#129 From ‘Corporate Hangover’ to the Happy Startup Coach with Sarah Clarke

“The problem with having ‘a corporate hangover’ is that it doesn't allow you to be authentically yourself. And in order to be a successful business owner, you need to be authentically yourself.”   On this episode we have Sarah Clarke, who closed a door on a corporate career after being made redundant and discovering she was pregnant for a second time. Sarah shares how motherhood and the redundancy gave her the impetus to start her own business. She now helps women start and grow their businesses as "The Happy Startup Coach."   "I kind of remember mulling over my idea for this new business with the friend I was staying with at the breakfast bar. I was like, well, you know, lots of people have really crappy returns to work, don't they?"   Here are the highlights:   04:26 Enjoying work, learning, culture change, OD and got the bug. 11:00 Taking a three-month contract to cover maternity pay after redundancy. 18:38 Prepare properly before taking action, gain clarity. 25:25 Navigating and caring for yourself through entrepreneurship. 30:34 Find your business coaching niche in yourself. 35:19 Reflect on passions, dislikes, and energising activities.   Sarah’s Another Door go-tos The things that helped Sarah navigate change. Books: ‘Be a Free Range Human’ by Marianne Campbell and ‘The Source’ by Dr. Tara Swart Music: ‘Go your Own Way’, Fleetwood Mac The one piece of advice: “I wanted to take action. I wanted to do. Because you feel like you're taking back control of a crappy situation. If I could possibly recommend anything, I would recommend the opposite - to not do, to just be.”     About Sarah Clarke:   Sarah Clarke is a Mum, wife, optimist and self-confessed personal and career development geek. Sarah is on a mission to help talented women unlock their potential and find more happiness at work, by showing them how to design their best work lives – on their terms.   “I’ve worked in the fields of employee happiness and development for nearly 2 decades and am incredibly passionate about the professional potential of women.I left the corporate world of employee engagement and development in 2016 and went freelance.I then set up my own career and leadership development coaching business, Shine Brighter, in March 2018.”   Since 2018 Sarah has helped hundreds of talented women reconnect with their unique strengths, values and personality preferences and rebuild their self-belief, allowing them to unlock their potential and shine brighter in their careers and businesses. Find out more: https://shinebrighterconsulting.co.uk/   Connect with: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehappystartupcoach/ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjclarke/   Get Recommended Are you looking for speakers with a fresh voice for your next workshop or conference? Check out https://recommended.anotherdoor.co.uk   About your host Eleanor Tweddell Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”    Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.    Connect with Eleanor Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/ Website: eleanortweddell.com     Podcast produced by winteraudio.co.uk