Every coach has had that moment. You're staring at your calendar, seeing a client's name, and feeling a knot in your stomach. Maybe they keep canceling. Maybe they're not doing the work. Maybe you've been dancing around a problem for weeks because you don't know how to bring it up.

The difficult client conversation is the one most coaches avoid — until they can't anymore. And by then, the issue has often gotten worse.

This episode is the finale of our five-part series, "The Conversations That Build Coaching Businesses." We're wrapping up with the conversation most coaches dread — and the one that can make the biggest difference in your coaching practice and your peace of mind. I'm walking you through five of the most common difficult client situations, what's really going on underneath each one, and exactly how to have the conversation with clarity and kindness.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why coaches avoid difficult conversations (and what happens when we do)
• The client who's not...

You're at a conference, a local business event, or maybe just a friend's dinner party. Someone asks what you do. And suddenly your brain goes blank. You mumble something about coaching, they nod politely, and the conversation moves on. Sound familiar?

Networking has a terrible reputation — and honestly, most of us are doing it wrong. We either avoid it entirely or show up with an energy that feels transactional and forced. But here's the thing: relationships are how most coaching businesses grow. Not ads. Not algorithms. People.

This episode is part two of our five-part series, "The Conversations That Build Coaching Businesses." We're talking about what to say — and how to show up — when you meet someone who could become a client, a referral source, or a collaborator. Whether you're an introvert who dreads small talk or you just don't know what to say when someone asks what you do, this episode will help you approach networking in a way that feels genuine, not gross.

In this episode...

Here's something most coaches know but don't act on: referrals are the single best source of clients. People who come to you through a referral already trust you. They've heard about you from someone they respect. The sale is half made before you even get on the call. And yet — most coaches leave referrals entirely to chance. They hope their happy clients will spread the word. They assume if someone loved working with them, they'll naturally tell others. But hope isn't a strategy.

This episode kicks off a five-part series called "The Conversations That Build Coaching Businesses." Over the next five weeks, we're going beyond the discovery call and into the conversations most coaches avoid, fumble through, or never think to have. We're starting with the referral conversation — how to ask for referrals in a way that feels natural, not awkward or desperate, and actually works.

I'm sharing stories from my own business, including a CEO client who came back three years later with a referral...

There’s a lot of noise online right now about how to build a coaching business.

Post more content.
Master the algorithm.
Go viral.

And while visibility can certainly help people find you… the truth is that most sustainable coaching businesses aren’t built on flashy tactics.

They’re built on simple, relationship-based practices that don’t get talked about nearly enough.

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on the less glamorous strategies that quietly build real coaching businesses — the ones I’ve relied on for years and the ones I see working again and again for the coaches inside my programs.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by all the pressure to constantly produce content or chase the latest platform strategy, this episode will be a refreshing reminder that building a successful coaching practice doesn’t have to be complicated.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why real conversations are still the most powerful marketing strategy
• The surprising role that following up play
...

What if you could create one coaching program that becomes the cornerstone of your business — the thing you’re known for, that clients immediately recognize, and that keeps generating revenue year after year?

That’s exactly what happened for me when I built the Business Building Bootcamp (BBB) — my flagship, one-year business-building program for coaches. In this episode of the Coaching Edge Podcast, I’m pulling back the curtain on how and why I created it, the lessons I learned along the way, and how you can tell if you’re ready to design your own signature course.

I’ll take you back to year 10 of my coaching career, when my practice was already full and I was focused on burnout, alcohol, and life transitions for professional women. Out of the blue, coaches from my latest certification class started coming to me for help building their businesses. Their training had promised business-building support, but the reality fell short — and they saw me as someone who was actually doing it ...