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Business owners

You're brilliant at the work. Running the business is wearing you out.

I'm Claire O'Connor, an executive coach for senior women, drawing on 15 years of elite camogie.

You're the expert, the manager, the marketer and the one who closes up. Let's take some of those hats off and get your capacity back.

What I hear

You started because you're good at the work. Then payroll, pricing, staff and the receipts at 11pm took the week. Now you run the thing instead of doing what you love.

Here's what women business owners and founders tell me:

  • "I'm good at what I do. I'm a terrible business manager."
  • "I have the business, my family, leadership, teaching. They all require high performance all the time."
  • "I spend all my time teaching and directing and leading, but there's no one doing that for me."
  • "I just need to get the mental clarity back."
Claire O'Connor, coach for women founders and business owners

Why it happens

That's the Chief Everything Officer. You hold it together for everyone else, and nobody holds it for you.

In a 2025 survey of female founders, 75% reported burnout (Female Founders Alliance, Forged in Fire 2025). In Ireland, 52% of women entrepreneurs say they feel financially insecure (The Irish Times, May 2025).

What coaching for women founders covers

I'm not here to write your business plan or do your bookkeeping. I coach you, the owner: how you spend your energy, what you say yes to, and the decisions you've been carrying for months.

Together, we work on:

  • Taking hats off. What only you can do, what someone else could do, and what stops.
  • Pricing. Charge what the work is worth, then have the conversation.
  • Delegating on a small budget. Hand one thing off, even before you can hire.
  • A protected day. Hours each week for the work that grows the business.
  • Boundaries without guilt. In one owner's words: "Set boundaries without guilt, manage time without pressure."

I've been burnt out myself, so the pace stays realistic. One small step each session, not a list.

Claire O'Connor, coach for women founders and business owners

Which route fits

  • RIZE Group Coaching: a 12-week program, twelve weekly sessions, no more than six women. Next cohort: Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Payment plans are tailored. Read about RIZE Group Coaching.
  • RIZE Executive Coaching: six months of private one-to-one coaching, paid by you or through your business, confidentiality agreed in writing. Read about RIZE Executive Coaching.

Not sure which? Here's how I'd choose between group and one-to-one, or we can decide together on a call.

If you're buying coaching for your team

Maybe the person carrying too much is your operations lead, your first hire, the one the place runs through.

Your business can fund RIZE Executive Coaching for her. Goals at the start, a midpoint review, and a close-out on goals, themes and next steps only. What she says in sessions isn't shared with you. Here's how confidentiality works when an employer pays. For a leadership team, see RIZE for Organizations.

Frequently asked questions

I'm great at my work but not at running the business. Can coaching help?

Yes, and you're in good company. Most owners were never trained to manage, price or lead. We work on the parts that drain you most, one at a time, starting with what feels most urgent. You keep doing the work you love, and we build the business habits around it so it stops running you.

Should I hire a business coach or an executive coach?

A business coach usually focuses on strategy, marketing and systems. I coach the owner: your capacity, your decisions, your leadership and the boundaries that protect them. If the business plan is fine but you're exhausted, stuck or undercharging, that's my work. Many owners need this first, because a tired owner can't carry out a good plan.

How do I delegate when I can't afford more staff?

Start smaller than you think. List what you do in a week and mark what drains you and what someone else could do with a little training. Then hand off one thing, to one named person, by Friday. That might be a team member, a part-time freelancer, or simply a task you stop doing altogether.

Can I pay for RIZE Group Coaching in installments?

Yes. Payment plans are available for RIZE Group Coaching, and they're tailored to each client, so we'll find what works for your cash flow and your business. We'll talk it through on your 20-Minute Capacity Call. I put the investment in writing once we know it's a fit, so there are no surprises later.

Is what I share confidential, including details covered by an NDA?

Confidentiality is agreed in writing at the start, including the exceptions, such as legal or safety reasons. You never need to share client names or NDA-protected details for coaching to work. We work on you, your decisions and your leadership, and you can describe the situation without naming anyone.

Should I raise my prices?

That's your decision, and I'll help you make it with a clear head. We look at what you're charging, what it costs you to deliver, and what's stopping you. Then we plan the conversation with clients and practice it. Most owners I meet know the answer already. What they need is the confidence to say it.

How much time does coaching take when I'm already stretched?

Less than another hat. RIZE Executive Coaching is twelve private 60-minute sessions over six months, held every two weeks. RIZE Group Coaching is twelve weekly sessions, limited to six women. Between sessions you try one change. If a week falls apart, we move it.

Is RIZE Group Coaching or private coaching a better fit for a business owner?

Group is for when you want other women who run things beside you. Private RIZE Executive Coaching is for when the decisions are sensitive, or the pace needs to be yours alone. Both work on capacity, pricing and delegation. We'll choose on a 20-Minute Capacity Call.

How do I avoid burnout when everyone leans on me?

Not by adding a morning routine on top of a day that already doesn't fit. We look at what you're carrying that isn't yours, take one thing off by Friday, and protect one block of time for the work only you can do. The load has to change. Getting better at enduring it doesn't.

What should I cut when the business is wearing me out?

We'll find out by looking, not by guessing. List where the time and the money go, and mark what drains you against what actually brings work in. Then you choose one cut: an offer, a yes, or a task someone else could hold. You don't have to shrink the whole business to get your week back.

Should I go back to a salaried role?

That's a real question, and I won't talk you out of it or into it. We look at what the business is asking of you, what a salary would give you, and what you'd be giving up. You leave with a decision you can explain to yourself. Clarity counts, whichever way you go.

Do you take time off during the six months?

Yes. Life happens on both sides. The rhythm is a session every two weeks, and if you need to be away, or I do, we move that session. You don't lose the work, and you won't be made to feel behind for taking a real break.

Talk with Claire.

Book a 20-Minute Capacity Call. You don't need to have it figured out.

Atlanta-based. Working with leaders in the United States, Ireland and the UK, in person in Atlanta or remotely.