A Podcast for Coaches

A sensible refund policy benefits sellers as much as it benefits buyers. A new view of refunds in the coaching industry would solve some of our biggest image problems, protect the brands of coaches doing good work, and allow more people to engage more enthusiastically with the training and support they need. Timestamps [00:00:00] Introduction and thesis A no-refund policy is widely accepted in hig...

A friend sent me a sales page full of earnings claims. That got me thinking about what earnings claims actually do—and why coaches who use them should take a harder look at what they're presenting and what they're leaving out. [00:00:00] Introduction A friend shared a sales page, which prompted this episode The program being offered may be fine—what I want to examine is the earnings claims being u...

I talk with coaches every week through my bookkeeping service at letsdothebooks.com . Over time I've distilled three questions whose answers reveal more about where a coach is in their practice than almost anything else — not because of what the answers say, but because of how confidently and clearly a coach can say them. Timestamps [00:00:00] Introduction — I describe the conversations that led t...

Coaching Session with Joyce: Money Mindset & Relationship Dynamics Episode Summary In this coaching session, I help "Joyce" explore her beliefs around money, particularly how she feels responsible for meeting her "wants" while relying on others for basic needs. The conversation evolves from financial concerns into deeper relationship dynamics around desire, communication, and self-betrayal. To...

I alternate between awe and terror when I work with Claude. One minute I'm watching 5,000 lines of code appear like I'm in The Matrix, the next I'm having existential panic about robots taking my job. As coaches, we're not far behind software engineers. There's no reason to think a client couldn't eventually reach many of the same insights with Claude that they would with us. Pretending otherwise...

You Are Not Your Label I've noticed a concerning trend: clients who filter their experience through diagnostic labels rather than their actual thoughts and feelings. They're essentially "othering" themselves, asking "Does this fit my diagnosis?" instead of "What can I learn from this experience?" While labels offer comfort (I've felt it myself with ADHD), they risk becoming prisons of consistency....

In this episode, I explore two fundamental coaching approaches that impact your practice's financial stability. "Hygiene coaching" serves clients who view coaching as essential maintenance—like brushing and flossing for their thoughts and relationships. They renew consistently but relationships eventually end naturally. "Repair coaching" serves clients who reach out only during acute situations—po...

In this episode, I explore the territory of superiority - that place where I position myself as right, evolved, or "above" while seeing others as wrong or behind. This pattern emerges most in emotionally activated moments, when I'm feeling insecure or fearful. For me, superiority manifests as becoming a well-spoken, fast-talking bully, using my natural ability to rapidly process ideas as a weapon...

In this episode, I share a new hypothesis about how coaching practices can get full without spending too much time or money pursuing clients. I've reduced my ideas into a simple mantra: "As I spend time in spaces and with people I enjoy, always working to be more interested and interesting, coaching clients will appear." I break down how this approach relies on confidence, curiosity, and patience...

Most months I start with no idea who will hire me. That uncertainty creates anxiety, even though I've learned to manage it well. Here's what helps: While my practice feels unpredictable month-to-month, it's actually quite predictable year-to-year. In the past three years, I've rarely had a month with zero coaching transactions. I've found that reducing uncertainty comes down to nurturing three typ...

My friend Chantel Allen uses personal practices like "the hour of silence" to calm her mind, heal her pains, and prepare herself to coach her clients in the way that feels right to her. I brought her back on the show today to discuss how coaches can serve their clients better and grow their practices through doing the inner work.  To find out how you can with with Chantel, join her waitlist here:...

In this episode, I talk about an experience with a friend in high school that shaped my love for listening. She shared the details of a tough season in her life, and then thanked me for the way I listened to her. I know this isn't a unique experience, but it's my first memory of realizing that just paying close, compassionate attention is a way to connect with people. Now that I'm a coach, I belie...

Along with a few other ideas about what numbers a one-on-one coach might want to track in order to keep the practice healthy.

Part of the appeal of a one-on-one practice is that its hard parts aren't as hard as other business models (like "scalable" training), and its easier parts are even easier (and more happiness-producing) than other models. 

Coaching can be a utility the client views as a semi-permanent part of their life, or a luxury they view as a special one-off event. Both approaches offer great experiences for both coach and client, but the the choice to be a luxury or a utility will inform the rest of your strategy, so it's worth a careful look.

The best coaching is an invitation to productive pain in pursuit of the reward on the other side. Today's episode inspired by this essay , shared with me by my coach, Liz.

Kristen Boss's coaching business started in 2019 with pajama-clad Facebook lives at 6am. In the five years since, she's generated millions of dollars in revenue -- mostly using the launch-based marketing and sales model. After she listened to episode 19 , she offered to come on the show to talk about the high highs and low lows she's experienced as a launch-based coach. I'm grateful Kristen would...

Paula Engebretson coaches people with an ADHD diagnosis (or ADHD tendencies). Since I know she has ADHD, and since I may or may not be a member of her target audience, I've been surprised at how consistently she publishes her newsletter and podcast. People like her (me) are not supposed to be as reliable as she is. But she shows up like clockwork. I asked her to come on the show to talk about how...

I've been wondering whether a membership model would be the best way to set up a practice space for coaches (discussed a few episodes back). You may not know that between 2009 and 2012 I ran a membership with a partner that had as many as 1,700 members. About seven years ago I recorded a retrospective of the whole experience. Today I listened to it and, although I don't agree with everything I sai...

Two weeks ago I went to Tennessee to speak at an event hosted by my friend, Edie Wadsworth. This week, Kate (my wife) taught some classes at a church camp for young women. We both loved our experience, and it reminded me of one of my most important lessons from over ten years in the world of coaching: there's no substitute for being in the same room as the people you want to serve.

I've recently taken a walk through dozens of coaches' websites and social media profiles. I found many of them are just like me: we tend to forget, ignore, and/or abandon our web presence. I've finally admitted to myself this makes me harder to trust and engage with. This episode talks about why this is an issue and how to fix it without too much work or expense.

You may feel like you're working as hard (or harder) than your peers but not seeing the same (or any) results. This episode explains what I think you're experiencing, what you can do about it, and why I'm confident you'll succeed in the end.

As we grow our practices, it's helpful to know the big picture (what I call strategy) and the specific actions (tactics) that flow from the big picture. But if we don't know ourselves, we'll look to coaches and communities to tell us what to do and why and how to do it. This is not ideal.

Although I don't care much about certifications (see last week's episode), I believe strongly in the benefit of supported practice for coaches. We can elevate individual coaches and the whole coaching community by creating spaces and times in which coaches practice, correct, discuss, and support each other.

Twenty years now since I started doing money stuff online, and the urge to create a course still creeps up on me. Let's talk about it, and let's make sure to work in some Prince Bride references.