Are you a purpose-driven coach who wonders why you’re staring at an empty calendar? Are you unsure about getting those first crucial clients? If you’re caught in the frustrating cycle of needing experience to get clients and needing clients to get more experience, you are not alone. More importantly, you are closer to breaking through than you think. Join me in today’s solo episode to uncover the key to a new coach’s biggest mountain to conquer: landing those first few game-changing clients. We’re diving into this essential topic right now with practical strategies you can implement today. Your first client is waiting for YOU!

Show Highlights:

• Make a mindset shift around the “experience paradox.”
• Three permission slips to give yourself:
• Permission to be a beginner
• Permission to start before you feel “ready”
• Permission to charge for your value
• Concrete action step #1: Write down one instance when you helped someone create a solution for an issue.
• Strategies for inviting clients into your space:
• Think of your warm market as your gold mine.
• Determine your three circles of influence. (“You cannot be a secret and a success at the same time.”)
• Build your Know-Like-Trust factor by providing value. Be clear and specific!
• Use your warm market as an opportunity to offer barter coaching.
• Concrete action step #2: Identify 10 people in your warm market who need what you offer or might know those who do. Reach out to one person today.
• Using the Beta Client Approach:
• Position yourself as someone launching a beta program for your coaching methodology. (This reframes your newness as exclusivity.)
• Take on a limited number of beta clients for a specified time frame.
• You can build your client base and clarify your offering to achieve exceptional results.
• Concrete action step #3: Consider your ideal client and develop a simple beta program tailored to your coaching niche.
• Building credibility without experience: Where to begin:
• Leverage your training and certifications.
• Share your personal transformation story.
• Connect your professional background to coaching.
• Gather micro-testimonials from informal helping situations.
• Create consistent, valuable content.
• Concrete action step #4: Create your own credibility stack. (Check out SCS 336, What’s Your Value Proposition?)
• Meg’s 7-day challenge: Are you up for it?

Resources:

Connect with Meg:

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You are in for a treat as we discuss current trends in the coaching industry in today’s episode. You’ll learn strategies for stepping up and standing out in a highly competitive market. Join us to hear practical insights from today’s expert guest!

Joanna Lott is a business coach who helps qualified coaches attract clients with honesty, not hype. As the host of the Women in the Coaching Arena podcast, a top 2% globally-ranked show, she provides practical strategies to help coaches grow thriving, sustainable businesses. With a track record of successfully selling executive and career coaching services to organizations and individuals, Joanna has supported hundreds of coaches in building profitable, integrity-driven businesses through strategic marketing. She is the co-founder of the One Stop Coach Shop, which offers instant access to templates, tools, and resources specifically designed for coaches. As an ICF Associate Certified Coach holding an ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring, Joanna brings a wealth of practical experience and professional expertise to her work.

Show Highlights:

• The return of in-person coaching, even as a hybrid model of connection, is impactful.
• Your marketing should show who you are and attract YOUR kind of people.
• Leverage opportunities (like a podcast) to stand out and bring value.
• Joanna’s tips for standing out in a competitive coaching environment: use “bots” and tools, differentiate yourself with a catchphrase, run immersive workshops, be authentic, and be different
• “Coaching with purpose” means finding a mission or social justice issue that people want to get behind with you. (Figure out your mission by asking, “What makes me angry?”)
• Shine your light by unapologetically claiming your space!
• Joanna’s advice to young coaches who fear the haters
• Key takeaways from Joanna: “You’ll gain so much by going on a visibility mission as far as learning your own voice, building your confidence, and gaining self-esteem. There is so much to gain in the biggest personal growth journey of your life.”

Resources:

Connect with Joanna Lott:

Website, Women in the Coaching Arena podcast, The 2025 Coaches Planner, LinkedIn, and Facebook

Book mentioned in this episode: The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Connect with Meg:

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Explore the STaR Coach Community and see what’s available there for you!

Visit the STaR Coach Show YouTube Channel! Subscribe today! Join our live show taping on the 3rd Thursday of every...

Today’s show focuses on values. How do we get clear on our values, and how do we best help our clients get clear on their values? Our starting point is to understand the crucial difference between needs and values. Join us to discover the transformative power of values-based coaching!

Alma Weaver Jones is an executive coach who recently rebranded her company to Soul Weaver, focusing on the positive power of coaching and synergy. As a coach, facilitator, and leadership catalyst, she has coached, inspired, and motivated thousands to build lives and careers that are energizing and fulfilling. With over 20 years of experience as a professional coach, Alma’s portfolio includes high-profile leaders, non-profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies that recognize the value of developing their human capital as they work toward a shared vision. Alma’s varied background includes executive roles in the staffing industry and the nonprofit sector. She has been on staff at the University of Texas at Dallas since 2005, where she trains and mentors students in coaching programs and coaches leaders in the research department.

Show Highlights:

• Alma’s impetus and inspiration to rebrand after many years
• Alma’s experience with Thomas Leonard, “the father of coaching” (founder of the ICF)
• “Everyone is being chased by a need.” (Needs are different from values. Are you running FROM something or TOWARD something?)
• Finding clarity about your values and getting your needs met (Learn to ask yourself the right questions.)
• Working from a place of values with organizations with strengths in psychology and soul fulfillment
• Alma’s best advice for creating a thriving, sustainable coaching business: Find connection, cultivate collaboration, and allow yourself time to build your “runway.”
• Considerations in weaving a tapestry of values (“What I value” and “what my values are” aren’t the same!)
• Key takeaways from Alma: “Look at how you, your clients, and your clients’ companies can find ways to live their values. It goes beyond profitability.”

Resources:

Connect with Alma Weaver Jones: Website, Email, and LinkedIn

Connect with Meg:

ENROLLING NOW FOR THE FALL MENTOR PROGRAM beginning in August. Click here for more information, and sign up now!

Explore the STaR Coach Community and see what’s available there for you!

Visit the STaR Coach Show YouTube Channel! Subscribe today! Join our live show taping on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 1 pm CT.