Late Intro · Expert Coach Certification

Late Intro

Hi Everyone!

I just realised I never properly introduced myself. My name is Maria, and I joined this community in September. I’m brand new to coaching and haven’t started working with clients yet, so I’m right at the beginning of this new adventure.

Here’s a little about me.

I was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, but I’ve lived in the UK for nearly 30 years. I came here as an international student and started from scratch. I studied, found a job, got married, built a career, became a mum to two wonderful kids, and the rest is history!

For over twenty years, while being a wife and mum, I built a career in finance. For the last eight years, up until July, I was the Finance Director at a biotech company in Oxford.

I truly enjoyed my finance career. It gave me structure, stability, and security. But deep down, I always felt there was something more I wanted to do. I wanted to create something of my own, with a deeper purpose, that could become a legacy for my children and future generations.

So in May, I took a big leap and started my own business in the specialty coffee industry!

You might be wondering what coffee has to do with coaching.

For me, they are deeply connected.

I believe one of my purposes in life is to turn difficult experiences into wisdom, challenges into opportunities, and adversity into something meaningful.

Moving thousands of miles away from my birth family, building a new life in a different country with a new language to learn to be fluent, navigating difficult relationships, facing resistance, learning to stand up for myself, building a career, raising a family, and then having the courage to start all over again as an entrepreneur.

None of this happened without challenges, mistakes, tough decisions, and a lot of soul-searching!

But those experiences taught me a lot about identity, self-awareness, boundaries, resilience, and having the courage to choose a different path.

Now, I want to use those experiences and insights to genuinely help others.

I want to support people who feel stuck, overwhelmed by expectations, or unsure how to move forward. People who know they want something different but haven’t yet found the confidence, clarity, or tools to make it happen.

That’s why I’m here. I have the passion, experience, and desire to help, but I know that wanting to help isn’t the same as knowing how to coach well. I want to learn the skills, develop a solid approach, and become someone who can truly make a difference.

Along the way, I’m building my personal brand, Maria Dee, writing my first book about boundaries and breaking cycles, and working toward my goal of speaking on a TEDx stage.

Ultimately, my dream is to help people find the courage to create a life that truly feels like their own, whatever that looks like for them.

Here’s the funny part.

When I found Ed’s coaching training, I didn’t really know who Ed

@Ed JC Smith

was or about the amazing business and community he’d built!

Something just felt right, so I followed my instinct.

I believe that sometimes the universe opens a door when we’re ready. Whether you call it intuition, energy, or divine timing, I’m grateful this door led me here.

I’m excited to learn, grow, challenge myself, and get to know all of you.

Thank you for having me, Ed and team. I’m truly grateful to be part of this community!

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Late Intro