Jeanelle Classen has a lot on her plate. And she loves it. At 23, she’s a newlywed—there were just seven people at her “perfect” backyard COVID wedding—working full-time as an acquired brain injury nurse, studying at TCI and running coaching business.
That full-tilt attitude started when Jeanelle was growing up in South Africa. “From when I was young I wanted to have my own business. I always had entrepreneurial spirit,” she says. “I would go door to door and sell biltong. I would make anything and everything and try and sell it.”
After emigrating to Perth with her family when she was 16, Jeanelle sold health and wellness products to make extra cash while she was studying nursing. And when she found TCI at the end of 2018, she was interested in business coaching as much as life coaching and personal development.
While her family was initially wary (“It’s a lot of money”) Jeanelle took the plunge and two years on is working steadily through Pro Coach: “I love that you can bring this passion and purpose and put it into this mode of helping people that doesn’t necessarily involve them first getting sick.
"It's about prevention rather than cure."
Along the way, Jeanelle—who has run three successful webinars—has found not just a motivator to become master of her life and world, but personal development.
“I was very rigid in my thinking when I first came [to TCI]. I would argue with people all the time. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the principle of above and below the line thinking, and I’ve been pushing people away a lot less as a result.”
Now “hungry to learn”, Jeanelle is building her dream life with husband Jackson and has says in a nutshell that coaching “lights me up. I just love it so much because I get to bring my clinical life and … I get to make a difference in people’s lives.”
With paying clients, “I’m one step closer to this being less of a hobby and more of a business and something I want to do full time in the future. I get butterflies.”
How did you find TCI?
Maybe two years ago I went on a telecast with Sharon [Pearson] and booked in a call. I did a four hour online course somewhere else to be a nutrition and life coach and I was like, ‘No, I need more than this. I am messing in people’s lives so I need to do something more substantial.’ Because I hadn’t run a successful business myself I wanted something that had more around the business type of things and also learn how to be a proper coach.
Where are you at with your TCI journey?
I started in Advanced then wormed my way up to Pro Coach. I initially dipped my toe in and was a bit scared of jumping in, and once I confirmed within myself this is what I’m passionate about I was all in. I’m a year into the journey now with TCI and have completed half of my first paper.
What has TCI given you?
The confidence booster I was looking for. I needed a little bit of that … not safety, a community who would go, ‘Just jump in and do what you need to do and we are here to support you no matter what’. I wasn’t really supported by my family, even my husband was a bit sceptical—‘I support what you’re doing but whether coaching is the thing for you, I don’t know.’ At first it was important to me to have 100 per cent backing, then the community changed that for me and I learned not to need the approval of others anymore.
“What I'm learning through TCI and this personal development is it lights my fire because I get to make a difference in people's lives, and it's sometimes as simple as just listening and facilitating a conversation, being a sounding board. It is such a privilege to be working with people who are so ready to make changes.”
What have you struggled with?
It takes so much effort and you need so much fuel behind you. Using the metaphor of a rocket, that couldn’t be more true. My biggest struggle has been persevering to get this business and passion off the ground. The amount of times I’ve thought about giving up ... I just remind myself again and again to just tap into the community, try something new, get a different perspective. Another thing I’ve had to learn is to give myself credit for how far I have come. It’s so easy to look at things you haven’t done instead of being blown away by the things you have.
Where are you at with your business?
I have two paying clients. My focus is on health care workers and shift workers, to help create a balanced life around their work because unfortunately we have very toxic work environments. Not just culturally but as nurses we get taught how to save lives. We don’t get taught what to do when we can’t save a life. It’s sometimes heartbreaking. Being able to help nurses deal with that stuff is powerful. I create lead magnets all the time, I’m doing a guide to help nurses with preventing burnout and experiencing more energy.
In what ways has coaching lived up to or exceeded your expectations?
It is so much more than just a choice to go into business, it’s so much more than just a money making opportunity or a new career path. It's a journey where you get to discover who you are and you explore the way you see life and how you do life.
Biggest milestones?
Getting clients is great, and it didn’t happen straightaway. I would say maybe my second client was a big one because the first time I felt was a fluke. The second time meant to me that I can do it. If I can do it a second time I can do it a third and fourth time.
Best marketing strategy?
A mix between referrals and social media, and groups.
What do you know about yourself that you didn’t before TCI?
That I am capable of change. That I am doing the best I can and I love this universal truth of everyone doing the best they can with the resources available to them at any given moment.
Advice for other fabulous coaches?
I know it’s potentially really scary and a very big commitment, but if you know within yourself when something is right for you, if you have that feeling despite doubt, do it. Otherwise you’ll always wonder.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself working with nursing teams, I see myself working on a team level and one-to-one. My big goal is to transform the way nursing teams interact with each other. I definitely want to keep nursing—maybe two days nursing, three in coaching.
Jeanelle is "a nerd" who reads and plays video games (think Dungeons and Dragons.) She and her husband have a dog called Padme "because we love Star Wars" and the young Perth couple likes to spend time at the river and having weekly family dinners. "I’m passionate about people living a life they love," says Jeanelle. "I moved to Australia when I was sixteen and vowed to move back to South Africa and now I am married to an Australian and have made Australia my home."
Do you want something better for yourself?