Procrastination, Burnout, and the Email That Changed Everything – Interview with Beth Jordan

It is funny how the universe works. One day, as I was juggling life and business as usual, an email landed in my inbox – a simple invite to a coaching conference in London, hosted by The Coaching Academy. At the time, "coaching" to me (and to many people I knew) meant something you did with a whistle on the sidelines. But curiosity won, and since I was living in London, I thought – why not?

What unfolded over those three days caught me completely off guard. A string of ‘aha’ moments, and one word in particular – "Procrastinator" – hit me like a ton of bricks. It held up a mirror I had not dare look into. I had spent a long time running a business while quietly craving change. I just did not have the courage to let go of what I knew and step into something new – not without knowing exactly where it would lead.

Beth Jordan, Coach/ Mentor – You and Your Business

Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.

I am Beth Jordan, also known as Anne Beth Jordan, my baptism name, but a bit of a mouthful, so Beth is fine by me. I have reached the autumn of my life; I call this the wonderful golden and colourful time of my life. A time when I no longer take myself too seriously which is such a relief, when all around me I see so much seriousness.

 My birthplace was Bangalore in southern India, into a globally vast array of ancestral diversity and richness of culture which created huge problems of identity and feelings of being the ‘outsider’ for me. However, these two – identity and outsider, helped to shape our families, knitting and binding us closely and allowing us to be unique, which in turn proved useful as we travelled through our lives.

We migrated to the Uk in the early 1960s and that is a story, sorry not enough space to write about that here. Coming to the Uk made me realise the devastating effect it had upon me as a child as an outsider, until I realised how useful it could be as I grew older.

I have a huge family of cousins; within my own direct family, three brothers, an adopted cousin and myself, being the youngest, which was a good pecking order for me.

I also had the good fortune of having a son and three magnificent grandchildren, a girl and two boys, whom I look at with so much love and pride at who and how they are maturing.

Travelling with my business became a passion, together with keeping travel diaries and photographing my early days in 1980s China. I felt privileged to be able to record a time in China, a time of political and business changes creating opportunities to optimize business connections, witness a giant awakening as hordes of foreigners pushed down the gates seeking new discoveries and wealth. Windows and doors flew open as I traversed the length of China witnessing a culture so diverse from my own background of India and the UK. I loved and embraced every tiny nuance and element of my time trading with this country.

I have had a few careers in my early life; nursing, primary school teaching, dressmaking, antique dabbling which led to the creation of my startup business in textiles back in the halcyon days of the 1980s, leading me to work in China, a country I never dreamed I would ever visit and for which I am eternally grateful. Being intrigued by the Chinese culture led me to study Anthropology – The Material Culture – at Birbeck College in London, which stood me in good stead as I travelled the world with my business. It showed me the importance of tolerance, acceptance, cultural relationships and being non-judgemental of others.

Dancing for me began at the age of five, when my father took me on to the dance floor one Christmas. I stood on his feet, and we danced a foxtrot. That foxtrot was too slow for me. Instead, by the age of ten I rock and rolled with my brother, disco danced, free danced in the style of Isadora Duncan until one Sunday back in 2010 I heard the strains of Argentine Tango, and another passion gripped my heart and soul. Its music resonates and calls out to all the various parts of my personality and life.

What inspired your transition from fashion industry expert to business mentor and coach?

The early days of the pandemic – as we all remember – marked a time of irrevocable change. Friends and clients navigated it well; others faced greater challenges. And for others, the effects of that period may still be unfolding.

I saw the Pandemic as an opportunity for a change, a change in the vision I saw for my future life. Having run my textile business for over 30 years, survived five recessions, probably suffered severe burn out, which I had lived with for so long, that it seemed part of my DNA, the slowing down of my life, travel no longer a possibility, my retail clients unable to buy or make deliveries, gave me the incentive to stop, reflect and ask myself whether I wanted to continue living and working the way I had done.

I became disillusioned at how business was being regarded, the difficulty of gaining access to buyers, the lack of response, the demands, and requirements on suppliers by large companies. I had outlived this period of my life, leaving with wonderful memories and an accumulation of transferable skills.

As coincidences happen, an email dropped into my inbox. An invitation to attend a coaching conference in London by The Coaching Academy. The word coaching for me, and for other people I knew, suggested ‘sports coaching’ – excuse my ignorance. It was a three-day conference in London and living in London at that time was perfect. I went along, and at the end of three days and ‘aha’ moments, especially at the one word which dropped on my toes like a ton of bricks – Procrastinator – turns out my default was one of procrastination. In fact, for the last ten years of running my business I had wanted a change, an opportunity to see what else I could do. I did not have the courage to let go of what I knew, and step into a new space, with new challenges without knowing the outcome.

At the end of the three days in November 2019 I signed up and started the course in February 2020, one month before the first lockdown. What a serendipitous moment!

My previous business was all about personal interaction, relationships, leadership, business culture, staff happiness and evolution, therefore stepping over to study a PPD (Personal and Professional Diploma) into coaching and mentoring seemed the next step.

I say this with caution, but that first and second lockdown, gave me the chance to stay still in one place for long enough to study this new area of work, have time to do the practical elements of what coaching and mentoring are about, to realise who I was, create an identity more harmoniously, which I needed and to realise that I too would become a product that I would need to sell, in order to create this new and very different business to the one I had been in. However, business is business, its functionality, its strategies, its vision, and mission required are foundations for running a business. The experience gained from my fashion business, morphed easily into setting up as a Transformative Business Coach and Mentor.

If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?

If I could change one thing about my industry, it would be the way we value artisanry – because pricing still speaks louder than people.

In my earlier years working in India, this became painfully clear. Outside of luxury fashion, price often trumps everything – and it quietly shapes who holds the power: the buyer or the maker.

I felt this most keenly in India. My products were beautifully made and crafted, intense detailed heirloom pieces. But they were still for a commercial market, which meant constant pressure to squeeze costs. I wanted to honour both sides – buyers who needed competitive prices and artisans who deserved dignity in their pay. I rarely got the balance right. Often, I made the least profit of all.

I still remember snapping once and asking a buyer if they could get their morning coffee and croissant for what they were offering to pay for my product. Unsurprisingly, it did not go down well.

Behind it all were incredibly skilled workers, earning barely enough to live – long hours, low pay, exquisite work. That is the change I would want to see: a fairer, more human equation. One that does not pit profit against pride in one’s craft.

How do your early experiences in teaching and anthropology influence your approach to leadership and mentoring

I taught for two years as a fresh graduate out of teacher training, so do not think it had too much effect on my approach to leadership and mentoring. However, looking back, I would say that my early experiences in teaching were stepping stones to future careers. The teaching experience itself fostered in me a love of constant learning and teaching. A desire to always pass on knowledge I gained from everything I did.

In one of my first teaching jobs, I had a primary pupil who always hung back, quiet, rarely engaged and extremely bright. One day, I gently asked him to explain something in his own words – his way of seeing the world around him, his classmates, his world in the classroom and at home. His answer stirred a future memory of the type of leader he would become one day. That day I realised it was not about delivering class content – it was about creating space for people to recognise their own authentic voice.

Anthropology taught me to be curious about the invisible threads, culture, context, and untold stories. India and China were my learning ground for these. It developed in me a sensitivity to nuance, to what sits just beneath the surface. That shows up today in how I coach and mentor clients. I am always listening for what is not being said; holding space for someone’s full story, not just their goals.

So now when I am coaching a CEO as an example. about stepping into their full leader or talking about leadership, it is not about telling people what to do. It is about helping them hear themselves more clearly. That is where the real transformation happens.

What strategies do you find most effective for helping businesses adapt to economic and market challenges?

Increasingly, I am hearing from clients – whether they run a business or work in one – that they feel stuck or unclear about where they are heading. They are enthusiastic about their work but unsure how to move forward, especially with the current market pressures.

That is when I introduce the idea of vision, mission, and strategy. It is not just theory – it is about giving people a clearer path. Together we define what they are aiming for (vision), why it matters (mission), and how they will get to their vision, through their mission (strategy), things start to shift. It helps them focus, build momentum, and respond to challenges in a more intentional way. 

Strategy turns intention into direction.

Can you share an example of a business transformation you guided of which you are especially proud?

I try not to feel ‘proud’ regarding helping clients achieve their outcome. Simply because this is subjective.

What I can share with you is observing a client who is struggling to get clarity on so many aspects of the Who, What, Why, Where and When of their endeavours, and at the end of each session and the final end of their contracted sessions to walk away with having accomplished their goal/outcome, the smile of achievement, the different language they are using to express how they will now move on to the next chapter of their personal or business life. Watching the transformation in front of me as we talk, reflect, be in silence, changing their language frame and desperate to get on with their future goals. That is what drives me to continue to want to be in the business of coaching and mentoring.

If you ask me if any of my business clients are now turning over millions of pounds more than when we first started our coaching relationships, with hand on heart, I will say that is not an achievement I have helped my clients to gain.

If you ask me whether they walk away as the person they thought they wanted to be – and step into the person they truly know they are – that is an achievement I hold with deep pride. Because once they become that person, they will not just climb the proverbial mountain - they will move it.

Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.

A defining moment in my journey came when I was thirty-five. I had recently come through cancer, my son was six, and I had stepped away from teaching to be more present during those early years of his life. But money was tight, and I knew it was time to find a way back into work – on my terms, with something that could support both my home and family.

A friend suggested antiques. I knew nothing about the world of antiques, but I followed her advice, and it led me down the most unexpected path of becoming an entrepreneur, textile hunter, early morning riser and dragging my son to equally early morning antique markets. I started dealing in antique textiles and became captivated by a particular kind of lace called tape lace, or Battenberg lace. It was delicate, detailed, and utterly beautiful.

While on holiday in Venice, I came across lace that looked identical – only this was not antique, it was new and handmade in China. That discovery sparked something. With my husband’s help, we traced its origin to a Chinese corporation in Shandong. This was in 1982, when China had begun to relax its trading regulations. The idea of travelling there, sourcing lace, and selling it to the UK market felt impossibly bold - but deeply right.

I had never travelled alone. Now I found myself flying solo to Hong Kong, navigating to the ferry port with the help of a local non-English speaking taxi driver, boarding the night ferry, travelling down the Pearl River to Guangzhou, and stepping out into a sea of bicycles and possibilities. I had no background in international trade – just instinct, curiosity, and a desire to stretch into something bigger. More than that, western women trading in China was an uncommon sight. This was the 72^nd Chinese Arts and Crafts Trade Fair in Guangzhou. I had entered a world of male traders. Did I feel threatened or conspicuous? Threatened no, conspicuous no, I related to Indiana Jones, and I was off on the biggest adventure of my life.

That trip changed everything. It opened a door I did not even know existed and brought me back to China more than seventy times. It also taught me that stepping outside my comfort zone does not have to be loud or fearless – it just must be intentional.

I do wish I had learned Mandarin!

But looking back, that moment and countless others which followed, shaped the foundations of how I work today: listening to intuition, acting on vision, and trusting that the unknown can lead to something transformative. That pivotal moment of stepping off that plane in Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong, certainly was.

Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.

Of all the career pathways I have followed, travelling, keeping diaries of my travels, exiting my fashion business, writing, and publishing my first memoir must be by far my biggest achievement.

Why? Because it was unexpected but subliminally borne from all countless visits, interactions with diverse peoples, customs, the stories I collected from the wonderful people I met both home and abroad.

A richness of thoughts and ideas, behaviours, customs, new and unexpected relationships developed during long distance train rides and flights, waiting at airports, delayed flights and so many more tracks and routes that led me to write my first book.

It was finally finding my voice and identity that has brought me a sense of peace, a quiet unexpected achievement and identity.

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Read more from Anne Beth Jordan