In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen speaks with Samantha Leeman, a certified coach and senior product owner at Lloyds Banking Group. With over 15 years in the tech industry, Samantha is on a mission to empower women to thrive in a field that wasn't built with them in mind.

Samantha shares her journey from a tech recruiter to a career coach, explaining that coaching was a natural extension of her decade-long experience mentoring others. She focuses on helping ambitious women in tech, many in or aspiring to leadership roles, overcome self-doubt and build a career that "feels successful." Her coaching program is a "Clarity and Confidence Catalyst," designed to give clients the tools to take action and achieve their goals, which for some, has meant doubling their salary or getting a promotion.

Her clients find her primarily through word-of-mouth and her strong presence on LinkedIn, where she shares personal stories and free advice. Samantha is currently writing a book to scale her impact and secure more speaking opportunities. Her key advice to other coaches is to productize your coaching to make it tangible for clients, invest in a mentor coach for continuous growth, and be relentless in promoting your work.

Connect with Samantha Leeman

• Website: https://onceuponatechrecruiter.com/
• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/samanthaleeman?trk=public_post_follow-view-profile

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Lauren Sikes, an executive coach and founder of Truth Collective. With a background in social work and teaching, Lauren helps leaders find their authentic style and confidently navigate pivotal transitions.

Her coaching focuses on helping leaders align their professional impact with their "true self." Lauren's ideal clients are new or transitioning leaders who are open to growth. She offers a 12-month one-on-one program, with a new mastermind launching in Fall 2025 that will combine individual and group coaching.

Lauren's business is primarily driven by client referrals. She is now starting to invest more consistently in social media to complement her newsletter and in-person connections. She highlights key investments, including a virtual assistant and a focus on strong personal support systems, like reliable childcare, to expand her capacity.

She identifies her biggest challenge as avoiding the temptation to chase revenue by taking on ill-fitting clients, which she calls a "bottleneck." Her main advice for other coaches is to get incredibly clear on their ideal client and to distinguish between "true leadership" (authentic vision) and "ego leadership" (external pressures).

Connect with Lauren Sikes:

• Website: https://www.truthcollectiveco.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-sikes-215381109?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen interviews Karen Liebenguth, a leadership coach and founder of Parseval. Karen began coaching after an unexpected corporate promotion, which led her to discover her passion for helping others.

Her coaching approach is unique, combining eco-psychology and mindfulness. She often conducts sessions while walking with clients in London's green spaces, a method that helps leaders feel grounded and gain new perspectives. Karen works with self-aware leaders and uses her articles on LinkedIn to attract clients.

Her main goal is to scale her ethics program by partnering with a larger organization, as she is more passionate about the coaching itself than the marketing. Her core advice to coaches is to be persistent, believe in their work, and speak their clients' language to build a successful practice.

Connect with Karen Liebenguth

• Website: https://parcival.co.uk/
• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/karenliebenguth

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Hugh Blane, an elite performance and leadership coach. Hugh shares how a childhood business failure inspired his life's work of helping leaders close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

He runs Claris Consulting, working with CEOs and small business owners to scale their companies, with an impressive 87% referral rate. Hugh emphasizes that coaching is a relationship business and that the best marketing is getting stellar results for clients. His key advice for coaches is to get a coach, focus on client outcomes (value) over inputs (hours), and build a profitable niche.

Connect with Hugh Blane:

• Website: https://clarisconsulting.net/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughblane
• Books: https://clarisconsulting.net/book

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen interviews Elizabeth Payne, an empowerment coach and speaker. After years of feeling disconnected despite her achievements, Elizabeth had a life-changing session with a coach that inspired her to help others find inner freedom and personal power.

Elizabeth's coaching is centered on her "backpack" analogy for the subconscious mind. She helps high-achieving clients who feel "something more" is missing to become aware of and release limiting beliefs and emotions, enabling them to reclaim their power. Her programs are typically 12 weeks long, offering one-on-one or self-paced options.

She navigates her business using a vision of peace and freedom, rather than strict goals, as she believes a vision allows for continuous growth. Elizabeth credits her personal growth and business flow to clearing her own "backpack," making her marketing and investments more aligned and effective. She sees all investments as opportunities to learn and remove personal blocks.

For fellow coaches, she advises a focus on clearing one's own subconscious mind to avoid self-sabotage and recommends a simple daily practice of five minutes of presence to build awareness.

Connect with Elizabeth Payne:

• Website: https://elizabethpayne.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nxtlvlshift

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen interviews Jordan Benjamin, a former HubSpot sales leader and the founder of MyCoreOS. Jordan helps high-achieving tech professionals master peak performance without burning out.

He shares his transition from a top-performing salesperson to a coach, motivated by a desire to help people find purpose beyond traditional success. He finds the most rewarding moments in helping clients find small, transformational "aha" moments. Jordan's marketing strategy is heavily focused on LinkedIn, where he leverages his profile as a landing page and adds value by commenting on other creators' posts.

His advice to other coaches is to focus on delivering a great product, not just great marketing. He suggests using AI tools to analyze and improve their coaching process, which he believes is the most effective way to drive referrals and stand out.

Connect with Jordan Benjamin

• Website: https://www.mycoreos.com/podcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanbenjamin?trk=public_post_follow-view-profile

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Dr. Donna Vallese, an executive coach, education leader, and the founder of Inspiring Leaders LLC. With over two decades of experience, Donna is on a mission to transform education by empowering leaders to challenge antiquated systems and create more meaningful learning environments.

Her coaching focuses on "rebel rousers" within education—principals, superintendents, and consultants—who want to push the status quo. She uses the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) assessment to help clients understand their behavioral patterns and works with a data-driven platform to track goal progress.

Initially, Donna's marketing efforts on social media had a low return. Her most successful strategies have been networking on LinkedIn, attending conferences, and winning RFPs (Requests for Proposals) to become an approved vendor for school districts. She has ambitious goals to expand her impact with projects like the Educational Luminaries conference and Epic Education, an initiative to develop alternative teacher training pathways.

Her biggest challenge is the underfunding of education, which limits the resources schools have for external support. Donna's core advice to other coaches is to tackle the "root of the problem" rather than just applying temporary fixes, helping clients see that true change is possible despite the difficulty.

Connect with Dr. Donna Vallese:

• Website: https://www.inspiringleadersnetwork.com/group-invitation-ilf
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnavallese
• Email: [email protected]

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

Executive coach Charmaine Brown shares her inspiring journey from 28 years in corporate leadership to empowering high-achieving women to launch their own businesses. In this episode, she reveals lessons on mindset, scaling without burnout, and the power of authenticity in building a coaching brand. Perfect for coaches, entrepreneurs, and aspiring business owners.

You can find her on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charmaine-brown-0a813b2

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Maddie Fox, an HR leader, executive coach, and founder of MadFox Group. With over 20 years of experience, Maddie shares her journey, which was inspired by a manager who used coaching questions and a leadership program focused on self-awareness.

Maddie is an ICF-accredited coach who works with leaders at pivotal career transitions, especially in startups and purpose-led businesses. Her coaching style is flexible and client-led, often including team coaching to improve group dynamics.

Her business thrives on referrals and long-term client relationships, as she admits marketing is not her strongest area. Her most valued investments have been in therapy and supervision, which she considers essential for an ethical and rigorous practice. Maddie's biggest current challenge is launching her long-overdue website, which she sees as an important step in clarifying her brand.

Her advice for new coaches is to establish rigor in their practice through training and supervision and to find a strong community of fellow coaches to combat the loneliness of self-employment.

Connect with Maddie Fox:

• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/maddie-fox

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com 

In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Dave Martinez, a certified professional resume writer and the founder of Resume Associates. With over 17 years of recruiting experience, Dave was inspired to start his business after noticing many people's resumes failed to represent their true value.

Dave helps job seekers from all backgrounds craft resumes that pass Applicant Tracking System (ATS) filters and attract recruiters. He notes that 80-85% of people he works with have resumes that would fail these systems. His service includes an initial consultation and a flexible, long-term engagement, focusing on specific keywords and transferable skills.

His business thrives on referrals, which account for 65-75% of his clients. He considers his Certified Professional Resume Writer license to be his most important investment. Dave's main business challenge is effectively communicating his value proposition in an age of AI, stressing that human expertise is still critical for a resume to get through ATS and land an interview.

For new coaches, Dave advises delivering an impeccable service, as client satisfaction and word-of-mouth are the most powerful drivers of business growth.

Connect with Dave Martinez:

• Website: https://theresumeassociates.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-martinez
• Email:  [email protected]

Support the show

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com