Deevorce Coaching
New business in Essex supported by the Group2Grow Programme: Deevorce Coaching
Deepa Graham is a breakup and divorce coach, helping others to navigate through their own emotional turmoil. Following her own struggles of going through a divorce, she set up Deevorce Coaching to support others in a similar situation. With the support from the Group2Grow Peer Networking Programme, she is now feeling more confident moving her business forward.
After a period in her life where her world felt like it had been flipped upside down, Deepa began to worry about how she could support her two children with no family around. Her own divorce came at a time where she was part way through a major house renovation which meant living in a caravan in their garden for 18 months and then soon after selling it. Realising she needed emotional support during this time, she turned to counselling, but found this not to be the right option.
With a background as a solicitor, she was able to represent herself in court over the two yearlong battle. Since then, new doors have opened, one of which being her new business – Deevorce Coaching. Understanding the struggles first-hand people are dealing with, Deepa is able to become the person she wished she had during this time for others with both emotional support and legal guidance.
After becoming accredited in early 2023, she began the search for how to turn her business idea into a reality. Not knowing where to start Deepa saw a social media post advertising the Group2Grow peer networking programme.
The Group2Grow peer groups bring together cohorts of business professionals to learn, grow, and solve common problems using each other’s knowledge and experience, with the support, guidance, and mentoring of an expert Business Coach.
Over the 8 x 2 hr group sessions and 3 hours of individual 1:1 sessions with an expert business coach, through discussion and discovery, individuals are able to uncover the challenges facing their business and work together to find logical and practical solutions. Typical topics have included increasing sales, marketing, recruitment, leadership, and business resilience.
““I didn’t really know how to begin, what I needed to look out for and all the rest, so the sessions really helped me, having a mentor who I could ask questions. The end goal is building up the business so I can step away from my day job””
Wanting to see what she could improve upon as well as hearing tips from other like-minded people, she was on the September 2023 women’s cohort led by PR and marketing specialist, Sarah Brockwell.
Something that attracted her to the programme was that it is backed by the Council and you can learn how to build a network. At the end of each session, the group could find out about what events are happening in the local Essex area which they may not have already known. Having the space to be vulnerable was crucial for Deepa as it allowed everyone to learn from one another.
““Something we did was listening to what everyone’s business was up to and our ‘wins of the week’! It was really nice to hear from others and celebrate their success, especially as we were from a range of industries.””
A highlight of Deepa’s since getting the business running has been receiving the testimonials from clients and hearing the impact she has had on their lives. Seeing the journey they have been on from the beginning to where they are months later emphasises the positive influence she has had on them through their practical day-to-day.
Since attending both the programme and the 1:1 mentoring sessions, Deepa has began to think about how she can expand her business and get it off the ground full time. Her and Sarah discussed creating a media pack which can be used for radio and television advertising. She has also began to think about other ways to market her business to help with growth – one of which is a interview for a radio station she appeared on recently to discuss the negativity surrounding divorce in South Asian households.
Looking forward, she hopes to continue the growth of her business and look for the different opportunities to market it, not just online but in publications too.
