The Coaching Edge: A Business Building Podcast

What's your process as a coach?

Not your methodology. Not your certification. Not a fancy name you've slapped on something generic. Your actual process — the way you take clients from where they are to where they want to be.

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. After my conversation with Lauren Balterman about psychological signatures and the five Ps, she pointed out that my process was the one area I hadn't clearly articulated. And I got stuck — because I don't have a formula. I don't have a signature six-step system.

Then I realized: that is my process. The anti-formula is the formula.

In this episode, I'm sharing how I came to that realization, how it shows up in everything from my discovery calls to the way I rebuilt the Business Building Boutique, and how you can start figuring out what your own process actually is — even if it looks nothing like a traditional system.

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A while back, I hired a business coach I really loved to help me launch a new program. Her launch formula included a live webinar with a sales section that kicked in at a set point on the clock. I went along with it even though my gut was telling me it wasn't me, and the selling felt so awkward and out of sync with everything else that I re-recorded that part before I sent out the replay. It taught me a lesson I've carried ever since: there isn't one right way to market a coaching business.

In this episode, I share what almost 17 years of coaching, and working with coaches inside the Business Building Boutique, have taught me about finding the marketing approach that fits you. You'll hear how coaches I've worked with have built successful businesses through writing, research, corporate speaking, Reels, in-person events, monthly presentations, podcasting, and more. Not one of them did it the same way. I also walk you through three steps to finding your own lane, and the questions I'd ask before you invest in any coaching business program.

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This week I'm doing something a little different — I have a guest on the podcast, which doesn't happen very often around here.

Lauren Balterman is a psychology-driven brand strategist, creative director, and positioning expert who helps experienced women turn their expertise into a brand that people recognize, trust, and hire. With 15 years of experience in psychology, leadership, and entrepreneurship, Lauren blends human behavior, brand strategy, and creative direction to help experts become known for how they think — not just what they do.

Lauren and I had a great conversation about what she calls your "psychological signature" (what I've always called your special sauce) — the unique combination of your experiences, beliefs, and worldview that sets you apart from every other coach out there. We talked about why clear messaging isn't enough anymore, how to know if your brand is blending in, and practical steps you can take to start showing up as the real you.

If you've ever felt like your content could have been written by anyone, or you're struggling to articulate what makes you different, this episode is for you.

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In 2020, I doubled my rates — and then doubled my client load. That year, I roughly tripled my income.

I was terrified it wouldn't work. I almost talked myself out of it. But it turned out to be one of the best business decisions I've ever made.

In this episode, I'm sharing the full story — what led to the decision, what I actually did, why it worked, and what you should consider before raising your own rates. This isn't about arbitrary price increases or "just believing in yourself." It's about aligning your pricing with your value and building a business that's actually sustainable.

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What separates coaches who build sustainable businesses from those who don't?

After working with over 75 coaches in the BBB — plus countless others over the years — I've noticed real patterns. Not motivational platitudes. Actual differences in how coaches approach this work.

In this episode, I'm sharing what I've observed in the coaches who made it, and what I've seen in the ones who quit. Some of it might be hard to hear, but I'd rather be honest with you than sell you a fantasy.

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What are you actually great at as a coach — and are you building your offers around it?

This episode is about leaning into your strengths when creating programs and offers. Not what you think you should do, not what other coaches are doing — but what you're uniquely good at and what energizes you.

I'm sharing my own recent realization: after stepping back from live group work for a couple of months, I noticed how much I missed it. Group facilitation and community building is my special sauce — and I'd walked away from it. Now I'm figuring out how to bring it back in a way that fits.

I'll walk you through how to identify your own special sauce, how to make sure it aligns with what your clients actually need, and why your offers should evolve as you learn more about yourself.

And I'm asking for your help: I want to hear what you would want from a coaching community. Your answers will shape what I build next.

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Last week we talked about how to know if that offer you've been sitting on is worth building. This week: what to do once you've decided yes.

And the answer might surprise you.

Most coaches wait until everything is ready before they sell. The modules are recorded. The sales page is polished. The tech is perfect. And then they launch — and sometimes no one buys.

There's a better way: sell it before you build it.

In this episode, I'm sharing why pre-selling is the fastest way to get out of perfectionism and into action, what you actually need to have ready to sell (less than you think), and real examples from my own business and my clients.

In this episode, I cover:
• The trap of "I'll sell it when it's ready" — and what it's really costing you
• Why selling first creates energy, validates demand, and gets you out of your head
• Charlotta's story: how she sold her fall group program before building it
• How I've used this approach with almost every offer I've created
• What you actually need to sell (spoiler: not much)
• What to do if no one buys
• What to do if you're scared you can't deliver
• How to start this week

Resources & Links:
• Business Building Boutique — learn more: www.wendymccallum.com/bbb
• Coach Connect FREE Community Zoom Call (register here)
• The Confident Coaching Skills Intensive — now available self-guided: www.wendymccallum.com/ccsi

You've had the idea for months. Maybe years. The group program, the course, the membership, the retreat, the new offer. It lives in a Google Doc or in your head, and you keep coming back to it — but you haven't built it.

The question is: should you?

This episode is about figuring that out. Because sometimes the idea is a genuine next step — and sometimes it's a shiny distraction from selling what you already have.

I'll walk you through the questions to ask yourself, the signs it's not time to build, and the signs that it is. By the end, you'll have more clarity about whether to pursue this idea, put it on the shelf, or finally take action.

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I've been running the Business Building Bootcamp for years. It's been my signature offer. It's helped hundreds of coaches build sustainable businesses. And this summer, I decided to change it.

Not because it was broken. Not because it stopped working. But because I've changed. My clients have changed. The market has changed. And what I built a few years ago doesn't quite fit anymore — for them or for me.

So I'm evolving it. Restructuring it. Renaming it. And in this episode — the first of Season 4 — I want to tell you why. Because I think there's something in this story for you too.

This is an episode about permission. Permission to let your business evolve. Permission to stop running something that no longer fits — even if it used to work beautifully. Permission to be responsive to your life, your clients, and the market — without making it mean you did something wrong before.

We'll talk about the myth of "set it and forget it," the signs that something might need to change, and how to know when it's time to evolve an offer, a structure, or even your whole business model. I'll share what I've been building this summer — the Business Building Boutique — and why I made the changes I made. And we'll talk about repurposing: how to use what you've already created instead of starting from scratch every time.

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This week I'm bringing back Part 2 of the very first episode series of The Coaching Edge — where I shared all the mistakes I made in my early years as a coach so you don't have to make them too.

If you caught last week's re-release (Part 1), you heard me talk about niching, branding traps, and creating too many offers. This episode picks up where that one left off — covering social media myths, the long game of marketing, pricing, perfectionism, financial goal-setting, systems, and why asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

These episodes are where The Coaching Edge began, and they're still some of the most practical, honest advice I can offer coaches who are building their businesses.

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