Startup Story
Vanda Harries is the entrepreneur behind The Life Architect, a business coaching and consultancy specialising in marketing and communications and personal brand building in South Africa. She is passionate about helping other women entrepreneurs and non-profits to develop their personal and business brands to achieve their goals.
LoA spoke to Vanda Harries about her work and her mission to help more women build intergenerational wealth for their families.
What does your company do?
I'm a business coach and consultant specialising in marketing and communications. I help women entrepreneurs build powerful personal brands with a solid marketing strategy to grow their businesses. I also help non-profits develop their brands and messaging to drive their objectives.
“I help women entrepreneurs build powerful personal brands with a solid marketing strategy to grow their businesses.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I've always enjoyed seeing others grow, through coaching and mentoring. I'm fanatical about personal growth, both my own and other people's. I love that people come to me for advice or for a point of view, it's exhilarating when I can help. After a few decades in the corporate world, I decided I wanted to help and reach more women to build intergenerational wealth for their families.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
I am what makes my service special. I have a unique combination of marketing and business skills as I've been in senior leadership roles for many big brands in South Africa. I've been coaching directly and indirectly for years.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I worked in the corporate world for (too) many years, in high flying marketing positions, for some of the world’s most well-loved brands. I absolutely love brand building, communication and all things marketing. But guess what, I never felt good enough. Surrounded by some of the brightest, most talented and successful people out there, I doubted myself every day. I lived with the constant fear that someone would realise they’d made a mistake. That I shouldn’t be in the position I was in. That I didn’t know what I was talking about. That I didn’t have a degree or a private school education. That my family weren’t well-connected, and I wasn’t a stellar student by any stretch of the imagination.
I sat in meetings hoping no-one would ask me what I studied or which university I went to. Instead of becoming a wallflower, I went the opposite way. I became assertive and confident, feeling the need to compensate for what I believed to be my shortcomings. The environments I worked in appreciated this kind of behaviour and rewarded it. I soon became one of only a handful of female senior executives in the large telecommunications company I worked for. And guess what, my responsibility and the stress levels doubled. I was working much longer hours and travelling quite extensively.
On top of all of this, I was a single Mum. This is when my anxiety started. The panic attacks in my car, rushing to a meeting while leaving my young daughter in day-care. The call to my parents to see if they could pick her up because I’d be working late… again. The constant guilt that I wasn’t doing either job particularly well. It’s so visceral, I can still feel that anxious feeling. Then by some miracle, an amazing woman entered my life. You know the saying “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear” that is exactly what happened. I was ready. She was a coach, doing some work with our management team. We just clicked. She became not only my coach, but my mentor and friend.
I realised through lots of reflection, learning and guidance that I needed to make changes. In my personal life and my career. I trained as a coach and started using my coaching skills as well as my love for personal development on my team. It was so rewarding to see people suddenly come alive. That’s when I discovered my true love. Helping others to be the best version of themselves by tapping into their unique gifts. I decided that no matter what, I would have my own business. Maybe not right that minute but certainly sometime in the future.
So while I put my daughter through school, and raised her on my own, I also used my big corporate salary to fuel my passions and my need for growth and learning. I learnt everything I could, voraciously. I did a graphic design course, a novel-writing course, I became a Reiki master and I did a marketing degree. At last.And guess what? Getting that degree did absolutely nothing for my credibility. I had already built my career on my unique knowledge and skillset and learning through taking action on the job. I was well respected in my industry. My self-doubt was all in my own mind.
I remain a confidante and mentor to many ex-colleagues, and it’s a role I cherish. I’m always happy to do a bit of coaching on the fly for anyone. It’s who I am. Today I have my own coaching and consulting business. Yippeeee, a dream come true. It took longer than I expected, but then these things often do. All I know is that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be right now. Now I can help more people, to find their purpose, tap into their truth and turn their businesses into the rewarding experience it can and should be.
“I am what makes my service special. I have a unique combination of marketing and business skills as I've been in senior leadership roles for many big brands in South Africa. I've been coaching directly and indirectly for years.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To develop a fully functional online business that offers online training courses and memberships to business owners, in ways that make it affordable to more people. This way they can also feel a sense of belonging in a community of like-minded women, which I've found to be invaluable.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Seeing a lightbulb come on for a coaching client or hearing about their successes. There is no better feeling.
“Now I can help more people, to find their purpose, tap into their truth and turn their businesses into the rewarding experience it can and should be.”
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Starting up will always be scary, you just have to want it more than what you have right now. If you're a little more risk-averse, as I am, make sure you have some financial support in place to carry you for 6 months or so. What I've learned is that if I'm not scared, I'm not thinking big enough.
Contact or follow The Life Architect
Email: vnh013@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLifeArchitectZA
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/the.life.architect
Why LoA loves it….
As women entrepreneurs, we all need support and advice from people who will walk the journey with us, helping us to build our skills and confidence as we go. That’s where business coaches have a great role to play. Vanda Harries is a coach who believes passionately in helping women to fulfill their potential, realize their goals, and importantly, build intergenerational wealth for their families. She is doing just that with her business, bringing all her years of corporate experience to the table, and walking the journey with her clients to help them achieve success. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa