Small Business
Coaching

Coaching and mentoring for people who’ve left one career to build their own business.

Small Business Coaching for Career Changers

Small business coaching and mentoring for people who’ve swapped a career for running their own business, whether you sell to customers or to other businesses.

Running your own business means being the boss, the sales team, the accounts department and whoever fixes the printer. What it rarely comes with is someone to think out loud with. I left a career in education, built a business and sold it, so I know how much easier the hard decisions get when you’re not making them alone.

I coach online across the UK, and in person around Lancaster.

Your business, your way, with someone in your corner.

Start with a free 15-minute call.

Book your free 15 minutes

When Business Coaching Helps

Starting Out

Just set up on your own after leaving another career, and wanting to get the foundations right.

Ready to Grow

Doing well and ready for more: more clients, more income, or your first member of staff.

Making a Big Decision

Weighing up a big choice and wanting someone to think it through with.

Pricing and Money

Wondering if you’re charging enough, and wanting to talk about money with confidence.

Time and Boundaries

Wanting your time to go on the work that matters, and your week to fit the life you set up the business for.

Group Coaching: Coming Soon

Small online groups built on The ICEBERG Framework™. Join the waiting list to hear first.

Join the waiting list

Not sure which one is you? That’s usually where we start.

The ICEBERG Framework™

The ICEBERG Framework™ is a coaching and mentoring framework for small business owners that starts with what you really want from your business, then builds the plan, habits and behaviours to get you there.

I created it from what I learned building and selling my own business, and it rests on one idea: like an iceberg, most of what makes a business work sits below the surface.

It starts with Peak Planning, a four-hour session where we work through your I, your story, your clients and your blueprint. From there, monthly coaching sessions take you through putting it into action, reviewing it and setting your next goals.

Everything we do builds up in your own file for The ICEBERG Framework™: a printed binder to keep on your desk, and a digital version to complete and print if digital is your thing. Either way it’s yours to keep, so the thinking doesn’t stop when the session does.

Whether you’re starting a business, growing one or getting it back on track, it gives you a clear, practical way forward, built around your goals rather than a one-size-fits-all business programme.

I

Identify your I

What do you want your business to give you? More income, more time, a business that runs without you, or something you can sell one day? We start with why you went out on your own and where you want it to take you next, then put it into one sentence: your I. It’s rarely a sales target, it’s always yours, and everything else in the plan comes back to it.

C

Crafting your story.

How do you explain what you do so the right people say “that’s exactly what I need”? Your story is the heart of your marketing: why you started, what you’re brilliant at, and why your ideal client should choose you over anyone else. We work out what to say and where to say it, from your website and social media to the conversation at a networking event, so marketing your business feels like you, not a script.

E

Explore your clients & customers

Who are your best customers, and how do you find more of them? We look at who buys from you now, your ideal customer, and where they spend their time, so you can find your niche instead of trying to sell to everyone. Whether you sell to customers or to other businesses, knowing your target market makes your marketing easier, your pricing clearer and your repeat business stronger.

B

Blueprint.

How do you grow your small business without working every hour? Your blueprint isn’t a business plan you write once for the bank. It’s a working development plan, kept in your binder for The ICEBERG Framework™, which builds up over the year: where you are now, where you want to be, the gap between them, and how you’ll know you’re closing it. Pricing your products or services, how much work you can take on, and where it all fits in your week all go in, so they become planned decisions rather than gut reactions. We plan the first three months in detail, then add to it every quarter.

E

Execute and Embed

This is where the plan comes to life, and where coaching comes into its own. Each month you put your blueprint into action, and we work on the new habits and behaviours that make it stick: the systems you’ll actually use, the boundaries you’ll actually keep, and the things you’ll finally stop doing. I’ve spent over 20 years helping people change their behaviour, so I know lasting change is built in small steps, not big promises. If the day-to-day leaves you feeling overwhelmed, we sort what matters from what can wait. It’s business accountability that keeps you motivated and moving, without anyone telling you what to do.

R

Reflection

Taking time to step back is how good businesses get better. Reflective practice runs through every session: what happened, what you’d do again, and what you’d do differently. Every quarter we do a proper business review, updating your blueprint and checking each part of the business as Frozen, Freezing or Melting: what’s solid, what’s firming up, and what needs your attention next. It’s a business health check you’ll keep using long after we’ve finished, measuring progress against your I rather than anyone else’s idea of success.

G

Goal Setting

Every session ends with a clear next step. Together we set your business goals for the month ahead: realistic, specific and tied back to your I, so you know exactly what you’re working on and why. Then the cycle begins again, each goal building on the last, until steady progress becomes simply how your business works. Goal setting that sticks, because the goals are yours.

Your Business Coach

Hello, I’m Victoria Williams

A business coach for people who’ve left one career to build their own business.

I made that leap myself, out of education and into running my own business, which I built and then sold. The people I work with are usually brilliant at what they do, but running a business is a whole new job. Some are just starting, others are established and ready to grow. Some sell to customers, others to other businesses. My specialism is behaviour: plans are the easy bit, sticking to them is where it gets interesting, and that’s where I’ve spent my working life.

Victoria Williams

A bit about me:

I’ve built a business, run it and sold it
Over 20 years in education, working with some of the most challenging behaviour there is
Advanced Certificate in Executive Coaching: a Level 7 postgraduate award, with Distinction, ICF accredited
Member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Qualified teacher, with a degree in Education and Literacy from Lancaster University
Trained to teach others about psychological safety

I know what it’s like when every decision is yours, and there’s nobody to check your thinking.

Now I get to be that person for others: someone who asks good questions, tells the truth, and has been there.

I coach online across the UK, and in person around Lancaster.

That’s what The ICEBERG Framework™ is built on.

Ways to Work With Me

Free 15 Minutes

A short, no-pressure chat about where you are, where you want to be, and whether working together would help.

Book Your Free 15 minutes

One-to-One Session — £90 an hour

For when you’ve got something to think through: a decision, a price, a difficult conversation. Book one session, or a run of sessions over a few weeks when you want to get something moving. On Zoom, or in person around Lancaster.
Join the ICEBERG Framework™ within 30 days and your £90 comes off.

Book A Session

The ICEBERG Framework™ Programme: £2,250 a year

A year of business coaching and mentoring. It starts with a four-hour Peak Planning session to set your direction, followed by 11 monthly 90-minute sessions to put it into action. You also get WhatsApp support between sessions, two extra ad-hoc sessions, and your own binder for The ICEBERG Framework™, printed or digital, which builds up over the year and is yours to keep. That’s £600 for Peak Planning, then £150 a month.

Enquire about The ICEBERG Framework™

    
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Not Just Travel Travel by Michelle Nurdin 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Vicky was pivotal in the initial success of my business. Our sessions gave me confidence and clarity around my business plan. She kept me on track and made accountable. After completion of the initial programme I continue to have as-hoc sessions with Vicky and she continues to support me.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Kate Hill 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I’ve loved working with Vicky. She’s helped me take a step back, make sense of my ideas and bring my vision together in a way that feels true to me. Sometimes you just need the right person to give you the space and confidence to see things clearly, and that’s exactly what Vicky has done for me. I’d highly recommend her to anyone wanting to grow their business in their own way.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Hannelie Pearson 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I came to Vicky feeling a bit stuck. I didn't know what I wanted because somehow along the way, I’d lost the thread. Vicky helped me find it again. She helped me get back in touch with my roots, and that one shift got my whole journey moving again.

Six months on, I’m nearly at the target I set myself for two years. I still have to read that sentence twice.

She’s really clever, and she’s full of ideas, and it's a no BS, down-to-earth zone. Exactly my kinda person. She’s incredibly generous with her time and her attention, and it really feels like she’s in your corner and rooting for you. Oh, and she loves a good swear. I love that about her.

If you want a coach who’s sharp, warm and refreshingly real, I can’t recommend Vicky highly enough.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Katy Knight 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Victoria is an absolutely fantastic coach. After becoming very overwhelmed in my new business I knew I needed expert help to guide me forward. Victoria has helped me realise what I wanted and more importantly the steps needed to take me there. I feel so much more positive and excited about my future.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Nikki Barlow 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Full of great knowledge and experience, clear, understanding and genuinely cares - highly recommended!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Clare Malley 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. As well as having run her own successful business, Victoria has many years of experience of teaching people with different learning styles. So has a strong business mindset and knows how to communicate in the most effective way for you.

Her sessions are relaxed and friendly. She has a unique and structured method of guiding you towards your business objectives, which I found really helped me to focus.

As well as this, Victoria knows lots of ways to work more effectively, whether it’s using software in a new way, or alternative ways you could go about achieving your business goals

Definitely recommended.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Nicola Hossack 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Vicky is a breath of fresh air and has been enormously helpful putting my business on the right track with manageable steps.  Rather than just explaining what to do, Vicky shows you exactly how to do it, which makes the whole process much more enjoyable.  I highly recommend Vicky to anyone who needs help moving their business forward.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Deborah Rowley 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Enlisting the help of Vicki with our business was an excellent decision , her professionalism and expertise as our business coach proved to be invaluable , our business had reached a cross roads after 8 years of trading and Vicki gave us impartial advice which helped us see things more clearly and to “ think outside the box” thank you
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Sarah Shuttleworth 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I made contact with Vicky at Chameleon as I needed insight from an expert business coach to help me work through a period of decision making with my small business. Coaching by Vicky over several sessions has led me to implement new strategies which are  now proving effective. Vicky’s insight and business experience has been invaluable. I would 100% recommend COI for your coaching; it has teased out ideas and actions that are working! Well worth the investment.

SM Shuttleworth Energy Surveys
  
 
  
  
 
 
     Verified by Trustindex  Trustindex verified that these reviews were published on Chameleon On An Iceberg Ltd's Google Business Profile. Learn more