About The Guest:

Amy Wilkinson is the founder of Fearless Foodies, a coaching and training company dedicated to empowering professionals in the food industry to communicate with confidence, influence, and impact.

After more than two decades in new product development, commercial and marketing roles within corporate food manufacturing, Amy took the leap to start her own coaching business nearly five years ago. Drawing on her wealth of industry experience and her passion for people, she now delivers transformative workshops and coaching that inspire emotionally intelligent leadership and confident communication.

Known for her engaging and relatable style, Amy helps individuals embrace their unique voice, navigate challenges with courage, and achieve their personal and professional goals by "feeling the fear and doing it anyway". What started as a solo coaching practice has evolved into a team of 10+ associate coaches, creating what Amy describes as not just a business, but a movement within the food industry.

Connect with Amy:

• Website: fearlessfoodies.co.uk
• Blog: ohforfoodssake.co.uk

About The Episode:

Welcome to episode 19 of the Courageous Coach podcast, where we pull back the curtain on what it really takes to be courageous with your clients, your business and your life. In this episode, host Melissa is joined by the wonderful Amy Wilkinson, founder of Fearless Foodies, for her second appearance on the show.

Amy returns to share the evolution of her coaching business journey, exploring how she transformed from a generalist coach to building a powerful movement within the food industry. This candid conversation delves into the challenges and triumphs of building a coaching business, the transformative power of niching, and the daily courage required to show up authentically in business.

From her first vulnerable speaking moment to six women on Zoom to presenting to 300 people at Asda head office, Amy's story demonstrates how small acts of courage compound into significant business growth. We explore the balance between comfort and courage, the importance of self-awareness in business, and how to find the right support while avoiding the noise of "six-figure by Christmas" promises.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Niching amplifies your voice and accelerates growth - The more Amy niched into the food industry and then specifically product development teams, the louder her marketing voice became. By speaking directly to one person's experience and using industry-specific language, her content resonated powerfully with her ideal clients, leading to exponential business growth and recognition as a thought leader. 
• Small courageous actions create cascading opportunities - Amy's pivotal moment came when she vulnerably shared her burnout story with just six women on a Zoom call. This single act of courage led to increased authenticity in her social media, which built momentum and eventually resulted in speaking to 300 people at major corporate events, demonstrating how courage compounds over time. 
• Building a business that feels like you require deep self-awareness - Understanding her ADHD, rejection sensitivity dysphoria, and working style allowed Amy to build a business model that works with her brain rather than against it. This included outsourcing sales-focused content and focusing on attraction-based marketing rather than hard selling, creating sustainable success aligned with her values. 
• The evolution from coach to business owner demands different skills - While coaching skills allow you to work with anyone, building a successful coaching business requires marketing, sales, and business development skills. Amy emphasised the importance of investing in business education and finding trusted advisors who can provide both strategic guidance and emotional support through the challenges. 
• Early-stage compromises are necessary stepping stones - Both Amy and Melissa acknowledged that new coaches often can't afford to be selective about work in the beginning. Taking on projects that aren't perfectly aligned is sometimes necessary for survival, but the key is maintaining a North Star vision of where you want to be while being practical about current financial needs.

Go Deeper with The Courageous Coach Program

If these conversations are resonating, you might be ready to go deeper. The Courageous Coach program is designed for qualified coaches in the early years of building their independent practice. If you want to coach with more courage, clarity, and humanity and grow a business that truly reflects who you are, this is for you.

You can find all the details here: https://www.melissahague.com/courageous-coaches 

Connect with Melissa

Come and find Melissa on LinkedIn. Whether you have questions about the program, want to share what resonated from this episode, or just fancy a chat, she'd love to connect.

Support the Podcast:

• Follow & Subscribe: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.
• Share with a fellow coach: Know someone who could use a little courage boost? Pass this episode on—courage is contagious, after all.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, stay curious, stay human and keep choosing courage.