From Finance Career to $1M Coach: The Full Strategy | Simon Alexander Ong episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 25, 2026 · 1H 35M

From Finance Career to $1M Coach: The Full Strategy | Simon Alexander Ong

from Creator Playbooks · host Callum Mcdonnell

Get a breakdown of Simon's frameworks in my free newsletter: https://bit.ly/4cc9RyuApply to work with me: https://bit.ly/3OXzZn0Simon Alexander Ong is a bestselling author (Energize, Penguin), keynote speaker and one of the world's leading personal development coaches. He left a six-figure finance career in 2017 to build a coaching practice from scratch, and has since grown a YouTube channel to 130,000 subscribers in under 12 months, a viral video with nearly 4 million views, a Sunday Times bestselling book, and a global speaking career.In this episode, Simon breaks down the exact playbook behind every part of his business. From landing his first coaching client to engineering a viral YouTube video, getting a Penguin book deal, and commanding premium speaking fees.Listen on your podcast player: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooksFollow Callum on socials: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnellProduced by 7xContent - make your own podcast with us: https://bit.ly/3OXzZn0Follow Simon: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/simonalexanderong/LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/simonalexanderongYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@simonalexanderoTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to Simon Alexander Ong01:00 Why Simon left a six-figure finance career03:00 The journey from the head to the heart05:00 Going full-time into coaching in 201708:00 Warren Buffett's #1 most important skill in business09:30 How Simon got his first coaching clients13:00 The Third Door framework and how to use it practically17:00 How speaking grew organically from coaching22:00 Building a personal brand before social media28:00 How to answer "what do you do?" with a story32:00 The YouTube strategy: outlier videos explained40:00 How the "I'm 40" video happened (and nearly didn't)48:00 Why it ranked 9/10 for 3 days then hit 1.5M views52:00 Ad revenue breakdown and YouTube monetisation strategy55:00 LinkedIn content strategy: hero, educational and interactive01:00:00 What Simon's business looks like today01:05:00 What's possible in coaching at every level01:10:00 How to land speaking gigs and what fees are realistic01:14:00 The truth about book deals and why royalties aren't the point01:18:00 How to write a book (and why marketing is 50% of the job)01:19:00 The James Bond opening — how to hook any audience01:24:00 Simon's favourite coaching questions01:27:00 The stories we tell ourselves and how to rewrite them01:30:00 Why "making it" is a trap — and what to focus on instead

Get a breakdown of Simon's frameworks in my free newsletter: https://bit.ly/4cc9RyuApply to work with me: https://bit.ly/3OXzZn0Simon Alexander Ong is a bestselling author (Energize, Penguin), keynote speaker and one of the world's leading personal development coaches. He left a six-figure finance career in 2017 to build a coaching practice from scratch, and has since grown a YouTube channel to 130,000 subscribers in under 12 months, a viral video with nearly 4 million views, a Sunday Times bestselling book, and a global speaking career.In this episode, Simon breaks down the exact playbook behind every part of his business. From landing his first coaching client to engineering a viral YouTube video, getting a Penguin book deal, and commanding premium speaking fees.Listen on your podcast player: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/creatorplaybooksFollow Callum on socials: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecallumc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callummcdonnellProduced by 7xContent - make your own podcast with us: https://bit.ly/3OXzZn0Follow Simon: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/simonalexanderong/LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/simonalexanderongYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@simonalexanderoTimestamps:00:00 Introduction to Simon Alexander Ong01:00 Why Simon left a six-figure finance career03:00 The journey from the head to the heart05:00 Going full-time into coaching in 201708:00 Warren Buffett's #1 most important skill in business09:30 How Simon got his first coaching clients13:00 The Third Door framework and how to use it practically17:00 How speaking grew organically from coaching22:00 Building a personal brand before social media28:00 How to answer "what do you do?" with a story32:00 The YouTube strategy: outlier videos explained40:00 How the "I'm 40" video happened (and nearly didn't)48:00 Why it ranked 9/10 for 3 days then hit 1.5M views52:00 Ad revenue breakdown and YouTube monetisation strategy55:00 LinkedIn content strategy: hero, educational and interactive01:00:00 What Simon's business looks like today01:05:00 What's possible in coaching at every level01:10:00 How to land speaking gigs and what fees are realistic01:14:00 The truth about book deals and why royalties aren't the point01:18:00 How to write a book (and why marketing is 50% of the job)01:19:00 The James Bond opening — how to hook any audience01:24:00 Simon's favourite coaching questions01:27:00 The stories we tell ourselves and how to rewrite them01:30:00 Why "making it" is a trap — and what to focus on instead

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From Finance Career to $1M Coach: The Full Strategy | Simon Alexander Ong

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This episode was published on February 25, 2026.

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Get a breakdown of Simon's frameworks in my free newsletter: https://bit.ly/4cc9RyuApply to work with me: https://bit.ly/3OXzZn0Simon Alexander Ong is a bestselling author (Energize, Penguin), keynote speaker and one of the world's leading personal...

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