Getting Younger with Eula Clarke

Retirement Done Right

After her early retirement from working in finance, Eula Clarke became a serial Entrepreneur, focusing on the health and wellness of women. Young at heart, Eula Clarke applies her 45 years of expertise and excellent communication in conducting her new business at the highest standards of integrity & professionalism.

The oldest of three sisters, Eula Clarke grew up in Jamaica until the age of nine, when she followed her parents to the UK, after living with her grandparents while her parents settled. Spending most of her childhood and adult life in Birmingham, UK, education was key for Eula’s family, and a passion for her. A promising athlete at school, Eula went into the world of finance at 18, and remained there for many years, before leaving to set up her own health and wellness consultancy, Clarkes Associates Consultancy Ltd.

How did you come up with the idea to start a health and wellness consultancy after you retired?

For most of the first half-century of my life (I plan to live to a hundred!) I dedicated my time and energy to helping people manage their finances and prepare for retirement. I am well accustomed to terms like retirement income, insurance, lifestyle, wellbeing and planning. It is just fair to say that I took advantage of what I offered to everybody else, in terms of preparing for a happy retirement, both financially and emotionally. Unfortunately not many people I know are making the best of what is available to them— and when I retired in 2017, I decided to be loud about the choices I make, and help more people find their financial freedom and enjoy life to the  fullest, instead of suffering from ‘victim’ syndrome.

I retired early to take control of my own life, and in doing so, I came to understand why people talk about wellbeing as if it is an out of reach dream. Getting closer to a ‘blue zone’ lifestyle instead of turning myself into a grumpy retired person, I realised that there are too many people who suffer after retirement, instead of enjoying the fruits of their labour.

I know from my own experience that, regardless how well prepared you are for retirement, the finite nature of financial resources, and health and wellness is always at the back of your mind. While money is not everything, I decided to enjoy the richest season of my life and I opened my own consultancy firm with a focus on the health and wellbeing of women executives who, just like myself not so long ago, never think of themselves. It is an old dream of mine since I was in full-time employment and didn’t have the gift of time.

What Inspired you to launch your own wellness consultancy after retiring?

The idea was to share my own experiences and offer my own solutions to wellbeing to other women, so they do not struggle with the work life balance as I did. As you can probably tell, I love talking with people and building life lasting relationships

I was working full-time, and therefore had no time for anything else. Having achieved everything I ever wished for (and more) in the corporate world, but at the price of my own health. The freedom of being my own boss, structuring my day, duties and development, inspired me to become an Entrepreneur. I love helping others and building a team. This new venture made me focus on me, for a change. It is a different kind of work , but it’s truly rewarding.

When I started this journey, my health and wellness were at ground zero, I had to take a deep breath and start again, change my lifestyle completely, and learn to live a well-balanced life.

How do you use your own experiences to provide the services you offer?

Clarkes Associates Ltd focuses on Women in Leadership, supporting female executives to be better managers and experts in their chosen fields. I’ve been suffering with high blood-sugar levels and I was always curious about alternative medicine options rather than medications. I began studying to become a Naturopath in Alternative medicine to address my own health issues and mitigate the damages created by work-related stress over the years.

In my capacity as a health and wellness coach, I am passionate about supporting my clients with their health concerns and vitality. I have tested various solutions to detox my own system, I have dropped from a size 20 to size 14 and I am maintaining my weight. My solution to wellbeing is transferable and I use it to educate and guide as many women as possible!

While caring for my mother, it could be challenging to manage my time. I have discipline in my life, but I am no stranger to unforeseen circumstances. I learnt to overcome setbacks, I plan my day, setting my goals in advance.

What is the best piece of advice you can give someone who is facing retirement?

Retirement is not easy. Maintain an active lifestyle, get involved in wellness projects, and connect with vibrant, like-minded people. If you don’t know where to start, be curious, ask questions, seek knowledge. Do you know that you can actually reduce your health care spending? Make a deliberate decision to get younger each day!  .

About Eula Clarke

When Eula received her Woman of the Year Award for delivering substantial revenue and business growth in Banking and Finance fields. A top-performing Management Professional with extensive years of experience, combining customer services, branch operations, and business development, Eula decided to embrace retirement with renewed energy.

Eula has been married to her husband for over 40 years, and together they have an adult daughter who is a successful lawyer. In her seminars, Eula uses her experience to help women cultivate relationships with their partners and families, as well as teaching them how to run a business in partnership with their spouse.

A philanthropist at heart, Eula loves fundraising and runs Women in Leadership seminars around the UK

Meet Eula at Tea Time in London

TEA TALK LONDON

SATURDAY 9 November 2019

The Holiday Inn London – Kensington Forum