WMW #23: Florine Baudoin, new founder, NLP coach, mum

"Don’t underestimate the power of the mind! Focus on what you want in life and see what happens"

As I am on my own transition journey (2 weeks left at my current job before I start my own adventure!), I’m excited to bring to you this interview with a former colleague who also left her 9-5 about a year ago to start her own business.

Florine has always been passionate about health and well-being, and has found her purpose in teaching the Wim Hof Method and being an NLP coach.

In this interview we talk about why she quit her corporate job, the inspiration behind her business, her challenges, quitting social media and on being a mum.

Meet Florine Baudoin, founder of Flow of Life, NLP coach, mum of 5-year old

Q. Tell us a little bit about yourself

I am the founder of Flow of Life, and a certified Wim Hof Method instructor and NLP coach.

Flow of Life is about improving your well-being with breathing exercises, immersing yourself in an ice bath or overcoming mental barriers with NLP coaching. My goal is to provide you with energy boosting methods to sustain a happy lifestyle.

I have been in Dubai for 8 years with my husband Pascal and our 5-year old son James. We live close to the beach which we absolutely love! I take James to school by bicycle every morning and cycle back along the beach. It is such a great way to start the day and I don’t see us moving any time soon.

Other than that, I like cooking and recently started weight lifting (the best!). I also love to dance and sing when no one is watching ;)

Q. What is your business mission?

I want to inspire people to find their inner power (again).

We all have it in us, it just gets lost along the way. There is so much pressure on us nowadays. We are always available online, and our brain is working overtime. This results in stress, anxiety, and/or burn out. We breathe too often, too shallow. We don’t sleep well and that has an impact on our nervous system and therefore our health. There are simple tricks and actions that you can take to change your state of mind, feel more relaxed and revitalize your body.

Q. What inspired the launch of your Flow of Life business?

For my entire life, I have had a strong interest in health - specifically health promotion and disease prevention. To me, it was only logical to get a degree in Healthcare Management and start my career as a sustainable employability consultant.

After experiencing an ice bath myself, I immediately knew that 'this is it!'; this is my purpose in life. The energy kick, the big smile and the happy feeling I had all day after an ice bath, in combination with positive effects on the mind and body, is what I want everybody to experience. With my background in health and prevention, it was so clear that this was something that I could offer.

Q. What are the challenges you face?

I am new in the wellness and health industry in Dubai, so it takes time to spread awareness. But so far so good, I can’t complain. I have clients, have received positive feedback and usually they come back with their friends. So word-of-mouth marketing is working well!

Q. As a mum and founder, how do you manage your time?

Good question. It is easy for me to work when James is at school. I prefer to pick him up from school myself and in the afternoon, I make time to be with him. I offer workshops on weekends, but usually I am done after 3 hours and still have enough time to be with my family.

Q. Why did you decide to quit your corporate career?

I wake up with a lot of energy. Then, spending long days sitting behind a desk made me realize that I wanted something else. I love to connect with people, to move, to be active. I felt stuck and my energy wasn’t flowing anymore. Besides that, rushing home after a long day in the office, to see my son for only one hour before he was going to sleep, wasn’t really what I imagined of motherhood.

Q. How has having your own business changed your life, both as a professional and a mum?

Ha, it changed everything! How I am as a person, how I feel, what I stand for. I feel happy, energized, and proud! All of that influences how I am as a mother, as a role model. For me, it is the perfect combination of both: being a professional and a mum.

Q. What is your advice to mums looking to start their own business or side hustle?

It doesn’t have to be perfect at the start. We always think that we should do another training or course, and we focus on that. Just start, you will learn and change along the way. Yes, it is scary. And yes, it can stay scary for a while. But that’s fine, as long as you believe in it, you’ll give it your all. That’s the most important thing in my opinion.

Q. What is your ultimate goal as a working mum?

To be a fun, active and loving mum who is patient, attentive and dedicated to her child.

Q. Where do you get your inspiration?

I read a lot during Covid, as I deleted all my social media.

Just to name a few authors that inspire me: Wim Hof, Andrew Huberman, James Nestor, Tony Robbins, Brene Brown. All related to health, the mind, science. I find it super interesting.

Q. What is your best productivity hack?

Start the day with Wim Hof breathing. On the beach, or at home in the garden or balcony.

It clears your mind and your thoughts. When I feel that I am stuck, I take an ice bath. Nothing matters when you are going into the ice, you don’t have any thoughts. It is just you; dealing with the cold, focusing on your breathing. When you step out of the tub, your blood flow increases, your energy level goes up, your happy hormones are released. It is the ultimate reset!

Q. What is your best parenting hack?

Silly dances, fun music, and enjoying the imagination of a child.

We shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves, we can’t do everything perfectly. Be kind to yourself, be grateful and your child will notice and feel that too.

Q. What do you do in your 'me-time' and how does it help you?

I like to read, I enjoy a massage, listening to music (Ludovico Einaudi), journalling. It helps me connect with myself again, to let go of any thoughts or worries that we all have. It calms my mind and gives me the energy to keep up with this very fast and challenging world.

Q. Favourite tool that makes your life / business easier?

Healthy food and taking good care of yourself. Lame but true!

When you’re unhealthy or not feeling well, you could have 100 tools, but you would only have one dream: feeling better again.

Taking good care of myself truly makes my life easier.

Q. Favourite quote

“Positive thoughts lead to positive results”

Don’t underestimate the power of the mind! Focus truly on what you want in life and see what happens.

Q. Best thing you have read or watched lately

I highly recommend the book “Breath” by James Nestor. Since I read this book, I sleep with mouth tape during the night. It forces me to breathe through my nose for 7 hours. I wake up fresh, without the need of coffee to wake up; hydrated. Everyone should give it a try! Your morning brain fog instantly disappears, you can thank me later :)

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I find it so inspiring to see mums like Florine with small children, take a leap of faith and start businesses that are more in alignment with themselves and the life they want to lead.

If you are interested in trying a Wim Hof session and ice bath or NLP coaching with Florine, email Florine at florine@flowoflife.ae and let her know that you found her through this newsletter, and she is happy to offer a 15% discount on a session.

Feel free to leave any questions here too, I will make sure Florine gets them.

We do ice baths at home and highly recommend them!

All for now.

Have a great rest of the week!

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