It’s time for your next move

1:1 coaching for founders who have outgrown what they've created and ready for what's next.

How it works
A woman with dark wavy hair smiling and relaxing on a brown couch, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, with a bright room and large windows in the background.
A woman with dark wavy hair smiling and relaxing on a brown couch, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, with a bright room and large windows in the background.

It’s time for your next move

1:1 coaching for founders who have outgrown what they've created and ready for what's next.

How it works
How it works

Kia ora, I’m Cleo Shortland

A business mindset coach based in Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Where legal smarts and ritual intelligence meet, to expand your thinking and leadership.

My path here wasn’t linear. I quit a successful role, took my last savings, and built a regulatory change business. It was a success. But over time something shifted — and I found myself drawn toward the people leading the work rather than the work itself. That pull became Wā.

I work with entrepreneurs, founders and soloists who are brave enough to dream bigger and daring enough to give it a go.

I would love to hear what you’re building.

More about me

What I offer

My 1:1 experiences are designed for the founder who is ready to step into their next move.

You might be:

  • Wanting to launch the thing you’ve been circling for months (or years)

  • A founder stepping out of the day-to-day and leading from the wider picture

  • Looking to restructure your business to match your life

  • Ready to take what you’ve built into new territory

  • Feeling like you’re capable of more and want to explore deeper possibilities

This is your season to go after all of your dreams!

Bright full moon in a cloudy night sky.
Bright full moon in a cloudy night sky.

Spell Work

A 1:1 ritual offering, which is designed to create a sequence of your words from what you truly want, inviting things to happen — with clarity

A watercolor painting of the Earth surrounded by space with stars and cosmic dust.
A watercolor painting of the Earth surrounded by space with stars and cosmic dust.

Our 4 month signature 1:1 coaching programme designed for the founder who is ready to step into their next move — with momentum

Momentum Journey

How it works

Kind words from my clients

  • "Through ritual, contemplation, deep inquiry and a focus on creating the future always, Cleo sped up my personal evolution in a way that only very few people can. Blending both the rational and the creative, her flexible frameworks create a safe and needed structure for deeper magic to be born and made manifest."

    — Rhea James Fox

  • "My business required a lot of change and I needed someone who understood people, business and law. Cleo's a great thinker and has the ability to see the bigger picture. She by far exceeded my expectations."

    — Nick Kearney

  • "Cleo's style is kind, elegant and respectful, without ever being pushy or arrogant. Working with her was a valuable experience - it really allowed me to develop my own approach to client relationships and communication."

    — Daniela Mckeown

  • "I really trusted Cleo's leadership experience because when talking and working through my challenges, she helped me reflect and define what I did well. She also helped me develop other ways to look at challenges and issues, and adjust my approach in a way that works for me. It strengthened my existing skills and helped me learn new ones."

    — Ariel Mareroa

Trending on the Wā blog

A notebook with a goal review chart on a wooden surface, surrounded by colorful pens.
A notebook with a goal review chart on a wooden surface, surrounded by colorful pens.

Creating a worthy goal

If you’re nurturing a goal that’s lighting you up, challenging you and inspiring you to give something back, it’s time to give it clear direction. That way, it can become focused, purposeful and alive. Here is a handy practice and key questions to ask yourself when bringing a new goal to light.

Learn more
Child standing by a window, reaching up with her right hand to wipe or touch the glass, with trees visible outside. There is a table with a large white bowl and a smaller object, possibly a doll or food, in the foreground.
Child standing by a window, reaching up with her right hand to wipe or touch the glass, with trees visible outside. There is a table with a large white bowl and a smaller object, possibly a doll or food, in the foreground.

Clearing creative stagnancy

As entrepreneurs, we want space for our big ideas to grow. But what if you’re feeling bogged down by bad energy, clutter or too many distractions? In this situation, I clean my space. And honestly, it’s one of the best ways I know for getting out of a rut and bringing order to your thoughts.

Learn more
Silhouetted hands forming a heart shape around the setting sun at sunset.
Silhouetted hands forming a heart shape around the setting sun at sunset.

A ritual to move through conflict

We all face conflict in our business and if it feels like danger, it can subtly reshape how we present ourselves to the world. But not all conflict is bad; in many cases it can be healing, especially if you’re bringing new ideas or new ways of working into your business. Here is a ritual to help.

Learn more

Frequently asked questions

  • A business mindset coach uses one-on-one guidance, business strategy and mindset work to help you rethink what is possible. It looks at your relationship with your work to understand how you are making decisions and taking action. From there, building with clarity and moving purposefully towards what’s next for you.

  • Unlike therapy or counseling, my work draws on almost two decades of legal and ritual experience and a coaching methodology unlike anything you’ve likely encountered before.

    Ka mua, ka muri - walking backwards into the future.

    We use where you’ve come from and where you’re going to understand you as a founder and the choices you are making for yourself and your business now.

  • Each coach is distinctly different and it is important to take the time to ensure you are receiving the support you’re seeking. Here is a ritual to help you on that journey.

    Find a quiet space and ask yourself:

    • What keeps me up at night about my business?

    • How do I want to feel after a coaching session?

    • What environment helps me do my best thinking?

    Once you have sat with those answers ask yourself: can Cleo help me with these?

    I’m happy to talk through further in a curiosity call.

More FAQ