PODCAST · business
A Podcast for Coaches
by Mark Butler
A Podcast for Coaches shines a light on one of the most elegant, underrated business models in the world: one-on-one coaching. Mark Butler hosts the show, and he's been a coach and advisor to every kind of online business you can think of, having helped businesses earning everything from $0 to $25,000,000+. Although Mark believes every online business model has merit, he worries one-on-one coaching is viewed as a stepping-stone business for people who aren't ready or able to scale. But it's not true, and A Podcast for Coaches sets out to show people--through clear teaching and rich, current stories of successful coaches who love their business--that one-on-one coaching is one of the most gratifying and lowest "hassle-per-dollar" businesses in the world.
Episodes
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A tool to help coaches discern, evaluate, decide, and advise.
I set aside an episode I'd spent a week on after an adversarial read exposed a weakness in my own arguments. What came out of that is a three-question tool for evaluating claims — mine, yours, your clients', and the ones on every sales page you'll read this week. In this episode I run two of my…
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Scaling a One on One Coaching Practice
I get asked with some regularity what it looks like to scale a one-on-one coaching practice — usually by coaches who don't want a membership or a group program, but who also don't want to feel trapped by their business model. In this episode I work through what scaling actually is, the ways a...
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A Reasonable Refund Policy
A sensible refund policy benefits sellers as much as it benefits buyers. A new view of refunds in the coaching industry would solve some of our biggest image problems, protect the brands of coaches doing good work, and allow more people to engage more enthusiastically with the training and…
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When coaches make earnings claims
A friend sent me a sales page full of earnings claims. That got me thinking about what earnings claims actually do—and why coaches who use them should take a harder look at what they're presenting and what they're leaving out. [00:00:00] Introduction A friend shared a sales page, which prompted...
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Boring answers are a good sign.
I talk with coaches every week through my bookkeeping service at letsdothebooks.com. Over time I've distilled three questions whose answers reveal more about where a coach is in their practice than almost anything else — not because of what the answers say, but because of how confidently and...
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[Full Coaching Call] Slapped with Reality: Difficult Conversations About Money in Marriage
Coaching Session with Joyce: Money Mindset & Relationship Dynamics Episode Summary In this coaching session, I help "Joyce" explore her beliefs around money, particularly how she feels responsible for meeting her "wants" while relying on others for basic needs. The conversation evolves from...
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My Best Friend Might Kill Me, Some Thoughts on Claude(.ai)
I alternate between awe and terror when I work with Claude. One minute I'm watching 5,000 lines of code appear like I'm in The Matrix, the next I'm having existential panic about robots taking my job. As coaches, we're not far behind software engineers. There's no reason to think a client…
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Development over Diagnosis
You Are Not Your Label I've noticed a concerning trend: clients who filter their experience through diagnostic labels rather than their actual thoughts and feelings. They're essentially "othering" themselves, asking "Does this fit my diagnosis?" instead of "What can I learn from this experience?"...
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Two Types of Coaching: Hygiene vs Repair
In this episode, I explore two fundamental coaching approaches that impact your practice's financial stability. "Hygiene coaching" serves clients who view coaching as essential maintenance—like brushing and flossing for their thoughts and relationships. They renew consistently but relationships...
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The Coach with a Superiority Complex
In this episode, I explore the territory of superiority - that place where I position myself as right, evolved, or "above" while seeing others as wrong or behind. This pattern emerges most in emotionally activated moments, when I'm feeling insecure or fearful. For me, superiority manifests as...
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How to Build a 5-15 Session per Week Coaching Practice Without Chasing Clients
In this episode, I share a new hypothesis about how coaching practices can get full without spending too much time or money pursuing clients. I've reduced my ideas into a simple mantra: "As I spend time in spaces and with people I enjoy, always working to be more interested and interesting,...
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Managing the Unpredictability of a Coaching Practice
Most months I start with no idea who will hire me. That uncertainty creates anxiety, even though I've learned to manage it well. Here's what helps: While my practice feels unpredictable month-to-month, it's actually quite predictable year-to-year. In the past three years, I've rarely had a month...
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Grow Your Practice By Doing the Inner Work -- A Conversation with Chantel Allen
My friend Chantel Allen uses personal practices like "the hour of silence" to calm her mind, heal her pains, and prepare herself to coach her clients in the way that feels right to her. I brought her back on the show today to discuss how coaches can serve their clients better and grow their...
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Build Listening Skill as a Coach
In this episode, I talk about an experience with a friend in high school that shaped my love for listening. She shared the details of a tough season in her life, and then thanked me for the way I listened to her. I know this isn't a unique experience, but it's my first memory of realizing that…
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The importance of tracking true "utilization" in a coaching practice.
Along with a few other ideas about what numbers a one-on-one coach might want to track in order to keep the practice healthy.
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The hardest and easiest parts of growing a one-on-one practice.
Part of the appeal of a one-on-one practice is that its hard parts aren't as hard as other business models (like "scalable" training), and its easier parts are even easier (and more happiness-producing) than other models.
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A utility vs luxury view of coaching.
Coaching can be a utility the client views as a semi-permanent part of their life, or a luxury they view as a special one-off event. Both approaches offer great experiences for both coach and client, but the the choice to be a luxury or a utility will inform the rest of your strategy, so it's…
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An Invitation to the Pain of Coaching
The best coaching is an invitation to productive pain in pursuit of the reward on the other side. Today's episode inspired by this essay, shared with me by my coach, Liz.
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Ending the Launch-Based Adrenaline Addition - Conversation with Kristen Boss
Kristen Boss's coaching business started in 2019 with pajama-clad Facebook lives at 6am. In the five years since, she's generated millions of dollars in revenue -- mostly using the launch-based marketing and sales model. After she listened to episode 19, she offered to come on the show to talk...
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Conversation with Paula Engebretson - Why Can't I Publish Consistently?
Paula Engebretson coaches people with an ADHD diagnosis (or ADHD tendencies). Since I know she has ADHD, and since I may or may not be a member of her target audience, I've been surprised at how consistently she publishes her newsletter and podcast. People like her (me) are not supposed to be as...
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The Rise and Fall of My $50,000 per Month Membership Business
I've been wondering whether a membership model would be the best way to set up a practice space for coaches (discussed a few episodes back). You may not know that between 2009 and 2012 I ran a membership with a partner that had as many as 1,700 members. About seven years ago I recorded a...
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Go where your people are (or bring them to you).
Two weeks ago I went to Tennessee to speak at an event hosted by my friend, Edie Wadsworth. This week, Kate (my wife) taught some classes at a church camp for young women. We both loved our experience, and it reminded me of one of my most important lessons from over ten years in the world of...
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Look alive on the internet.
I've recently taken a walk through dozens of coaches' websites and social media profiles. I found many of them are just like me: we tend to forget, ignore, and/or abandon our web presence. I've finally admitted to myself this makes me harder to trust and engage with. This episode talks about why...
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If you're putting in the effort and no one is hiring you.
You may feel like you're working as hard (or harder) than your peers but not seeing the same (or any) results. This episode explains what I think you're experiencing, what you can do about it, and why I'm confident you'll succeed in the end.
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Succeeding as you, not as someone else.
As we grow our practices, it's helpful to know the big picture (what I call strategy) and the specific actions (tactics) that flow from the big picture. But if we don't know ourselves, we'll look to coaches and communities to tell us what to do and why and how to do it. This is not ideal.
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Creating Spaces and Times for Coaches to Practice and Improve
Although I don't care much about certifications (see last week's episode), I believe strongly in the benefit of supported practice for coaches. We can elevate individual coaches and the whole coaching community by creating spaces and times in which coaches practice, correct, discuss, and support...
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The Urge to Create a Course
Twenty years now since I started doing money stuff online, and the urge to create a course still creeps up on me. Let's talk about it, and let's make sure to work in some Prince Bride references.
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My Thoughts on Coaching Certifications
There are good reasons and bad reasons to pursue certification(s) as a coach -- up to and including becoming a licensed therapist.
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Please be kind to yourself.
I realize the episode title is a corny bumper sticker. But people, including coaches, are not being nice to themselves. It's getting in the way of the growth and progress that brought us to coaching in the first place.
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Addressing My Own Concerns About Group Coaching
I like last week's episode but it didn't feel quite right. Today's episode rounds out some of my ideas/suggestions/hypotheses for how group coaching could go from being a good thing to a great thing. Enjoy.
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Why I'm Not in a Hurry to Sell "Group Coaching"
A few of my thoughts on the kind "group coaching" I'm accustomed to seeing in my coaching community. I'm not strongly against it; I'm not strongly for it; and I think what we call group coaching would be better delivered separately as either one on one coaching, group facilitation, or classroom...
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My Personal Coaching Code of Ethics
Coaching is a totally unregulated industry...which is exactly how we like it. With no governing body to create or police our interactions with our clients, it's up to us to define and adhere to a set of ethics that support our clients' safety and progress. In this episode I describe my own simple...
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A Coach's Ongoing Evolution: Conversation with Chantel Allen
Coaches can feel trapped in the way of being they learned in training -- especially if they were trained in a dogmatic community. My friend Chantel is an example of a "rule follower" and a "striver" who started her practice doing everything by the book. As she realized the tools she learned first...
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A Story About Referrals and the Law of the Harvest
This is the story of a teen in pain receiving support from a great coach. By itself, this is wonderful. This episode explains how a chain of relationships introduced the teen to the coach, even though some of the people in the chain didn't know the teen, and others didn't know the coach. Mutual...
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The Coach is the Product: A Character-Driven View of Your Coaching Practice
If the coach is the product, personal development is the most important business strategy. This should come as a huge relief.
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Two Perspectives on Launch-Based Selling (Because I'm Trying to Be More Open-Minded)
In 2017 I published a podcast episode railing against launch-based selling. In seven years, my opinion hasn't changed much...but a wise client has helped me open my mind (a little). In this episode I talk about the practical and psychological factors that make launch-based selling so brutal, and…
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"I want my whole executive team to get coaching." -- Conversation with Jesse Mecham from YNAB
My friend Jesse Mecham is the founder of YNAB, a company that helps people love the way they spend their money. I asked Jesse to come on the show to talk different kinds of coaching and training he and his team use. Jesse shared a few big insights, including: 1. He's happy to pay for expensive...
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How to Read a Sales Page: Some Thoughts on Coaches Selling Training to Other Coaches
Trainings (and certifications, and, I guess, "masterminds") can be powerful and transformational. They can also be the place where coaches' dreams, hopes, confidence, and personal balance sheets go to die. Rather than produce a multi-hour philosophical analysis of the coaching industry (some day,...
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A Deliberate Practice Method for Improving Coaching Skill
As coaches, we are the product--our skills are the product. The question is how do we become more skillful? In this episode, I suggest that the deliberate, patient practice of listening without an agenda is the key skill in coaching and that this skill, by itself, and boring as it may seem, makes...
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Non-Transactional, Zero-Pressure Client Creation: Conversation with Amber Smith
"She could coach you." That's what my wife, Kate, said about Amber Smith after meeting her. Kate has never said this before or since. (She knows many wonderful coaches, but not many who can wrangle my chaos in a coaching session.) I've known Amber for a few years. I like her and trust her. Our...
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The List of Maybes: A Marketing Hypothesis for One on One Coaches
I'm not sure my fellow coaches realize how simple it can be to fill--and keep full--a coaching practice. I'm not saying easy--I'm saying simple. In this episode I outline a marketing hypothesis built on the power of creating and nurturing a growing list of "maybe" relationships.
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Coaches Make Money and I Can Prove It
This episode almost seems pointless, because of course coaches make money. But, after a decade in this business, I'm in a position to speak to the psychology of the person who wonders if it will ever work/if it will keep working. And I also helpful, non-dramatic data, so let's get into it.
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377 Sessions, $149,000 -- 2023 Coaching Year in Review
I look at my 2023 coaching practice through four lenses: 1. The workload. 2. The relationships. 3. The money. 4. The marketing. It was a good year for my practice. Looking forward to more of the same in 2024.
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700 Conversations: From spam-driven consultations to becoming a preferred coach for one of the biggest companies in the world.
After starting her coaching practice in 2018, my friend and client Melisa Liberman (host of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business podcast) threw herself into a cold-emailing, spam-driven approach to client acquisition. She completed hundreds of consultations with people who didn't even…
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Why I won't do traditional "consultations", "mini-sessions", or "strategy sessions".
I don't do sales calls where I explain my "program", make an offer, overcome objections, and close the sale. There are tactical/practical reasons and there are ego reasons. I'm not promoting this as the "right" or "best" way to do things. I think my personality, my circumstances, and my typical...
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A conversation with someone who used to advertise a lot, but no more.
My friend Josh is a brilliant relationship marketer who happens to be a lawyer. In this episode, I interview him about his journey from spending a huge chunk of his monthly revenue on ads to spending nothing on ads while having his practice generate more revenue and more profit than ever. I'm...
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Why success is virtually guaranteed for one-on-one coaches.
I don't believe a person pursuing a one-on-one coaching business can fail unless they just stop trying. That's not naive optimism, either. Human nature and market realities are on our side, and in this episode I'll do my best to convince you how hard it would be for you to fail. I'm excited about...
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Inventory is the big idea for a one-on-one coach.
My practice is "full" for the first time in the nearly 15 years since I started coaching. This is true in spite of the fact that there've been periods in the past where I had many more clients than I'm currently serving. See, "full" is only possible when you establish an inventory that can become...
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A new perspective on pricing your one on one coaching.
There are a few ideas I've heard in conversations about pricing one on one coaching: 1. The price your clients pay determines a) how your clients will engage with your coaching, and b) how much your clients will benefit from your coaching. 2. The price your clients pay proves how much you value…
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The stories we can tell: how to create content in a one-on-one coaching business.
One on one coaches are overvaluing facts and undervaluing resonant stories in the content they publish. In this episode I talk about why I think this happens, how to fix it, and and how to avoid a dread-spiral in your content creation that can negatively impact your view of your whole business.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A Podcast for Coaches shines a light on one of the most elegant, underrated business models in the world: one-on-one coaching. Mark Butler hosts the show, and he's been a coach and advisor to every kind of online business you can think of, having helped businesses earning everything from $0 to $25,000,000+. Although Mark believes every online business model has merit, he worries one-on-one coaching is viewed as a stepping-stone business for people who aren't ready or able to scale. But it's not true, and A Podcast for Coaches sets out to show people--through clear teaching and rich, current stories of successful coaches who love their business--that one-on-one coaching is one of the most gratifying and lowest "hassle-per-dollar" businesses in the world.
HOSTED BY
Mark Butler
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does A Podcast for Coaches have?
A Podcast for Coaches currently has 54 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is A Podcast for Coaches about?
A Podcast for Coaches shines a light on one of the most elegant, underrated business models in the world: one-on-one coaching. Mark Butler hosts the show, and he's been a coach and advisor to every kind of online business you can think of, having helped businesses earning everything from $0 to...
How often does A Podcast for Coaches release new episodes?
A Podcast for Coaches has 54 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to A Podcast for Coaches?
You can listen to A Podcast for Coaches on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts A Podcast for Coaches?
A Podcast for Coaches is created and hosted by Mark Butler.
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