The Problem with "Coach"While coaching is a superpower, the title itself creates massive confusion. Unlike tennis coaches or driving instructors who clearly demonstrate and teach skills, professional coaches use inquiry-based methods—asking powerful questions rather than transferring knowledge. Yet we're stuck with Thomas Leonard's 1990s job title that sets completely wrong expectations.

The Expectation Mismatch CrisisWhen you say "I'm a coach," potential clients expect:

• Knowledge transfer from an expert
• Teaching and demonstration
• Clear methodologies they can understand

But professional coaching is the opposite—we facilitate self-discovery through questioning, not teaching.

Why This Kills Your Business

• Forces endless process explanations instead of value conversations
• Makes premium pricing impossible to justify
• Creates invisibility—people don't know when they need you
• Turns LinkedIn into methodology tutorials instead of client attraction

The Golden Sentence SolutionReplace your job title with this format:"I work with [X] to help them [Y] so that they can [Z]"

Examples:

• "I work with VPs in financial services to help them move to top-tier firms so they can accelerate career progression"
• "I work with small business owners to help them overcome decision paralysis so they can scale operations confidently"

Why This Works

• Instantly clarifies who you serve
• Speaks directly to recognised problems
• Eliminates defensive explanations
• Attracts premium clients who see their exact challenge
• Stops pricing objections before they start

Ready to Transform Your Message?Join Sarah's free 4-day "Nail Your Niche" challenge at thecoachingrevolution.com/nailyourniche

Stop being invisible. Start being indispensable.

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Eric Rugundu left a 20-year legal career to coach young lawyers navigating career crises. Discover his inspiring journey from COVID self-reflection to thriving coaching business.

Key Topics:

• Why 82% of coaching businesses fail (and how to avoid it)
• Overcoming video marketing fears
• Finding your tribe in the coaching community
• The surprising personal development of building a business
• Turning industry experience into your competitive advantage

Golden Nuggets:"You made me do things I didn't want to do - in a good way" - Eric on being pushed outside his comfort zone

"That's how you look and sound. You still have friends." - Sarah's reality check on video fears

Perfect For:✓ Career changers considering coaching✓ New coaches struggling with marketing✓ Anyone afraid of video content✓ Coaches seeking authentic marketing strategies

The Bottom Line: Eric's transformation from LinkedIn-phobic lawyer to confident coach proves that success comes from courage, community, and doing difficult things with proper support.

Ready to build a coaching business that doesn't join the 82% failure rate? This episode reveals exactly how.

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AI Coaching is Closer Than You Think

If you're a coach relying on platforms like Ezra, BetterUp, Lyra, or CoachHub for clients, this episode is a crucial wake-up call. Sarah breaks down groundbreaking research proving AI coaching isn't some distant possibility – it's happening now and performing at surprisingly high levels.

The Game-Changing Research

A new study in Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice examined whether AI coaching agents could meet professional human coach standards. The results should get every platform-dependent coach's attention.

Researchers used AI agents supported by human experts in a "Wizard of Oz" setup and found striking results:

Active Listening: AI showed strong capability, with clients feeling genuinely heard and understood.

Powerful Questioning: Observers noted AI-generated questions effectively helped clients reflect and gain insights.

Client Experience: Clients said AI sessions felt like real coaching and helped them progress toward goals.

Most significantly, observers rated one AI session as demonstrating competencies "comparable to a credentialed coach." This isn't theory – it's reality.

The Platform Threat

For platform-dependent coaches, this research reveals an uncomfortable business truth. AI coaching offers platforms the perfect solution:

• No Labor Costs: AI doesn't need payment, supervision, or management
• 24/7 Availability: No breaks, vacations, or time off needed
• Unlimited Scalability: One system handles countless clients simultaneously
• Consistent Quality: Standardised performance without human variability

Platforms already treat coaching as a commodity, controlling pricing and client acquisition while coaches deliver assigned sessions. When AI can provide "good enough" coaching at zero ongoing cost, human coaches become expendable.

The Commoditization Reality

Platform coaches already experience limited control – you don't set fees, pricing, or acquire clients. Your income depends entirely on platform decisions. Add AI into this equation, and fewer opportunities will exist as platforms prioritise cheaper, scalable AI solutions.

Your Lifeline: Micro Niches

The solution lies entirely within your control. Platforms want scale – serving massive audiences cost-effectively. They have zero interest in small, tightly defined micro niches, and that's your opportunity.

While micro niches seem less exciting than global platform reach, they offer something more valuable: stable, profitable, sustainable income that you control.

Why Micro Niches Work

Well-chosen micro niches enable six-figure or multiple six-figure businesses over time. This creates something AI can't replicate: deep understanding of specific challenges, personal trust-based relationships, and specialized expertise from focused practice.

Act Now, Not Later

AI coaching is already here, performing at professional levels. The question isn't whether this impacts coaching, but whether you'll wait for AI to replace you or build an AI-proof business now.

With clear niche focus and solid client acquisition strategy, your coaching future can be secure and prosperous. Stop depending on platforms and start building something you control.

Ready to future-proof your coaching business?Visit thecoachingrevolution.com and click "Book a Call" to discuss how this works in practice.

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What does it really take to transition from corporate success to a thriving coaching business? Antonia Watson's journey reveals the surprising gap most newly qualified coaches don't see coming.

The Monday Morning Reality

After 20+ years in tech consulting as COO and Global Head of Workforce Strategy, Antonia discovered coaching during a post-pandemic career break. She loved her training at Henley Business School and felt confident in her coaching abilities. Then Monday morning arrived: "I need paying clients. Now what?"

Despite her corporate background, Antonia discovered that marketing a global consultancy bears no resemblance to marketing yourself as a coach. She tried online research and mentoring, but was missing the practical steps to actually implement what she was learning.

The Game-Changing Question

Everything shifted during Sarah's Nail Your Niche Challenge with one powerful insight: "It's one thing identifying your ideal client, but how are you going to find them on LinkedIn?"

This exposed her fundamental flaw – starting too broadly with "I'll coach professional women." You can't find all professional women on LinkedIn and message them personally. The practicality simply doesn't work.

Going Deep for Real Results

Antonia learned that effective marketing requires understanding your ideal client at an impossible depth. She now works specifically with senior women in STEM navigating change who want to advance their careers with clarity and confidence.

This specificity transformed everything. She developed structured daily LinkedIn content, runs targeted webinars, built her website, and works with both individual and corporate clients. Many come from her former network who now understand exactly how she helps.

The Unexpected Truth

Building her coaching business became as much personal development as her coaching training. The skills are completely complementary – the deeper she understands her ideal client for marketing, the better coach she becomes.

Through the Coaching Revolution's Advance Programme, Antonia gained practical tools from proposal writing to client sequences. The supportive community provides ongoing collaboration without competition, since everyone serves different niches.

Her transformation from a qualified coach wondering "what now?" to confidently building a thriving business proves that with practical guidance and community support, the gap between qualification and success can be bridged.

Ready to Nail Your Niche?

Join Sarah's Nail Your Niche Challenge – the only challenge designed specifically for qualified coaches who want to stop marketing to everyone and start attracting ideal clients.

🎯 ⁠Register for Nail Your Niche Challenge⁠

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The Hard Truth Sarah Drops in This Episode

If you're posting inspirational quotes and calling it marketing... stop. That's not marketing, that's just posting. And there's a big difference.

The brutal reality: 82% of coaching businesses fail because their owners don't know how to find paying clients. But here's the thing – it's not your fault.

Why Most Coaches Struggle (Spoiler: It's Not What You Think)

Your coaching school taught you how to coach, not how to run a business. Sound familiar?

The fantasy vs. reality:

• What you thought: "Coaching is my superpower! People will see what I do and come running!"
• What actually happened: Crickets

The problem: Your potential clients don't even know you exist. Worse? They don't know they need a coach – they're too busy struggling with their problem.

The Thoughts Sabotaging Your Success

Sarah calls out the mental blocks every coach has (yes, even you):

✗ "I don't want to be salesy"✗ "I'm terrible at promoting myself"✗ "Maybe I need more qualifications first"✗ "Marketing feels inauthentic"

Reality check: You're not bad at marketing. You just haven't learned how to market yet.

The Elephant in the Room: You Can't Market to Everyone

The uncomfortable truth: When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one.

Why this happens: Your message becomes so broad and vague that it floats past the people who desperately need your help.

The Niche "Problem" That Isn't Actually a Problem

What coaches think: "If I choose a niche, won't I limit myself and get bored?"

The reality: Choosing a niche isn't about saying no to variety – it's about saying yes to focus.

Your clients aren't searching for "a coach." They're searching for someone who understands their specific problem.

The Power of Getting Specific (With Real Examples)

Instead of saying: "I help people with their careers" (boring, invisible)

Try this:

• "I help account managers in financial services land their second job after their first postgraduate role"
• "I help senior leaders in pharmaceuticals transition into a new career before retirement"
• "I help deputy heads who've lost their mojo rediscover their passion for work"

The result: Your potential client thinks, "That's me! That's my exact problem!"

Your Next Steps

Ready to stop spinning your wheels and start attracting clients who actually pay professional rates?

Stop doing this:

• Posting vague inspirational quotes
• Trying to appeal to everyone
• Waiting for more qualifications

Start doing this:

• Get crystal clear on who you help
• Speak directly to their specific problem
• Show them you understand their struggle

Ready to Nail Your Niche?

Join Sarah's Nail Your Niche Challenge – the only challenge designed specifically for qualified coaches who want to stop marketing to everyone and start attracting ideal clients.

🎯 Register for Nail Your Niche Challenge

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Listen to how one project manager transformed 14 years of corporate experience into a thriving coaching business - and why AI can't replace authentic marketing.

About The Episode:

Meet Andy Keneally, an Irish project manager turned successful business coach who spent 14 years managing massive projects across the globe - from Hong Kong to China to London. After feeling stuck at the senior level and wondering, "is this it?", Andy made the leap into coaching and discovered how to turn his corporate experience into his greatest business asset.

In this candid conversation, Andy shares his journey from complete beginner to landing corporate clients, the surprising truth about AI in marketing, and why community support became his secret weapon.

What You'll Learn:

The Power of Experience-Based Coaching

• Why coaching "a younger version of yourself" creates instant credibility
• How Andy identified project managers at career crossroads as his ideal clients
• The difference between having lived experience vs. having a "front row seat" to your audience's challenges

The Reality Check on AI and Marketing

• Why ChatGPT assumes every coach is a sports coach (spoiler: it happened to Sarah too!)
• The frustration of AI-generated content that "doesn't sound like you at all"
• Why LinkedIn is littered with obvious AI posts that make you feel like you know ChatGPT instead of the person
• The crucial difference between AI as a tool vs. AI as a thinking replacement

From Invisible to In-Demand

• How Andy went from unknown to having corporates reach out directly
• The simple strategy of being visible and speaking your audience's language
• Why "best kept secret" coaches can't earn a living

The Game-Changing Power of Community

• How Andy got 10+ expert responses to his pricing question in just one hour
• The difference between coaching communities and business-focused coaching communities
• Why working alone means "turning around to the dog" for advice (Andy's words, not ours!)

About The Guest:

Andy Keneally is a business coach specialising in helping project managers navigate career crossroads. After 14 years managing large-scale projects globally, including 2.5 years based in Hong Kong and China, Andy now helps senior project managers in London figure out their next career move while managing the unique stresses of their fast-paced profession.

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The One Question Every Coach Supervisor Dreads

If you’re a coach supervisor, you know the question. It comes up in almost every group session, especially with newer coaches, and it can bring the conversation to an awkward halt: “How do I find coaching clients?”.

This single question creates a ripple of discomfort. Is it even a topic for supervision? And if it is, how do you answer it, especially if your own path to getting clients isn't something others can easily replicate?.

In this episode, Sarah pulls back the curtain on this common challenge, looking at it from both sides of the telescope—for the coach who is desperate for an answer and the supervisor who feels stuck.

🔥 What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• A Coach's Vulnerability: When coaches have tried networking and discovery sessions with little success, they become vulnerable. This vulnerability is a magnet for predators and "charlatans" in the client acquisition space.

  
  

• The High Cost of Bad Advice: Desperate coaches have spent eye-watering amounts of money on promises that are too good to be true. Sarah shares stories of coaches who spent £10,000 on training with "literally nothing actionable" and others who were told to send 50 spammy DMs a week on LinkedIn, only to be met with hostile replies and told their "poor mindset" was the problem when they struggled.

  
  

• The Supervisor's Dilemma: The "how do I find clients" question is especially uncomfortable for supervisors whose own experience isn't repeatable. Perhaps you had a strong corporate network to tap into , or you built your hours through associate work , as an internal coach , or by coaching trainees at a school. Simply telling a new coach to "email everyone in their network" isn't helpful if their network looks nothing like yours did.

  
  

• A Radically Changed Landscape: The coaching world has seen a 54% increase in qualified coaches since 2019. As a result, finding associate work is incredibly difficult. Some platforms now have waiting lists for pro bono work, and others have turned away coaches with a PCC credential for not having enough experience.

  
  

Are you a coach supervisor struggling with this very issue?Sarah recorded a conversation with a group of supervisors discussing how they handle this exact challenge. If you'd like a copy of that recording, she is happy to share it with you.

Drop an email to:

sarah.short@thecoachingrevolution.com to request the video.

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