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Today I had a wonderful consult with a coach who believed she had to build her coaching business around her personal story.
She thought coaching meant constantly revisiting the reason she turned to coaching in the first place.
Her journey.
The bad experiences.
The struggles that shaped her.
Understandable, right?
After all, she knew her story gave her expertise and she could definitely help others in the same situation.
The problem?
It felt like being pulled back into the past and having to relive it every single day.
That weight was stopping her from moving forward with her coaching business.
Your Story Doesn’t Have to Be Your Niche
Many new coaches believe their coaching business must be built on the hardest parts of their past.
It does not have to be this way.
Your experiences give you depth and resilience.
They add credibility.
They help you understand people.
But they don’t define the only way you can help.
When we looked closer, we found an area that lit her up.
An area where she felt energised, passionate, and ready to create something new.
Reframing the Origin Story
Instead of focusing on the trauma, we reframed her story around determination and resilience.
We highlighted the lessons she learned and the strengths she gained.
This gave her qualifications context, showed her expertise, and allowed her to start shaping a new offer she actually loved.
And most importantly, it gave her a coaching business that felt sustainable.
Coaching Should Energise You
A coaching business is about impact, but it is also about sustainability.
If your work drains you, it will not last.
The key is to design a coaching business that aligns with your energy and your future, not one that traps you in your past.
So if you have been wondering whether you must coach on the hardest parts of your story, know that you have options.
You can build a coaching business around what excites you, while still honouring the resilience that got you here. Discover what you can do more by booking your Client Roadmap Session today.