FOR BUSINESS OWNERS AND SELF-EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS
Your business gets the best of you, your health gets what’s left.
The First Quarter is 12 weeks of one-on-one coaching built to change that.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Everyone sees the success. Nobody sees what it’s costing you.
I paid for success with my health.
Every step up cost a little more of me, and I gave it without thinking. It worked, so I kept doing it. The business got stronger, but I didn’t.
I carry everyone. Putting myself first feels selfish.
The team, the clients, my family. It all runs through me, and I’m proud of that. But I’m tired of holding it all up alone, and I can’t remember the last time I did something just for me.
I achieved my goal and barely felt it.
For years I told myself I would feel different once I got there. When I did, everyone was congratulating me, but inside it felt like something was missing.
I don’t know where to start, and I’m done guessing.
Everyone has an opinion, and they all seem to conflict. I want to make changes, but I don’t feel like I have time to waste.
MY STORY
Always the first one in, and the last to leave.
It was hard work, but it was worth it.
Until it wasn’t.
From the outside I was living the dream: two restaurants, a catering operation, a community that supported my businesses and a team that counted on me.
But inside it was a different story. I want to share with you what it was really like, because if you’re reading this, you might be going through something similar.
“Everyone got the best of me. Everyone except me.”
I didn’t just run restaurants. I built businesses, and for a long time that was the most important thing in my life. Every decision came through me, and every problem landed on me. I never really had a day off. Even when I wasn’t there, I was still on.
It worked. The business grew, but every step up cost a little more of me. I was tired in a way a day off didn’t seem to fix, and I told myself that was the price of building my dream. Over time, that became normal.
That lasted until we relaunched our second restaurant as a new concept after a renovation. It was a big risk, with more money on the line and more people counting on it going right. I was stressed, overworked and running on empty. There was no relief on the horizon, and more importantly, I had no structure or systems to support my health.
Then, all at once, I got violently ill. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t do anything. The business I’d built around myself suddenly had to run without me.
That’s when I knew something had to change.
“My business had to support my health, and my health had to support my business.”
But nothing could stop while I figured it out. There was a launch to finish, and everything else had to keep running.
Health felt confusing and foreign. Everyone had an opinion, none of them agreed, and I lost a lot of time to trial and error. The harder part was putting myself first. With a team and a business relying on me, taking time for myself felt selfish. Everyone got the best of me. Everyone except me.
Slowly, it clicked. The all or nothing mentality wasn’t going to work anymore. My business had to support my health, and my health had to support my business.
As my health changed, my business changed with it. I had more energy and clearer thinking. I made better decisions, built a stronger team around me, and the things that used to stress me out stopped running my days. For the first time, I felt in control. Success didn’t have to cost me my health. It depended on it.
It wasn’t easy. I remember wishing I had someone to help me along.
Today I eat well, I work out, and I make my health a priority. Not because I’m a fitness person or a healthy eating influencer, but because I realized that prioritizing my health is how I prioritize everything else: showing up, leading, supporting the people who rely on me, and actually enjoying what I worked so hard to build.
THEN: DOING IT ALL, RUNNING ON EMPTY
NOW: THE GOAL I SET FOR MYSELF
When I found health coaching, I knew it was how I could give others the support I’d wished for. So I trained with IIN, and now I help owners make that shift without having to figure it out alone.
CHRIS SHAFTEN
WHERE THIS GOES
What we work toward.
You came here because something has to change. These are the changes we build towards together.
01
Your health runs on a system, not willpower alone.
You go from starting over every week to habits that hold up, because they are built around your real life.
02
You run your business.
It stops running you.
You go from your health coming last to having it built into how you operate, so you show up for what matters most, starting with yourself.
03
You know what works for you.
You go from guessing to understanding what actually works for your body and your life: your patterns, your constraints and your needs. You leave with a plan to keep the changes going.
Every client is different, and so is every result. We work together to set the direction and build the path.
WHY ME
Why I’m the right coach for this.
I’m not coaching from a textbook. I’ve lived the pace you’re living, and I made the changes while still running my businesses.
I know high-pressure work.
I competed on Top Chef Canada and spent years in kitchens where every service counts. I know how much your health affects how you perform when everything relies on you.
I’ve built and run businesses.
I know what it’s like when everything depends on you, and how fast your own health slides down the list.
I know how confusing health feels.
Most health advice is built for people with time on their hands. So we keep it simple, practical and built around your real week.
I’m trained, and I live it.
I completed IIN’s Health Coach Training Program, and I practise what I coach. No one size fits all coaching. What worked for me might not work for you, and that’s the point.
HOW IT WORKS
Twelve weeks. Four stages. One clear path.
You always know where you are and what comes next. You’d never fix a business by changing everything at once. You’d get to know it first, make a few small changes that have a big impact, build on what works, then put systems in place to keep it running. Your health works the same way.
WEEK 1
Take stock
Get to know where your health stands today, what’s getting in the way, and how we’ll work together.
WEEKS 2 TO 3
Set direction
Get clear on where you want to go, then set realistic goals and a plan to reach them, starting with what matters most to you.
WEEKS 4 TO 10
Build
Test changes in your real week. Keep what works, adjust what doesn’t, and build on your goals, with support at every step.
WEEKS 11 TO 12
Run
Put systems in place you can run on your own. From there, you choose: go it alone, or check in monthly or seasonally as life and business change.
What’s included
8 one-to-one video sessions, 50 minutes each (the first and last run about 75)
4 phone check-ins, 15 minutes each, in the weeks between sessions
Email support, with replies within 24 hours on weekdays
A self-assessment at the start, at week 3 and at the end, so you can see what changed
A midpoint review to keep or change your focus
A written summary and a maintenance plan to keep
IS THIS FOR YOU?
Built for people who run the business.
This is for you if
You own a business or work for yourself
You’re ready to make your health a priority, even if it still feels a little selfish
You’ve built something you’re proud of, and it’s costing you more than it should
You can commit to 12 weeks of sessions, scheduled flexibly around your week
You’d rather work with someone than spend months on trial and error
This isn’t the right fit if
You need medical or mental health care first. Coaching doesn’t replace your doctor
You only want a weight-loss plan
You’re looking for business or financial advice
You want someone to push you harder
THE FIRST QUARTER
Your first quarter starts when you do.
Your investment for the full 12 weeks (CAD)
Pay in full, or ask about a payment plan.
After your First Quarter, you can keep going with ongoing support that flexes to what you need. We’ll talk about it at the end, once you’ve seen what works for you.
Money-back guarantee
Come to the first two sessions. If you’re not convinced it’s something you want to continue, you get a full refund.
QUESTIONS
Good questions to ask first.
Will I work with you directly?
How is the coaching delivered?
How much time will this take each week?
What if I travel, get busy or need to miss a session?
What happens in the first session?
What will the coaching feel like?
I’ve tried to get healthy before. Why would this be different?
What if I’m not self-employed? Is this for me?
Is this business coaching?
Do I have to follow a diet or workout plan?
Will you tell me what to do?
How will I see my progress?
What is the investment?
Is what I share private?
Is this medical care?
What happens after the First Quarter?
NEXT STEP
Request an alignment call.
A relaxed call to see if the First Quarter fits you. No pressure and no hard sell. If it’s a fit, I’ll walk you through how we’d start. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you honestly.
1
Send the short form
2
We talk for 15 minutes
3
You decide, no pressure
Health coaching is not medical or mental health care, and it doesn’t replace your doctor or any other care you’re getting.
© 2026 Chris Shaften