An interview with Emma Snipp, Success and Resilience Coach
“I realised I was more interested in people than in property.” After 15 successful years as a chartered surveyor, Emma Snipp felt an unexpected calling—helping people. Now a sought-after Success and Resilience Coach, Emma empowers professionals in high-pressure industries to embrace their unique strengths and overcome the challenges that come with leadership. Her clients describe her as the “English Mel Robbins”—direct, impactful, and truly authentic.
Based in Maidstone, Kent, Emma specialises in working with professionals from her former world in property and construction. Her coaching focuses on guiding them through the pressures of leadership, imposter syndrome, and the quest for lasting contentment, rather than fleeting happiness. Emma’s clients often find strength in their uniqueness under her guidance.
We had the chance to sit down with Emma to explore her journey in more depth, starting with how she discovered coaching. Join us as we dive into her story, how she found “her people” at Animas, and how she refined her niche in the industry. We’ll also touch on the common challenges her clients face, like contrasting leadership styles, and how Emma supports them to achieve resilience and success. In Emma’s words, “Listening to others and embracing different perspectives doesn’t make you a weak leader—it makes you a stronger one.”
We’re sure that you will find Emma’s journey inspiring, informative, and instrumental in your coaching journey!
Snippy, where did your coaching journey begin?
“I was a chartered surveyor in the City, working in the West End and the City of London for 15 years. At the time, I was very involved in wellbeing at my workplace. I was on the wellbeing board, supporting managers and attending all the courses, and it was becoming something I really enjoyed. I was getting a great reputation for it too, except with my director. He wasn’t impressed at all! He’d say, ‘This isn’t your job, Emma. You’re here to add value in bricks and mortar.’ It got to a point where I realised I was more interested in people than in property.
“I remember telling one of my team members, ‘I need a change. I need to work with people.’ I had experienced career coaching in a corporate sense and enjoyed it, but I didn’t really know what coaching was. One day, she said, ‘Oh, the person who had your job before you is now working at this place called Animas. He does this thing called coaching. You’d love it!’ So I met up with a coach who was also an ex-surveyor, and I just poured my heart out, telling him, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I hate it!’ He explained what coaching was and how it worked. That was it. I was sold!
“I came to one of Animas’ trial days, which was in a hotel just before covid hit. I remember walking in, and it just felt like the right place. I texted my friends saying, ‘I’ve found my people!’ Everyone was so welcoming, and they were all getting straight into the deep conversations. There was so much love and care in that room, and I thought, ‘This is me. I can do this.’ That was when I made the decision that coaching was going to be my path, and then covid hit. What started as a plan to maybe do a bit of coaching on the side became a full-blown life change.”
How did you know you’d “found your people”?
“I’ve always felt a little bit like an outsider in life. Growing up, I was really shy, and I was bullied quite badly in school. By the time I got to college, I decided, ‘I’m going to be gobby to make up for it,’ and it turned out that was actually my personality all along. But I’d always felt on the outside of things. My relationships were tense, my friendships were a bit strained, and I left home at 15 to live with my grandparents. Life always felt like I was swimming against the current.
“Even with a successful career in property, I never quite fit the corporate mould. Everyone was privately educated, and I was the only person who hadn’t gone to private school. There’s this thing in property, especially back then, where it feels like a bit of an ‘old boys’ club.’ I was a working-class woman, and at that time, only 13% of members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors were women.”
“I always felt like I didn’t belong, until that moment at Animas. I walked into that room, and it was filled with people who had been through difficult experiences and now just wanted to help others. They were deeply curious about human nature and eager to connect on a real, meaningful level. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore. Or, if I did, it was like we were all outsiders together! It was a room full of people who wanted to connect, help, and understand others on a fundamental level. It was a moment of pure relief, and I was like, ‘I’ve found where I belong.’
What made you decide to focus your coaching on the property and construction industries?
“To be honest, I spent a couple of years refusing to niche. But over time, I realised that casting the net too wide wasn’t working for me. It was like trying to go fishing with a pack of Rolos—not very effective! So, I settled into working with people in the property and construction industries, because that’s what I knew.
“But more than that, I realised that so many people in property, like me, feel like outsiders. It’s a very exclusive, often privately educated sector. As a woman from a working-class background, I didn’t fit the mould. Over time, I realised that many of my clients felt the same way, whether they were women, working-class, or had just experienced something in life that made them feel like they didn’t belong. Property has this reputation of being very ‘samey’ on the surface—everyone looks and sounds the same—but underneath, people have these personal stories and experiences that make them feel isolated. Helping people realise they’re not alone, and that their uniqueness is actually a strength, has been one of the most powerful aspects of my work.”
What are some of the challenges you see most frequently with your clients?
“Imposter syndrome is a huge one, particularly with people who are further up the career ladder, like directors and senior managers. They feel like they’re making it up as they go along, and they’re terrified someone’s going to knock on the door and say, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing!’ It’s especially tough because when they try to talk to people, they often get dismissed with, ‘But you’re smashing it! What are you worrying about?’ That just makes it worse. They see younger people coming in with new ideas, and they start questioning their own place in the industry.
“I work with them to understand that imposter syndrome comes from a place of caring. If you didn’t care about your work, that voice wouldn’t be there. I encourage clients not to try to get rid of that voice, because it’s a part of them. Instead, we work on befriending it, acknowledging it, and then saying, ‘Thanks for the input, but I’ve got this.’ It’s about changing leadership styles too, shifting from that ‘head of the pack’ approach to a more inclusive, collaborative one. Listening to others and embracing different perspectives doesn’t make you a weak leader—it makes you a stronger one.”
What do we mean by contentment versus happiness?
“Happiness is fleeting, and it’s something we chase in moments. Life is full of highs and lows, and if you’re always chasing happiness, you’ll experience the crashes as well. Contentment, on the other hand, is sustainable. You can be having a really awful day—your car breaks down, you forget your lunch, your partner texts saying your plans for an evening together have fallen through—and your happiness might be completely gone in that moment. But contentment is this underlying feeling that, overall, life is good. You can have those bad days and still feel content about where you are in life.
“That’s what I encourage my clients to aim for—contentment rather than happiness. When you aim for contentment, life’s ups and downs don’t throw you off balance as much. You can maintain a steady hum of satisfaction even when things aren’t going perfectly. It’s about finding peace with where you are, rather than always chasing the next ‘happy’ moment.”
How do you support your clients to achieve a sense of contentment?
“First, we define what contentment means to them. What does success look like? What brings them joy? Often, when people experience those highs and lows, it’s because they’re chasing dopamine hits—big successes that give them a rush, but then fade quickly. We work on creating smaller, more regular wins, so they can experience that sense of achievement more consistently.
“I also use tools like the Wheel of Life, where we focus on different areas of their life—career, relationships, personal growth, etc.—and rate their satisfaction. It’s about finding balance and understanding where they’re truly content and where they need to make adjustments. Contentment comes from understanding yourself, knowing what you want, and finding a way to stay balanced even when things aren’t perfect.”
What was your experience of training as a coach with Animas, as one of our first remote cohorts?
“I actually went to an in-person away day before the pandemic, and I was already set on training at that point. I had no intention of leaving my career, though. It was more about setting myself up with an additional skill—another ‘string to my bow.’ And then, of course, covid hit, and everything changed. I put off signing up at first, thinking, like most people, that the pandemic would pass in a few months. But work became really intense, and I was getting bored sitting at home.
“Eventually, I had a chat with someone at Animas who I’d met at that away day, and we started talking about how coaching online would be a great way to keep working without the hassle of hiring an office or sticking to a specific location. So I took the leap and signed up. It turned out to be the best decision! Even now, I’ve never actually coached anyone in person—I’ve done talks and facilitated workshops, but my one-to-one clients have all been online. It opened up this whole new world for me, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
How do you keep your clients engaged via remote coaching sessions?
“I like to offer a variety of communication options. They get my phone number and can contact me via WhatsApp between sessions, within boundaries, of course. I encourage them to send voice notes, and I do the same. I also like to go for walks while I listen and respond to their messages. This approach creates a more informal connection that goes beyond the typical Zoom call. Plus, I try to maintain a sense of spontaneity and humour in our conversations, which helps to build rapport and trust.”
What advice would you give to someone who’s considering training as a coach with Animas?
“If you have the financial and time capacity to do something that interests you, give it a go! What’s the worst that could happen? You do the course, and maybe it’s not for you, but at least you’ll have learned something. The best way to figure it out is to talk to people in the industry, get a real understanding of what coaching is, and see if it feels like something you’d enjoy. Everyone in this industry is lovely and open to having a chat, so you’ll never be short of people to talk to. And, of course, if you do take the plunge, you might just find that it’s the best decision you’ve ever made.”
Where can we find you, and how can we contact you?
“The best place to find me is on LinkedIn. I have a fairly unique name, so if you search for Emma ‘Snippy’ Snipp, I’ll pop up quite quickly. My website is emmasnipp.co.uk, where I’ve got blog pieces, but LinkedIn is where I post most of my content. I do these little ‘Emma snippets’ once a week, where I speak for a few minutes on a topic, and they’re all uploaded there. If you prefer email, you can reach me at enquiries@emmasnipp.co.uk.”
