In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Katrina Casaclang—a coach, facilitator and consultant with a passion for learning, a zest for life, and a single minded focus on coaching in her community. Katrina is also a member of the Accelerator, and I’m so extremely fortunate to have the chance to interview her.

We talk about Katrina’s incredible 34-year journey across policing, community services, youth mental health, and leadership. From starting in the police force at 18 to managing large teams and supporting young people in community organisations, Katrina shares how her passion for people and purpose has shaped every step.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

✅ How Katrina’s leadership journey began in the police force and evolved across community and youth mental health
✅ Why she believes quality leadership is essential to delivering great service to the community
✅ How she discovered coaching through professional support roles and why it clicked
✅ What led her to start her own coaching business after decades working in organisations
✅ Why she focuses on emerging and middle managers especially those who’ve never been given leadership skills
✅ The challenges of working in underfunded organisations and the impact on staff and service delivery
✅ How the Accelerator gave her clarity, confidence, and structure in the early days of business
✅ How she faced imposter syndrome, overwhelm, and learned to back herself.

Katrina now offers one-on-one coaching and consulting, with a focus on younger teams and emerging leaders.She shares what she’s learned about herself, how she’s grown in confidence, and how building a business feels a bit like being in the ocean—waves and all.

Katrina’s story is one of heart, depth, and purpose—and she brings a refreshing, grounded perspective to coaching in the community space.

Connect with Katrina:

💼 Find her at Valued Asset Coaching
📧 Connect on Instagram @valuedassetcoaching

📞 Book an Accelerator Fit Call
🌐 Learn more about the Accelerator at elliescarf.com/cca

In today’s episode, I had the joy of speaking with the incredible Dr. Mercia Spare.

Mercia is a former Chief Nurse with over 40 years in the NHS, including time in transplantation, infection control, national governance, and executive leadership. Her career spans everything from clinical practice to regulation and quality improvement—and now, she’s bringing that deep experience into coaching.

We talk about her extraordinary journey: from training as a nurse later in life, to being side-lined by a motorcycle accident, to becoming a PhD-qualified leader in health and social care.

Mercia now runs a coaching business that supports leaders across health, social care, research, and education—bringing her signature warmth and wisdom to folks making a difference.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

✅ How Mercia built a rich and varied 40-year NHS career—from the wards to the executive suite
✅ How a career-changing accident became an unexpected gift
✅ What led her to coaching and why it’s the perfect extension of her nursing career
✅ The power of relational leadership in high-pressure environments like health and social care
✅ How she’s building a purpose-led coaching business
✅ The mindset shift that helped her step into being a business owner
✅ Why she believes formal coaching training is essential—and what she learned about herself along the way
✅ How she’s making her business work by leaning into connection, curiosity, and asking for help Mercia’s story is a testament to lifelong growth, generous leadership, and backing yourself when the next chapter calls.

Connect with Mercia: 
💼 Find Dr. Mercia Spare on LinkedIn

Interested in building your own coaching business?

You can book a call with me to explore whether the Accelerator is a good fit.

🌐 More at elliescarf.com

Until next time!

In this episode, I’m so privileged to have time with Paula Shannon, a coach with experience across public education, philanthropy and business.

Paula is a coach, consultant, and facilitator—someone with a deep passion for leadership, emotional intelligence, and helping mission-driven leaders lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.  

Paula shares how she spent nearly 30 years in public education, rising from teacher to senior executive leadership—and how burnout, purpose, and a desire for something different led her to build a business of her own.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅ How she started in Teach for America and grew through the ranks of education
✅ Her love of coaching “little and big people” and the joy of one-on-one development
✅ Making the leap after the pandemic and deciding “enough is enough”
✅ Creating the life she actually wanted—one with nature, flexibility, and joy
✅ What clinical burnout felt like and how it changed everything
✅ Why she believes women with wealth accelerate doing good in the world
✅ The mission behind her business and the work she does with leaders
✅ Why content and consistency matter—and how Sage (her ChatGPT!) helps
✅ Tips for new coaches covering outreach, networking, and nurturing relationships (and more!)

As Paula says, “The only way to get started is to get started.” Her story is generous, grounded, and so relatable—especially if you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to do good, do well, and live the life you want.

Connect with Paula:

👉 Find her on LinkedIn: Paula Shannon

👉 Work with Paula at the Whole Leader Lab

If you're listening and think the Accelerator could be a good fit for you too— and you’d like to join before we close doors at the end of June and increase prices in July—you can:

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

In this episode, I’m so privileged to have time with Paula Shannon, a coach with experience across public education, philanthropy and business.

Paula is a coach, consultant, and facilitator—someone with a deep passion for leadership, emotional intelligence, and helping mission-driven leaders lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.  

Paula shares how she spent nearly 30 years in public education, rising from teacher to senior executive leadership—and how burnout, purpose, and a desire for something different led her to build a business of her own.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅ How she started in Teach for America and grew through the ranks of education
✅ Her love of coaching “little and big people” and the joy of one-on-one development
✅ Making the leap after the pandemic and deciding “enough is enough”
✅ Creating the life she actually wanted—one with nature, flexibility, and joy
✅ What clinical burnout felt like and how it changed everything
✅ Why she believes women with wealth accelerate doing good in the world
✅ The mission behind her business and the work she does with leaders
✅ Why content and consistency matter—and how Sage (her ChatGPT!) helps
✅ Tips for new coaches covering outreach, networking, and nurturing relationships (and more!)

As Paula says, “The only way to get started is to get started.” Her story is generous, grounded, and so relatable—especially if you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to do good, do well, and live the life you want.

Connect with Paula:

👉 Find her on LinkedIn: Paula Shannon

👉 Work with Paula at the Whole Leader Lab

If you're listening and think the Accelerator could be a good fit for you too— and you’d like to join before we close doors at the end of June and increase prices in July—you can:

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

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kelly Schmidt.

Kelly is a coach and consultant with 25 years in the corporate space, mostly in life sciences and technology. As she puts it, “I love to build cool things, but I started to find I really liked it better when people use those cool things.”

Kelly shares her journey from tech professional to executive coach, and how her natural leadership style—“providing space for people to get things clear”—led her to realise she’d been coaching long before she had the language for it.

We talk about building teams, navigating gnarly transformations, and making the leap into coaching after being laid off. Kelly’s story is a powerful example of “getting really comfortable figuring out what I wanted” instead of following the “shoulds.”

In this episode, you’ll hear:

✅ How Kelly transitioned from 25 years in corporate life sciences and IT into coaching and consulting
✅ Why her natural style of holding space and asking questions shaped her leadership and coaching approach
✅ What helped her shift from “shoulds” to “wants” when deciding what to do after being laid off
✅ The mix of consulting, coaching, and facilitation she now uses to support leaders through change
✅ Her journey with visibility and how she approaches LinkedIn and content creation with intention
✅ Why she’s found the Corporate to Coach Accelerator so valuable—especially the group coaching and accountability “It’s so rich... there's always something new going on. I didn't expect to get nearly as much out of the group coaching calls. Just being able to say out loud, what's my win and what's my priority—that helps me stay on track.”

Connect with Kelly:
💼 Find Kelly Schmidt on LinkedIn

💬 Want to work with her? She’s helping leaders get clear and hold space through transformation.

Need help building your coaching business with corporate clients?

You can book a call with me to explore whether the Accelerator is a good fit. As Kelly says, “It gave me a framework. I love a good framework.”

🌐 More at elliescarf.com

See you next time!

In today’s episode, I am speaking with Corporate to Coach Accelerator member, the extraordinary Toni Carroll. Toni is a coach, a consultant, and a long-time leader in senior people roles—and someone who brings deep insight and empathy to her work with organisations and leaders.

Toni shares how she went from 30 years in people and culture roles—including time in Australia, London, and 16 years in Asia—to starting her own coaching and consulting business. It’s a story that speaks to the mindset shifts, self-doubt, and surprising wins that come with building something new.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅ Why it took over a decade between becoming qualified and actually starting her business ✅ The two major blockers that held her back from making the leap sooner
✅ What she learned from seeing firsthand how leaders struggle with expectations inside organisations
✅ How she thinks about leadership programs that are practical, connected to strategy, and create real behaviour change
✅ The importance of managing your mindset, building your own ecosystem of support, and learning to market yourself
✅ What’s changed for her in the last 18 months—and why she’s finally feeling clear on who she is, what she offers, and who she works best with

Toni is a founding member of the Corporate to Coach Accelerator community and shares generously about what has helped her grow, what still feels hard, and what’s shifted in how she thinks about her work.

Connect with Toni:

Her website: toniscarroll.com
Find her on LinkedIn at Toni Carroll

Ready to grow your coaching business?

🎓 Join the free masterclass: Three LinkedIn Strategies to Get Your Next Three Corporate Clients

📞 Book an Accelerator Fit Call
🌐 Head to elliescarf.com/cca to learn more

See you next time!

In this episode, I’m sharing eight things you don’t need in order to be ready to start your coaching business.

This episode is for you if you have been waiting to start or grow your executive coaching business. Chances are, there are one of a few key things getting in the way. And while some of these reasons are very rational, many of them might be rooted in fear, assumptions or mistaken expectations.

I want to get really clear about what’s not required to begin your executive coaching business.

In this episode, we cover:

✅ You don’t need 10 years of coaching experience or 1,000 hours
✅ Why your professional background counts
✅ You don’t need a perfectly curated LinkedIn profile, a professional website, or a beautifully designed business card
✅ You don’t need to know exactly where your clients are going to come from
✅ You don’t need a corporate brand
✅ You don’t need permission from anyone
✅ You don’t need to look a certain way
✅ You don’t need a specific accreditation
✅ You don’t even need to feel ready

Listen in to hear why I think these are not pre-requisites, and what I think you need instead.

If you want to start your coaching business — whether or not you feel ready — this is your chance to get support.

Doors are opening next week to the Corporate to Coach Accelerator, and this is your last opportunity to get in at current prices before we make some very exciting additions.

🎯If you’d like to talk about your business — If it’s existing or still incubating — head to https://www.elliescarf.com/cca. ✨

I’m also running a free masterclass on 12 June on 3 LinkedIn strategies to get your next 3 corporate clients.

You can sign up at www.elliescarf.com/classlinkedin

If you are an executive coach using LinkedIn to grow your business, this free masterclass I’m running is for you!

3 linkedin strategies to get your next 3 corporate coaching clients

If you’re an executive coach, you have your business or you’re thinking about your business, and there’s a very good chance that you love coaching — but you may not find the sales and marketing of coaching quite as enjoyable. I totally get that.

In this masterclass, I’ll share some of the tried and true ways that I know you can grow your client base and your business using LinkedIn to support you. These are methods and tools I teach within the Corporate to Coach Accelerator.

This masterclass is for you if:

These aren’t your usual “write a nice profile” tips,. I’ll be sharing some advanced strategies to help you grow your sales pipeline and convert more of your warm leads into clients.

Head to elliescarf.com/classlinkedin. I’d love to see you at one of the sessions on Thursday the 12th of June.

In today’s episode, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with Corporate to Coach Accelerator member, the brilliant Zoe McAlpine. Zoe is a coach, a consultant, and an all-round top-notch human being—and someone I’ve had the privilege of working with in a few different ways over the years.

Zoe shares how she went from CEO of a for-purpose organisation to building a business that combines coaching, consulting, and facilitation. Her story is one so many of us can relate to—starting with a deep love for people and development, and evolving into a career where she gets to do just that, in ways she didn’t expect.

In this episode, we talk about:

✅ How Zoe has been coaching for a very long time—even before the formal certification
✅ The impact of early professional development and what started her journey
✅ Feeling torn between loving the work and loving her kids
✅ The importance of bringing people along with you in leadership
✅ What her business looks like now—and why facilitation brings as much joy as coaching
✅ Holding your offers lightly and why your business might not look like what you first imagined
✅ The blend of clients she works with—from major corporates to small startups
✅ What she's learned about delivery, revenue, and saying no
✅ Why she doesn’t always love posting on LinkedIn—and why she does it anyway
✅ Taking up space, ambition, and power—especially as a woman in business
✅ Why building your own “personal board of advisors” matters
✅ The difference between being a coach and being a business owner

Zoe is a long-time member of the Corporate to Coach Accelerator and shares so generously about what has helped her grow, what still feels hard, and what advice she gives to others starting out.

Connect with Zoe:
👉 zoemcalpine.com.au
👉 Find her on LinkedIn at Zoe McAlpine

Want support with your coaching business?
You can book a call with me to learn more about the Corporate to Coach Accelerator. 🎓

Masterclass: Three LinkedIn Strategies to Get Your Next Three Corporate Clients
📞 Book an Accelerator Fit Call
🌐 Learn more about the Acclerator at elliescarf.com/cca

See you next time!

It’s a new month – June – and I’m really excited to share that I’m opening doors to the Accelerator.

In this episode, I’m talking about what’s new inside the Accelerator – and how you can get access before prices go up in July.

This episode is for you if:

➡ You’re a coach working with leaders or organisational clients – or that’s where you want to be.
➡ You’ve started your coaching business and realised the hard part isn’t the coaching, it’s growing the business.
➡ You want to get clients faster, with less second-guessing and more support.

Today I’m talking about:

✅ What the Accelerator actually is – and why I built it
✅ The biggest barriers I see for coaches (and how we solve them)
✅ What’s included inside – from courses and templates to weekly coaching calls
✅ The 5 new features we’re adding (and yes, I’m excited!)
✅ What to do if you want in before prices go up in July

This is the last time the Accelerator will be available at current pricing, and I’d love to help you figure out if it’s a good fit.

If you’ve ever thought, “I really thought it would be easier than this to start my business,” or doubted your ability to grow it – you’re in good company.

Book your Accelerator Fit Call before 20 June! – we’ll talk about your goals, your business, and whether the Accelerator is right for you. If you can't find a great time, just message and we will find something that works.

AND if you book during launch week (12–20 June), you’ll get:

💡 $500 off
💡 Access to all curriculum in July
💡 A bonus month added to your membership!

I'm also running a free masterclass next week on 3 LinkedIn Tips to get your next 3 Corporate Clients! If you are interested, you can sign up here.