Meet Andrew Barclay | Professional Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Barclay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I honestly never set out to have my own coaching and development business.

I started coaching friends and people I knew as a side hustle. I loved seeing the results my clients were producing: creating meaningful relationships, honing their communication skills and courageously working towards what matters most to them in life.

I knew this was work I wanted to be doing, and I struggled to see how I could make my passion a career for a long time.

People close to me and clients would always tell me I should start my own business. That scared me!

I kept my side hustle going for several years while I focused on my career managing and training people in other ways, ultimately realizing I wasn’t working with managers and leaders the way I wanted to be.

I finally acknowledged to myself that owning my own business was the way to go and what I wanted to do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m an entrepreneur and professional coach who supports managers and leaders in upleveling their communication skills so they can effectively lead a business and life they love.

What’s interesting about my career is there wasn’t a straight pathway forward.
When I graduated high school, I made the unconventional decision not to attend university. I wanted education to further develop the passions and interests I had, and at the time I didn’t know what those passions and interests were.

In my early 20’s I started a career as an insurance broker, and what I loved about that job was the money and security. I had hobbies and interests I was pursuing outside of work, yet I found over time money and security weren’t the reasons I wanted to get out of bed every morning.

What I wanted to get out of bed for was teaching yoga, producing yoga teacher trainings for a teacher of mine, and leading/developing people and teams.

It took me three years to make the courageous decision to leave my secure and stable job to pursue my calling of yoga and teacher training production.

This was the first time I pursued something I was so passionate about, and this experience anchored in me that trusting myself and following my passions and interests were my intuitive moments, and they would create my livelihood.

This lead me to moving to Vancouver, BC to work for lululemon athletica where I supported production for a leadership conference, worked in leadership development, and my time with the company really taught me the value of people. We need people and relationships to make anything happen in life and to also feel connected to life.

I learned how to powerfully manage, train, develop and support people to really be themselves in their work and pursue the passions and interests that make their being come alive.

In 2015 I moved back to my hometown of Saskatoon where I left lululemon and realized I wanted to coach and develop people. You’d think I would have jumped right in, however I didn’t. It scared me to think of running my own business so instead I took a job managing a local restaurant/lounge.

After a few years and a lot of support from my community I created Andrew Barclay Coaching + Development. It’s felt like the biggest yet most rewarding risk I’ve taken so far in my life.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced in my career has been believing in myself. I’ve continually had to upgrade my perception of self-worth and value. I’m grateful for all the people who have seen talent and potential in me and nudged me in that direction. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the support of the people that love and care about me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend is coming to town! The first thing we’d do in Saskatoon is take a yoga class. We have great studios in this city and after travelling it feels so grounding. From here we’d catch up over wine and olives at a natural wine bar

The next few days would consist of morning movement (yoga or fitness class) followed by coffee and brekkie at a local bakery or brekkie spot.

Our afternoons would include being outside and walking along the Meewasin trail that surrounds the river running through the centre of the city, checking out ReMai Modern Art Gallery and the local shops (plus the plant stores!).

Dinners would be held at some of my favourite local spots for homemade pasta, fresh Mexican or a sizzling grill. Followed by dessert and a beverage at a local dessert shop.

For the last few days of your trip we’ll head up north to Prince Albert National Park where we will enjoy the hikes, kayaking in the river, fishing on the lake and find a beach to be at for an afternoon.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A big shoutout goes to one of my teachers Susanne Conrad, the founder of Lightyear Leadership. I started working with Susanne almost a decade ago and she’s been apart of the biggest moments in my life: coming out, ending two serious relationships, moving back to my home town in my thirties as a single gay man, leaving a secure job to follow my passion. She’s taught me how to love and value myself, my life, and all the things that make me uniquely me. And that if I want anything to change in my life, it has to come from me first.

And a shout out to Parker Pearson, my manager and mentor at lululemon athletica. She saw talent in me that I didn’t see in myself at the time, and created a lifetime opportunity for me to design my dream job. She taught me the value of structure and what it means to be a mentor of talent and beauty. I’m so grateful for you Parker!

Website: https://www.andrewbarclay.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barclay_andrew/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/andrew-barclay-239a1896

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewbarclaycoaching

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAdRHrA0PHDm-2nqS8BEsLg

Image Credits
By Molly., Nomadic Stories by Ali Mehdi