Over the time that I have worked with Nathalie, my business and my relationship to my work have completely transformed. As a composer and private lessons teacher in a new city, I was struggling to survive financially, run my lessons studio, and feel positive about my work.

So when I came to Nathalie, I imagined that she would give me some kind of a "recipe," rules or directions for how to succeed in my career. Instead, what Nathalie provided was so much deeper and more powerful - she showed me how to know what I truly want to cook, how to build the recipe, how to follow it, and how to revise it along the way.

I told her in our first meeting that my main goal was to take on more students so I could make more immediate cash. By the end of the session, her astute questions and observations led me to the realization that I actually wanted fewer students, and a more robust career as a composer.

 

Out of this initial revelation, so much new growth sprouted. At first, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of projects and directions my career could go if I allowed myself to dream honestly. Nathalie helped me organize my dreams into three branches, all connected on the tree of my creative career.

*I developed a plan for and started enacting a composition service of custom songs for people's life transitions, which has been more fulfilling and joyous than I ever thought was possible for paid work.

*I defined for myself the kind of composing I wanted to do for media projects, and what kinds of collaborators I wanted to meet.

*I planted seeds for meeting collaborators and sharing my work, and have gotten to enjoy the experience of these seeds blossoming into fruitful relationships and projects.

*I was able to create blocks of uninterrupted time for open compositional practice, and have been consistently making new work.

Because Nathalie helped me to understand my own value, I was able to completely overhaul my lessons practice - charging a fair rate, consolidating my schedule, automating payment, building healthy boundaries with students, and only working with people who returned the energy I gave out. I never thought I would have social media because I was too intimidated by it, but with Nathalie's support, I have created and maintained an instagram presence for my business and have made many new connections through it.

 

Nathalie kept her nuanced eye on my emotional strengths and challenges, helping me get to the root of the issues so that I could make lasting changes, rather than surface solutions. She taught me how to listen to and articulate my desires, how to appreciate my skills, and how to craft realistic goals and strategies to achieve them. I felt so deeply seen by Nathalie - she could read past my words to understand what I was saying with my tone of voice or body language. I left every session feeling more confident than when I started, and felt strong motivation in between sessions to stick with myself and my goals because I knew someone so wise and kind was on my team. Working with Nathalie was one of the best gifts I have ever given myself, and I am so grateful that I know her.