Meet Annette Sloan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Sloan.

Annette, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My background is in education. I never in a million years would have thought I’d become a life coach and own my own business – but when the last organization I worked for ran out of funding for my position in 2014, I did a lot of soul searching around my next steps and eventually decided to go down the path of coaching. Since I had been a health and wellness teacher, had a personal history of disordered eating, and had always been drawn to personal and spiritual growth, I was captivated by the coaching certification program offered by the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, which I completed in 2015.

The first iteration of my business was focused on compassionate health coaching for teen girls. I worked with teens who were struggling in their relationship with food and body image, and I loved being able to help them find more peace, freedom, and self-acceptance. Over time, women began to show up and ask for my help as well.

The more clients I worked with, the more I saw that food and body issues were simply the doorway into deeper inner work. As a lifelong deep thinker and truth seeker who also values the practical and tactical, I found that I greatly enjoyed the work of helping people to unlearn harmful conditioning, discover and accept their true selves, and develop an emotional and spiritual toolkit to help them thrive in a messy world. Over time, I’ve also honed in on the niche of spiritually-minded and sensitive souls. These descriptors apply to me as well, which means that I can help my clients not only through my training and natural strengths, but also that I can relate to the lived experience of what it’s like to be a feeling person in a messy world.

Today, as a life coach for sensitive souls, I specialize in helping sensitive and spiritually-minded women and men to get ROOTED and RESILIENT so that they can consciously navigate life’s tricky spots and move forward in authentic, brave, and self-honoring ways.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I believe that one of the more harmful beliefs that exist in some popular love-and-light-type spiritual circles is the idea that if it’s meant to be, everything will flow easily and you will not face any challenges. Over and over again, I’ve heard clients and friends bemoan the way life is unfolding, saying things like “If this is the path I’m meant to be on, then why do obstacles keep coming up?”

I can’t say I know the answer for sure, but I do tend to believe that the roads we find ourselves on – whether smooth or bumpy – are here to serve us, and therefore are part of life going exactly according to (a greater) plan.

The universe taught me this lesson in a big way a year after I started my business. When I first put up my shingle as a coach, I knew I had the skills and expertise to help my clients – but on the business side of things, I was clueless. So, I put my head down, learned everything I could, and did my best to MAKE IT HAPPEN, with a frenzied kind of energy I didn’t even know I possessed.

Twelve months later, I’d expanded my professional circle significantly and had a website and social media presence, with a few clients under my belt – but I hadn’t made nearly as much progress as I wanted to. And the balance in my business bank account was $13.

Even though I was exhausted, miserable, and in a constant state of self-flagellation, I didn’t realize I was on the verge of a breakdown until one day when a friend called to ask how I was doing. I immediately burst into tears, which turned into a crying-so-hard-I-couldn’t-breathe fit that lasted for hours.

Shaken and desperate for a respite from suffering, I turned to spirituality for answers.

As I listened for divine guidance, one word began to rise in my consciousness.

Surrender.

I was skeptical at first (letting go of control is hard for me), but, willing to do whatever it took to feel more peace, I handed the reins of my business, and my life, over to the universe and surrendered to simply showing up to do whatever I was called to do.

In doing so, I’ve learned that when I surrender first, then act based on what I’m guided to do, things evolve in all kinds of interesting and unexpected and cool ways. Plus, my heart is much happier.

Today, challenges continue to pop up, but I no longer see them as horrible roadblocks that are getting in the way of my success. Instead, I trust that they are part of the plan, part of my ultimate evolution into however I can be of highest service.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m a life coach for sensitive souls. I help sensitive and spiritually-minded women and men to get ROOTED and RESILIENT so that they can navigate life’s tricky spots with courage, consciousness, and compassion.

Every life coach has a unique approach. Mine is to hold a space of unconditional acceptance as I help my clients to develop self-knowledge and build strong emotional and spiritual toolkits. As their inner foundation strengthens, my clients find that they’re able to move forward in their lives in authentic, brave, and self-honoring ways.

These words from a client summarize much of why I’m proud of and grateful for my work:

“I feel like my life has made a total 180! I went from a toxic relationship where I was treated badly, many body image issues, a rough relationship with my mom, and a feeling that my life wasn’t under my control to realizing that I deserve the world and to be treated the same, that my mom and I have faced some similar challenges in life and that we hadn’t always understood each other well enough, etc. Other aspects in life (work, family, finances, etc.) are finally tracking in the right direction again. I have learned so much more than I could have ever dreamed, and now have not only a new outlook about myself, but also on life in general! Annette is amazing. She lets you go at your own pace and at your own comfort level, and is super easy to work with. She let me talk through things and acted as a guide through the process. I never felt like I was being judged and always left each session feeling incredibly encouraged. Working with her was truly life changing!”

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Many, many other people deserve credit for helping me to get where I am. This is something I’ve been reflecting on recently as this June marked my 5-year business anniversary. To name a few:

My dear friend Rainey was instrumental in the beginning stages. She cheered me on, helped me to formulate exactly what I wanted to do, reviewed web copy, helped me to develop my first coaching packages, and much, much more. She even contributed 10% of the cost of a business-development course I took, just because she was excited for me and wanted to support me. It is very likely that I never would have gone down this path without her early support and mentoring.

My business-accountability-partner-turned-BFF Rachel has been absolutely invaluable in supporting me through both my personal and my business’s growth and evolution. We connected early on as newbie business owners and coaches and decided to start doing weekly accountability calls to support ourselves and each other in moving forward. What began as a formal setup (here are the five things I accomplished last week and the 5 things I’ll do next week) turned into a relationship where we both are able to show up as our messy, authentic selves, week after week, and be truly seen and heard. The value of this cannot be overstated.

And of course, no list of people that I’m immensely grateful for would be complete without my husband Zak, who is the absolute BEST pep-talk giver of all time. It’s cliché, but he believed in me in moments when I didn’t believe in myself. It’s amazing how much a hug and a few uplifting words from him can feed my soul on a tough day.

I also believe that it’s important to mention that without Zak’s financial support (i.e. – his job paying our bills while my business got off the ground), as well as financial support from my parents (they paid for my college, so I don’t have student loans; they gifted us the down payment for our house), there is no way I’d be here. I’ve witnessed business owners feel ashamed when they haven’t been able to make enough to live off of, and I think it’s important for those of us who’ve had outside support to be transparent about it. In some professional circles for coaches and business owners, there is a sense of judgment passed based on whether or not people “make it” – but rarely do I hear conversations about how privilege plays a role in these outcomes.

Pricing:

• 8-Session ROOTED and RESILIENT coaching package for sensitive souls: $1,195

Contact Info:

• Website: www.annettesloan.com
• Email: annette@annettesloan.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/annettesloanlifecoach
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annettesloanlifecoach/

Image Credit:
Caroline Davis, Ileya Grosman

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.