Coach Pony

How did Jodi Flynn land her first paid coaching client? Networking, networking, networking.

This can apply to any business but especially when you’re coaching in the corporate executive realm, it's all about relationships.

Getting clients is all about who you know and being brave enough to put yourself out there.

You have to get in front of potential clients, get to know them, and let them know what you can offer.

All this season we have been chatting with experienced 6 and 7-figure coaches from different niches about how they got that very first client and what they might do differently today.

In this episode, we are continuing our series by peering into the world of corporate coaching with the Founder of Women Taking the Lead, Jodi Flynn.

For over a decade, women leaders have been hiring Jodi to develop the skills needed to thrive in Senior Leadership.

She is the host of the critically acclaimed Women Taking the Lead podcast, and an Amazon bestselling author with her book, Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. She is the President of the board for The Maine Women’s Conference and has been featured in Entrepreneur and Forbes Magazine.

Jodi is more than a decade into her career as a corporate coach and is still loving it!

And funny enough, after all these years of experience, she is still getting her clients the same way she got that very first paying client–networking, networking, networking…

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Jodi’s first corporate coaching client was the biggest package she ever sold
• How the industry has changed in the 12 years since she started her business and what predictions she has for the corporate coaching world
• Why, when you're in the corporate and executive realm, it's all relationships–being willing to get to know people and be of service to them
• What Jodi teaches her clients about taking on more responsibility and rearranging their lives, all while taking care of themselves

Book Recommendations:

• How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen
• In the Flo: Unlock Your Hormonal Advantage and Revolutionize Your Life by Alisa Vitti

To learn more about Jodi Flynn:

• Women Taking the Lead
• Facebook: @womentakingthelead
• LinkedIn:n @jodiflynn
• Twitter: @jodimflynn
• Instagram: @jodimflynn

To learn more about Christie Mims:

• FREE 26-Page Guide On How to Land Your First Clients
• Coach Pony
• The Revolutionary Club
• Instagram @christiecoachpony

It can be hard to imagine that someone would pay you money to help them.

It's not just the lack of confidence in making a living. It can also be about the lack of confidence in really being able to help people.

In the beginning, getting over your questions of self-worth and imposter complex can be the hardest part. And being able to push through and learn the value of how you can help other people can be a painful journey.

But it is also a rewarding journey.

In this first season of our podcast, we have been talking with experienced 6 and 7-figure coaches from different niches about how they got their very first paying client.

In this episode, we are peering into the world of date coaching with Bobbi Palmer, founder of Date Like a Grownup.

As an internationally recognized dating coach for women over 40, Bobbi delivers compassionate, real-life advice with a side of sass.

After becoming a first-time bride at age 47, Bobbi said “see ya’ to the corporate world and founded her company, Date Like a Grownup, beginning her mission to help women do what she did: find a magnificent, grownup man to share the rest of their life.

Over the last 12 years coaching, Bobbi has certainly experienced feelings of doubt, but she has been able to push through to a thriving coaching business.

And it all started with her first client.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How a blog that she thought no one would ever read led to her first client
• How much she charged that first client and what she charges now
• How she still, 12 years later, reaches tens of thousands of women every month through her blog posts
• And what Bobbi has done to get past the hardest part – believing in herself

Book Recommendations:

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--And Keep-- Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
• Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening by Stephen Batchelor

To learn more about Bobbi Palmer:

• Date Like a Grownup
• Facebook @DateLikeaGrownup

To learn more about Christie Mims:

• FREE 26-Page Guide On How to Land Your First Clients
• Coach Pony
• The Revolutionary Club
• Instagram @christiecoachpony

You don’t have to build the perfect sales funnel to have a thriving business.

You don’t have to have the perfect lead magnet or the perfect email automation behind it. It’s not necessary to schedule another amazing photoshoot or to build an immaculate sales page.

What makes your business work is keeping things simple.

A clear offer and good relationships with both your clients and the people in your network can be all you need. Over-complicating things can actually make it harder for you to succeed, not easier.

In season one of our podcast we have been talking with experienced 6 and 7-figure coaches from different niches about how they got their very first paying client.

Today, we're going to peer into the world of business coaching with Tara McMullin.

Tara is a coach, community builder, podcaster, and writer. She’s the founder of What Works, a digital platform for small business owners who are building strong, resilient, and sustainable companies. She’s also the co-founder of YellowHouse.Media, a podcast production agency that helps entrepreneurs create standout podcasts that grow their businesses.

Tara has a ton of wisdom. Her podcast, What Works, has been downloaded over 2 million times and boasts over 300 interviews with small business owners.

I love how both of her platforms are helping clients build strong and resilient companies.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why her very first client is still one of the things that she is most proud of in her business career
• What she used to charge for her services and what she charges now
• The story of her absolute worst moment as a coach, and how she got past it
• Why she is taking a break from group coaching and moving back to her first love–private coaching

Book Recommendations:

• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
• The Book of Help: A Memoir in Remedies by Megan Griswold

To learn more about Tara McMullin:

• What Works
• What Works Podcast
• Yellow House Media
• Instagram @tara_mcmullin
• Twitter @taragentile

To learn more about Christie Mims:

• FREE 26-Page Guide On How to Land Your First Clients
• Coach Pony
• The Revolutionary Club
• Instagram @christiecoachpony

Your story matters. It’s powerful.

And one of the keys to a successful coaching business is focusing on and developing your personal story so that you can share it with the world.

Samantha Gilbert, the founder of Eat For Life, truly embodies this wisdom.

Her story of healing is an inspiration but her journey to becoming a successful coach wasn’t always easy.

She’s spent most of her life battling severe depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and body image dysmorphia. Since finding her own path to wholeness, she’s dedicated to helping others find this same healing path.

Building her health coaching business took some time. It took tenacity, patience, and perseverance but she knew that people, especially women, were struggling terribly. And she could use her skills to help.

For 12 years she’s helped couples, women, and children from 13 countries heal their minds and body. She’s an expert in creating customized therapies so true healing can begin and continue with love, empathy, compassion, and biochemical individuality.

The story of how she found her first paying client, and what she does differently today is one that every coach needs to hear.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why she decided to move into her childhood home as a brand-new coach--plus, other difficult decisions she made early on
• How Samantha helped her very first client completely eliminate the symptoms of her chronic condition
• How she set up those first engagements and what she charged
• The role that referrals have played in her career and how she finds her clients today
• How Samantha helps clients see the light at the end of the tunnel

Book Recommendations:

• Nourishing Wisdom - Marc David
• Polyvagal Theory In Therapy - Stephan W. Porges

To learn more about Samantha Gilbert:

• Eat For Life
• Eat For Life Podcast
• Facebook: @samig
• Instagram: @samignutrition

To learn more about Christie Mims:

• FREE 26-Page Guide On How to Land Your First Clients
• Coach Pony
• The Revolutionary Club
• Instagram @christiecoachpony

Welcome to the first episode of Coach Pony Podcast, where our goal is to help you learn the critical business skills you need to succeed as a coach.

And it all starts with learning how to get paying clients.

In this first season of the podcast, we are interviewing experienced 6 and 7-figure coaches from different niches, delving into how they got that very first client and what they’d do differently today.

In today’s episode, we are going to peer into the world of career coaching with me! Christie Mims.

Before Coach Pony, I founded, and still own and operate, a career coaching business called The Revolutionary Club. Named a Forbes Top 100 for Careers, and featured on sites ranging from Business Insider to the Fast Company, I can honestly say I’ve learned a few things.

My work both at the Revolutionary Club and Coach Pony has reached millions of people, and I’ve served literally thousands of paying clients.

But, my journey to my first client was a rocky one.

When I first started out, I can remember thinking to myself that I would do almost anything to get someone to tell me how they got their first clients. I wanted to know two things: 1) how they did it so I could do it and 2) that there was hope for me to succeed at this coaching thing!

So if this is you, allow me to share how I got my very first paying client in the hopes that it helps you land your first client—or your next client.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What an encounter in an elevator was proof that I should think big
• How a systematic plan of attack helped me land my first paying client
• What I learned during this journey and what should have done differently
• And what you can do to never feel alone in your career journey

Book Recommendations:

• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - Greg McKeown

To learn more about Christie Mims:

• FREE 26-Page Guide On How to Land Your First Clients
• Coach Pony
• The Revolutionary Club
• Instagram @christiecoachpony

Wonder what it takes to go from being a coach who dabbles to a coach who thrives? If you want to pay the bills (and more!) with your coaching, you need to build a REAL business. Coach Pony has helped thousands of life coaches, dating coaches, money coaches, and business coaches build businesses that make them good money and live a successful life—on their own terms. The Coach Pony podcast can help you do the same. Each season, we tackle a different aspect of building a real coaching business. You’ll learn about marketing, sales, client experience, time management, pricing, packaging, and more! Our approach is always honest, transparent, fun, and full of chocolate.