Lucy Harvey is a career and motherhood coach on a mission to help women reclaim joy, purpose and power in their professional lives. After navigating her own journey through career pauses, burnout and identity shifts that came with motherhood, Lucy now supports other women in doing the same – whether they’re returning to work, changing careers, or finding their footing after maternity leave. Through her coaching practice, she’s helping women rediscover their confidence, balance their ambitions with family life, and step into leadership roles. Here she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind her business, how she balances work and family life, the challenges she has overcome along the way, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The Passion: What inspired you to start your business?
I truly believe that women deserve happy, fulfilling careers – and that the world needs their talents! But I also know that navigating the world of work as a woman can be tough, especially for mothers. Women are amazing at just getting on with things, making it work somehow, but often that comes at a cost. They put themselves last, sacrifice their ambitions for flexibility, or even step away from work altogether because it just feels like too much.
I also see so many women – especially new mums – losing their confidence or sense of identity when it comes to their careers. That’s why I built my coaching practice: to help women take back control of their careers, whether that’s returning to work, going for a promotion, changing careers, negotiating maternity leave, or simply finding a better balance and dealing with matrescence and your career.
I love seeing the transformation in my clients. So many come to me feeling lost, stuck, or doubting themselves – but I can see how incredible they are, even when they can’t. The best part? Watching them step back into their power, getting joy and fulfilment from their career, knowing they belong in the workplace. The world needs them!
The Launch: How did you get started?
Honestly? I never really had a big “launch moment”. I started my training in the middle of moving house and during the pandemic – it was full-on, but I knew I’d found my second career.
Before this, I worked in marketing for TV and magazines, but when I had children, I stepped away from that world and was a stay-at-home parent. I like the term career pause – that’s exactly what it felt like. Eventually, I started a marketing consultancy, which grew into a successful business, but I completely burned out trying to juggle that with being a parent without childcare.
I’d always been interested in training as a counsellor, but it was coaching that really clicked for me. I’d had coaching myself, and I loved how practical and action-focused it was – it made things happen. So, I trained in coaching, did another diploma, became an ACC-accredited coach, and even studied neuroscience and acceptance & commitment therapy. I’ve come back to counselling and am halfway through my counselling training because I love how well it complements coaching.
The Innovation: What was your biggest business breakthrough?
It’s not really been a strategy or technique; it’s been trusting and sticking to my instincts despite society and conditioning sometimes making me question them. I know there’s a huge need for this work, and the more I put myself out there, the more I see just how many women need this kind of support.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
My business is designed around my family life. Most of my sessions happen during school hours, but I also use after-school clubs a couple of times a week and have a cleaner – I’m lucky to have that support, but I see it as a cost of my business, as it makes a huge difference!
My kids aren’t little anymore (Isabelle is 13, Fred is 10), but as they’ve grown, the challenges have shifted. It’s less about the practical stuff now and more about the emotional support they need. Then there’s the school runs, homework help and endless taxiing!
Flexibility is one of the biggest perks of running my own business, but it definitely comes with challenges. I have to practise what I preach when it comes to boundaries. I work hard to focus on what actually moves the needle in my business rather than getting caught up in busy work.
One big lesson I’ve learnt is that I need to take care of myself to be a good coach and a good mum. I don’t work Fridays – that’s my day for rest, exercise, personal development catching up with friends, and life admin as and when these needs come up. That space in my week is so important for my mental health.
The other lesson I’ve learnt the hard way is that I cannot be the best at everything. I have tried doing everything myself and trying to do it all perfectly. I have learnt to accept that some things have to be a lower priority. At the moment that is shown by the piles of washing waiting to be folded!
