“I help you uncover your true potential and clear limiting beliefs. Together, we define your best self. I’m here for you.”
Thirteen years ago, after winning a free coaching session at a HR seminar, Marianna Pehrson, of The Coaching Lens, discovered a profound connection to the process. It was a revelation, centred around personal desires, aspirations, and the quest to overcome limitations. This experience ignited her passion to offer similar transformative journeys to other women.
Marianna holds a Certified Results Coach certification and a Core Essentials Graduate training certificate from CoachU in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching.
Marianna partners with individuals to assist them in gaining clarity on what they perceive as missing in their lives, overcoming any limiting beliefs hindering their progress, and maintaining inspiration in both mind and body beyond their existing beliefs. She achieves this through engaging conversations and a supportive process aimed at unveiling their true best selves, empowering them to determine how to show up as that person.
Marianna offers a signature 8 session coaching program, which utilises evidence-based coaching techniques to support clients in achieving their desired outcomes and creating lasting change in their lives.
Transitioning from being an employee to an entrepreneur marked a significant shift for Marianna, allowing her to dictate her path and schedule. Despite the added responsibility, she finds strength in the autonomy and personal growth that comes with the territory. Rather than feeling like a novice in the field, Marianna embraces the learning curve, relishing in the opportunity for continuous self-improvement and development.
Marianna loves the HerBusiness Network for two main reasons. First, she gets invaluable support, connections, and ideas from like-minded women. Secondly, she appreciates the abundance of resources that help her learn and improve her business skills.
Who’s your favourite entrepreneur and why?
My favourite entrepreneur would be my friend Gemma. She is just fearless in her approach to trying out new ventures and never stops getting new ideas for projects she wants to carry out. She is not afraid of giving things a go and I don’t see that very often in the world. She has a very broad set of skills and life experiences and will push on to make something happen where others would have given up. I’m tapping into Gemma’s sense of courage.
What do you enjoy most about running your own business?
Starting my own business is the most entrepreneurial thing I’ve ever done – before this I was always an employee. However, now that I’ve tasted the freedom from being told what, how and when to do stuff, I’m fueled to stay on this path. I don’t want to go back, if I can bloody help it! With that freedom comes responsibility of course, knowing that if it’s to be, it’s up to me, but that has landed with me just fine. Weirdly, it has actually helped me feel stronger. I thought I would be feeling the opposite from being the ‘newbie on the block’, because at this stage in life, we often expect to be the wise one with all the experience. And yet here I am, experiencing the most personal growth and learning ever.
What three pieces of advice do you wish you’d been given when you started?
- One piece of advice that has been really helpful to me is “go for the jugular”. It’s simply a different way of saying ‘Find out the action you can take that would most directly lead you to your desired outcome’. It’s easy to get lost in all the things we can do, so it’s extra beneficial to take a moment to consider which action would have the best impact.
- One thing no one mentioned, however, is to have patience. It takes time to get a new venture off the ground. There is lots of work to be done and lots of new connections to be made and lots of expenses to be incurred before the money starts flowing the other way. Most of all, though, is the transformation I myself have gone through in order to become the person I needed to be on this journey.
- A piece of advice I’d give to someone starting out new? I’m heavily biased, but I see having a coach as the single most supportive thing you can do for yourself when starting anything new. Nothing else will help you identify your own mental blocks to success and through a coaching conversation, permanently remove those blocks. Often, we are literally our own biggest roadblock on our venture.
What advice would YOU give someone thinking about starting a business?
Have a Growth Group! Have a group of women you meet with regularly to bounce ideas with and get advice from. Other women in a similar situation who get what you’re going through. Women who will help you course-correct and pull you out of the mud when you think you’re stuck. These women most likely will need to be someone other than your friends or family!
And one other thing I’d say: Be careful what you classify a setback. You will have bad days and disappointments and frustrations, but those are not setbacks. They are just bad days and disappointments and frustrations. They might feel like setbacks at first, but take a deep breath, show yourself some compassion for a couple of days, and you’ll recover. It’s a mindset, really. Just keep going, because if you have that seed in you to create something, then it was meant to be.
What skills and knowledge areas would you recommend those starting out in business get acquainted with quickly?
- Communication skills – before anything else.
- A growth mindset.
- A level of technical acumen, because that’s simply the world we live in today.
What does your IDEAL business look like? Even if you’re not there yet, what would it look like if your business was ideal?
The only difference between where I am now and my IDEAL business, is the number of coaching clients. This year, my prime focus is on client creation.
What problem does being a Member of the HerBusiness Network solve for you and your business? And, how?
The HerBusiness network gives me two things. Support, connections and ideas from like minded people (priceless) and lots of resources to inform and teach me on the business side of things.
Learn more about Marianna and The Coaching Lens.
