Mentoring Packages
You’ve always been made to feel like a misfit at work. A square peg in a round hole.
Maybe you’re like me and have a bunch of mental health issues, or like loads of my client pals and have chronic illnesses or a beautiful neurodivergent brain, then you’ve always been told that you’re a square peg in a round hole.
But hold up pal. No round holes here.
Work doesn’t have to be what we’ve been told it is.
We can build a business based on our wants and needs, not the shoulds.
Work doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t have to put your clients first.
Work can work for you pal, promise.
Work doesn’t have to be the way you’ve always been shown it is.
You can work 2 days a week. You can take naps in the day. You can finish at 2pm to pick the small people up.
You can earn enough to pay for therapy.
You can let your brain be motivated by interest, not urgency.
We’re gonna build your business to fit your star shaped peg.
Using my Heartwood Way method (it’s that tree there), this is the journey we’ll go on together:
Acknowledge and listen to your needs
Understand how you’re wired – the tendencies that tell you how you really want to work
Together we’ll build each part of your business based on those needs & tendencies
Your offers, your boundaries, your capacity and pricing and who you want to work with
I bet you’re wondering how the hell you start to redefine work, when all you’ve known is 9-5, work hard, shove your square peg into that round, dull, ‘well-rounded’ hole.
I know it’s a big thing to even start to think about.
But I’ve done it myself, I’ve done it with a bunch of client pals.
First up, let’s just take a minute to acknowledge that you were never the problem. The problem was never the peg, it was always the hole.
I promise, we can build your business based on your needs and wants, not what the world tells you it should be.
I know that you’re on the hamster wheel, it’s turning, turning and you feel like if you slow down, you’ll fall off.
But to figure out how to slow the wheel down, we gotta slow you down – just a wee bit.
I am willing to bet that if you knew how to change things for the better, you would have done it by now. ‘Cos this isn’t fun.
Let me help chum.
I’m pleading with you pal, don’t wait until things are really bad to get help – I’ve been down at the bottom of the well and I don’t want to see you down there.
But if you do end up down in the dark, I’ll hop right in and show you the way out (probably along with a therapist, ‘cos, y’know we all need one of them).
Your honesty, transparency and how real you are made me think, yep, she’s for me. I love that you walks your own path and are passionate to help others do the same.
You have this brilliant blend of being non-judgemental whilst still challenging my thoughts around topics… even when I take 40 minutes to see the light!
I just love the way you get it and your general fuck this shit approach 🙌🏻
I am for you if
- You feel like you’re working for your business, rather than it working for you
- You feel like a slave to your emails and DMs
- #boundaries – what are they?!
- You’re overworking, worried that you’re on the way to burnout (or in it – I’ve been there pal – read all about it here)
- You’re feeling exhausted, like you’re chasing your tail
- You feel like something needs to change, but you’re not sure where to start, or like you have the time to start
- You want a pal who gets it, will give you a little comforting hug and then prod you in the back in the right direction for you
I am not for you if
- You’re not ready for me to be honest with you
- You don’t like being asked sometimes tough questions!
- You’re not up for doing the work
- You enjoy people beating around the bush
- You mind seeing a cat flaunt it’s behind on Zoom calls (Gibson likes to make her presence known)
My values and what they mean for our work
Screw ‘professional’ (ick), this is how I do business.
I share this as an act of professional self-regulation. I do not have coaching specific qualifications – I personally don’t feel these are always necessary – but I commit to working in line with these values.
I also have regular supervision with a therapist to make sure I’m doing right by my client pals.
Honesty
- I will tell you, lovingly, if something comes up in our calls that you should seek therapeutic or clinical support for (don’t worry, this is a regular, totally normal occurrence!)
- I will always be honest with you if I think you are *ahem* bullshitting yourself – I will kindly, and with love, challenge you in those moments
- If I’m not feeling well mentally I will tell you. I’ll probably rearrange our sessions in this instance – more on that below…
Practicality
What I do is a mixture of mentoring – using and sharing my own experiences to help you navigate similar situations – and coaching – helping you to find the answers to your own questions and concerns. This means that…
- We will work together on finding thought patterns that negatively affect your relationship with your work – I will highlight when these thought patterns are coming up and suggest ways to help shift these
- We will also work through The Heartwood Way to look at what practical steps we can take to make your business work better for you
- There’s no set approach here and I will be guided by you, what you feel you need and what comes up during and in between our sessions
Flexibility
- If I’m having a bad mental health day or week, I will rearrange our session – I am not able to be at my best for you at these times
- This flexibility is also available to you – there is no 48 hour cancellation policy here. If you need to rearrange, you can do so up to our session time
- To give myself the flexibility I need, some areas of my business need to be strictly boundaried – this means that my appointment times are on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Fairness
- I will always offer Pay What You Can places on my courses and programmes
- I have worked with an accessibility mentor – the wonderful Kat Cuthbert – to make sure I’m accessible for those with sight and hearing impairments as well as beautiful neurodiverse brains
- I always seek out, listen to and act on feedback from those whos brains, boodies and experiences are different to mine – pals of colour, those who have different trauma experiences to mine, neurodivergent chums and those with chronic illnesses or disabilities, as well as trans, non-binary and non-gender conforming pals
- I set my prices based on what is sustainable for me energetically, and for my business, financially
I didn’t fully understand how much I correlated ‘working’ with ‘having every single one of my boundaries pushed and basic needs trodden on.’ I now have such a huge feeling of possibility.
The Options
SPACE FOR ONE NEW CLIENT PAL IN APRIL. NEXT SPACES IN JULY
With Breathing Space and Fresh Air, you’ll also get free or discounted access to all of the Pick n Mix
Inhale session
£215
Breathing Space
£600 per month for three months or £1,800 in total.
Fresh Air
Six months of focused support to make sure your business works for you and your needs are always being met.
We’ll have 10 sessions together and you’ll have my support through Voxer for six months.
£500 per month for 6 months or £3,000 in total.
Untangle
A day of me in your pocket!
We’ll spend the day together on Voxer to work through a specific issue or problem in your business, whether that’s a wonky thought pattern or a way of working that doesn’t feel good.
£500
Each quarter, I work with one person on a Pay What You Can basis for my Breathing Space package of five sessions.
These spaces are open to people who are often under-represented or not catered for in the ‘coaching and mentoring’ world.
Anyone who identifies as being part of a marginalised group can apply. I set out what that means in the application form.
I want you to know that you don’t need to ‘be disabled enough’ or ‘neurodiverse enough’ to apply for this place. I’ll never ask you to prove your eligibility – you self identifying is enough for me.
If more people apply than I have space for, I pick a pal at random – there’s no choosing criteria. I’ll always try and work with more than one person if I can.
I would LOVE to work with you.
If you are worried about applying please read this
I knew that working with Jo would hugely benefit me, but being on a low income I couldn’t justify the cost.
I had seen that she offered Pay What You Can places, but honestly was a little nervous to apply – there’s always that thought that someone needs it more than me!
But, after chatting with Jo, I went ahead and applied for a Pay What You Can place. The process was really simple, there were no prying questions and at no point did I need to disclose why I was applying, or how much I could pay.
And I’m really glad I did – working with Jo has seen my fledgeling business actually begin to take flight and I honestly cannot recommend working with her enough.
These places are something I’ll go ahead and offer in my own business – I’ve benefitted from them, and that needs paying forwards.
I highly encourage you to apply for one, even if you’re on the fence about it – I promise you, if you’re considering it even a little bit, you are deserving of this place.
Plus, Jo is an absolute gem of a human to work with!
My promise to you
- I get it pal – I have been there – I have come unravelled at the seams and stitched myself back together again
- I’ll be the helping hand that also gently nudges you in the right direction
- I will be lovingly, but totally honest with you – we’re not going to get to the bottom of this stuff by pussy-footing around
- I’m not a therapist – if I feel like you need support that I’m not able to offer, I will tell you so lovingly and point you in the direction of where you can find it
- I have regular supervision with a therapist, to make sure that I am doing right by my client pals
