Founded in 2024 and based in Toronto, Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting provides progressive, professional, client-focused, and personalized development services, including Leadership Coaching, Customizable Coaching, Purpose Bloom Coaching, Learning & Development Consulting, and Health and Wellness Coaching, to help people grow with purpose and alignment.

People frequently experience burnout, struggle with self-awareness, stay in misaligned roles, and repeat harmful patterns when it comes to professional and personal development, which results in stagnation, disengagement, and decreased general well-being and effectiveness. And this is the reason why services for professional and personal development are essential. They enable people to develop with clarity, self-assurance, and alignment, which allows them to make deliberate decisions, adjusts to change, and operate sustainably over time.

Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting emphasizes personalized, human-centered support that combines strategic growth with contemplative techniques to help individuals become their best selves. By using a variety of coaching techniques and individualized consulting services, the organization demonstrates a comprehensive approach to growth.

In this exclusive interview with Business Fortune, Ayeesha Kanji the founder of Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting spoke on how she blends creativity, compassion, and strategy to help high-performing individuals rediscover their purpose, navigate transitions, and achieve sustainable growth through deeply personal, human-centered coaching and leadership development.

Interview Highlights:

Ayeesha, can you share what inspired you to launch Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting in 2024, and how your own experiences shaped the company’s vision?

Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting is raised from a deep personal realization that many high-performing, capable individuals are outwardly successful yet internally disconnected from their sense of purpose. Over the years, I worked across leadership development, consulting, and people-focused initiatives, and I repeatedly saw the same pattern, individuals excelling in roles that no longer reflected who they were becoming. I reached a point where I felt compelled to build something that honored both my achievement and inner alignment. Chestnuts emerged as a response to that gap. My own experiences navigating transitions across industries, identities, and stages of life taught me that growth is not linear and that sustainable success requires compassion, reflection, and creativity.

‘Creative and compassionate’ is a phrase used to describe your approach. How did you arrive at this philosophy, and what does it mean to you in practice when working with clients?

Creativity and compassion are often considered as soft qualities, but in my experience, they are powerful strategic tools. I arrived at this philosophy by observing what actually creates transformation. People don’t change because they are pressured or optimized; they change when they feel seen, safe, and inspired.

Creativity allows us to explore possibilities beyond rigid frameworks, whereas compassion creates the conditions for honesty and courage. In practice, this means meeting clients exactly where they are—without judgment, and helping them experiment with new ways of thinking, working, and leading.

Client sessions may involve reflective dialogue, narrative reframing, somatic awareness, or strategic planning, depending on what the client needs. The work is adaptive, human, and deeply respectful of each individual’s lived experience.

Did you face any major turning points or challenges in the earliest days of building Chestnuts? What kept you motivated during those moments?

One of the biggest challenges at the beginning was resisting the pressure to conform to conventional coaching models. There is a strong market pull toward formulas, quick wins, and surface-level transformation. I knew from the start that Chestnuts needed to be different, more intentional, more integrated, and more human.

Building something values-driven requires patience. What kept me motivated was the clarity of purpose. Every time a client articulated a breakthrough, naming a truth they had been avoiding or reclaiming confidence they thought they had lost is what reaffirmed that this work mattered.

I stayed grounded by returning to the “why” and thereby creating meaningful, ethical, and sustainable growth for people and organizations.

Chestnuts offer a range of services from Career Coaching to Purpose Bloom and Health & Wellness Coaching. How do you tailor these services to meet the diverse needs of your clients?

Tailoring begins with listening. No two clients come with the same context, goals, or constraints. At Chestnuts, we start with a holistic intake process that includes professional history, personal values, energy levels, and current challenges.

Leadership Coaching may focus on clarity, transitions, or leadership presence. Health & Wellness Coaching addresses sustainability helping clients to recognize how burnout, boundaries, and physical well-being intersect with performance. Each service is modular, allowing us to design engagements that reflect the whole person rather than a single objective.

This flexibility ensures that clients receive support that is relevant, practical, and deeply personal.

What does “Purpose Bloom Coaching” mean in practical terms, and how does it differ from other coaching models?

Purpose Bloom Coaching is centered on emergence rather than prescription. Instead of asking clients to define a single purpose statement, we explore how purpose evolves over time. It’s about noticing patterns, values, and moments of aliveness which in result allows clarity to unfold organically.

Practically, this involves guided reflection, values mapping, narrative exploration, and intentional experimentation. Clients test small shifts in behavior, boundaries, or direction, observing what brings energy and meaning.

Can you walk us through a typical client engagement cycle – from first contact to transformation outcomes? What milestones do you track?

A typical engagement begins with a discovery conversation focused on alignment and expectations. From there, we move into an assessment phase where goals, challenges, and success indicators are clarified.

The active coaching phase is frequent. Milestones may include increased self-awareness, decision clarity, improved communication, or renewed confidence. Rather than rigid metrics, we track meaningful shifts as to how clients feel, how they show up, and how they make choices.

Engagements conclude with integration, ensuring clients leave with tools, insights, and momentum they can sustain independently. The Being Profile is the tool used as the basis for each engagement and facilitates the conversations in each coaching phase.

Your specialties include L&D consulting. How do you integrate learning and development frameworks into individual coaching journeys?

Learning and development frameworks provide structure, but coaching brings them to life. I integrate L&D principles such as adult learning theory, reflective practice, and feedback loops into coaching, in a way that feels natural rather than academic.

For example, we may design learning sprints, apply experiential reflection, or build personalized development plans that align with organizational contexts. This integration ensures that growth is both intellectually grounded and experientially meaningful.

Looking ahead, what exciting developments or new service lines are you planning for Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting over the next 3-5 years?

Over the next few years, Chestnuts will expand into group coaching, leadership circles, and organizational partnerships. I’m specifically excited about developing programs that support women in leadership, cross-cultural professionals, and purpose-driven organizations.

There are also plans to introduce digital resources and thought leadership content that make this work more accessible globally, while preserving its depth and integrity.

About | Ayeesha Kanji

Ayeesha Kanji is the Founder of Chestnuts Coaching & Consulting. She is a coach, consultant, and leadership development professional focused on purpose-driven growth. With experience spanning coaching, learning & development, and strategic advisory work, she partners with individuals and organizations navigating transition and transformation. She blends creativity, compassion, and structure to support sustainable success.

“People don’t change because they are pressured or optimized; they change when they feel seen, safe, and inspired.”