MEET LOUISE GREEN - LOUISE J GREEN.COM
Following a series of life-changing events and personal tragedy, Louise Green made the decision to change her career and her life and did it on her own terms. Combining her passion for numbers and all things analytical with her love of heart centred business and spirituality may sound like trying to mix oil and water but Louise insists its all just part of the same puzzle and thats the secret ingredient behind her clients many thriving holistic businesses.
Mother, business owner and yoga enthusiast, Louise is shunning stereotypes of your typical commercial thinking entrepreneur and rocking her gorgeous head of red and purple hair in the process. I am honoured to bring her journey to you today. Over to you Louise…
SO, LOUISE, WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
My story is about how I went from tragedy to discovering my true-life purpose.
Growing up I always enjoyed maths and problem solving but never found the right career for me! I fell into Merchandising (not the visual type) and spent 14 years working in corporate retailing. Whilst I enjoyed it and was good at my job, I was never comfortable that being successful meant people were buying things they probably didn’t need, particularly getting parents to buy their kids more sugar.
Deciding to have a family was the start of a life-changing series of events. I fell pregnant in 2010 and my husband and I were surprised and delighted to discover that we were expecting twins. Everything was progressing well and I was under the care of a consultant so was being monitored regularly. By around 30 weeks I started to develop pre-eclampsia and was admitted to hospital which I was not happy about! As my situation worsened, at 34 weeks the decision was made to deliver my sons early and a date was agreed. Then the day before through routine monitoring of my babies they could only detect one heartbeat. As soon as the midwife told me I knew something was wrong and an urgent scan confirmed my fears, that my son James had died. My boys were born later that day and my survivor Thomas was taken to SCBU as he was unable to breathe or feed for himself.
The following weeks were the hardest in my life, coping with a premature baby, planning my son’s funeral and recovering from major surgery. It required inner strength, courage and determination. We had amazing support from members of our family, friends and bereavement midwives.
As time passed, we decided to have another child and my daughter was born almost 2 years later. It was a very different experience and I felt afterwards that I had had a more ‘normal’ pregnancy. The hospital had kept a close eye on us both throughout. However, when she was a month-old Emily developed bronchiolitis and was admitted to A&E. Her condition deteriorated quickly, and we were blue lighted to a specialist intensive care unit in London. She spent a week in the hospital recovering receiving very similar treatment to my surviving son. It brought up so many difficult memories for me and it was at this point that I developed PTSD and knew I needed help.
Help for me was not taking medication, I knew I needed to find someone to talk to and to help make sense of the last 2 years. Fortunately, I found an amazing holistic counsellor and over many months she showed me how to rebuild my life and create my new ‘normal’. She encouraged me to get back to yoga which I had done through both pregnancies and I started to enjoy my yoga again and connecting with like-minded people.
A couple of years later it was at a yoga workshop that I had the inspiration for my business. I realised that I could use my skills and natural talents to help holistic businesses grow and thrive. It was my way of paying back to the community that supported me through the lowest point of my life. I started in 2015 working with my amazing yoga teacher who had supported me through my pregnancies and beyond. My business has quickly grown and now I am proud to have worked with many clients all over the world and have finally found my true-life purpose.
YOUR BUSINESS IS A FABULOUS MIX OF PRACTICAL LOGIC AND KNOW-HOW AND HEART-CENTRED CONSULTING, HOW TO YOU MANAGE TO BALANCE THE EXTREMES?
It’s funny but to me, they don’t feel like extremes! Having studied maths and science to a high level I learnt about the amazing world of quantum mechanics. Understanding that the atoms we are made of almost entirely empty space and if you took all the ‘empty’ space out of these atoms, the entire human species would fit on a sugar cube, completely fascinated me. As my interest in spirituality and the Law of Attraction grew, I felt like this was another part of the same ‘puzzle’ and yes of course that makes sense. I then began to have my own evidence of manifesting in action which was the ‘proof’ my logical mind needed.
Realising that for business growth you need both business know-how and the right energy behind it is how I serve my clients every day.
WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU CHECK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS DAILY?
My first focus of the day is my daily meditation practise that gets me connected and open to inspired actions. This allows me to best serve my clients and grow my business. After that, I will check my emails.
HOW DO YOU HANDLE CRITICISM?
Fortunately, it doesn’t often happen! I have learnt that any criticism whether it’s from myself or someone else is a reflection of how I feel about the situation. Understanding this allows me to look at the criticism from a different perspective. It may be as simple as we are not a good fit to work together and I have learnt to let go of clients so they can find the right person for them to work with. This was a lesson I learnt early on in my business and when I am looking to work with someone new, I now feel into their energy to see if we are going to be a good fit or not.
YOU REFER TO YOUR BUSINESS AS THE SECRET WEAPON BEHIND THE LAUNCH OF ONLINE PROGRAMS, GETTING SERVICES FULLY BOOKED, AND PUTTING A CLIENT ATTRACTION SYSTEM INTO YOUR BUSINESS. CAN YOU GIVE US ONE TIP THAT OUR READERS CAN IMPLEMENT INTO THEIR DAILY ACTIONS TO BEGIN TO ATTRACT THEIR IDEAL CLIENTS?
Show up as yourself. Coming from a corporate background where business success is about marketing tactics and following the corporate culture, it was a huge ‘AHA’ moment /relief when I realised that I should drop all this! People buy people’s energy and make decisions from an emotional level. The more you understand your ideal client'spain point’ and demonstrate how you can help solve these, the more you will attract the perfect people to work with you.
THE STORY OF HOW YOU CAME TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS IS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND PERSONAL. HAVE YOU FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO CONVEY TO AUDIENCES WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE WHY BEHIND YOUR BUSINESS?
Yes, I have. It took me a long time before I could talk about my story as not only can it be upsetting for me, but you never know what someone has been through themselves. I learnt through my healing process how to talk about it in a controlled way that didn’t upset me.
Interestingly it’s only in the last year, which is 9 years on, that I had the opportunity to co-author a book and speak publicly where I shared my story in a very personal way. That felt like another milestone in my journey and something I wouldn’t have been able to do before.
HOW WOULD YOUR BEST FRIEND DESCRIBE YOU?
Consistent, Calm, Honest, Analytical and a good listener.
DO YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL PRACTISE?
Very much so. I regularly enjoy yoga, reiki and have a daily mediation practise. Connecting with my Higher Self allows me to receive inspiration and always make decisions based on my feelings. Being brave and following this guidance has led to so many new opportunities and connections in my life.
WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND DIFFICULT ON YOUR JOURNEY?
The hardest thing from working in corporate to being an entrepreneur is working alone. I have consciously built connections with other like-minded women, and we help and support one another. It’s important to have people to share your success with as well as keep you accountable when you need it!
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TIP FOR OUR AWESOME FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS READING THIS ARTICLE?
Done is better than perfect. I remind myself of this all the time when I’m procrastinating about something!
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE NON-WORK-RELATED THING TO DO?
Yoga. I regularly attend classes and workshops. I love both the exercise but also having the time to go within and connect to the whole of my being. I often get inspiration whilst doing yoga.
WHAT’S THE NUMBER ONE PLAYED SONG ON YOUR IPOD?
That’s a hard one! It would probably be Happy by Pharrell Williams as the kids are always playing it.
I love listening to Aretha Franklin if I want to feel happy.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE?
That change is always possible and comes from within.
DO YOU HAVE A BOOK OR FAVOURITE PODCAST RECOMMENDATION FOR OUR FEMALE CEO MEMBERS?
My favourite podcast is The Jim Fortin Podcast. The Podcast is all about transforming your life from the inside out. Jim is so knowledgeable and gives so much value in each episode. I have learnt so much from him about how my business & life is 100% a reflection of my internal world.
My book recommendation is Energetic Selling & Marketing by Lenka Lutsonka. Coming from a corporate background I had lots of skills I could transfer to my business. However, it was the energetic approach that I learnt from Lenka that was the game-changer for me. I recommend this book to all my clients.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR GREATEST LIFE LESSON?
Surviving my own life-threatening situation (I suffered internal bleeding following routine surgery and needed life-saving surgery and several blood transfusions) along with those of my children has taught me not to waste opportunities and enjoy living in the present moment. When I am stepping out of my comfort zone and having moments of doubt, I remind myself of what I have survived, and it gives me the strength to overcome my ego’s objections.
WHAT MAKES YOU TRULY HAPPY AND HOW DO YOU HANDLE DOWNTIME?
Experiencing the amazing world we live in. It can be anything from getting out in nature, to visiting new places and enjoying new experiences. I know how important self-care is so I prioritise in my day, even it means leaving the kids in front of the TV so I can go and meditate!
If you want to know more about Louise or her work you can visit her website, or email her directly at [email protected]. Louise also runs a fab free Facebook group called How to Turn Your Passion and Purpose into Prosperity and you can find it here.
