Outgrown your business?

Kia ora, I’m Cleo Shortland, Business Mindset Coach offering 1:1 coaching for business owners who have built something real, and can feel the next version of it forming, even if they can't quite name it yet.

You've had success. But something has shifted. What got you here won't get you where you're headed.

That's where we begin.

How it works

Outgrown your business?

Kia ora, I’m Cleo Shortland, Business Mindset Coach offering 1:1 coaching for business owners who have built something real, and can feel the next version of it forming, even if they can't quite name it yet.

You've had success. But something has shifted. What got you here won't get you where you're headed.

That's where we begin.

How it works

Business guidance for people at a crossroads

What does that look like in practice? You might be...

  • Wanting to launch the thing you’ve been circling for a while

  • 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

Work with me

Wā

(noun) time, season, period of time, interval, term, duration.

A bit about me

My whakapapa

My people are Ngāti Hine, Ngaariki Kaiputahi and Ngāti Porou of the Far North and East Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand. I also have roots in the South of England.

My Māori ancestors arrived by waka, Ngatokimatawhaorua and Nga Ika Nui a Raura. My English ancestors by ship in 1846, not long after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Whakapapa is how I understand where I've come from, my place in the world, and what I'm shaping for those who come after me. It's also how I understand my work. When I sit with a business owner at a threshold, I'm drawing on a worldview that is relational, cyclical, and rooted in place. Something I was born into and have spent my life learning.

Woman sitting on a black chair, posing with her right ankle resting on her left knee, dressed in a black dress and black high heels, with a thoughtful expression against a plain gray background.
Woman sitting on a black chair, posing with her right ankle resting on her left knee, dressed in a black dress and black high heels, with a thoughtful expression against a plain gray background.

My story

I left my role as Business Manager of a legal firm to start my first business, helping established and startup businesses navigate government-imposed regulatory change without damaging the relationships they had built with their customers.

I took my last savings and invested in myself. My loved ones were loud in their concern. I did it anyway. It worked. I did it by carving out a corner of the market that played directly to what I cared about and what I was genuinely good at.

Over time, something else started emerging. I found myself hosting gatherings, guiding people through visualisations, helping others push past the barriers between them and what they truly wanted. That pull has became Wā.

I'm also a mum, a Māori language learner, and someone who believes the vision usually arrives before the path does. My job is to trust that, and to keep moving forward.

If this is your moment, I would love to hear from you. Drop me a line.

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

Frequently asked questions

  • A business mindset coach uses one-on-one guidance, business strategy and mindset work to help you rethink what’s possible. It’s deep work that looks at why you might struggle to make a decision or take action - and from here, we can build with clarity and move purposefully toward what’s next.

  • Finding the right fit takes time and it’s work taking that time. 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? And if you need some extra support, you can always get in touch.

  • No, quite the opposite. Some of my favourite clients are the ones who've zigzagged, pivoted, started over, or built something that doesn't fit a neat category – usually in the quest of finding something more fulfilling.

    I've done the same myself, so I'm not here to hand you a cookie-cutter roadmap. What we build together is shaped entirely around you: your story, your strengths, and the vision that excites you most.

    Unconventional paths often lead to the most interesting places giving you greater clarity and direction.

  • I want to acknowledge that there is a spectrum of neurodiversity and for some, very specialist care is required. I have however worked with many neurodivergent business owners who have benefited from my approach and the non-linear nature of my programme.

  • This is our four-month coaching process with me as your personal guide.

    We work together to understand why you’re done with your existing role within your business and look at changes you can make either in or outside of the business. Once the direction is clear, it’s time to build the next opportunity, working with your existing strengths to move into your next phase of creation.

    We create momentum with our 1:1 sessions, tools, rituals and plans, grounding your vision and values in strategic direction to shape the change you’re seeking. 

  • Good! I don't work that way.

    Everything we do is built around you: your business, your personality, your blocks, your goals. There's no 12-step programme or workbook everyone gets. I ask a lot of questions, I listen deeply and we figure out together what's in the way and what will actually help you progress. 


  • I’m a New Zealand based business coach. I work locally and abroad with clients in Australia, North America, UK and Europe.

  • That feeling – that everyone and everything else comes first – is often exactly why we need to talk.

    Prioritising yourself isn't a luxury or a pause from your business. It is the work. Most of my clients come to me at their most stretched, and that's precisely when this matters most.