Meet life coach Sam Hook, our newest Expert in Residence

What do you put your success down to?

I was introduced to coaching in my late 20s, when I was working in PR, and it encouraged me to set up my own PR company, which I ran successfully for 18 years. Working with a coach helped me to move out of my comfort zone and challenged my beliefs about what I thought I could achieve.

I think when you have your own business, having a life coach to meet with every few months is really helpful, as they work on your mindset, offer new perspectives, keep you focused, set new goals and help you to achieve a work-life balance. Equally, having a coach at work can help you to progress in your chosen career. Coaching plus accountability definitely equals success.

Finally, if you’re lucky enough to find something that you love doing and that’s aligned to your values, this can contribute towards a happier career. I work with a lot of women who feel unfulfilled at work and, once we’ve identified their strengths, core values, passions and purpose and have worked through their limiting beliefs and what they’d really love to do, it all becomes clearer. We then work on the steps they need to take to get them there.

What have been some of your biggest professional achievements so far?

Setting up my PR company would be one of my achievements, and receiving Best Small PR Agency and Best PR Campaign awards from the CIPR. Over the years, we have worked with some amazing clients – from holiday resorts in the Caribbean, to Camelot (we promoted National Lottery winners), which was a lot of fun.

I also co-own three restaurants in Newcastle: Blackfriars, Dobson & Parnell and Hinnies. We’ve had Blackfriars for 20 years this month, so it’s been great to be part of that success and I’m really proud of what the team has achieved. I know I’m biased, but I really do love eating there!

I’m also pleased that I’ve set up my coaching business. It’s been a big identity shift and has taken a lot of re-training, but you don’t have to stay in one career all your life. I think coaching is a real growth area, especially after lockdown, and the clients I have worked with have found it to be invaluable. It’s really rewarding to see them achieve what they want to in life. I have lots of exciting plans in the future to develop the business so that I can support even more women to be more, do more and have more!

Fancy finding out more about how Sam’s life coaching courses could help you? Visit her website or follow her on Facebook and Instagram