Paul and Joey free-ball a full playbook for building a coaching business in 2026. They get into why you have to be good at something before you sell anything, giving away your best work for free, and the 6 years Paul spent learning to coach one bodybuilder who got his pro card a week after leaving him. Then it's niching down to the person you were 5 years ago, why soft skills now beat expertise, the hybrid pricing model that actually scales, and why paying for mentorship and getting in the room beats consuming content forever. If you're a coach trying to figure out where to start or what to double down on, start here.CHAPTERS00:00 Be Good At Something First08:19 The Client Who Let Me Experiment15:54 Your Niche Is You, Five Years Ago28:50 Soft Skills Are The Real Edge37:11 The Hybrid Model That Scales41:16 Mentors, Rooms, And ROIWHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ The 3 layers of credibility every coach climbs, and why you start by being good at something→ How giving away your best material for free actually brings clients in→ Why your first niche should be the person you were 5 years ago→ The in-person to hybrid pricing model that scales to $6,500 a month with 10 clients→ Why real relationships now beat expertise as your differentiatorCONNECTPaul → @pauloneid on InstagramJoey → @joeyszatmary on InstagramReal time, real conversations with real people building forward.#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #CoachingPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #CoachingMentorship #FitnessBusiness

Paul and Joey get real about the season where training falls to third place behind family and business, and what to actually do about it. They get into prioritizing by enjoyment, the tedious prep an injury forces on you, and why the phone is the best excuse any of us has for skipping the work. Then Paul explains why he'd rather sell Coaches Corner than be owned by it, and how to market without handing your morals to the algorithm. If you're a coach trying to build something without building a cage, start here.CHAPTERS00:00 Puke, Poop, And A 12-Pound Cut09:44 When Training Slips To Third12:59 Why I Train Before I Work28:59 The Phone Is The Real Problem42:10 The Business You End Up Owing55:32 Play The Game Your WayWHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ How to prioritize training by enjoyment when business is screaming for your time→ Why writing your own programming 6 weeks out beats picking exercises from a bucket→ How the phone quietly becomes your best excuse for skipping the work→ Why being owned by your business costs more than it ever pays→ The three mile hero approach to marketing without living on social mediaCONNECTPaul → @pauloneid on InstagramJoey → @joeyszatmary on InstagramReal time, real conversations with real people building forward.#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #CoachingPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #FitnessBusiness #StrengthCoaching

Paul's mom Susan joins Building Forward this week, and she came ready. Susan spent 30 years in the fitness industry, raised Paul and his brother alongside it, and has built a life around movement, relationships, and finding the next goal worth chasing. The conversation covers how resilience actually gets built in kids, why social media is quietly breaking the identity formation process, happiness as a meaningful pursuit, and what it looks like to bet on yourself at 62. This one hit different.CHAPTERS00:00 Introducing Susan Walsh04:16 How Fitness Got Passed Down Without a Plan19:39 Social Media, Identity, and the Resilience Gap40:31 Happiness Is a Pursuit, Not a State56:14 Three Chapters Left: Bet on YourselfWHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ How Susan raised Paul and his brother inside the fitness world without any conscious design, and why that organic approach produced something a planned approach couldn't→ Paul's 4-step identity formation framework and why social media is quietly breaking the process for an entire generation→ Why happiness is more accurately described as the pursuit of a meaningful goal than a feeling, and what Susan's conversation about 'feeling stuck at 62' reveals about that→ The advice Paul's mom gave him when he went full-time with MAP, and why she now has to take it herself to finish her NASM certificationReal time, real conversations with real people building forward.#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #PaulOneidPodcast #FitnessParenting #CoachingPodcast #PersonalDevelopment

Paul and Joey get real about the heavy season they're both in. Paul opens up about asking for help, finding out his low mood was physiological before it was mental, and the systems he built so he can actually be present on vacation. Joey breaks down a disaster of a morning that turned into a war path, and the two of them get into anger as fuel, why expectations quietly wreck relationships, and what it takes to make someone feel safe. If you hold yourself to a high standard and have trouble asking for help, start here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Vacation, Mexico, And Disconnecting

06:45 Building Systems To Be Present

11:30 Physiological, Not Just Mental

22:00 Anger As Fuel

37:00 Expectations And The 1%

48:00 Needs, Grace, And Safe Relationships

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

→ How to build vacation systems that let you fully disconnect from clients

→ Why your low mood might be physiological before it's psychological

→ How to use anger as fuel without letting it explode

→ Why dropping expectations protects your closest relationships

→ The difference between feeling safe and feeling vulnerable, and why it matters

CONNECT

Paul → @pauloneid on Instagram

Joey → @joeyszatmary on Instagram

Real time, real conversations with real people building forward.

#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #CoachingPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #FitnessEntrepreneur #CoachMentorship

Paul and Joey get into how they're actually using AI in their coaching businesses, and why most people are doing it backwards. Joey breaks down the two weeks that changed how he runs everything, from his operating system to onboarding to clocking out and not thinking about work. They cover sleep and mental health, asking for help when your whole brand is built on grit, people as catalysts in your life, and why in-person coaching is about to matter more, not less. If you're a coach wondering how to use these tools without offloading the part clients actually pay you for, start here.CHAPTERS 00:00 Sleep, Mood, And The Excuse 10:01 People As Catalysts 24:30 Buy Back Your Time 30:01 The System That Changed Everything 40:54 Amplify Your Voice, Don't Offload It 55:58 What If You Fall In Love With AIWHAT YOU'LL LEARN → Why sleeping less to get more done stops working the moment your mood goes → How to use AI to repurpose the IP you already have instead of generating empty content → The operating system Joey built in two weeks that lets him fully clock out → Why in-person coaching gets more valuable as AI makes everything else faster → How to set AI up so it actually learns you instead of turning into a clusterfuckMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell Dan Martell YouTube channel (AI workflows) Claude and Cowork by Anthropic Pain to Performance workshop with Dr. Kirsten WischloffCONNECT Paul → @pauloneid on Instagram Joey → @joeyszatmary on InstagramReal time, real conversations with real people building forward.#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #CoachingPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #CoachingMentorship #StrengthCoaching

Paul and Joey go deep on saying no, gratitude, and what it means to live (and die) on your own terms. Paul's grandfather just turned down chemo at 90 and the conversation pulls everything into focus: locus of control, memento mori, the bad 10 minutes that steal your day, and the lore you leave behind. If you've been saying yes to too much and forgetting why, start here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Saying No, Controlling The Schedule

09:04 The Reset You Keep Skipping

13:34 When Autonomy Gets Stripped

18:47 Going Out On Your Terms

32:23 Memento Mori And Locus Of Control

56:30 The Lore You Leave Behind

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

→ Why opportunity in the short term doesn't compensate for discomfort in the long term

→ The locus of control test for every stressor on your plate

→ Memento mori as a calming practice, not a morbid one

→ Why an idle mind is the most dangerous place to be

→ The three kinds of decisions: hat, haircut, and tattoo

Real time, real conversations with real people building forward.

#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #CoachingPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #StrengthCoaching #FitnessBusiness

In this episode, Paul and Joey go wide. Joey talks through his 8-week health phase and why periodizing nutrition matters once you've maxed out a mass. Paul shares his Summer Strong recap, why AI is the next internet for coaches paying attention, and the lessons from a failed app, a yoga class email, and the strategy of doubling down on what already works. If you're a coach figuring out where to put your next 12 months, start here.CHAPTERS00:00 The Health Phase Joey Needed After His Mass14:36 Summer Strong, AI, And The Next Internet35:30 The Yoga Email That Burned Into Joey's Brain46:29 The App That Failed Because Marketing Came Last58:46 Double Down Before You DiversifyWHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ Why an 8-week health phase resets your metabolism after a hard mass→ How AI tools, used right, multiply what you produce without diluting your voice→ Why doubling down on what you do best wins over adding adjunct services→ The pebbles in the pond mindset that turns every interaction into business growth→ What a failed behavior change app taught Paul about MVP and marketing firstReal time, real conversations with real people building forward.#BuildingForward #PaulOneid #JoeySzatmary #BuildingForwardPodcast #OnlineCoachingBusiness #CoachingMentorship #StrengthCoaching

Paul and Joey get into the lifter's journey, the long arc from full-effort beginner to over-optimizer, back to the foundational work that actually compounds. Paul shares how he went from walk-run intervals to a 6:47 mile in 9 months, the 30% volume rule that quietly maintains hard-earned adaptations, and why he now programs clients with color-coded exercise menus instead of fixed selections. Joey makes the case for killing the 7-day training week. If you've started to feel boxed in by your own structure as a coach or a lifter, this one's for you.
CHAPTERS
00:00 A 6:47 Mile And The Math Of Marginal Gains
11:17 The Lifter's Journey Is A Bell Curve
22:11 Where's The Fun? It's The Whole Game
32:56 Hybrid Training And A 30K Trail Race
48:50 Kill The 7-Day Training Week
57:25 The 9-Out-Of-10 Stress Lie
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
→ How a 6:47 mile got built on walk-run intervals and small daily decisions
→ Why fun belongs on the same shelf as progressive overload
→ The 30% volume rule that keeps adaptations alive when life gets busy
→ How to program clients with color-coded options instead of rigid selections
→ Why training across a month instead of a week keeps you more consistent

Paul and Joey lay out the difference between belief, delusion, and illusion, and why most coaches mistake one for the other. They get into how you turn a delusional goal into a believable one (Paul's 1:45 half marathon as the worked example), why ego-driven validation quietly hijacks your training and your business, and what 'I am where my feet are' actuallymeans when you'd rather be 5 miles ahead. If you've been chasing the finish line and missing the run, this one's for you.

CHAPTERS00:00 Vegas, The Summit, And A Red Rock Run04:10 From Social Media To Attention Media18:54 Curiosity, AI, And Better Questions25:11 Belief, Delusion, And Illusion39:35 Periodization And The Power Of Saying No52:08 Being A Gamer And The Way You Get There

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ The difference between belief, delusion, and illusion (and how to tell which one's runningyour goals)→ How to convert a delusional target into a believable one through reverse engineering andevidence→ Why ego-driven validation quietly hijacks training, business, and family decisions→ What 'I am where my feet are' actually means when you'd rather be at the finish line→ When saying no to good opportunities is the only way to grow what already matters

In this episode, Paul and Joey break down the gap and gain framework and why most coaches waste years trying to fix the wrong things. They get into onboarding as the quietest lever in a coaching business, how soft skills beat programming for client retention, and how risk tolerance shifts when you have a family counting on you. If you're a coach stuck between fixing your weaknesses and doubling down on your strengths, start here.CHAPTERS00:00 Joey's High School Talks07:26 The Phone, Social Media, And Double-Edged Swords10:50 Gap And Gain, Running The Audit22:14 Doubling Down Vs Fixing Gaps31:04 Onboarding, The Quiet Lever40:37 Why Programming Isn't The Real GapWHAT YOU'LL LEARN→ How to run a strength and weakness audit that actually changes your business→ The 3-day onboarding sequence that generates referrals before the first call→ Why soft skills beat programming knowledge for client retention→ How risk tolerance shifts when you have a family counting on you