About me

Hi, I’m Catherine! Mother of 2, wife of 1. Originally from Lyon (France) and now living and working in Walthamstow (East London). Chocolate addict, amateur dancer and artist. That’s me in a nutshell! Here’s the story of how I became a career coach.

FROM A YOUNG AGE, I HAD A LOT OF FREEDOM AND CHOICE ABOUT WHERE I WANTED TO GO IN LIFE.

At 18 I moved to the US to study. Growing up in France, the move was about fulfilling my dream of exploring a far-off mysterious land and taking my first bold steps into independent adulthood.

My studies in travel and tourism led me to working for a travel agent, which taught me that I enjoyed working with customers to help them find what was best for them. Back in France, I studied and worked in sales, but I soon discovered that I was more interested in helping people find the right product than making money for someone else.

So, I transferred into business management and human resources. At the time I didn’t know much about this field, but it was the course that stood out to me as being all about people.

When I finished my Masters degree, I realised I wanted to leave France again and spotted an opportunity in London. I started my career working with an empowering manager who gave me the opportunity to develop my self-awareness and grow as a professional. Amongst other things, she offered me to be coached.  

Coaching was a transformational experience as it really unlocked my confidence and helped me work through beliefs and blocks that were limiting me. I realised that I needed to make a change to continue growing and felt empowered to do so. 

What followed was a successful ten-year career working within global companies to develop and recruit graduates, and supporting senior management to identify talented individuals and grow their teams.

However, whilst I was happy that I had finally reached a point in my career where I was helping people and adding value, I sometimes felt frustrated by the corporate constructs around my work. The processes were at odds with my values around co-creation, collaboration and taking a person-centred approach to empowering people to make their own choices. 

My feeling was confirmed after I had my son. I was so unhappy when I went back to work after maternity leave, that my husband would wish me good luck as I set off to the office.

I realised that I did not want my children to grow up believing that work is a challenge. I wanted them to see me enjoying what I do.

I wanted to be able to explain to them what I did with my life and I realised that I probably wouldn’t be able to in a way that conveyed meaning. In that moment I knew what I needed to do.

In 2028, I quit my job and trained to become a qualified coach with Animas, Centre for Coaching. When my 8-year-old niece asked me what I do now, I was able to tell her: I help people find out what they like doing and why. This makes them happier.   

THROUGHOUT  MY LIFE, I HAVE REMAINED TENACIOUS IN MY MISSION TO DISCOVER WHAT WAS RIGHT FOR ME AND STAY TRUE TO MYSELF.

If I didn’t like something I changed it. Looking back and connecting the dots I learned something valuable from each chapter, like clues on a map. I’m grateful that I was always supported in my choices and this gave me the confidence to experiment and move forward.  

As a career coach this is the role I enjoy being for my clients: creating a space for them to reflect on their past, explore their true self and make the decisions that will bring change to their lives.  

In this new chapter of my journey, I have experienced and learned so much that it’s difficult to summarise it here.

I have worked with brilliant clients to support them with their career and life changes. Every one of my clients is different, yet they are all striving for the same thing: a safe space where they can download their thoughts and emotions, be listened to, find clarity and ultimately achieve fulfilment in their career and life.

I have previously volunteered with the charity Yes Futures, coaching primary and secondary school students to help them build their resilience, confidence, communication skills and self-awareness. I am now volunteering once a month with Smart Works, a charity that exists to give women the confidence they need to reach their full potential, secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives.

I have developed so many new skills and met inspiring new people as I have been building my business from scratch. I have found new friends and colleagues in many supportive communities of freelancers and coaches.

I work for organisations that take personal development seriously. I have designed a holistic curriculum for OnTrack Sport to develop the life and career skills of aspiring football players in training centres, I have partnered with the Fashion Retail Academy to support the growth of their students as they are about to enter the employment market, I have delivered a coaching skills workshop for secondary school students involved in a peer-coaching programme, and I have designed and delivered a career conference for the Go-Ahead Group Graduates to help them kickstart a successful career.

Throughout the last six years, I have realised that my mission is to make career & personal growth Affordable and accessible to everyone.

This is why I keep my fees low. I also write articles, design worksheets and facilitate workshops to share this knowledge with everyone.

Thank you for reading my story!

My values

Working on values is one of the exercises that I do with most of my clients. Here are my own personal and business values so that you can see what matters to me.

Continuous Professional Development

Learning never stops. To make sure I continuously grow as a coach, I have monthly supervision session. I use them to review my coaching practice, my skills, my well-being and how I run my business. I have a professional development plan that I review regularly with my supervisor, and I sign up to courses to develop new skills.

Here’s a breakdown of my professional training: