The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity

In a world so focused on productivity, Coach’s Journey founder and host Robbie Swale is interrogating what this word really means. His work on the concept of meaningful productivity explores up questions like: “What do I need to do in order to be at peace with myself?” And: “Do I want to be more productive or simply not feel like I’m failing all the time?” In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Po...

Being made redundant 18 months after moving to America transformed Ashana Crichton’s life because, in her own words, when you take away the security blanket you have to leap into something new. In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Ashana fondly recalls having the rug pulled from under her feet, because it set her on the path to becoming a certified Master Executive Coach and the founder...

Growing up with a father and brother who were “never wrong” left Yannick Jacob seeking a life that wasn’t about right answers. That led him to coaching, and more specifically to existential coaching, a space where humanity’s oldest and most profound questions – and the plethora of answers to them – can be explored at a deeper level. Yannick is an existential life and leadership coach, a posit...

How do our surroundings affect our ability to think? And can we connect with our sense of place and purpose by immersing ourselves in nature? In this episode of the Coach’s Journey Podcast, walking coach Rebecca Norton brings her combined expertise in coaching and mountain leadership to bear on these questions and many more, in conversation with host Alex Swallow. Rebecca and Alex explore the last...

GiveDirectly is an extraordinary organisation, working to end extreme poverty through an idea that is simple but revolutionary: give cash directly to people in extreme poverty and let them decide what they need most. Research shows this approach is not only effective but also deeply empowering. Since I ( Robbie ) first read about GiveDirectly in 2017, it has been the focus of almost all my charita...

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, hosts Robbie Swale, Alex Swallow and Alex Whitton reflect on some of their most practical takeaways from over 90 episodes of the show. These are the things that they have taken and used in their coaching and coaching businesses… and you can too! In particular, they talk about : Working over a period of time not a number of sessions. Creating rolling...

So many coaches find themselves lost in comparison as they work on their coaching businesses. In this TCJ Short, an excerpt from Episode #42 , you can hear developmental psychologist Jennifer Garvey Berger sharing the metaphor she uses to support her clients to gain more perspective on the impossible comparisons they create for themselves. As Jennifer and Robbie discuss, even just hearing this met...

In this unique crossover episode of The Coaching Inn and The Coach’s Journey Podcast, hosts Claire Pedrick and Robbie Swale come together for the first time to discuss their upcoming collaborative workshop, The Artful Coach and the Soulful Coaching Business , scheduled for 10th May, 2025. This episode is a delightful blend of humor, insightful conversation, and a deep dive into the themes of artfu...

This short episode contains Robbie’s answer to a question every coach should ask themselves, especially if they want a sustainable coaching business: how do create a powerful ending to a coaching engagement? It’s so easy as a coach to completely miss the opportunity to create meaning and transformation at the end of our coaching programmes. But that's what's possible if we pay attention to this ke...

In this TCJ Short, an excerpt from Episode #47 , you can hear Lindsey Lewis describing the six key skills she had to develop in order to create a successful coaching business , inspired by experts in the field like Amber Krysz, Carolyn Freyer Jones and Steve Chandler. Lindsey outlines the skills, and then she and Robbie and dive into some of them in detail. The things Robbie and Lindsey discuss he...

This short episode contains the answer to one of the questions Robbie gets asked the most, a question that is really hard to answer as you set out on your journey as a coach: how do I choose a coaching training programme? There are links to most of the people Robbie mentioned, as well as the article about changing careers, below. Download Robbie’s ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Fl...

Can coaching teach us to love ourselves more? Can it help us come to terms with injustice and pain? Does it offer a route towards peace? Executive coach, consultant and facilitator Philip Crocker explores all of these questions in this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, and shares the wisdom and insights he uses in his work with senior leaders from some of the world’s most innovative organisa...

Amy Brann has been studying neuroscience since she was 15. Now, as the founder of Synaptic Potential, she brings all that expertise to working with organisations to create meaningful change backed by scientific underpinnings. Named 2023 HR Most Influential Thinker , Amy is the author of three books about neuroscience, including Neuroscience For Coaches , which is on the reading lists of many of th...

In this TCJ Short, an excerpt from Episode #53 , you can hear Sarah Fox and Robbie outlining powerful and simple ways for a coach (and any freelancer or self-employed person) to take control of their finances and manage them more skilfully: both for now, and for the future. In particular, they talk about: Separating priceless you from the business and work you do so you can get clear on your numbe...

This is the sixth and final episode in a series diving into The Coaching Business Flywheel and the fundamental parts of a sustainable coaching business. In this episode, Robbie and Ruth get to grips with the final part of the flywheel, the thing we all got into this coaching thing for: working with clients . They share the most effective ways to make your coaching more powerful and useful for your...

Gary Buxton admits he spends his life stuck in rabbitholes. As a psychologist and executive coach, he loves nothing more than to geek out about the evidence base for coaching, ensuring his own practice is built on the latest science. While Gary is a firm believer that coaching is always a process and never a destination, in this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast he warns against the pitfalls...

This episode is the fifth in a series diving into The Coaching Business Flywheel and the fundamental parts of a sustainable coaching business. In this episode, Robbie and Ruth focus on the part of the Flywheel that often creates the most fear and resistance for coaches: telling people how you work, how much it costs and how to pay you. It couldn’t be clearer that unless you do this, there are no c...

This episode is the fourth in a series diving into The Coaching Business Flywheel and the fundamental parts of a sustainable coaching business. In it, Robbie and Ruth dive into the power of focusing our energy and action on creating insight , and how, if we create insight enough, we almost can’t help but have the coaching business we want. Robbie shares why he believes that the more we can create...

George Warren describes “growth through discomfort” as a key theme in his life and in this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, he lays down a challenge to the coaching industry to step out of its comfort zone and explore questions that might challenge the very foundations of our work. While many of us place the principles of being client-led and non-directive at the centre of our practice, Geo...

In this episode, the third in a series diving into The Coaching Business Flywheel and the fundamental parts of a sustainable coaching business, Robbie and Ruth slow down and take a deep dive into perhaps the most powerful step in the Flywheel for taking control of the future of your coaching business. That is: making offers and, in particular, offering people the opportunity to experience you more...

In this episode, taken from Robbie’s appearance on Aly King-Smith’s A Listening Life podcast, Robbie gives one of his most most concentrated downloads ever on everything he knows about growing a coaching business. In particular, Robbie and Aly cover: Why, despite being a prolific writer and producer of content, Robbie thinks content creation is a terrible way to grow a coaching business . How Robb...

Ruth Rochelle’s life and career changed when, in 1979, she met Ariana Huffington and took part in the first Insight Seminar ever to happen in the United Kingdom. Ruth describes this moment as her invitation into self-reflection, the start of her career, and the time when she started to become the leader in her own life. In Café Royal on London’s Regent Street, with 100 people – including some famo...

In this episode, the second in a series diving into The Coaching Business Flywheel and the fundamental parts of a sustainable coaching business, Robbie and Ruth slow down and take a deep dive into connecting with people . Robbie tells stories about how working with his coaches supported him to develop a connection practice that is authentic to him and supports the growth of his business. They disc...

This episode is a unique chance to get inside a group coaching call with Robbie Swale. In it, you can hear Robbie coaching David Norris, Joey Owen, Hazel Martin and Alex Swallow, exactly as he would in one of his group coaching programmes for coaches or leaders. It demonstrates the way that he runs The Coach's Journey Community, which is his flexible, affordable group coaching programme for coache...

The Coaching Business Flywheel is the culmination of Robbie Swale’s seven years of supporting coaches to grow their coaching businesses and five years of interviewing coaches on this podcast. It is his attempt to take all that work and answer the question: how do you grow a coaching business? In this episode, the first in a series exploring this question and model, Robbie and Ruth slow down to exp...