Reconnecting With Your Value with Emma Smillie
In this episode of Caked In Success, we sat down with the thoughtful and deeply grounded Emma Smillie, a somatic coach, workshop designer and facilitator based in the Netherlands. Emma’s journey is one of reconnection: to her body, to her value, and to the work that feels most meaningful for her.
From Corporate Pressure to Somatic Wisdom
Emma’s background spans corporate roles, international moves, and several entrepreneurial experiments (some of which, as she admits, became “very expensive hobbies”). But the turning point came when her body began to say “no”. After years of pushing herself to fit roles and environments that didn’t align with her, she began experiencing health issues, autoimmune triggers, and injuries; signs that something much deeper needed attention.
This led her to somatic coaching, not initially as a career move, but as a personal healing journey. She describes somatic coaching simply: repairing the connection between mind and body. Many of us operate almost entirely from the neck up, but Emma reminds us that our bodies carry wisdom, instinct, and emotional truth, and that reconnecting with them can be transformative.
The Power of Being Seen
A major moment in Emma’s journey came during her somatic training when her mother passed away unexpectedly. Returning to her programme months later, she found herself in a space where she could bring the rawness of her grief, the anger, tenderness, confusion, and heartbreak, and be met with compassion rather than expectation.
For someone who had spent a lifetime people-pleasing, this was profound. That experience sparked her desire to create spaces where others could be fully seen, fully held, and fully human.
Listening to the Body, Following the Nudge
Like many entrepreneurs, Emma has taken detours, hit dead ends, and found herself questioning her value. When her coaching business stalled, she recognised that the issue wasn’t that others didn’t see her value, it was that she had lost sight of it.
Her response? Instead of forcing things, she surrendered. She took on a part-time role in professional development at a local school, and through that work rediscovered a passion for planning, coordinating, and facilitating meaningful learning experiences. That clarity is now shaping how her business evolves, particularly her focus on helping subject matter experts design and deliver workshops that truly work.
What Emma Wishes New Entrepreneurs Knew
Emma’s biggest lesson is one many business owners will recognise:
“Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.”
Before launching something new, she encourages entrepreneurs to ask:
What will this business require from me?
What will it give me, and what will it take away?
If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?
Does this truly align with who I am and what I value?
These questions might have saved her from leaping head-first into businesses that weren’t right for her, but every step, even the missteps, eventually led her to work that actually fits.
The Heart of Emma’s Work Today
Emma now supports individuals who want to reconnect to their emotional, somatic, and intuitive intelligence, and teams who want to collaborate more effectively, with clarity and momentum. She’s also stepping into a new niche: helping subject-matter experts create workshops that drive real change instead of adding more work to people’s plates.
At the core of everything she does is this belief: when we understand ourselves, our patterns, and our internal signals, we lead lives (and businesses) that feel grounded, connected and meaningful.
A Final Gentle Reminder
Emma leaves us with this simple invitation:
“Listen to the nudges. If something doesn’t feel right, be curious about it. Give yourself space. Follow the impulse to feel better.”
A reminder we could all use, especially in a world that’s constantly asking us to push.
If something in Emma’s story resonates, or if you feel an inner nudge of your own, you can learn more about her work at www.emmasmillie.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.
