Do you remember the excitement of hanging out your virtual shingle?

Maybe it was launching your website or a LinkedIn update saying that you are in business. Maybe you are on the verge of doing this! The likes probably poured in, the congratulations messages rolled through, and you landed that first paying client by referral. Amazing. But then the referrals slowed down. And suddenly what felt like momentum started to feel like waiting, hoping, and refreshing your inbox.

Inside this episode, I share why referrals are fabulous for getting started but not enough to keep you consistently bringing new corporate clients in the door, and what to do instead.

Listen in to hear more about:

✅ The wake up call coaches face when referrals dry up.
✅ How to shift from passive to proactive client generation.
✅ The mindset every executive coach needs.
✅ How outreach is the missing link to build more real business development conversations.
✅ A free resource with 30 customizable outreach templates to help you take action instead of getting stuck in perfectionism, procrastination or fear of being ‘salesly’.

If you can spend even 10 to 15 minutes a day on outreach, at the end of the month you will have a very different business with so many more conversations. This tool will help you do just that - with no overthinking.

➡️ Download your free outreach templates at elliescarf.com/templates and connect with me on LinkedIn to let me know what you think.

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Emma Clark. Emma is a member of the Corporate to Coach Accelerator and brings more than 25 years of experience in healthcare to her work as a coach.

Emma shares her Corporate to Coach story, from nursing in London to senior leadership roles at the top of government health agencies. She talks about the challenges of COVID, the turning point of redundancy, and how when she first listened to this podcast… she was angry!!

We also chat about how she now supports leaders and organisations with one-on-one coaching, leadership workshops, and consulting. I interrogate Emma on exactly why her clients value her insider knowledge, and Emma reflects on what she has learned about wellbeing, boundaries, and building the right support around her business.

In this episode, we cover:
✅ Emma’s journey from nurse to senior health leader to coach.
✅ How redundancy created the space for her business.
✅ Coaching, workshops, and consulting for healthcare leaders.
✅ Supporting leaders with stress, career growth, and succession planning.
✅ Building a business while protecting wellbeing and boundaries.

Emma also talks about the blend of coaching and consulting in her work, how she helps leaders build capacity in their teams, and why surrounding herself with the right people has been essential in her business journey.

Connect with Emma:

💼 Find her at https://www.empoweringhumans.com.au/group-coaching-for-health-leaders
📧 You can also connect with her on LinkedIn

If Emma’s story resonates with you and you are ready to take the next step in your own coaching journey, I’d love to help. Visit elliescarf.com/bookacall and lets discuss your next step.

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.

Are you an all-or-nothing person? I think I am. I like to sprint and then rest. I like to go hard, and then I like to go home. The challenge many coaches face is that in business, most of our deadlines are self-imposed.And without urgency or external accountability? It can be hard to get into action.

Inside this episode, I share five ways that I use sprints, streaks and batching to maintain momentum and get things done when there is no external pressure. 

Listen in to hear more about:

✅ The power of an action orientation.
✅ How to create a marketing hour of power.
✅ Content posting sprints.
✅ The importance of ‘CEO time’..
✅ Batching through theme days.
✅ How to use constraints to move forward.

If you want creative strategies to get into action and keep moving in your business, this episode is for you. Listen in, try some of these ideas, and if you have other ways you apply sprints, streaks or batching, please send them to me on LinkedIn to collate and share!

If you would like to chat about whether my group coaching program, the Corporate to Coach Accelerator, could be a good fit for your business, head to elliescarf.com/bookacall to book a call. 

For so many of the coaches I work with, there’s a pivotal moment in their career journey. They have that burning desire to start their own coaching business, but they are not sure how to make the financial leap. They know they want to move from corporate to coach, but the risk and uncertainty feel huge.

In this episode, I share eight practical financial transition strategies you can use to support your move from employee to business owner. This is not financial advice - , but real options to consider and discuss with your own advisor.

Inside this episode, I talk about ideas such as

✅ The gradual ramp down strategy o create time for your business while reducing risk.
✅ Quasi-employment and why contracting back to your current employer can shift how you think about yourself as a business owner.
✅ Turning your current employer into your flagship client.
✅ How voluntary redundancy or timing your exit with bonus payments can help fund your move.
✅ Using part-time work, a savings buffer, or even a loan to bridge the gap as you ramp up your business.

And more!

If you are in the “yes, I really want to start a business, but how am I going to do it” space, this episode will give you options to think about and steps you can take to prepare.

Listen in and if you want to talk through your own situation, head to elliescarf.com/bookacall

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.

Of all of the clients who come through my metaphorical door, about 70% come with a particular experience.

In my opinion, the solution that I generally see work? Rip the bandaid off, stop selling to individuals and prioritise selling to corporate clients..

Inside this episode, I talk about:

✅ The vast chasm of total budget spend on coaching by organisations vs individuals.
✅ The mismatch between the number of coaches targeting individuals and the small percentage of coaching spend they represent.
✅ Reasons why it seems sensible to target individuals (but isn’t!).
✅ What changes when you shift from marketing to individuals to marketing to organisations.

If you have been focusing your marketing energy on individuals, even just as a fallback, this episode will show you why it is time to pivot.

Listen in. Reflect honestly. And if this hits home, book a call with me at elliescarf.com/bookacall. We can talk through how to make this shift inside your business.

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.

In today’s episode, I’m talking about what we do as coaching business owners when the worst (or even just the crappy) happens.

This is something I raised on LinkedIn a while ago, and it struck a nerve for lots of folks. So I wanted to explore it more deeply here on the podcast.

Because the truth is, there’s no getting out of business or life without the hiccups. From the mild to the devastating, it is all part of the human experience. And as business owners we all bring our ‘human selves’ along for the ride.

This week, I’m walking you through:

✅ How manage when things go wrong in business, both on a macro and micro level. 

✅ Real-life examples that you might face.

✅ Why being self-employed can make hard times feel even harder. 

✅ The importance of contingency planning.

If you’d like to talk through your business and how to prepare for these scenarios, you can book a call with me at elliescarf.com/bookacall

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.

In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes with a more personal update.

After a few weeks of travel, I’m back and reflecting on my time away including the moment I quite literally fell into a bush in Budapest!

And well, I guess there was a lesson there for me, and hopefully you too.

I walk you through:

✅ The highlights of our three-week family adventure through Europe.
✅ Why this holiday felt different and what it reminded me about being present.
✅ A chance encounter with Nick Cave in Paris (yes, really!).
✅ The surprising life and business lesson I took away from an unexpected fall.
✅ How this applies to navigating the ups and downs of running a coaching business.
✅ Why we often handle challenges better than we expect.
✅ A quick update on what’s coming next for the Accelerator and how you can join.

Book a call with me if you’re ready to start the next phase of your business and want to explore whether the Accelerator could be right for you. Book here.

You can find me on LinkedIn.

Learn more about the Accelerator at elliescarf.com/cca.

In this episode, I’m sharing one simple and very practical idea that could help your LinkedIn strategy - and it’s likely a gap in your current approach.

It’s something most executive coaching business owners aren't doing consistently.

And if your LinkedIn efforts have been falling flat, this could be the missing piece.

Especially if you’re already showing up and doing the basics like posting, engaging, and having a great profile. It’s for you if:

– You can’t seem to connect with your ideal clients
– Your feed seems to be full of the wrong people
– You’re posting content, but not getting traction

We start with a quick refresher on the basics of LinkedIn for executive coaches then go into the one thing that most people aren’t doing consistently.

In this popular episode, we cover:

✅ The four basics of a solid LinkedIn strategy for executive coaches
✅ Why deliberately adding more people to your network matters
✅ How to decide who your dream clients actually are
✅ Tips for using search and building a daily or weekly rhythm
✅ What to include (and not include) in your connection request note
✅ Why this is about building genuine connection not being salesy

If adding new connections isn’t something you’re already doing, this episode shows you how to start with just a few minutes a day.

You can Book a call with me or listen to more episodes of The Business of Executive Coaching wherever you get your podcasts.

Or come and connect with me directly on LinkedIn

In today’s episode, I’m sharing an idea I’ve been implementing and teaching that has really helped with something I’m calling marketing creep. You will know if marketing creep is an issue for you.

It is when the list of marketing tasks you have to do seems both endless and also completely unclear. It is that tension between procrastinating and not doing the activities you know you need to do, and also feeling like you could lose entire days to your marketing.

This week, I’m sharing something that has genuinely changed the game for me, what I call my hour of power.

I walk you through:
✅ What an hour of power is and where I came across the idea.
✅ The exact tasks I include in my daily hour of power (yours will look different!).
✅ Why it helps me feel more in control and less reactive.
✅ How it helps me get things done that I’ve decided are priorities.
✅ How it puts structure around things that could otherwise take all day.
✅ The benefits I’ve experienced including building momentum and consistency.
✅ The challenges I’ve noticed and how I manage them.
✅ Ideas to create your own hour of power including focus areas and frequency.
✅ How to keep it effective and not boring.
✅ Tips for staying focused and not letting a missed day derail you.

If you decide to create an hour of power please let me know what you put in it and how you find it.

Book a call with me if you’d like to make sure you are doing the right things, so you can make sure marketing doesn’t become your full time job. Book here.

You can find me on LinkedIn
Learn more about the Accelerator at elliescarf.com/cca

In this episode, I’m sharing the replay of a live masterclass I ran recently during our launch of the Corporate to Coach Accelerator. In this class, I walk through three very practical, business focused ways to use LinkedIn strategies I teach inside the Accelerator and use in my own business.

You’ll hear me talk about:

✅ Why LinkedIn has been really pivotal in my own business growth
✅ The biggest challenges coaches face when it comes to business development
✅ How to use LinkedIn as a tool to fill the top of your sales funnel
✅ Why corporate clients are lurkers and what that means for your content
✅ How to grow your network intentionally and consistently
✅ What to do with the data in your LinkedIn network
✅ A step-by-step walkthrough on how to access, download and segment your LinkedIn connections
✅ My top outreach tips (and why they’re not spammy or pushy)
✅ How to build an outreach strategy that actually feels authentic
✅ Why most coaches underestimate how much business development they need to do
✅ The three pillars at the heart of the Accelerator: profit, purpose and flexibility If what I share in this class sparks something for you and you're thinking about how to grow your executive coaching business with more corporate clients I’d love to chat.

📞 Book a call with me: elliescarf.com/bookacall
🌐 Learn more about the Accelerator: elliescarf.com/cca

See you next time!