The Endurance Coachpreneur: Business Tips for Triathlon, Running and Cycling Coaches

In the Northern Hemisphere, we are in the middle of "vacation season" - summer! How does a coach vacation during one of the biggest athlete parts of the year? How do we support our athletes while supporting our own mental health?  The Dream to 6 is reopening in early September: Join the no-obligation waitlist now! https://coachmichellelake.lpages.co/dt6waitlist/ Let me know what you thin...

When coaching athletes, we often fix and adjust something different from why the athlete hired us in the first place… 🏊🏻‍♀️ They come for accountability to do more but they actually need to do less 🚴‍♀️ They come to you to fix their run in long course or a marathon through workout choice but we actually first work on nutrition & mindset 🏃🏿‍♂️ They come to us to get faster in a 10k and we...

Coaching is the best job in the world, but honestly, sometimes it isn't. You may be approaching burnout, stressed out in life, or just feeling tired of writing training plans.  When we get here, we wish we were in the "flow state", where creativity, ideas, love of the sport and how much you can help athletes is on FIRE. This episode provides my 4 key ways to get into that flow state...

In this episode, I go over the 5 biggest hangups new (and advanced) coaches have with marketing, putting yourself out there and social media. It's not just you that feels this way! After coaching 100s of endurance coaches in these areas, I can safely say that most coaches have felt this way! It's your choice if you let your thoughts "win" or if you do something about them so yo...

In this episode, I go deep on the inquiry communication process. What to do when you get an inquiry to help best position yourself to turn that inquiry into a sale and then what exactly to do when you are dealing with ghosts - those athletes that don't respond to messages and go DARK. It's not even how you handle them, but to have a mindset that understands they are normal and almost hav...

What matters in marketing? If you have gotten STUCK focused on enhancing referrals but are watching your athlete numbers slip down - this episode is for you! Marketing is the way to grow your endurance coaching or endurance expert business in 2025 and beyond! Let me know what you think, send me a DM at CoachMichelleLake on IG!  Let me know what you think! If you enjoy the podcast, I’d be so gratef...

Admittedly, today we are going to talk more about triathlon but also mention running, but all endurance sports will get something from this episode! What's changed in our sports in the last few years?  Why are people leaving? How has the formation of community changed in the last 5-10 years?  All things I ponder on this episode. Let me know what you think! If you enjoy the podcast, I’d be so...

As much as we really want to control it - there will be haters when you grow your business. Trolls online and people in your life that feel triggered by success. Now it won't happen to everyone, but it happens to many. So on today's episode, I help you navigate these difficult situations and thoughts.  Have you left a review? They are HUGE in helping our a small business like mine reach...

This episode is all about BURNOUT and the things you can do to give back to yourself so you have the energy you need to coach. Too many coaches for too long have been giving, giving, giving without any return - how do you actually refill your own cup?  The Dream to 6 is open for just a few more weeks before we close for the summer. If you are interested in learning more about how you can increase...

Ok coaches - this one is for the advanced coaches listening!! We are going to be talking all things TRUST building and how to use your email lists, social following to create some amazing opportunities to build trust with lots of athletes at once - using Conversion Events! Even if you are newer - this is the kind of episode you want to listen to so that you can be ready when it's time for thi...

So many coaches complain about how long it takes to get plan-writing done and it's really a problem in how you manage your communications with your athletes. In this episode, we talk all things communication and how to use specific pathways to coach more people in less time!! The Dream to 6 is open for just a few more weeks before we close for the summer.  If you are interested in learning mo...

Last week, I attended my Mastermind Retreat. A few times a year, I set aside 2-3 days to meet with my mentor and the other 15 or so business owners in my group. This is literally the most important days of my coaching business year and I highly recommend you find a similar group/plan to continue to grow your businesses.  Inside this episode, I describe my 5 biggest takeaways, including new news ab...

In this episode, we go deep on your goals, your time management and answering the question: what is really holding you back?   If you are interested in growing your business now and classify yourself as an intermediate to advanced coach - you can join the Dream to 6!! To learn more, DM me on IG at @CoachMichelleLake . Let me know what you think! If you enjoy the podcast, I’d be so grateful if you...

Today, we talk all about how we say yes, maybe and no to opportunities and collaborations as your business grows as well as athlete boundaries associated with them. Here are the seasons of your business as relates to our programs at Coach Michelle Lake: Season 1: Beginner, your first 5-10 athletes, as covered in the Dream Launcher Program. DM me on IG "Dream Launcher" to learn more but w...

In our final instalment of interviews of the trailblazer coaches, we have Coach Liz Waterstraat from Multisport Mastery ! Liz is an accomplished coach - she founded Multisport Mastery in 2007. She is USAT Level 2 certified (in 2009!), RRCA and USMS Level 3. She coaches all types of athletes from beginner to pro and has coached over 30 national champions! One of her biggest coaching accomplishments...

In our third instalment of interviews of the trailblazer coaches, we have Coach Amy Javens from Flyt Performance! Coach Amy has 35 years of endurance experience from HS state champion in track and field to collegiate hurdler to Ironman Champion! She has 12 years of coaching experience including running the training for one of the largest charity based teams in the world! She started Flyt Performan...

In our second instalment of interviews of trailblazer endurance coaches, we have Natasha Van der Merwe from NVDM Coaching! Natasha was a Pro Triathlete from 2010 to 2023 and began coaching in 2009. She and NVDM Coaching have helped to create over 15 pro triathletes, and more than 300 WC qualifiers! Currently, there are 22 assistant coaches in this hugely successful program. Natasha is a shining ex...

Robin has been passionate about triathlons since 2014 when she competed in her first. She soon found herself helping friends get to their first start lines and coaching them to their next finish lines. In 2022, the Dream to 6 program helped her overcome imposter syndrome - and her coaching business took off. Since then she has coached over 150 athletes. She is a full-time coach and a stay-at-home...

Hey Coaches, I get asked all the time about FB ads and after 3 years of fussing about with them, I have finally gotten them to work and here are my lessons that I have learned that you can use to not make these same mistakes! Even if you aren't thinking of using Facebook Ads anytime soon, you will learn a lot about how I teach coaches to market their businesses in 2025.  Interested in Convert...

In this episode, we are going to work on unleashing the most POWERFUL part of your marketing and coaching - YOU. Not your logo, your website, your email list BUT YOU. I discuss the top 4 areas you can get "more out of you" to help you better connect with your ideal athlete and some of the mindset struggles that come up when bringing more you in. On March 24th, we are doing a 1 week &quot...

In this episode, I am going over the concept of "Coach Concierge" - that as a coach you will be the first line of defence in a number of areas, but if any kind of expertise is needed, don't just assume you have the best knowledge and can help the best but feel COMFORTABLE in your role as concierge - referring your athletes to someone else to help solve that problem. In many cases, i...

Hey coaches - a short and strategy-heavy episode for you today - how can you tell you are about to get an inquiry? What you can control and can't control? How to speed along the process? What works best here? The Dream to 6 is open this week - if you are a 10/10 "Heck Yes", finally ready to do something different in your business, speed up your coaching process, learn the marketing...

Hey! I know that many of you listening to this are coaching in part time hours. It's how almost all of us started! And I know there is a huge struggle to work effectively in the little time you do have and it tends to lead towards burnout and stress because there is NEVER enough time! In this episode, I review my TOP 5 tips for what to do when you are just short in time to coach those athlete...

In this episode, I go over the 4 essential investments I am making in my business in 2025 that you can learn from! I mentioned starting your email list on kit.com - here is a link to setup an account! https://partners.kit.com/mnebnfgsqjcq Starting on February 24th, introducing the free 5 day experience: Build your Coaching Sales Machine!  Turn your content & marketing into ideal athlete inquir...

In this episode, I go over the 3 top things I see in coaches that build successful coaching businesses! They may surprise you! When listening, do a personal audit of how you run your business. Where can you grow?? Where can you do a bit better? I am excited to announce that in the last week of February I am going to be hosting a new FREE experience for coaches looking to improve their marketing so...