2013 was the year everything changed. I lost my Mum to dementia in April, just four days before her 70th birthday. My Dad followed seven months later in November, with terminal cancer. All while I was working full time as an Assistant in corporate London and studying for my psychology degree with the Open University.

Seven weeks after my Mum died, with my Dad terminally ill, my employer put me through a disciplinary for poor performance.

Hearing comments like "there's only so much we can hear about your family" and "it's your time to shine" as my boss went on holiday, sent my mental health plummeting.

The death of my Mum and Dad seven months apart, alongside a disciplinary for 'poor performance'
while in my corporate Assistant role, led me on a journey of transformation

I BELIEVE IN...

Growth, contribution, travel and adventure, reading books, eating healthy food and keeping fit, focusing on mind, body & spirit.

I'm NOT ABOUT...

False promises, overnight transformations, clients taking on credit card debt, Assistants being left without support when grieving the loss of a loved one.

YOU CAN FIND ME...

Going on adventures with my Irish boyfriend, eating out, enjoying the theatre and connecting with Assistants on LinkedIn.

daily rituals...

Morning meditation, cat cuddles, Yorkshire tea, curling up with a good book and feeding my curiosity.

I knew I couldn't stay, so I decided something had to change. I negotiated a settlement agreement, left the role, and retrained as a coach, as well as completing qualifications in NLP, EFT and Matrix Reimprinting.

But here's the thing, the disciplinary didn't start my self-development journey, that actually started much earlier.

The truth is, long before 2013, I'd spent years putting myself down, rejecting compliments, never feeling quite good enough. Every time someone paid me a compliment, I'd deflect it and put myself down. Until one evening, sitting in an Indian curry house aged 25, I did it again, putting myself down in front of a good friend. But this time, instead of letting it go, they stopped, looked me straight in the eye and said firmly, "Suzie, why do you put yourself down?! You're a beautiful, intelligent young woman."

I knew I couldn't stay, so I decided something had to change. I negotiated a settlement agreement, left the role, and retrained as a coach, as well as completing qualifications in NLP, EFT and Matrix Reimprinting.

But here's the thing, the disciplinary didn't start my self-development journey, that actually started much earlier.

The truth is, long before 2013, I'd spent years putting myself down, rejecting compliments, never feeling quite good enough. Every time someone paid me a compliment, I'd deflect it and put myself down. Until one evening, sitting in an Indian curry house aged 25, I did it again, putting myself down in front of a good friend. But this time, instead of letting it go, they stopped, looked me straight in the eye and said firmly, "Suzie, why do you put yourself down?! You're a beautiful, intelligent young woman."

This experience destroyed my confidence and my sense of worth. Yet somewhere in the middle of it all, I felt a calling that I was meant for 'something more'

This experience destroyed my confidence and my sense of worth. Yet somewhere in the middle of it all, I felt a calling that I was meant for 'something more'

That was the beginning of my self-development journey and it was soon after that I started speaking up for myself and setting boundaries. I then pursued my psychology A-level because I'd started to believe I was capable of achieving it, and in turn I stopped waiting for permission to take up space.

Then in 2017, other challenges came my way, including a mountain bike accident that left me temporarily unable to walk. This led me to go all in on my coaching business, turning up to networking meetings on crutches, building something I believed in from the ground up.

As I healed, physically and emotionally, from years of workplace trauma and childhood bullying, I started working with Assistants and listening to their stories. And I saw myself in every single one of them. The same patterns. The same habits. The same belief that they weren't quite enough.

That was the beginning of my self-development journey and it was soon after that I started speaking up for myself and setting boundaries. I then pursued my psychology A-level because I'd started to believe I was capable of achieving it, and in turn I stopped waiting for permission to take up space.

Then in 2017, other challenges came my way, including a mountain bike accident that left me temporarily unable to walk. This led me to go all in on my coaching business, turning up to networking meetings on crutches, building something I believed in from the ground up.

As I healed, physically and emotionally, from years of workplace trauma and childhood bullying, I started working with Assistants and listening to their stories. And I saw myself in every single one of them. The same patterns. The same habits. The same belief that they weren't quite enough.

I walked home that evening thinking, he really believes that,
so maybe, just maybe there's some truth to what he said!

It took me 20 years to get here, I don't want it to take you that long

Patterns I'd already
lived and healed

Patterns I'd already lived and healed

That's when I realised, it wasn't a confidence problem. It was a pattern. Five specific patterns, in fact, that I'd seen in myself and now see in every Assistant I work with. Patterns that keep talented, capable Assistants invisible, overlooked and waiting to be recognised for the value they already bring. I call it The Invisible Expert, and once you see it, you can't unsee it.