Last week, I spent 3 full days undergoing Coaching Fundamentals Training with iPEC.

This was something I’ve been debating to do for awhile because I’ve struggled whether or not to fully identify myself as a coach (if you look at my LinkedIn right now, I call myself a “career strategist”).

Throughout this year, the conversations I’ve had with others held a similar tone.

“I want to work with clients, but I don’t feel confident in calling myself [insert title].”

Swap in coach, consultant, creator, founder, strategist, solopreneur—the feeling is the same. We want the new chapter… but hesitate to claim a new identity.

When I reflected in why it was hard to call myself a coach, a lot of it came down to education. While there is no requirement here—anyone can call themselves a coach—I wanted tools and techniques to boost my confidence. And, through my own experience being coached, I knew how asking empowering questions opened up possibilities I would have never considered on my own.

But even with all the education in the world, there can still be deeper reasons holding us back.

I talked to someone recently who struggled to call herself a coach, even after going through training. This impacted the way she went after prospective clients, hesitant to lead with confidence and ultimately, resulting in no clients.

We talked through what was showing up for her and a few weeks after our initial call, she sent me an email telling me she had landed her first two clients!

This gave me confidence that I was ALREADY coaching, even without training. It also gave me energy, to see how a short conversation could impact someone else’s life.

So in order to get over imposter syndrome, you kind of have to be an imposter first. A bit meta, right?

The very name “imposter syndrome” implies that it’s something you’ll have for the rest of your life. But it’s natural to feel like an imposter if you haven’t done the exact thing you want to do next.

My approach to many things is experimentation. In this coaching example, I decided to experiment with the idea of coaching before I invested money in going through a formal program.

This meant that even though I was uncertain about “selling” 1:1 coaching or my Just Start cohort, I did it anyway. Was I uncomfortable? Yes! Did I feel like an imposter? Yes!

But when those thoughts came up, I told myself that it was an experiment. I wasn’t committing to becoming a coach. I was just trying it on.

Questions to ask yourself when you’re stepping into a new identity:

While I still identify as a “career strategist”, I’m adding “coach” to my growing list of portfolio career titles.

What’s the first small step you can take to embrace your new identity more fully?

P.S. As I’m undergoing coaching training, I’m opening up five 1:1 coaching spots at a special founding rate. If you're hesitating what to call yourself next, let's talk through it.

Speaking of experiments, last Friday was my final community call for my Just Start beta cohort!

It’s crazy how fast 7 weeks flew by, but overall I’m feeling proud of “doing the thing” and connecting 8 amazing women to each other.

The underlying theme I heard from the learnings in our last reflection was walking away with a lot of foundational work and consistent practices to help them in the next phase of their career experiment.

More to come on what the next iteration of Just Start will look like but for now, I’m targeting to promote it in January and start the next cohort in February. Sign up for the waitlist to get $100 off!

Events I’m attending or hosting in the coming weeks! I also created this Luma calendar with events on my radar if you want to join me.

Build Your Platform: How to Future-Proof Your Career in 2026 | Nov 28
Taylor will talk about the difference between a “personal brand” that looks pretty on paper and a platform that actually moves your life forward, why it feels so deeply cringe to promote yourself (especially for women), and how to work through that without feeling like a different person.
🔗 RSVP here