The Benefits

We see the benefits for you of the Mirus Coaching programme as essentially developing your leadership and enterprise skills and increasing your personal effectiveness and capacity to take action.

Please read the testimonials and case studies of people we have worked with.

The benefits include:

• expansion of your vision and clarification of your mission and purpose
• alternative perspectives that are challenging and stretching
• a sounding board, offering support and encouragement enabling you to achieve your goals 
• a safe environment where you can focus your effort, assess your progress and plan what to do next
• personal development/boost in confidence
• better work/life balance and increased awareness of self-care

Mirus Testimonials

"I didn’t know this kind of service existed. What a treat it has been! A valuable experience and opportunity to channel positive thinking and practical solutions into life’s occasional daunting periods. This has been a helping hand, or step-up, over an insecure period. Just what I needed. No need to battle alone. Take help, find the right path, and move forward."
Nicola Ranjit,
Coach – Karen Greenwood

"I had an excellent coach who kept me on track and focused on issues I highlighted at the start of each session. Would recommend.  Thanks for an enjoyable experience."
Sandra Simmons, Street Cred
Coach – Su Kingsley

"Coaching has helped me become more accepting and open. I’ve been shown how to focus for myself. It has given me tools to do things for myself, it didn’t give me the sense of ‘being done to’. Through this I’ve gained confidence to look at myself and through this to grow. I’ve gained and been able to use opportunities to promote my work – to push without sounding desperate. I’ve developed a new way of thinking positively about things."
Jon Adams,
Coach – Su Kingsley

"When I started with Mirus I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve apart from the fact that 2008 had been a crazy busy year already and there was a feeling that I needed some support and guidance to go forward. Being accepted to take part in emerging leadership training in the US was a big challenge and I wanted to make the most of that opportunity. My coach helped me explore how I was feeling and we looked at body posture which I found very useful and worked together to develop organisational tools to deal with my workload. I now have regained trust in myself and my abilities and really recognised my passion for the type of work that I do and committed to focusing on developing this while also recognising the need to take time out, reflect and recharge............. Thanks a lot for the insights!"
Isebail MacKinnon,  Street Cred / Quaker Social Action
Coach – Alma Neville

"When you are at the start-up phase of any Enterprise, one of the hardest things to find is not advice in our increasingly information rich world, but someone with which you can sound your ideas out with. As well as simply talking about your hopes & fears.

Paranoia can grip the calmest of minds, when trying to access information that may be relevant to the vision that you are trying to bring into focus.

Finding a friendly ear at home, can also be problematic due to the very fact that loved ones suggestions appear to be ‘critical’ when often all they are trying to do is ‘protect’ someone that they care about.
I have found that the Mirus coaching sessions that I undertook with Marianne Craig on the telephone over a period of 3 months, to be an invaluable method of being able to look at the development of my ideas, free of the negative emotions that have so often accompanied the implementation of projects where being in charge of a roll-out program, has become a ‘burden’ instead of a chance to positively ‘broaden my experience’.

The whole exercise has helped me to move on from situations that were time-consuming, restrictive, and potentially injurious to my personal & financial development. I would recommend that anyone who may be involved in the world of Social Enterprise consider Mirus Coaching as an effective means of reconnecting with the ‘fundamentals’ of an idea, if they find themselves isolated within a well meaning crowd more concerned with spouting dogma, than addressing you as an Individual."
Garreth Roberts, Craigmillar Self Builders
Coach – Marianne Craig

"A huge thank you to you Alma, I don’t know how to put into words how much I have valued our sessions together that have helped me take Brilliant Futures to another place and importantly, helped me to do it in a way that really fulfils my values.
I’m in a very happy, calm yet exciting place at the end of this journey – so THANK YOU!!!

When I began, I was feeling overwhelmed and disillusioned and couldn’t see how I would combine my business life with a family life. Over the course of the coaching I have felt a lot calmer about everything. I now feel really ready to enter the next phase of brilliant futures and have found a way to take brilliant futures forward with me still involved, but not totally  dependent on me. I feel really clear about what I do and don’t want to be involved in, within the business.

After 3 years of getting Brilliant Futures to where it is I really felt like it hadn’t moved on and I hadn’t achieved much, but this coaching has really helped me feel proud of what I’ve done and really how far I’ve come and how much I’ve achieved. Realising not all business success needs to be measured financially.

I have become a social enterprise leader who is ready to combine being a happy, loving mother and wife with having and enjoying a successful business that makes a real difference to the people I work with and for. So Thank YOU!!!"
Sarah Cork, Brilliant Futures
Coach – Alma Neville

"Working with Marianne was a wonderful opportunity to discuss issues with someone who shared my values and beliefs. Sharing a common ethical framework meant there was an understanding between us of the motivations for making decisions and choosing certain pathways.

My time with Marianne was split between discussing complex problems at work and planning changes I was considering making in my career and life. She was invaluable in proving an outside perspective on the work situation, and encouraged me to think of and reach my desired outcomes.

When considering larger life changes she always encouraged me to be unafraid and seize opportunities as they came. I only wish it was possible to have a coach beside you always in life!"
Camille Warren, Women Working Worldwide
Coach – Marianne Craig

"My work with Marianne Craig was a life gift. It taught me courage, which I thought I had from years visiting war zones. The biggest war zone was still to come, when I had to face and fight my fears, prejudice, old beliefs, and the saboteur inside, saying ‘this is not possible, this is not safe’.

Marianne taught me about standing up for your dreams, regardless; believing in the inner wisdom and the inner sunshine in the face of the thousandth gale; be on the look out for that light beyond the horizon, always; to show up for myself first, so I can be able to show up for the others; to never give up; to remember the real reason for being here and now, in these times; dare to dream; to be fierce and visionary, to give fully, to believe deeply.

My coaching work with Marianne was a life changing force. I am on the way of realizing one of my ‘impossible’ dreams. With Marianne’s encouragement and coaching it suddenly all seemed possible and real, right here and right now, not in some dim and distant future. If I could describe the essence of what I am taking away from being Marianne’s client, it is best expressed by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of “Women Who Run With the Wolves”: “When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for. Marianne, thank you for the wind in my sails."
Mariana Katzarova - Adviser on Trafficking to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights & Founder of RAW, Against Violence against Women and Girls in War.
Coach – Marianne Craig

"Alma is a very special coach. She asks beautiful questions, creates an incredible space for reflection, and offers insights that are perfectly timed and pitched. The impact of her work on me has been, more than anything, a new depth of awareness – about myself, about others and about the world around me. This is something that I know has already taken root in the DNA of who I am and something that will last and create impact throughout the rest of my life. Thank you!"
Richard
Coach – Alma Neville

“My coaching experience was an experience I would recommend to everybody. It was given to me in a time that I needed it the most when everything in my life and my organisation was in a mess and just developing now after my coaching sessions I have been able to achieve all the organisation goals that I set in the beginning which has given me confidence and experience of tools that I can use in my everyday life to become productive. I would like to thank Neil for his support and encouragement through coaching.”
Ruth Mordi,  Restoring Lives
Coach – Neil Johnson

“The coaching has given me strength and confidence through the facilitation of a focused inner dialogue. Now I feel clearer and confident with regards to what it is I can offer and what it is I want to achieve.”
Marcus Morrell,
Coach – Holly Crane

“The coaching I received from Alma at Mirus over the past few months has had a very positive impact on my life.  It has given me a fresh perspective on the way I work, and live- a perspective I doubt I would have gained anytime soon without having been coached.  I’ve made simple yet powerful changes that have left me feeling motivated and re-energised with greater enthusiasm for my work and a greater appreciation of my own skills and abilities.  I’m less stressed, more focused and my performance at work has improved.  The tools I’ve gained through being coached have proved invaluable.” 
Ramona Doherty, QSA
Coach – Alma Neville

 “Career coaching with Marianne Craig is a hugely empowering     experience  that has helped me to appreciate my achievements, understand what I have to offer and envisage a future career direction that takes account of my passions and personality as well as the constraints in my life. An invaluable antidote to sitting around wondering what to do!”
Tom Beardshaw, Fathers Direct
Coach – Marianne Craig

“I found that my coach provided a useful space to think through current issues dilemmas.”
Katie Cohen,  UnLtd.
Coach – Alma Neville

“Through the Mirus Coaching service I have found fantastic support just when I needed it. Marianne has enabled me to talk out what I am experiencing, the challenges I have faced and be honest about how I am getting on. She has helped me to focus on the things I can do and am doing well as well as giving me some structure to what I need to do. I wasn't convinced that telephone coaching would work for me but with the preparation I do before each call and Marianne's gentle guiding of the hour we have available I think I'm getting more value from it that a face to face meeting at the moment. The service isn't free but the first 6 sessions are at a very low rate and I would recommend anyone who feels they may benefit from a coach to try it. It is a low cost way of getting exceptional support and I must admit that the fact my trustee board have agreed Reach will cover the cost means I make sure to get the best from each session.”
Sarah King,  Reach
Coach – Marianne Craig

"Mirus coaching has been very helpful to me, to grow in confidence and understand myself a lot better. I found it very difficult to deal with certain tasks I needed to fulfil, and with the help of a coach I was able to explore the reasons why I found it difficult and change the thinking behind it. The sessions have been immensely beneficial and I am very grateful to the coach and having the opportunity to have Mirus coaching."
Bex,  Trappednowfree
Coach – Holly Crane

”I would suggest anyone who is looking for a coach to help them to contact Alma. Why? Because she will help you, it is that simple. It is not often in this world that you come across people who know their trade as well as Alma does.”
Sandra Tivnan, Escape
Coach – Alma Neville

“Coaching with Karen has enabled me to believe in my abilities and tackle problems with confidence.”
Dinar Ali, Street Cred QSA
Coach – Karen Greenwood

“Before I started the Mirus coaching I was on the border of completely losin myself. Then during the coaching something happened and caused me to go to the extreme of where I was so that I really started losing confidence in myself and burying myself in the work.

The Mirus coaching really helped to pull me back from that and boy was it a struggle. Now that the Mirus coaching is over, I am trying to keep the momentum going. Hopefully within the next 6 months I can reach a 10 for question 7.”
Enitan Ajayi, CCPH
Coach – Alma Neville

“I could tell you a full story of where I was 6 months ago and where I am now. Too many words it would require, too many emotions it would recall and too many unbelievable looks would have to appear across this room. All unnecessary.

The only few things you need to know to understand what coaching does is to know that today I have a courage to dream and the strength to act! And believe me I have a Big Dreams”.
Karolina Ożadowicz, Mama
Coach - Neil Johnson

“Prior to meeting Marianne, I had spent hours pushing the pram around the park while my baby slept and for the first time in a long time, it felt like I had a lot of time to think. This is when I started to formulate a project idea in my mind. However, it was quite frustrating as when my baby was awake, I never had time to get anything down on paper or take action. So it was a huge relief to start talking things through with Marianne and to bring the project to life. The sessions helped me to think through my ideas and to receive feedback. We also set concrete steps for me to take from one session to the next and it brought sharp focus to the project. It was very useful to have specific tasks to do given my limited time and to make sure that progress was made before the next session. Marianne offered many suggestions, provided really useful insights and also gave me relevant contacts. This all helped things to take shape in my mind and allowed for new avenues to be explored. I felt supported and encouraged and left the sessions feeling positive, capable and enthused. The low cost fee also meant that her service was accessible to me at a time when my earnings were low as I was on maternity leave. It is a few weeks since the last coaching session and I now have a project partner and we've submitted our first funding application which has been positively received. We've written a financial projection, a timeline of activities for the first two years and we are currently writing our publicity, developing a website and planning a launch event. The first steps on the path with Marianne paved the way for very positive beginnings."
Nina Emett, The Document
Coach – Marianne Craig

“Before embarking on Life coaching I had no idea what it would entail and now after six sessions I see that it has had a very important effect on my life and what I realise is my Life Purpose.

The coaching gave me confidence to speak in public and the strength to conceive the project I had been working of from an idea to its conception. This really has been a great help and beyond all my expectations.”
Phil Stebbing, The Deadline
Coach – Neil Johnson

"As a first time mother coaching has been invaluable in finding my feet again. It had been very challenging for me to define who I wanted to be in the world after having been a full-time mum for 2 years. My coach very clearly mirrored back to me who I am and what my core values are, which has enabled me to create a new vision that I can now work effectively and passionately towards implementing."
Franziska Neumann, DEco Domain
Coach – Alma Neville

‘It’s all about me. Coaching provides a release valve to vent frustration and come up with practical steps to move on when you get stuck in a rut.”  
Abigail Tripp, ABS Communications
Coach – Karen Greenwood

Mirus Case Stories

Abigail - Rainbird Tripp

Abigail is a social entrepreneur and community activist in South East London.  Her approach is to work with others to inspire them to achieve their goals, to offer leadership and then to move on to the next project.  She has been involved with SE1United from its beginnings.  The organisation was started by young local people and she worked with them to set up the organisation, becoming its Chair.  She feels the organisation now needs a Chair with different skills to take it to its next stage of development and will step down soon but keep on as a Trustee.  Abigail is also involved in a number of consultancy projects.

Abigail has found that the NCVO leadership course helped her to realise that she is a leader.  She leapt at the chance of getting coaching from a Mirus coach when this was mentioned at the first session.  For Abigail it was helpful to know that NCVO has recommended Mirus as this meant the coaches were likely to suit the background of leaders on the course and share similar values.  This was the first time that Abigail had had coaching and she has found the experience very positive.  “On a personal level your coach is someone you can offload to, they are objective, they challenge you (in a positive way) and throw your ideas back to you to work on.  They remind you of what you have achieved; no one else says well done.  The coach has the bigger picture and knows what you are doing, not just one event or issue.”

Asked about what the benefits of coaching had been for her, Abigail felt that it had helped her to be more self-congratulatory, it had boosted her ego, confirmed her as a leader, and reminded her of all the things she was doing.  When she felt pulled in different directions, coaching helped her to become more aware of that and to see it happening and take action.  Abigail has been active in setting up an action learning set with other community leaders to support each other in developing funding bids to work together, and to look for and make happen the kind of work they want to do themselves.  Whilst valuing this network, she feels that coaching provides someone who is neutral, with time to listen and offer support.  “We spend our life supporting others, coaching is support for you.”         
 Abigail’s coach was Karen Greenwood.

For more information  about Abigail and her work see SE1 United’s web site www.se1united.org.uk  and Abigail’s web site  www.abscommunications.co.uk

Nina Emett - FotoDocument

Nina Emett is the founder of FotoDocument, an exciting new international social enterprise which aims to create a public platform for social documentary photography through the presentation of its photo stories or as an archival document.  She believes the striking and dynamic imagery of world-class photography is a powerful communication tool and the goal of FotoDocument is to bring visibility to inspiring global initiatives as a force for potential change.

FotoDocument will commission documentary photographers worldwide to produce photo essays on a social theme designed to educate and inspire the viewer.

The idea for FotoDocument was in its infancy when Nina began working with her Mirus coach.  “I started having coaching sessions when my daughter was just four months old and amazingly she was very obliging, lying quietly on the couch with a few objects to play with whilst the adults got down to the serious business of project planning.  Prior to meeting Marianne, I had spent hours pushing the pram around the park while my baby slept and for the first time in a long time, it felt like I had a lot of time to think.  This is when I started to formulate a project idea in my mind.  However, it was quite frustrating as when my baby was awake, I never had time to get anything down on paper or take action.  So it was a huge relief to start talking things through with Marianne and to bring the project to life.”  Nina found that the sessions helped her to think through her ideas and to receive regular feedback.  Together with her coach, she agreed concrete steps and she found it useful to have specific tasks to do, given her limited time, and to make sure that progress was made before the next session.  Nina says that she felt supported and encouraged and left the sessions feeling positive, capable and enthused.  The low cost fee also meant that the service was accessible to her.  Nina has found a business partner and the future of FotoDocument is looking extremely positive.  She says, “We’ve written a financial projection, a timeline of activities for the first two years and we are currently writing our publicity, developing a website and planning a launch event.  The first steps on the path with Marianne paved the way for very positive beginnings.” FotoDocument has been awarded a start-up grant and is now well on the way.

Nina’s coach was Marianne Craig

For more information about FotoDocument visit www.fotodocument.org

If you think you can benefit from Mirus coaching, today.