in feeling icky about something and come out feeling much better. It's always very actionable as well - I come out knowing exactly what I have to do.

She's been a key ingredient in the growth of my business. My business will not grow unless I'm performing at my potential as much of the time as possible, and Jennifer's really helped me perform at my potential. She's helped me see my role in it and what I would need to do to grow it.

What growth or changes have you noticed in yourself over time?

I worry less. We've done some work on how to see problems and how to manage problems, and I think a combination of Jennifer and time has enabled me to better manage things that I know will lead to worry. In myself, I'm much more grounded. Much more sure of myself.

Who would you recommend Jennifer to, and why?

I would recommend her to a business founder or a business leader - someone in a startup or a more established business that's looking to scale. Anyone who wants to work on their own development and sees themselves as critical to the growth of their business. People who are open to working on themselves. And, people who are open to slowing down in order to speed up!

What you're not going to get with Jennifer is mentoring and her telling you what to do. What you are going to get is someone that's going to stand alongside you to help you do your best thinking. If you're open to that, then she's the woman for you.