My response to: “So, what do you do?”

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February 7, 2025 Emma Shergold Recent Posts All Posts Life Coaching Mental Health Neurodivergence Office Management Run Coaching Sports Massage Virtual Assistance My response to: “So, what do you do?” How to set your own goals What makes me a good life coach 5 reasons to use a password manager There is no such thing as Blue Monday Receiving a middle-aged autism diagnosis How to set successful New Year resolutions 6 tips on staying hydrated Categories Life CoachingMental HealthNeurodivergenceOffice ManagementRun CoachingSports MassageVirtual Assistance Business Support Office Management CRM/Database Management Email Inbox Management Bookkeeping Event Support Website Management Email Automations Project Coordination Access Support Life Coaching General Life Coaching Transitional Life Coaching Exercise & Fitness Coaching Diet & Nutrition Coaching Run Coaching Business Coaching EV Sports Sports Massage Beginner Running Course Return to Running Course Fundamentals of Running Course Run Coaching Qualifications & CPD Business Management Diploma Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crime Mentoring & Coaching Skills Psychology of Behaviour Change Life Coaching & Mindfulness Diploma Advanced Personal Training Diploma England Athletics Running Coach Gym Instruction Nutrition & Weight Management Nutrition for Sport & Exercise Circuit Training Pilates Fundamentals Pre and Post Natal Nutrition Pre and Post Natal Massage Sports & Remedial Massage Diploma “SO, WHAT DO YOU DO?” This is a question I get asked a lot. And it is a really difficult question for me to answer for two main reasons: 1. I do a lot of different things 2. I really don’t like talking about myself (I’m better at writing than verbalising) What I really want to respond with is: ‘What do you need support with? If it’s related to business, running, general wellbeing, neurodivergence or something musculoskeletal, then I’ll either be able to help you myself or point you in the direction of someone who can.’ That comes across arrogant and rude, though, when the other person is seemingly trying to make small talk with me (another thing I struggle to recognise and reciprocate). But it’s true. My skillset, experience and qualifications are so broad in these areas that I simply can’t answer this question with a few words (that the other person is expecting from me). So, what is it that I do that is so hard to articulate – let me go into a bit more detail… A SUMMARY OF THE THINGS I DO Sports Massage Predominately working with runners to support their training, although they usually initially come to me with an injury. Once this is addressed, I continue to work with many of them on more of an injury rehabilitation and/or injury prevention basis. Run Coaching Providing support to runners via one-to-one coaching, running courses, and training plans. Although I can work with most runners, my passion is with beginners and those returning to running after prolonged injury or illness. Lifestyle Coaching Helping people to unpick what’s not working for them, identifying who they are, rather than who they think they should be. We work together to turn thoughts, feelings and ideas into actionable plans and help them move closer to their goals. Office Management Working with smaller business owners and sole traders to manage and improve the efficiency of their business. This is initially in the form of a review of how things are currently done, implementing the necessary process and procedure changes, and then managing the day-to-day business operations. Virtual Assistance Either following on from the business management service, or as stand alone support, I work with business owners to undertake the more day-to-day tasks within their business. This can also be ad-hoc or project work. One of Life’s Human Signposts This is where the ‘…I’ll either be able to help you myself or point you in the direction of someone who can.’ bit comes in. WHY I DON’T CHOOSE A BUSINESS NICHE There are a few reasons why focusing on just one thing doesn’t work for me, which I’ve tried to explain below: I enjoy everything that I do The first reason I am unable to ‘just focus on one thing’ is because I enjoy doing all of these things, and to some people I am really good at all these things. I am not everyone’s cup of tea and quite frankly I don’t want to be – I’ve been a people pleaser in the past and it didn’t end so well for me because, as the saying goes: “You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, otherwise you’d be a mug.” I am selective over who I work with because it’s important for me to feel comfortable talking to all my clients about the day-to-day nature of my work, as well as the more difficult ‘reality’ conversations that are needed from time to time. My work often overlaps The next reason is that all of these things that I do can (and do) overlap from time to time – the lifestyle coaching in particular is relevant to so many areas of life and can easily feed into any one of the other services I provide, so I don’t want to limit the choice that people have when working with me. I have impromptu coaching sessions with my VA clients during our catch ups, and I will share my knowledge about software settings, diet and nutrition, and general life hacks with my massage and running clients. Maybe everyone does this, I don’t know, but what I do know is that people are quite surprised how much I know about lots of different things. I like knowing things and I wouldn’t have this level of knowledge if I only focused on one career. The need for variety The third reason is that I need variety in my life. And structure. Yes, I’m complicated, but I like to call this structured variety – I know what I need to do each day work wise, but each day is different. Focusing on one business area leads to boredom and then frustration that I’m not still doing the other areas of my business. I