#125: Helen ONeill – How to Publish as a Coach, Build a Portfolio Career, and Make Your Next Step Count
When five-time published author Helen ONeill entered the coaching space, she found that many coaches had misconceptions about writing and publishing. Some felt they needed permission to write their book, while others were held back by gatekeeping, snobbery and exploitative business practices.
Her response was to set up Coach Write, the book coaching business she runs to help coaches make the choices that are right for them as they navigate their publishing journey, drawing on her expertise as an EMCC-accredited coach and a published author in a range of genres.
The Coach Write stream of Helen’s business forms part of her portfolio career, and in this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, she tells host Alex Swallow about how she spent 20 years gaining experience in recruitment, human resources and psychometrics before becoming a portfolio-career and change-management specialist.
Helen helps people who want a life and a career comprised of several threads to weave them together in a way that is sustainable and nourishing, ensuring the common pitfall of burnout is avoided altogether. She speaks about the boundaries and strategies that underpin this process, and describes the many synergies between the secrets of building a thriving author business and becoming a successful coach.
Helen is passionate about creating a space for coaches to write and publish, where they can build a truly fulfilling life of variety, challenge and achievement. In this episode she cuts through the nonsense with practical, inspirational advice for anyone seeking to make a well-chosen next step in their career.
Helen and Alex also talk about:
How to structure a portfolio career to ensure your time, energy, and income are in balance
Setting up a no-stress side hustle that puts a bit of joy into the world
The “messy middle” of mid-to-senior level work and the many different paths that it can lead to
‘AI vertigo’ and how to get on the front foot rather than living in fear of AI
How to build your online presence without draining your soul by focusing on what you love doing
For more information about Helen, visit: https://coachwrite.co.uk/
For more information about host Alex Swallow, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexswallow/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
- Coach Write https://coachwrite.co.uk/
- Gather and Grow https://www.gatherandgrow.community/
- EMCC https://emccglobal.org/
- Time to Think by Nancy Kline https://www.timetothink.com/books/time-to-think/
- Barefoot Coaching https://barefootcoaching.co.uk/
- The Sheffield Coaching Exchange https://www.linkedin.com/company/sheffield-coaching-exchange/
- Robbie Swale’s Coaching Business Flywheel https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel
BIOGRAPHY FROM HELEN
Helen ONeill spent 20 years leading complex change portfolios before embarking on her own successful portfolio career. Today she’s an EMCC accredited coach, five-time published author, and the founder of Coach Write, where she helps coaches write and publish books that position them as thought leaders.
She rarely watches television, she’s rubbish at updating social media, and she tries to avoid the news as much as possible. Instead, she packs her life with experiences, achievements, and laughter, and she loves helping others do the same.