(AD Disclaimer: This blog post was written in paid partnership with Vision and Courage Coaching)
Angelika Nowak is an Executive and Career Coach and founder of Vision and Courage Coaching, which supports leaders, managers and working parents to realise their career ambitions. During this Berkshire Mumpreneur interview, we find out more about Angelika, her business and how she manages to juggle work and family life!
Tell Me Briefly About Your Business.
I am bi-lingual and offer Executive, Career and Paternity Coaching packages to support working parents. I understand that setting career goals, developing your leadership skills, managing teams and stakeholders alongside trying to maintain a work-life balance in our ever-changing world can be overwhelming.
I offer three different coaching packages:
- In my Executive Coaching packages, I work with my clients to create a clear vision of the challenges they wish to overcome, reflect, explore options, create action plans and help keep them accountable. I support my clients in different ways, our coaching session may focus on leadership development, confidence building, time management, building stakeholder relationships, the art of delegation, stress management and more.
- In my Career Coaching packages, I focus on supporting professionals looking for a new job or a career change. We might also cover CV writing, LinkedIn tips, job search tools and Interview techniques.
- In my Paternity Coaching package, I focus on supporting young parents to navigate the world of work, once their baby arrives. We might cover topics such as boundary setting, planning, exploring options, difficult conversations, time management or self-confidence.
Tell Me Briefly About Yourself and Your family.
I am originally from Poland, and I met my Polish husband here 12 years ago. I still remember our first date, when he showed me Windsor… 😊 We now live in High Wycombe with our 2 boys: Robert who is 7 and Adam who is almost 5.
In my first career, I worked in Poland as an English Teacher (I have a master’s degree in English) and I have always been passionate about developing people. I also have experience in operations and project management. I love travelling with my family as well as running, swimming, walking, cooking and baking.
When Did You Set Up Your Business and Why?
After my first maternity leave, I came back to my work as a Coaching Consultant, it took me a few months to realise that I wanted to have a more direct impact on individuals’ careers. With this insight, I decided to leave that organisation and train as a professional coach. I spent my second pregnancy completing my training and as many coaching hours as possible. I set up my Vision and Courage Coaching business in Sept 2020 and achieved my accreditation with the International Coaching Federation a few months later. I enjoy learning and developing my skills as a coach, earlier this year I am pleased to say I completed over 1,200 coaching hours and became a Professional Certified Coach with the ICF. I gain huge satisfaction from working with leaders around the world and positively impacting their careers.
What Do You See as the Benefits of Being Self-Employed?
There are so many benefits to being self-employed, flexibility is probably the most important one. I can work around my family’s needs, spend valuable time with my boys after school, and attend important school events or look after them if they are ill. I sometimes choose to work in the early mornings, when I am more creative, and my brain is fresh. Leadership and self-development are also huge benefits of being self-employed. You are the boss and need to make important decisions about your business, you learn to plan, promote yourself, create partnerships and grow in confidence. The opportunity for growth is huge.
How Do You Manage to Run Your Business and Look After Your Family?
I work from home during school hours from Monday to Thursday so I can enjoy my boys after school. On Friday my husband picks them up and they have a whole afternoon together. Recently, I have also started using a shared working space “The Patch” in High Wycombe a couple of days a week, which allows me to have super focused working days. I also believe in food planning and batch cooking, so I don’t need to stress about food for the family. My husband and I have learned to have one evening a week when we tackle folding and ironing together. I am grateful that my husband is very involved in looking after the kids and doing the household chores. If I need to spend extra time on work over the weekend, he is very supportive.
I can’t forget to mention support from the school mums and my friends, who are also ready to drop the boys off at school or pick them up if I have an extra meeting that I can’t move.
What are your Top Tips to Other Parents Considering Setting Up Their Own Business?
I would say get as much clarity about running your business as possible before you start: collect data, do market research, talk to people who offer similar services or products, work on your plan and vision of your business. This thinking time is very important.
Once you start, give yourself some structure and set goals. Don’t forget to network and connect with a community of other business owners, Berkshire Mummies is fantastic for this. They can keep you inspired and accountable. Being self-employed can be lonely, therefore working on these relationships is really important.
When you are ready, consider collaborating or delegating some of your business activities, so you can focus on the parts of the business that you enjoy the most.
What’s Next For Your Business?
I am planning to organise more free webinars in the coming months. If any of Berkshire Mummies are considering returning to the workplace or considering a career change, I would love to hear from them, please email me to book a discovery session.
Next year, I would also love to create a journal with reflective, creative and thought-provoking questions to guide clients who would like to start the practice of journaling.
Finally, What are your Three Things to do as a Family in Berkshire?
Our boys love being outdoors, so we often take them for walks at Windsor Great Park, Virginia Water, Black Park or Dinton Pastures Country Park in Wokingham. Robert and Adam love animals, so visiting Odds Farm is also a firm favourite for a day of fun. This school year we are also planning to visit Legoland for the first time, and the boys can’t wait!
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