Having to rethink her career in the hair and beauty industry due to a medical diagnosis, Angeli Shaw set out to find her purpose and turn that passion into a rewarding and fulfilling career. She prides herself on inspiring others through her soulful approach and growth mindset, which led her to launch The Bliss Coach. Incorporating mind, body and business – individually or collaboratively – she uses a holistic coaching method to guide her clients to empowerment, enlightenment and success, both personally and professionally. She focuses on not just one, but all aspects of life, to help people achieve their bliss, whatever that may be. Here she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the passion behind her business, the delicate work-family balance and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
Having a background in the hair and beauty industry for almost 20 years, I found myself having to rethink my career when I was diagnosed with a medical condition, impairing my ability to physically work on the salon floor. For me, this meant I had to reassess my purpose and what gave me my drive, as well as evaluate my passions and how I could turn it into a rewarding career and business, exploring the idea of life after owning a salon. One of my most recognised qualities is my love of helping others, whether it be through guidance, mentoring, education or just holding space, so I began immersing myself in study and research and soon recognised a gap in the coaching market in regards to general wellbeing and mental health, especially within the hair and beauty industry. That was where my journey began to becoming ‘The Bliss Coach‘.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
This was definitely a big transition for me but also extremely rewarding. I started out gaining my certification as a consciousness coach™️ whilst transitioning off the salon floor, and used my network within the industry to get my name out there. Word of mouth was great, but I also embraced every opportunity presented to me. I began as a guest speaker at events, presenting in person and online, as well as talking to school students in their classrooms and teams in their workplaces. I also had to educate myself on the world of social media and quickly built up a profile on Facebook and Instagram. I also continued to study over time and am now a certified crystal healer, reiki and NLP practitioner, personal passions that I have that I can now use in my business. I still continue to study now. A lot of my business’s growth has been organic, but I’m continuously adapting my business to work in with my lifestyle. Since launching The Bliss Coach, I have become a mum, and more recently, have given birth to son number 2 only a couple of weeks ago.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
The biggest breakthrough with my business has definitely been the personal development I’ve seen in myself. When you’re continuously educating yourself, you can’t help but turn inwards and see if what you are teaching aligns with who you are. After all, I’m a big believer in practising what you preach. Having done so much work on myself, I’m filled with confidence that what I do for others works, as it’s worked on me and gone are what I describe as the ‘band aid’ fixes and ‘toxic positivity’ culture that exists within the coaching industry. I consciously choose to run my business differently. Mentoring someone shouldn’t be done with a ‘one size fits all’ approach and I believe in using real strategies aimed at an individual’s core issues to guarantee results.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
It actually took me some time to balance these. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, with my father, mother, brother, husband and several extended family members all running their own businesses, so in regards to work ethic, it’s very strong in all of us. The biggest change in the way I did business was when my first son came along, and in the beginning, I held some pretty unrealistic, preconceived ideas on business before becoming a mum. I learnt very fast that flexibility was a must and reworked my business to allow me to care for my newborn, and also care for myself. I’ve also become very diligent on setting boundaries and made sure I was able to shut off from work in the evenings and on weekends so I could spend time with my family and do the things that fill my cup.
