After a breakdown in her corporate career as a broker, she came home. That difficult period became the very breakthrough she’d needed. Alexandria realized how unhappy she was with the life she had created. The answer was to rip up the rule book, leave her corporate job, and create her path.

She has since been featured on the BBC, in the Telegraph Luxury, and more as an inspiring entrepreneur, in addition to being shortlisted for Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2019) & Start-Up Business of The Year (2019). She also took part in Dragon’s Den. As a passionate advocate for both female entrepreneurship and mental health, she has spoken at the London City Hall and as part of the Inspiring Talks series. 

Alexandria coaches women via her three programs: Design Your Soul Yes Life, The Soulful Start-Up, and The Expansion. She also runs workshops focused on Manifestation around the world, with clients spanning from the Big 4 Global Consultancies to Nomade Tulum.  She is a 400-hour qualified Yoga Instructor, Certified Holistic Health Coach, and holds a Master’s in Business from one of the world’s best Business Schools (USYD). She’s also received awards for Global Marketing and Strategy. 

She is previously the founder of the health food brand CHAM, taking it from her kitchen to Selfridges, Ocado, Whole Foods, and Holland & Barrett. 

After years of living in London, she is now exploring the world and enjoying every moment with her husband Jake & rescue pup Coco. 

Can you tell us a little more about yourself, and what you do?

I am a  Business Strategy & Manifestation Queen. I am a recovered perfectionist, breakdown survivor, corporate escapee, and now, an Empowerment Coach and Business Mentor. My mission is to reignite a spark within thousands of women, to reconnect them with their true desires, and create a reality even wilder than their vision board. I don’t want to help women just build businesses, I want to help them build abundant empires which have a positive impact on the world. 

How did you create your brand? What was the idea that inspired you? 

I want to share my story with you so that you can see how easy it is to ignore your true purpose…because I did it well. Back in 2017, I was the visual epitome of “Got My Shit Together” with my head firmly screwed on.

 I had a stable job, a great partner, a gorgeous flat, and the bustling social life everybody craves. Inside…I was baron, broken, and burning out fast. The crowded tube and boardroom politics left me anxious, stressed, sleep-deprived, and propped up by wine and carb binges. 

On a once-in-a-lifetime work trip to NYC, I realized that I wasn’t enjoying anything that I thought I should be. The fancy restaurants had lost their shine, the shopping sprees stopped satiating, the drinks and salaries weren’t sitting like they used to.

18 months and a monumental breakdown later…I pulled the escape cord.

I established a health food brand, left corporate life behind, and found my creation on the shelves of Ocado, Selfridges, and Whole Foods. I was interviewed on BBC World Service and watched as my lofty ‘pipe dreams’ became big fat ticks on my life goals list. The problem was that I’d left the anxiety, stress, and sleep deprivation of corporate, and traded it for the anxiety, stress, and sleep deprivation of running an empire!

So, what happened?

• I bailed out and flew halfway around the world. 
• I stood in the mirror and faced my perfectionism head-on. 
• I confronted my mental blocks and stripped back the layers of ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’ to reveal my soul desires. 

I started to listen within. 

I trained as a coach and watched as the color came back into my life. Trading big smoke for the beaches and the jungle set my soul on fire. Finding my soulmate clients in other soul-led coaches helped me step into my power. 

And the best part?

I want to help you, and thousands of other women do the same.

I started in transformational life coaching but was approached by women who knew me through my previous business. They asked me to mentor them in business, and I soon fell in love with the process. I’d woven mindset work with strategic business planning.

Within 18 months of establishing my coaching business, I had my first 6 figure month. My client achieved epic results too–from leaving their 9-5, out-earning their corporate salary to finally finding a sense of purpose in the work they do. 

I currently run 2 programs: The Soulful Start-Up and a higher level business mastermind, which helps women both starting and scaling. I am also running a series of live events in the UK, from Manifestation Masterclasses to full-day Soulful Sales Strategy Training. 

How does your brand work?  

Women work with me in one of 3 ways:

1) Through a group program: The Soulful Start-Up or The Expansion Business Mastermind

2) Via 1:1 coaching

3) Via in-person VIP days. 

What challenges have you faced while creating your brand? What challenges do you face on an ongoing basis?

Starting a business has meant going on a deep healing journey. All the stuff you thought was resolved, bubbles to the surface under the pressure of building a business. But this is a real gift. Building my business has taken my healing journey to new depths. I love exploring the new layers that are revealed. 

I have also learned to redefine both failure and success. I’ve learned that failure is always an opportunity to learn and grow and that in order to be taking bold steps in your business, you have to stop fearing failure. I’ve also learned to create my own, more nuanced definition of success, which is different from the traditional definitions I saw around me in my early 20s. My version of success feels more soulful–more focused on impact rather than just external signposts of ‘success’. 

How have you managed any funding you received? 

No funding was received. 

What’s your future vision? How far do you want to take it? What is your dream for the next level?

I have exciting plans for where the brand is going next. I’m planning out my first book, and we are also in the process of releasing our first product. Longer-term I would love to explore ways of creating more support for female founders. 

What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?

Take it all one step at a time. So much of building a business is just about putting one step in front of the other and maintaining a vision bigger than any resistance you face. 

Company name: Soul Yes LLC/ Alexandria Maria

Email Address: hello@alexandriamaria.co.uk 

Website:  www.alexandriamaria.co.uk 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamalexandriamaria/ 

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