Vikki Amour is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her strength of character and dedication.

She has started her coaching career in 2019 after a wake up call, realizing that there must be more to life than working a job you hate.

She has been developing her coaching skills all her life, she has been through a lot of hardships that taught her many powerful lessons and helped her build the wisdom she has now.

Through the help of other superheroes in the space of coaching like Tony Robbins she found lessons that saved her life, and many times it was literally a matter of life or death. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Vikki Amour:

Name: Vikki Amour

Pillar: The Mind

Who is this coach for: Anyone who wants to find clarity in their business and get a step by step strategy on how to realize their vision and reach their goals.

How they can help: Through various tools, techniques, and practices like finding your perfect normal day, creating the ideal business strategy, and making a thoroughal business plan.

First of all, how are you and your family doing after these Pandemic times?

It has been a strange few years but thankfully we are healthy and good, thank you for asking.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

If affected my clients in 2 ways, some clients businesses took off during the pandemic and are now plateauing but they’re exhausted and have sort of “winged” it for the past few years so they want to get clear on what they want in the future and how to create that. 

Other clients I work with had to completely pivot and reinvent their businesses because of the pandemic and after working full out in the day to day, keeping everything going for the last few years, they now want to stop and take a step back and start working on the big picture for the future.

I was lucky as I worked mainly remotely beforehand so my business model didn’t change much (but I did miss the human interaction of networking and connecting face to face) however, the Business StartUp Boot Camp that I run moved completely online and because of that I created supporting online courses which I didn’t have before.

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

When the pandemic started, the level of fear of the unknown made me freeze like it did for everyone.

So the biggest lesson I learned throughout it was, it’s ok to talk to people and open up when we’re feeling like that. 

I think there is still a level of stigma around people saying they’re not feeling ok and asking for support and help or just someone to listen while they talk it out. 

The pandemic really highlighted to me the importance of it being ok to be vulnerable and not feel like you’re being judged for showing that vulnerability.

Another lesson I learned is that small business owners are super heroes!

The way small business owners pivoted from in person trading to online trading or set up new revenue streams to keep their businesses going (and some of the people I worked with are now flying because of that) showed me how it doesn’t matter what they were faced with (and lets be honest it was a constantly changing landscape for over 2 years and it’s been a struggle since) a lot of small business owners have pulled through and made it work.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

My background is I trained as a bookkeeper at the age of 18 and then trained in accountancy.

I started my own bookkeeping and accountancy practice in 2010/2011 working with entrepreneurs, startup businesses and small to medium businesses. 

But I was constantly stressed, burned out, and when I was actually honest with myself, miserable.

So, in 2019 I found myself standing in front of a mirror shouting at myself THERE HAS TO BE MORE THAN THIS TO LIFE!

I was working 7 days a week most weeks, waking up at 2AM and worrying about things I needed to do the following day, things needed to change!

I started looking for ways that I could make changes in my business.

I was originally trained in coaching so that I could use the tools in my business.

At the time, in my mind and the stories I told myself were that it was all I knew, I was in that box, so I needed to make it work. 

During the training and coaching other coaches, business owners (and anyone that would let me coach them to build my experience in the first year or so) I discovered that actually, I really love doing this.

And the individuals I worked with were getting good results!

That led me to starting AMOUR Business Coaching.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

Wow, there’s been a few! 

I lost my Mum when I was 24, I started my first business at the age of 30, had open heart surgery at 36, then lost my Dad at 38 and then trained as a coach and started a completely new business and profession at 39 while still juggling my first business.

Then, in February 2020 I was told that I needed to have open heart surgery again because the doctors did not think my new heart valve was working properly (I was so ill and out of breath I couldn’t walk from one room to another without stopping to catch my breath).

Then, the pandemic hit and all surgeries were cancelled.

It was also around this time that I moved from living in an awful place with constant noise from neighbors and constant stress (I was still running close to burn out and overwhelming stress from my first business) that I found Tony Robbins and attended his “Unleash the Power Within” online event where he talked about the stories that we tell ourselves and how it affects every area of our life and it was like being hit around the head.

After my surgery in 2016 and the constant doctors appointments, I had been telling myself that “I was a heart patient and there was something wrong with me” and then add in all of the stress that I was under, I was making myself seriously ill because of it. 

It was at that moment that I made the decision that things needed to change and I needed to change my story.

So gradually over the next 6 months I focused on my health (I also found Joe Dispenza’s work) and in July 2021 I had an echo (an ultrasound) of my heart.

Although, I think at first they thought it was a fluke, my Cardiologist said to me whatever you’re doing keep doing it!

Your heart valve is working perfectly and your heart is healthy.

I have since had 2 more done and both times my heart has improved from the scan before!

I’m not a doctor so I don’t recommend this to anyone with a condition, this is my personal story.

I then trained with William Whitecloud’s “Natural Success up to Mastery” level last year and learning and using the techniques he teaches has taken that experience and learning to a whole new level, not just personally but also in my coaching.

Going through this made me realize that I was in control of my life and the stories I was creating, it also made me realize how badly stress affected me and that I needed to consciously remove that from my life. 

I learned that if I can devastate myself like that I could also create the life and business I want to be living (the life of my dreams and vision).

Now, when I work with people to turn their vision into reality, I’ve done it and if I can do itm anyone can. 

I know we are all capable of anything we set our minds to as long as we stay in the belief that we can achieve it (and take action!)

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

Small business owners have had a really tough few years which has meant a lot of people are now feeling stressed, fed up, and disconnected from what their original vision for their business was, but not sure how to change that. 

That’s where I come in, we work together to reconnect with their passion in their business (what they absolutely love about what they do) and then, we get complete clarity on their vision for the future. 

Once we’ve done that, we then create a strategy to get from where they are now to where they want to be (their vision).

We look at their business model, financial forecasting and pricing and put in place an action plan (with my background I understand the importance of having financial goals that your business model supports. I also know that you can have the biggest goals in the world but if you’re not taking action nothing will change which is why we work on the action plan).

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

I know first hand the importance of including your humanness in your business when you’re planning for the future (like I mentioned before about the power of the mind, I have seen businesses that should have failed fly, and I have also seen businesses that should have pulled through but failed, all because of the business owners mindset).

Also, because of my background in accountancy, I understand the importance of making sure your financials and business model support what you want to achieve.

And if it doesn’t, then it’s not a drama, it’s a chance to pivot and look for new opportunities.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

The space to really connect with your passion and love for your business and get excited about your business future.

A full business plan and strategy to get from where you are now to where you want to be while also checking in to make sure what you’re working on is working (if it’s not, do a course redirect still working towards that end vision)

Working with me, I am just as passionate and excited about you succeeding in your business as you are.

As your Business Mindset and Strategy Coach, I will encourage and challenge you to reach and work at your full potential while overcoming the obstacles that are holding you back from where you want to be with your business.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

1. Your perfect normal day:

When thinking about your vision for the future we look at what a normal day will be like for you when you’ve reached that vision and life.

2. Business strategy:

I have created a pricing for profit template that I share with the people I work with so that they can make sure they are working for a profit (when their time and their overheads are included in the service price as A LOT of small business owners don’t include their time as a cost so end up having cashflow problems when hiring staff).

3. Full business plan:

A plan that we work through together to get down on paper (or in a word document) that includes the business vision (what you want to create), mission (why), and values (what does your business stand for) as well as the action plan (goals), who you are working with (ideal customer), financial forecasts and the financial plan for your growth.

This is a business plan that is a working document, it’s not written for a bank!

It’s so that you, the business owner, can use it to check in and benchmark where you are at any given moment in time and it’s also a really good reminder to celebrate the wins as we’re all really good at focusing on everything that’s gone wrong and not even acknowledging how far we have come.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, change it!

When you think about the YEARS you have left working in your business, do you want to spend that time stuck, fed up, and not fulfilled?

Or are you prepared to take some uncomfortable action now and work on creating the business of your dreams so that you spend the rest of your working years doing what you absolutely love while changing lives and being paid for it?!

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

The power of my mind!

If you believe you can do something, you will find a way to make it work.

But if you listen to your doubt niggles and believe you can’t, then you’ll find and create (unconsciously) every obstacle possible to confirm the belief that it won’t work.

Your final thoughts?

Running a small business is so rewarding but can also be chaotic, stressful and lonely.

If you are not creating what you love in your business, then take that time out and reconnect with WHY you started your business in the first place, and work on incorporating that into your business.

Where Can You Find Vikki Amour?

If you liked this interview and you would love to find clarity in your business and a helping hand to make your beautiful dream a reality, go to www.amour.coach and see how Vikki can help you achieve that.

If you’d like to get a glimpse of her coaching, check her YouTube channel and discover nuggets of value. Or, you can follow her Instagram and TikTok account.

If you’d like to connect more personally with her, you can do that through Facebook and LinkedIn or by sending a message to her email [email protected]. It was an honor having this interview with her.