Career & business coaching · Bristol and online

Something needs
to change.
Let's work out what.

I'm Sarah. I work with people who are good at their job and quietly unhappy in it — and with people sitting on an idea they haven't started. The first call is half an hour, it's free, and most people leave it clearer than they came in.

Book a free call See how it works
Free 30-minute intro call
Evenings and Saturdays
ICF accredited
Sarah Ellison, career and business coach, laughing outside her office in Bristol
★★★★★

"She asked me the one question nobody else had thought to ask."

Over 400 people coached since 2013
Start here

What's holding you back?

Pick the one that sounds most like you. Whatever you choose, the call is free — and the message is already written, so you only have to press send.

Book a free call or text me instead Not sure which one? Pick the closest — we'll sort out the real question on the call.
How coaching works

Three steps, no mystery

Coaching isn't advice and it isn't therapy. It's an hour where someone asks better questions than the ones you've been asking yourself, and then holds you to what you said.

01

A free half hour

We talk about what's actually going on. No pitch, no forms. If I'm not the right person for it, I'll tell you and point you at someone who is.

02

One goal, with a date on it

Not ten. One — written down, with the honest reasons it hasn't happened yet sitting next to it. That page is the whole plan.

03

An hour every fortnight

You leave each session with two or three things to do. At the start of the next one, I ask whether you did them. That part matters more than anything I say.

Most people work with me for three to six months. A few come back once a year for a service, which I think is the best compliment there is.

Book a free call Half an hour, no charge, no pitch at the end.
A coaching session — two people talking by a window
Sessions run from a small room in Clifton, or on Zoom if that's easier.
Where people got to

Three stories, in their own words

Names used with permission. Nobody here arrived in crisis — that's rather the point.

"I'd been saying 'next year' for four years. Sarah made me put a date on it and then made me tell people about it. That was the whole trick."

Into product management in 7 months
Priya
Priya R.NHS admin manager → product manager

"Six sessions. The first two were uncomfortable and the other four were the best money I've spent on myself in a decade."

Left his job, now runs his own studio
Mark
Mark T.Bath · furniture maker

"I wasn't in crisis, which is exactly why I nearly didn't ring. We fixed my week before we went anywhere near my career."

Four-day week, same salary
Hannah
Hannah B.Bristol · solicitor
About Sarah

I spent fourteen years on the other side of the desk

Sarah Ellison laughing on a bridge near her office

Before I coached anyone, I ran hiring and development for an engineering firm here in Bristol. I sat in on hundreds of promotion conversations, and I watched capable people talk themselves out of jobs they'd have been very good at — while somebody less able got the role because a friend had helped them prepare for the questions.

That's mostly what this is. Preparation, and someone in your corner who isn't paid to be polite about it.

I retrained in 2013 and I've worked with more than 400 people since — nurses, engineers, teachers, founders, two vicars and a lot of middle managers. I coach from a small room in Clifton with a very good teapot, or on Zoom if that suits you better. Ask me anything on the first call; it's free and there's no awkward pitch at the end of it.

AccreditedICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
TrainedLevel 7 Diploma in Executive Coaching, AoEC
Before this14 years in HR, CIPD Level 7
PracticalFully insured · DBS checked · Member of the Association for Coaching
Book a free call Or ring me on 0117 496 0000.
Pricing

No packages you have to ring up about

Three ways to work together. The free intro call comes first either way, and you're never signed up to anything on it.

Single session

One hour, one problem.

£75per session
  • 60 minutes, in person or on Zoom
  • A written summary the same evening
  • Book again whenever you like
  • Good for interview prep or one big decision
Book a free call
Most people take this

Six-session block

Fortnightly, over three months.

£399saves £51
  • Six one-hour sessions, every other week
  • Your goal set in session one, reviewed in six
  • Email me between sessions
  • Free to move a session with a day's notice
Book a free call

Three-month programme

For a proper change of direction.

£899or 3 × £310
  • Weekly sessions for twelve weeks
  • WhatsApp support, Monday to Friday
  • CV, interview or pitch work included
  • A written plan you keep when we finish
Book a free call

Pay per session or spread the block over three months — whichever is easier. There are a few concession places each term for students and anyone currently out of work: just say so on the call, it isn't awkward.

Questions

The things people ask first

Something I haven't answered here? Ring me — it's usually a two-minute conversation.

0117 496 0000
Is the first call actually free?

Yes. Thirty minutes, no card details, no obligation. I'd rather spend half an hour finding out we're not a fit than take money from someone I can't help.

What's the difference between coaching and therapy?

Therapy tends to look backwards at why things are as they are. Coaching looks at what you want next and what's in the way. If something comes up in a session that belongs with a therapist, I'll say so — I work alongside two I trust and can pass on their details.

How many sessions will I need?

Most people do six. Some sort out what they came for in two; a few carry on for a year. You're not tied in, and I'd rather you stopped when it's done than kept paying out of habit.

Do you coach online?

About half my clients are on Zoom, including a few outside the UK. It works just as well. The in-person room is on Princess Victoria Street in Clifton if you'd rather sit in a chair with a cup of tea.

What if it isn't working?

Tell me, and we'll change how we're working or stop. If you've had a session you got nothing from, I won't charge you for it. That's happened three times in twelve years and I'd like to keep the number that low.

Do you work with employers?

Yes — several Bristol firms put managers through the six-session block, and I run half-day workshops on feedback and first-time management. Email me and I'll send the rates over.

Get in touch

Let's have a chat

Ring, text or email — whatever you'd rather. I answer between clients, so if I miss you I'll come back the same day.

Where14 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4BP — or on Zoom
HoursMonday to Thursday 9am – 8pm · Friday 9am – 4pm · Saturday mornings by arrangement
Email me about a free call I reply the same day, usually within the hour.
A teapot, a mug of tea and a notebook on a side table in the coaching room

Still deciding? Book it anyway.

Half an hour, free, and you're under no obligation at the end of it. Worst case you've had a good think out loud.

Book a free call
Call Sarah — 0117 496 0000