What if success in the second half of life isn’t about slowing down, but discovering a more meaningful purpose?
For Chantal Dawtrey, coach and co-founder of 5th Place Consciousness, emotional fitness, personal growth, and purposeful entrepreneurship are deeply connected. Her work challenges a familiar assumption about women over 50: that their most productive years are behind them. Instead, she believes this stage of life holds enormous potential for meaningful change.
Featured by Humans of Fuzia (HOF), a global thought-leadership platform at the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, coaching, women empowerment, and socially conscious business, Chantal offers a fresh perspective on sustainable growth. HOF understands the realities coaches and small business entrepreneurs face as they build visibility, attract clients, and scale their impact.
From Emotional Fitness to a Purposeful Second Act
Chantal has worked as a coach since 2007, beginning her career as an internal coach within a large manufacturing organisation before establishing her own practice. Her entrepreneurial journey evolved through 5th Place Consciousness, which she founded with her partner, Matthew.
Together, they developed Shape of Emotion, a process designed to help people regulate difficult emotions, supported by emotional fitness classes they describe as “Yoga for Your Insights.”
Their philosophy is straightforward: emotional fitness, like physical fitness, is something people can develop rather than something they simply possess.
Today, Chantal applies this thinking to women aged 50 and beyond. Her six-week online programme, Beyond the Guessing Game, helps women navigate significant life transitions, rediscover purpose, and build community rather than navigate change alone.
Her mission challenges outdated perceptions of ageing and women’s leadership. As she explains, “I really do believe that there is huge potential sitting in that demographic.”
The Business Growth Challenge: Visibility Without Burnout
Running a small coaching business brings its own leadership challenges. Chantal describes her operation as “a large team of two,” highlighting how founders must juggle content creation, marketing, administration, and service delivery.
The shift from in-person work to digital platforms has expanded opportunities for international coaching while intensifying competition for attention. Changing algorithms and crowded online spaces make consistent client acquisition increasingly difficult.
For small business leaders in 2026, the lesson is clear: sustainable growth requires more than expertise. It requires focused messaging, a clearly defined ideal client profile (ICP), repeatable marketing systems, and strategic delegation.
Coaches can strengthen their growth by identifying the audiences most aligned with their services, developing targeted sales funnels, pursuing relevant speaking opportunities, and outsourcing specialist tasks when appropriate.
For Chantal, reaching women over 50 also means communicating a powerful message: seeking support is not a loss of independence; it can be a step towards greater purpose and impact.
Redefining Honest Entrepreneurship and Leadership
Chantal offers a compelling alternative to hustle-driven entrepreneurship. For her, success means creating value, receiving fair value in return, learning through networking, and maintaining a healthy balance.
As she puts it, an honest entrepreneur is someone who “doesn’t have to work themselves into the ground.”
This perspective reframes leadership development around sustainability rather than endless expansion. Growth systems should support the founder’s life and mission, not consume them.
Execution Tip
Identify one task that repeatedly takes time away from serving clients. Document the process, simplify it, and consider automating or delegating it. Use the time saved to strengthen client relationships or create targeted content for your ideal audience.
A More Meaningful Future for Entrepreneurship
Chantal Dawtrey’s journey demonstrates that leadership is not simply about building a bigger business. It is about creating meaningful value, developing human potential, and growing without sacrificing wellbeing.
For coaches, entrepreneurs, and women leaders, her work offers a reminder that sustainable business growth begins with clarity of purpose and systems that support it.
Through stories like Chantal’s, Humans of Fuzia continues to connect leadership, coaching, entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and social impact—helping business builders discover practical insights for growth with purpose.
