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    Prior to the ‘Beauty Inside and Out’ talk on Tuesday this week, The Telegraph interviewed me on their series about women in business called ‘How She Did It’. It was an honuor to be asked to appear on this series and a big move for me going from talking all things life coach to talking all things business. If you are interested in a little bit about me, my story and how I set up my business then read on for the full interview here. Happy friday! x

    How she did it: ‘I was anorexic, bulimic and had cripplingly low self-esteem. I had to transform my life’

    Jacqueline Hurst, 39, is a public speaker and life coach, who works to help her clients with a wide variety of issues, specialising in emotional eating and body image. Her online school, The Life Class is a resource for people interested in becoming coaches themselves, or those who want to learn how to live more optimally.
    Here, she tells us how she did it.

    Tell us briefly about your business

    I am a life coach and a Master Coach Trainer. I work privately, one-to-one, with clients all around the world, coaching them to help them elevate mentally and emotionally to their highest potential. I am also a hypnotherapist and help people with a wide range of issues from eating or body image issues, anxiety, confidence, phobias, insomnia, public speaking or general coaching.
    I also have a school online where I run two courses – one to train people to become a certified life coach themselves and the other is a foundation course to help people who just want to feel better, do so within their own time frame.

    What inspired you to start it?

    My own life. I slipped into drugs and alcohol at a very young age. I was anorexic, bulimic, depressed and suffered terrible anxiety and crippling low self esteem. I simply couldn’t handle life. In my mid-twenties, I hit rock bottom and decided something had to change. No matter what it took I was going to transform my life.
    I tried different forms of therapy but felt no one ‘got it’ or really understood me. So I decided to start studying and find a way to help myself.  From the day I made that change, I haven’t looked back. Over the last 15 years I’ve studied all over the world and have come across people desperate for advice and guidance – just as I had been years before. They turned to me asking for help. Having been there myself, I found it easy to appreciate the battles they were fighting.

    More and more people approached me and it became evident my coaching practice had to be set up.  These days I grab life with both hands and believe strongly that anything is possible.

    What were the first few steps you took?

    I had an unshakable belief that this was what I was meant to do and it was going to be successful – looking back I don’t know if that was just down to naivety, novelty or both! The first month I had a website, a laptop and an office. I remember someone saying ‘but whose going to knock on your door?’ – that just fuelled my fire.

    How did you raise awareness?

    Networking, talking to everyone I met, I remember standing in Fitness First on Baker Street one day for eight hours handing out flyers. I got offered more dates than I did clients – but I had an unshakable work ethic, so I didn’t get frustrated and was happy to keep standing in the cold.

    What has been your biggest challenge?

    The stigma around mental health. I work with some top brands and very famous people – and yet a lot of the time I have to sign confidentiality agreements because they don’t want to be seen, or known, to be working on themselves or with their employees. It is also something that means, word of mouth, which is always the best way to get business, is lessened.

    How do you tackle challenges?

    I absolutely love challenges. I wonder if there is just something in my DNA. Life is challenging, there is no point in wishing it was something different than it is. What would be the point in that? Challenges are the biggest propeller of growth.

    What helps you stay motivated through tough times?

    I believe it’s the tough times that make you. So I say to myself ‘bring it on’.  I’m always aware that the words like ‘tough times’ or ‘hard days’ are all in the mind and how I think about that really matters. Is it a tough time, or just a tough deal or a tough five minutes? What am I learning? How can I grow?  All of these things give me opportunities.

    What’s the best thing about running your own business?

    For me it means I get to be in control of my life and I don’t have to answer to anyone about where I am and at what time.

    Do you have a business philosophy?

    Always say yes and figure it out afterwards.

    What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs?

    To believe in themselves, to have their own back and to remember the saying that ‘out of small acorns, huge oak trees grow’.

    How I did it…

    • My greatest fear is… dying before doing everything I want to do.
    • I would tell my teenage self… that everything you are experiencing will make sense when you are older and will be the making of you.
    • I believe… in love.
    • The biggest lesson I’ve learned is… you get more bees with honey. Always be nice.
    • My top business tool or resource is… Google (obviously!)
    • My favourite quote… ‘Yes you can’.

    See the full interview + purchase tickets to meet me at The Telegraph event here