Originally Posted on The Coaching Tools Company as The Coaching Tools Company joins The Guiding Matrix: A Personal Note from Emma-Louise
Hello wonderful Coaching Tools Company readers and fans.
So, I have big, bittersweet news to announce.
Many of you know that I launched Fierce Kindness at the end of 2019. Ever since I created a “Fierce Kind Self” in 2010 to manage my inner critic (it works by the way!), Fierce Kindness has been my passion—what I want to share with the world. But it has taken me this long to be ready…
I believe we need more kindness (and self-kindness especially) in the world. And I believe that we also need more fierceness: courage, determination and action. Together these two help us both create a life we love and make a bigger difference in the world…
I have created a philosophy to help us find meaning and happiness in our world—that I want to share (the 4Cs). At it’s simplest: Love Yourself, Be Courageous, Take Action, Be Kind Always. But it’s also so much more than that.
Fierce Kindness starts with you. Learning to listen to and love yourself—and creating a life you love. And it spirals outwards. Too much in our world isn’t working. What if we were kinder? What if we all took action and did something about the things that bother us?
I believe if we all do something we can create a shift in the world—and make it a kinder, better place for all.
How to be Kind to Yourself eBook
And I would love for you to join me (and get a fabulous eBook on how to be kind to yourself!) here >>
Fierce Kindness has been slowly and steadily growing
We already have over 6000 readers. Yet I am in the same place many of you are: figuring out how to communicate what I do and how I help people. I’m at square one trying to hone my message, my customer journey and my offerings!
I want to build a community, to develop training around self-kindness and our inner critic. I want to write a book and create resources. And I need time, space and energy to figure out how I communicate all the big ideas I have!
So here’s the big news:
I am letting go of The Coaching Tools Company (well I’m trying to, it’s hard after 15 years!).
I love you all. And I love what we’ve created together at The Coaching Tools Company. But it’s time for me to take a leap of faith—and follow my passion.
While running The Coaching Tools Company I am simply stretched too thin. I have been doing both Fierce Kindness and The Coaching Tools Company for the last 5 years, and to be honest (especially since moving house in 2023 and the resulting renos!) I have been a little burned out. I was aware of this (and have been taking the best care of myself that I can), but I like to do things well. And while I still run The Coaching Tools Company AND Fierce Kindness, well, I just keep working too many hours and my brain is full—all of the time!
So, I have been looking for the right people to take The Coaching Tools Company forwards. People with a similar mission and vision who can grow The Coaching Tools Company.
The new owners of The Coaching Tools Company are:
I am so excited to have found Erwin de Grave and Steve Jeffs of the Guiding Matrix. Importantly, they are both coaches. Steve is an ICF MCC Coach and trainer for CTI (The Co-Active Training Institute) with a PhD in Leadership. And Erwin is a Business Coach, Mentor and Consultant.
You can learn more about Erwin on Linkedin here and Steve on Linkedin here.
First, it’s important to say that there won’t be any major changes for some time. In particular, the newsletter (which over 41,000 of you receive!) and free tools that so many of you love will remain. And I’m helping with the 2025 newsletter editorial calendar (as we speak) so that it stays the awesome newsletter you’re used to receiving.
Also, I’m working with Steve on an Executive and Leadership Toolkit (my swan song!), which we hope to launch later this year (I told you I was finding it hard to let go!).
Erwin and Steve have been incredibly easy to work with. They laugh easily, know their stuff and, crucially for me, are focused on win-win (which is unusual in our capitalist and patriarchal business world!).
And while it will obviously take time, Steve, Erwin and The Guiding Matrix have big plans for The Coaching Tools Company.
The Guiding Matrix was founded by Erwin and Steve to help coaches: too many of us enter the profession because we love to coach, yet end up stuck in the complexities of entrepreneurship. The Guiding Matrix wants to be a strategic partner and help coaches build scalable, sustainable businesses while allowing them to focus on their passion—coaching.
And going forwards, the plan is that The Coaching Tools Company will be able to offer an even broader range of tools, services, and opportunities to support the success of coaches at all stages of their journey.
What about the Coaching Tools Team?
Well, apart from me, the team remains the same. The awesome Marcus Diaz is still answering your customer service queries, chatting with our guest authors and affiliates, managing our Social Media, helping in the Facebook Group and more. The wonderful Wendy Buckingham is still moderating and contributing to the Facebook Group. Duncan Elsey (yes, my husband) remains as the technical whiz, and Natasha our Graphic Designer is ‘on call as needed’.
But there is one more important new addition: Emma Alexander! Yes, Emma will be taking over much of what I used to do. So there is still an Emma on the team 😉
And I am around to the end of the year as needed. So if you need to talk to me you can use the contact us form and your message will get to me. Or you can email me emmalouise at fiercekindness.com.
15 years of The Coaching Tools Company!
I have been reflecting on the last 15 years as I make this announcement, and here are some of the things I am most proud of:
- First and foremost, I am proud of and cherish the relationship we have built with you, our 41,000+ newsletter readers! We could not have done this without YOU!
- Since 2010 we’ve sent over 750 newsletters, each one with useful resources for coaches.
- Our coaching blog has a library of almost 850 coaching articles.
- We were named number 4 out of 70 Best Coaching Blogs and Websites To Follow in 2024 (beating out the ICF Blog!)
- We’ve highlighted 68 awesome fellow coaches in our Meet the Coach features (with a focus on diverse coaches over the last few years).
- And created over 70 graphics and infographics!
- Recently, I’m proud of all the work that went into the series of 9 DEIB Articles co-written over the last year with the awesome Abena Baiden. This is such an important topic and as coaches, there is more we can do than we realise…
- Of course I’m proud of our tools and resources. In particular:
- Did you know we’ve had well over a million downloads of our free coaching tools?!
- The Renew You, Love Your Life Coaching Program.
- The Complete Year of Social Media Graphics & Templates (now in Canva!)
- Our Diverse Quotes Series (all quote sources are at least 50% women and at least 50% people of colour).
- And our 100+ coaching tools and helpful coaching toolkits.
- Our Coaches Helping Coaches Facebook Group with over 20,000 members.
- Becoming an ICF Business Solutions Partner (for a decade now!)
- The charitable donations we made to causes we cared about!
- The wonderful people I’ve met, including (but not limited to!) the wonderful coaches who have written in, our guest authors and the people we have supported and promoted over the years.
- And last but not least The Executive & Leadership Coaching Toolkit (coming soon).
Wrap-up and Gratitude
I’m so grateful for our customers, readers, guest authors, industry colleagues and our small but wonderful team who remain on staff. It’s been so important to find the right people in The Guiding Matrix to grow the legacy of The Coaching Tools Company. And I’m also excited to now be able to devote myself full-time to growing my passion: Fierce Kindness.
You may also like:
So, I am now the Founder and Former CEO of The Coaching Tools Company & the CEO of Fierce Kindness Solutions Inc.
- If you like the official stuff, you can check out the official Press Release here >>.
- If you’d like to hear more from Erwin and Steve and what this means for you, learn more here >>
- And as mentioned I’d love for you to come and join me over at Fierce Kindness and become part of the movement.
