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You became a coach to help people — but no one told you how to build the business behind it.
Coach as Entrepreneur is the show for coaches who want to go beyond referrals and create a real business that supports both their clients and their family. Each episode explores the systems, strategies, and stories that help coaches simplify marketing, attract the right clients, and grow sustainably, without burning out.
Whether you’re just starting or looking to scale, this is your roadmap to running your coaching practice like a business… and doing it with heart.
Build the system. Serve your clients. Support your family.
# Laurie - Dec 04, 2025
[00:00:31] **David:** Unlock their team's potential, and build systems that actually move the [00:00:35] business forward with expertise in retail, product development and marketing. Lori's [00:00:40] all about sustainable growth with less strain and more momentum, helping establish business [00:00:45] owners design a decade that they can't wait to live into. Lori,
[00:00:48] **Laurie:** Great.
[00:00:49] **David:** thank you for joining us [00:00:50] today.
[00:00:50] **Laurie:** It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks David.
[00:00:52] **David:** You know, uh, as a [00:00:55] icebreaker, I like to ask coaches now because nobody really grows up thinking I want [00:01:00] to become a coach. did you grow up thinking you wanted to become?
[00:01:04] **Laurie:** I [00:01:05] wanted to be, well, it depends on the age. For a while I wanted to be ballerina. [00:01:10] But, I wanted to have a career in fashion.
[00:01:13] **David:** Okay. What [00:01:15] inspired that?
[00:01:15] **Laurie:** I'm not exactly sure. I just, I knew there's pictures of me [00:01:20] at two or three carrying a handbag. And, from a very small town [00:01:25] in North Dakota, probably population 900. It wasn't like, you know, [00:01:30] it was a mecca for fashion. We had the Sears catalog and we had the JC [00:01:35] Penny catalog is pretty much how there was, and I think I knew I just wanted more of [00:01:40] that, whatever that was.
[00:01:41] **David:** So your first jobs were in, I think it was [00:01:45] as a buyer, correct?
[00:01:45] **Laurie:** It was,
[00:01:46] **David:** Right.
[00:01:47] **Laurie:** it was,
[00:01:48] **David:** so that for [00:01:50] fashion, that desire kind of drove you into becoming a buyer.
[00:01:53] **Laurie:** So when I [00:01:55] was, 15, I think I had a a 17 magazine and I remember [00:02:00] paging through that and telling my mom, I said, mom. One day I am going to [00:02:05] live in a place where I can buy these clothes. Uh, like that's how it [00:02:10] started. I just wanted to be in a place where I could walk into a store and I could [00:02:15] actually touch the things I was seeing in a magazine. Then I realized, oh, wait a minute. I, I [00:02:20] can go to college for this. And so once I got to college and found [00:02:25] out that North Dakota State had a visiting student program with the [00:02:30] Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, I knew what I was gonna do. And [00:02:35] so that's what got me to New York.
[00:02:37] And eventually I, was one of the [00:02:40] lucky few who got recruited into the Sax Fifth Avenue training program. And I became a [00:02:45] designer sportswear buyer.
[00:02:46] **David:** How did you, that's New York City, that's [00:02:50] right? That's
[00:02:51] **Laurie:** Yeah.
[00:02:52] **David:** kind of, would you say like legend dairy
[00:02:54] **Laurie:** yes. [00:02:55] I would say legendary. We were all, you know, trained that we weren't [00:03:00] serving, the top percent of, you know, people interested in [00:03:05] this level of fashion. Pretty much in the country, if not in the world. Right. And [00:03:10] we had a very important job, and that was to stay on top of trend and to [00:03:15] serve those guests.
[00:03:16] **David:** I am kind of imagining, Devil's Wear Prada.
[00:03:18] **Laurie:** There was a little of [00:03:20] that
[00:03:20] **David:** okay.
[00:03:22] **Laurie:** at the beginning. Tanning
[00:03:23] **David:** Okay. So,
[00:03:24] **Laurie:** a [00:03:25] little, I made a few tanning appointments for my boss. Yeah.
[00:03:29] **David:** okay. [00:03:30] So that's a very, like, interesting background. Cause it's, I feel like it's high [00:03:35] fashion. It's dealing with high net worth individuals. Fashion is kind of [00:03:40] very artsy, but also very, particular. But you went from being a [00:03:45] buyer to becoming a coach. How did you go buyer to coach? What's that, [00:03:50] uh, story?
[00:03:50] **Laurie:** So while buying is, and [00:03:55] fashion right is art,
[00:03:56] It's also business. There's a lot of big [00:04:00] business within that. And what I found is that I loved [00:04:05] both, you know, I loved going to a runway show. I loved a really great spreadsheet. [00:04:10] You know, my job as a buyer was they would actually [00:04:15] trust me with $30 million and say, how can you [00:04:20] turn this into $60 million?
[00:04:23] Buy the right things, market it [00:04:25] the right way, you know, so truly it was very [00:04:30] entrepreneurial. I spent six years in New York and then [00:04:35] eventually moved closer, uh, back to the Midwest. Um, I'm in [00:04:40] Minneapolis.
[00:04:40] **David:** Okay.
[00:04:40] **Laurie:** And worked for a division of the department store division of [00:04:45] Target Corporation. And during that time was when I [00:04:50] really, I think, honed my business skills in terms of buying.
[00:04:53] And I [00:04:55] did that until 2003 when, the fortunes of department [00:05:00] stores were, on the decline,
[00:05:01] **David:** Mm-hmm.
[00:05:02] **Laurie:** The mall was the place to [00:05:05] be. You know, specialty stores ruled the day, and, uh, department [00:05:10] stores were kind of going downhill and work just wasn't fun anymore.
[00:05:14] [00:05:15] And the one thing I did promise myself, you know, even little tiny Lori, I [00:05:20] promised myself that I realized early on you spend a lot of your life at work.
[00:05:24] [00:05:25] And whatever I did, it would have to be something I enjoyed. And [00:05:30] so I've struck out to find the next thing I would enjoy. And, uh, [00:05:35] what that ended up being was an opportunity, to work with, an [00:05:40] entrepreneur who had a big vision. I entered a business. It was a very, very small [00:05:45] business with a big idea.
[00:05:46] And that entrepreneur's goal was to grow to $10 [00:05:50] million. And, it was a product development business. I said, wow, this is the kind of [00:05:55] challenge that I've done inside a large corporation. Let's try to do it small [00:06:00] business. And so I spent the next decade plus a couple of [00:06:05] years helping to achieve that goal.
[00:06:07] And what we did there specifically was, um, [00:06:10] originally started out selling marketing merchandise to big [00:06:15] corporations. And there are a lot of them here in Minneapolis. So that was fun. I got [00:06:20] to see the inside of all different kinds, of companies, consumer [00:06:25] products, companies, medical device companies, always with an eye [00:06:30] to what kind of merchandise would speak for your brand.
[00:06:34] And [00:06:35] then eventually, um, we branched out and got into something we really loved, which was [00:06:40] fashion, and started creating, proprietary products for [00:06:45] brands like Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, that group.
[00:06:49] **David:** very [00:06:50] impressive list of organizations.
[00:06:52] **Laurie:** Yes. And really fun to work with.
[00:06:54] **David:** [00:06:55] So I understand where you're going. So you went from, the fashion, you got [00:07:00] into the taste for business. You realize you love the business side of things as well, [00:07:05] and now you're working with this entrepreneur, helping them build their business, and you're [00:07:10] helping with all these other organizations. So then where does the coaching come in?
[00:07:14] **Laurie:** [00:07:15] So life has a way of going by it really [00:07:20] fast and because I always said I would always do things that I loved, I think it [00:07:25] seemed faster. But I, one day I woke up and I was like, wait a minute, I'm gonna [00:07:30] be 50. How did this happen and what's next? I had been working [00:07:35] and, you know, in helping to grow that small business for more than a decade,[00:07:40]
[00:07:40] at that point in time I realized I probably have one more rodeo [00:07:45] and I don't know exactly what I want that to be, but I know it's not [00:07:50] this
[00:07:50] What I was doing.
[00:07:51] And so, I did a lot of, [00:07:55] introspection, a lot of reflection, and again, ask myself the [00:08:00] question, what is it that lights me up? And what I came up with was [00:08:05] I was having the most fun when I was helping to mentor and [00:08:10] grow the people on that team.
[00:08:12] **David:** Well, so you, you loved being a manager. You loved [00:08:15] building people up, them to, you know, go beyond where, where they were. Right. [00:08:20] To kind of lift them up. Right.
[00:08:21] **Laurie:** Yeah, I did. And, my title within that [00:08:25] business was director of Business Development. So every time I went into a new [00:08:30] customer, every time, we got a new employee, right? It was [00:08:35] always, you know, game on, let's do this. Let's, you know, rally everybody [00:08:40] talk about what's possible, get out there and do it.
[00:08:43] And, when I decided [00:08:45] I was going to be a coach, it was just based on, I'm like, okay, I feel [00:08:50] confident that I can help to, rally people. I feel confident that I know [00:08:55] how to grow a business, so it should work to be a coach. And that's kind of how I went into [00:09:00] it.
[00:09:00] **David:** Feel like you kind of just, when you see something, you, you jump into that when you [00:09:05] realize that's okay.
[00:09:05] **Laurie:** Yeah, I think that's fair. I do. You know, this, the, the [00:09:10] decision was, a tough one because I did enjoy what I was doing. I [00:09:15] had been doing it a long time. And still I felt like, like there was [00:09:20] something more. And you know, when I think about it now, that something [00:09:25] more it was my time to serve.
[00:09:26] So when I was at DSU and I [00:09:30] just had this idea that I wanna be in fashion, there were two women [00:09:35] who, made that possible. It was my, advisor and, [00:09:40] the, director of the school of home ec, or I think, I don't know if was [00:09:45] director, and they were the ones who said, wait a minute. there's this thing you [00:09:50] can do and this is how you do it.
[00:09:51] And they took me by the hand and they showed it to me. They [00:09:55] didn't do it for me. I was so appreciative. I carried that with me throughout my [00:10:00] career and I thought, boy, if at some point I could do that for [00:10:05] somebody else,
[00:10:05] that's what I wanna do. I wanna give back. Because I felt like my [00:10:10] vision had been realized, and now my job was to help people [00:10:15] realize their vision.
[00:10:16] **David:** That's beautiful. I love that. It's interesting because a lot of the [00:10:20] coaches that I've spoken to, I think I wanna say every one of them, like, you don't a coach [00:10:25] because you're trying to make money. Of the time people become coaches because they [00:10:30] want to give back.
[00:10:31] They feel like they have more to, that they can do outside of [00:10:35] just their, what their career has been up to that point. want to kind of. [00:10:40] Give back to people. I guess they wanna build up people. And so it's, it's just [00:10:45] really, I think that's why I love working with coaches because they're always [00:10:50] willing to talk and to share and to support, other people, right. ' it's just not part of like [00:10:55] the makeup and DNA of a coach.
[00:10:56] **Laurie:** Right, it's incredibly fulfilling
[00:10:59] [00:11:00] To have the opportunity to do this kind of work. And it's something that I [00:11:05] feel like I could do for a long, long time. I wanted this last segment of [00:11:10] my career to be something that I would never have to stop doing if I didn't [00:11:15] want to.
[00:11:15] **David:** If we're thinking about it as this is the last chapter of the, the business [00:11:20] life Right. Of the work life. spend it doing something you don't enjoy [00:11:25] doing? So I, I'm curious 'cause in the intro, gave me this section about helping [00:11:30] establish business owners design a decade that they can't wait to live into. I [00:11:35] feel like that connects with what we're just talking about now. Right.
[00:11:37] **Laurie:** Yes. So I have actually [00:11:40] created a product called Design Your Decade.
[00:11:42] **David:** Okay.
[00:11:42] **Laurie:** The impetus for that, [00:11:45] it's a 10 week mastermind, that takes individuals through a process [00:11:50] to help them, forecast into the future and say, what would a [00:11:55] great decade look like? It was the work that I did when I was at a [00:12:00] place, I was at this crossroads and I didn't know which way to go.
[00:12:03] And, it [00:12:05] starts out with sort of an examination of values. You [00:12:10] know, I had to look at my values and say, you know, what is meaningful to me right now? And [00:12:15] what I've realized through my coaching work is that our values do change over [00:12:20] time,
[00:12:20] **David:** Yeah.
[00:12:21] **Laurie:** you know, at the beginning of our careers. And our, [00:12:25] our maybe twenties, thirties for sure, you know, it's about [00:12:30] establishing ourselves, you know, creating, creating, uh, meaning [00:12:35] around, the kind of work we do, the kind of things that we can achieve.
[00:12:39] It's [00:12:40] that kind of work as we get into our, you know, if we have families into our [00:12:45] forties, those sorts of years.
[00:12:46] Our values shift, you know, that might shift from, you know, [00:12:50] going to the gym three nights a week to, sitting at the baseball diamond, right? [00:12:55] It's, it's different.
[00:12:56] But you do that because your calendar is really a [00:13:00] journal of your values.
[00:13:01] And when you get to, you know, 50 and [00:13:05] beyond, it's kind of like, what is my calendar going to look like? What are my [00:13:10] values? How am I gonna fill that time? And so, you know, we start with [00:13:15] values. We move into, a wheel of life. Where are you right [00:13:20] now?
[00:13:20] Are you living a level 10 life in eight different segments? If [00:13:25] not, which ones do you want to work on? That becomes part of your next decade.
[00:13:29] **David:** [00:13:30] Yeah.
[00:13:30] **Laurie:** And then, the last part of the foundational work is really understanding what [00:13:35] lights, us up. And, I do, working genius assessments. Pat [00:13:40] Lencioni, has a wonderful, model for the six types of working [00:13:45] genius.
[00:13:45] And, it really helps to identify the kind of work [00:13:50] that we're naturally gifted and talented, and, what the model shows us is [00:13:55] that when we, create, a work life or a life that [00:14:00] really utilizes those, our genius,
[00:14:02] We're happier, we're more [00:14:05] energized, we're more fulfilled,
[00:14:06] You know, once we're armed with that kind of knowledge, then we [00:14:10] can start to project into the future and say, okay, [00:14:15] 10 years from now, how old am I gonna be? How old is my, spouse or significant [00:14:20] other or parent or child going to be, right? And what do we want life [00:14:25] to look like?
[00:14:26] **David:** Yeah.
[00:14:26] **Laurie:** And then we can reverse engineer, [00:14:30] you know, to say, okay, in five years it's a little easier to [00:14:35] imagine five years.
[00:14:36] **David:** Yeah.
[00:14:36] **Laurie:** What do we want that to be in three years? And [00:14:40] so what do I need to do this year to be doing what I wanna do in three years? [00:14:45] And all of a sudden we have this vision. For our life where we're not just being [00:14:50] carried by the current, right? We're, saying, boy, I really wanna be there [00:14:55] for, you know, my kids when this happens.
[00:14:57] Or in my case, I was [00:15:00] like, well, when I'm a certain age, my parents might need some help. So I'm gonna [00:15:05] have to have a career that I could set down or that could move if I [00:15:10] needed to help them. ' cause that was a big part of my values and I've found so [00:15:15] much joy in knowing what that design is.
[00:15:18] It feels very [00:15:20] intentional.
[00:15:20] **David:** I love that. I love it because the way world lives is so [00:15:25] different it feels like just one giant experiment, like with all the technology that's out [00:15:30] there, the different social media platforms, with the AI coming out with the [00:15:35] speed of the internet. The way we live today is [00:15:40] far from what any other generation has lived before. But I feel like [00:15:45] we don't live with intentionality. We kind of our life [00:15:50] doom scrolling through life. Right. Life kind of just happens around us [00:15:55] or to many people, and then one day we look up from our phone and then we just like, [00:16:00] where the heck am I,
[00:16:00] **Laurie:** it kind of happened to me. I mean, it wasn't bad, [00:16:05] but I was like, wait, I gotta take stock.
[00:16:07] I gotta figure out what's next. [00:16:10] And you know, the traditional model, there was a traditional model, right? [00:16:15] You went to college, you got the good corporate job, you know,
[00:16:19] **David:** [00:16:20] We stayed there for 20 years.
[00:16:21] **Laurie:** you stayed there for 20 years, you moved to the next corporate [00:16:25] job, yada, yada.
[00:16:26] You know that's all gone, right? And so when we don't [00:16:30] have that, what is guiding us well. There are things that can guide us, [00:16:35] right? It's our values and what we care about, and we can set those markers [00:16:40] and, technologies will come, they'll change things. It's probably not gonna [00:16:45] change the fact that I want to be available to my parents when they need me,
[00:16:49] Right?
[00:16:49] [00:16:50] Like that is the marker that I'm looking at.
[00:16:52] **David:** With technology, these are all [00:16:55] just different modes, different tools, right? And they can help improve your life, it is not gonna [00:17:00] be like, you're gonna be 80 years old and you're just gonna be like, this technology was so wonderful. Like, you're not [00:17:05] gonna be thinking about that. You're gonna be thinking about what was the meaning of my life? what did I do? [00:17:10] Did I spend it with the people who I really wanted to spend it with? Did I do the [00:17:15] things that I felt were well worth it? Right? Valuable? Did I, leave a [00:17:20] legacy that I would be proud of? But so many people, again, it's just like you can't [00:17:25] just wander through life and then one day you wake up.
[00:17:27] **Laurie:** Right. And actually the, [00:17:30] legacy was a big piece of it for me. You know, I designed for 10 years, [00:17:35] but when I say I started with the end in mind, writing my eulogy was a big [00:17:40] piece of it.
[00:17:40] So actually in the program that is one of the exercises we do, is we [00:17:45] do, or you can call it Living Legacy if you'll, you is too creepy. But it's [00:17:50] sort of the same idea, right? Like, what impact do we want [00:17:55] to leave in the world?
[00:17:55] **David:** So one of my first guests that I interviewed, he [00:18:00] was saying he tries to spend his time the places where he can [00:18:05] leave the most impact, like that impact footprint. and he tries to cut out everything else. [00:18:10] Because he's already lives a, a great life, but he also knows like, how many more years do I [00:18:15] have? Now as he's getting older intentionally. Where are the activities? What are the things that I [00:18:20] can do that are just gonna cascade out as much as possible that domino effect.
[00:18:24] **Laurie:** [00:18:25] absolutely. And you know, I, get the privilege of working with established business [00:18:30] owners, people who have already have found a modicum of success in their [00:18:35] business. And, the very first thing we do is we look at a wheel of [00:18:40] life and say, okay, what's going really great? What could be better? And [00:18:45] let's.
[00:18:45] Create this purposeful design, not only for your [00:18:50] business, but for your role in your business. You know, you've worked really hard up [00:18:55] until this point. Now what do you want to do and how do we design [00:19:00] your business in a way that allows you to do that
[00:19:03] **David:** So let me ask [00:19:05] for you because you know all of this, and coach is [00:19:10] often. You coach people through these things, but how do you apply the [00:19:15] things you teach and you work and you work with your own, you know, clients with, to yourself.
[00:19:19] **Laurie:** [00:19:20] I think there's a term, it's called eating your own dog food. So I try to make [00:19:25] sure that anything I am suggesting, you know, I have some firsthand [00:19:30] experience with, any assessments or books I would recommend or, [00:19:35] you know, programs. And also I try to take my own advice, right? So [00:19:40] my core advice is that in order to grow with ease, [00:19:45] specifically grow your business, you need three things.
[00:19:47] You need a clear vision, [00:19:50] right? So I would ask myself, Lori, is your vision clear? Do you know where you [00:19:55] want to be next year, five years, 10 years? Do you have an [00:20:00] empowered team? Every business owner needs people to, [00:20:05] innovate and create and keep. Up with what's going on. But they need to be [00:20:10] empowered to do that.
[00:20:11] And so I'm like, am I surrounding myself [00:20:15] with, fractional support? Do I have, the right accountant? Do I [00:20:20] have, the right kind of, I use a writer to help me with some of my writing. [00:20:25] You know, just like, who do I need and are they empowered? Have I just given [00:20:30] them the outcome, which is what I tell my clients,
[00:20:32] And then allow them to get the rest of the [00:20:35] way, you know?
[00:20:35] Or am I micromanaging? Hopefully not. I don't know. I'll have to ask them. And [00:20:40] then lastly, you need great systems. Because in order for me to [00:20:45] spend my time, I. Talking with clients, which is what I love to [00:20:50] do. I don't wanna be spending a lot of time, invoicing and [00:20:55] marketing and doing all of the things that are required by a [00:21:00] business
[00:21:00] **David:** How did you figure out the systems, the people, of that? How did [00:21:05] you navigate your way through that? How many years did you spend in corporate?
[00:21:08] **Laurie:** corporates [00:21:10] 15.
[00:21:10] **David:** Okay, so 15 years in corporate. So a subject matter expert. You were [00:21:15] doing your job, your role, you became a coach, and now you have to figure all these [00:21:20] different things out. So how did you go about doing that?
[00:21:22] **Laurie:** Well, I had that stint. I had another, you [00:21:25] know, 10 plus years in doing small business. So in [00:21:30] that, I got to see a lot more of the interworkings. I had some idea of [00:21:35] what it was that I would need.
[00:21:36] When I started leveraged my network, I went to [00:21:40] other solopreneurs that I knew and I was like, who are you using for this?
[00:21:43] Who are you using for [00:21:45] that? Who are you using for this? And to this day, right? It's still, I belong to a [00:21:50] couple coaching communities and, we are always asking each other [00:21:55] how to do certain things better.
[00:21:56] **David:** So groups and partnerships, talking to other [00:22:00] people, getting referrals. Talk a little bit about your systems then, because I think that's a [00:22:05] really big part. 'cause Right, you don't, wanna do the things that you love, you, you're designing that [00:22:10] decade. don't wanna spend time, you know, going through your books every week or every month.[00:22:15]
[00:22:15] You don't wanna be spending time building your marketing campaign. So how did you build, [00:22:20] so often coaches that I speak to, they rely heavily on referrals, [00:22:25] which is fine, the problem that they find with referrals is that is [00:22:30] and sometimes the work comes in waves, because it's unpredictable. So [00:22:35] how did you design your, your business, your marketing, so that [00:22:40] again, to lead that, decade of life that you enjoy, you're not stressing out [00:22:45] about where are the new customers coming into? And then how did you go about building your systems? [00:22:50] What do your systems look like
[00:22:51] **Laurie:** I am honest to a fault, and I will tell you, it is still a work in [00:22:55] progress, right? It's always evolving. As far as marketing, [00:23:00] I established, a newsletter. as I said, I get help writing that. I, I [00:23:05] outline it. I have a writer who helps me write it, and then that we do four at a [00:23:10] time.
[00:23:10] It gets turned into three LinkedIn posts. Those hopefully get [00:23:15] scheduled, right? I really need a va that's part of the system that's that [00:23:20] is right now kind of what the marketing side looks like. Other than [00:23:25] that, I have been doing some podcast guesting. Um, you know, having [00:23:30] conversations with, interesting people like you is really fun.
[00:23:33] And so, that [00:23:35] is a great way I think to do, for me to do some marketing. I am also a [00:23:40] facilitator, for a, peer group community. So there are about [00:23:45] 300 people in this organization. I lead a group of nine. But that [00:23:50] is also a way for me to go and visit other groups and teach them a [00:23:55] little something.
[00:23:56] And that helps me to market what it is that I do. So I [00:24:00] would say as far as a system that's it.
[00:24:02] **David:** I'm interested to know, it comes to like the whole [00:24:05] marketing thing, a lot of coaches have, I think a lot of people in general have like [00:24:10] this feeling towards marketing where it's like. Icky. Right? Like, they don't want to do [00:24:15] it. Did you have that, for yourself or did you just,
[00:24:18] **Laurie:** I was comfortable, [00:24:20] with the general idea of marketing because it's been part of what I did my whole [00:24:25] career.
[00:24:25] **David:** Okay.
[00:24:25] **Laurie:** But there was always a brand,
[00:24:27] the brand was not me.
[00:24:29] Now that the [00:24:30] brand is me, that ups the I factor.
[00:24:32] But I have to tell you [00:24:35] that, as other coaches told me, it's something you just have to jump in and you [00:24:40] get through it,
[00:24:40] **David:** I think what's been helping me, especially this last year as I've been building [00:24:45] my own business, has been that. The way I think about marketing, like the whole, like [00:24:50] mental, like perspective shift. Because I think like the way we experience [00:24:55] marketing, we often don't like it, right?
[00:24:57] We, we get the
[00:24:58] **Laurie:** right?
[00:24:58] **David:** I understand why people do it. [00:25:00] Like LinkedIn, you get in InMails all the time. Some of these people are great I know why they're doing it, but [00:25:05] sometimes it's just like, I don't even know you, why are you even talking to me? Right? [00:25:10] And so because that's the way we experience it. We don't, enjoy it. But I think [00:25:15] what's helped me has been I know everyone, not everyone's gonna like me or who I am or what I [00:25:20] do. That's fine. I need to only find the people who, you know, my tribe, [00:25:25] as, the lingo, the people who actually like me. My approach now has been, if [00:25:30] believe in the work that I do, that it will actually genuinely help [00:25:35] that business if I don't talk about it and create visibility for myself and just tell [00:25:40] everybody, Hey, this is what I'm doing today. What are you doing? Doing a disservice to them [00:25:45] because they might need me.
[00:25:46] And especially for coaches, because stories, and [00:25:50] this is part something I want to go back to is ' cause the stories of coaches, the, the lives that they've [00:25:55] changed, and it's not just their life, right? Because generally the people they work with [00:26:00] have families or friends or organizations they're working with. And so that person, as they [00:26:05] change and grow and develop, it has like this, again, a cascading effect. Right. And so [00:26:10] I feel like especially for coaches, just talk about that change more often, [00:26:15] led to those changes. people will find you and gravitate to that [00:26:20] because think we all want to be our aspirational selves, right? [00:26:25] We would get there on our own if we could, but we can't, hold up the mirror and just tell ourselves, be [00:26:30] better. Even coaches, like most of the coaches, again, all have other coaches that they talk to because they [00:26:35] know they can't coach themselves.
[00:26:36] And so when you speak about marketing and from that [00:26:40] perspective, I think it just makes it easier to do it. because now it's not about like, [00:26:45] let me just sell you my stuff. It's, this is how, the impact that's being created. This is [00:26:50] the genuine, transformation that's occurring. if you're looking for this, let's have a [00:26:55] conversation, right? It's not, you know, here, let me sell you my a hundred dollars, [00:27:00] $200 thousand dollars package.
[00:27:02] Let's talk about your aspirational stuff. Where do you want [00:27:05] to be in 10 years? What do you want to be like? Let's talk about that and if that works for you. [00:27:10] If you think we we're a good match, let's work together. Right?
[00:27:12] **Laurie:** Yeah. I'm the first one to say I'm not [00:27:15] everybody's flavor and I'm, I'm cool with that.
[00:27:17] **David:** Well, I think
[00:27:18] **Laurie:** Um,
[00:27:18] **David:** that's okay, right? [00:27:20] Like how
[00:27:20] **Laurie:** yeah.
[00:27:21] **David:** are you really looking to work with in a year?
[00:27:24] **Laurie:** Well that's [00:27:25] just, it, I wish I could work with more that, and that's one of the reasons I created the group [00:27:30] coaching program was to create that bigger impact footprint. [00:27:35] Right. And it's, it's not about I wanna bring more dollars in the door. It's [00:27:40] about how big can my impact be?
[00:27:42] So it's not that many.
[00:27:44] [00:27:45] Right. Now, the other thing I do is I do working genius, workshops and that is a way I can [00:27:50] touch more people. But you know, one-to-one or group coaching, I don't know, 20 people a [00:27:55] year
[00:27:55] **David:** 20 people a year. If you say you do like a 10% conversion rate from booking book of [00:28:00] calls, like, and then 10% is like. low. Anyways, so 20 people, that's 200 [00:28:05] people a year you talk to, to get 20 clients, right? And then you get those 200 people [00:28:10] on a book a call. You have to have a thousand people to see your website or something [00:28:15] that you're doing, again, this is something else that a lot of coaches don't have, are these like metrics [00:28:20] of how many people have to visit my website for me to get a call to get a customer, right? But [00:28:25] again, it's not like you need to be talking to hundreds of thousands of people. You don't need to be a, you [00:28:30] Instagram influencer doing a million, You just, need a thousand, you know, 10,000 [00:28:35] people who are, are following you and, and looking at what you're doing. If you're going [00:28:40] for like more group coaching or like group courses, things like that. As [00:28:45] you get bigger, you have more followers, you can start to bring more people into it, and then, you know, it starts to [00:28:50] snowball after some time.
[00:28:51] **Laurie:** You have to get the flywheel. I, I talk about this with my clients [00:28:55] too, is
[00:28:55] **David:** Right?
[00:28:55] **Laurie:** just takes a little while. You just gotta stick with it, it's gonna be a little, a little, [00:29:00] a little. And it'll catch.
[00:29:01] **David:** Yeah. And it's just that, it's that startup phase, right? [00:29:05] Where it takes a little while to get the momentum going, but once the momentum gets going, now, now [00:29:10] you really need the system because if you don't have the system to back up and to like manage the [00:29:15] scale, the other problem that you have.
[00:29:17] **Laurie:** Yeah. And it's hard, right? And we all need [00:29:20] people to help us. Now, it's much easier to have someone help you [00:29:25] if you can say, Hey, here's my system.
[00:29:27] **David:** Mm-hmm.
[00:29:27] **Laurie:** where you can plug in.
[00:29:29] I need you to do [00:29:30] this piece. I need you to do the segment here. Let me train you quickly. I can make a quick [00:29:35] video on how my system works, right?
[00:29:38] So much easier [00:29:40] than trying to think through. Now, how did I do that last time? Oh, [00:29:45] sometimes I do it this way.
[00:29:46] **David:** Yeah. And you know, what I've been doing is it's, it's funny 'cause [00:29:50] I, I've been using a lot of AI tools to like create or like, think through things. [00:29:55] And sometimes in my conversation as I'm thinking through a process or refining a process, [00:30:00] I'll just be like, give me an SOP on what we just went through let me look back through [00:30:05] this. and so it's just kind of, it's not about the technology, but that technology, if you learn how to [00:30:10] leverage it, helps a lot.
[00:30:11] **Laurie:** Absolutely makes everything go faster.
[00:30:13]
[00:30:39] **David:** It's a [00:30:40] little scary because I feel like I wanna have more computers so I can have specific [00:30:45] conversations because I get lost in my windows. And then I'm just like, where did that window go? And then, [00:30:50] but yeah.
[00:30:50] **Laurie:** You know what you mean? Too many windows, too many tabs open.
[00:30:54] **David:** yeah, you [00:30:55] get, uh, just overloaded with all of it. I, I'm
[00:30:58] **Laurie:** It's, it, it's a good idea to [00:31:00] tell it, to, uh, spin it back to you simply.
[00:31:02] **David:** I like to think I'm smart, but sometimes [00:31:05] I, I realize I'm really not that smart and like this thing that I went through. [00:31:10] I do it, again and again, like the processes I go through, so it's like. I just need to do the [00:31:15] process, define
[00:31:15] **Laurie:** Mm-hmm.
[00:31:16] **David:** and then I can just hand it off. And,
[00:31:18] Again, like you don't [00:31:20] need to write that process. You can just be like, okay, we went through this whole process. Tell me what [00:31:25] was that, SOP or you can just talk, re transcribe record your audio, talk [00:31:30] to the thing and say, this is what I usually do, create my SOP for me to hand it this off. But yeah, [00:31:35] systems, when you can hand off. That extra mental load of like, as you're [00:31:40] saying, like, scheduling your LinkedIn articles or LinkedIn posts, handing that [00:31:45] off to somebody else to be like, okay, the writer finished, she's gonna send this to us, make [00:31:50] sure to upload this and put it onto LinkedIn.
[00:31:52] Like, that's not super hard. That's a pretty [00:31:55] close and simple,
[00:31:56] **Laurie:** I enjoy responding to the comments on [00:32:00] LinkedIn, so that's kind of the fun for me. I don't really love writing them all the [00:32:05] time. I don't love posting them, but I do love the interaction.
[00:32:08] So I choose to keep [00:32:10] that. Now, that's also something that could go to the person who's scheduling, you know, if [00:32:15] they had the right communication skills to be like,
[00:32:17] you know, my voice or [00:32:20] ping me, right.
[00:32:20] If this is one that I need to respond to.
[00:32:22] **David:** Yeah, and that's like, again, a little simple [00:32:25] process. It's like, okay, we just either ping you or you just create a Google sheet, a
[00:32:29] **Laurie:** Mm-hmm.[00:32:30]
[00:32:30] **David:** says, here, here are some comments that was left or that I didn't know how to respond to. [00:32:35] Please respond to this like, and drop a link in it. It doesn't need to be super crazy.
[00:32:39] It's [00:32:40] just very simple and straightforward. But I think like that mental load of, I have to remember [00:32:45] this task of the article was done. I need to schedule this and post it being able to have [00:32:50] somebody that you can trust and say, this is the process, this is the system. You're in charge. I think [00:32:55] that being able to let that go and just trust the system is. Super helpful [00:33:00] because that's just one thing you don't need to think about. I think, what is it like a lot of presidents end up [00:33:05] wearing, like Barack Obama, he had like two suits. It's like
[00:33:07] **Laurie:** Mm-hmm.
[00:33:08] **David:** Said it's just [00:33:10] because it's one less thing he
[00:33:11] **Laurie:** Yeah.
[00:33:12] **David:** about.
[00:33:12] **Laurie:** And I would say whether you [00:33:15] are a business owner who has a $50 million business or a $4 [00:33:20] million business, or if you're a solopreneur coach, you know, the litmus test [00:33:25] for great systems is what happens if you go on vacation for a [00:33:30] week. If you can be gone for a week and everything keeps on running and you come back [00:33:35] and you can just, slide right back in, great.
[00:33:38] Think about it. What would happen if I [00:33:40] was gone for two weeks? Like, could that be possible? If the answer's no, there's [00:33:45] probably an opportunity for you to work on your systems.
[00:33:47] **David:** For sure. And actually, you know, as [00:33:50] we're coming closer to the end of the year, I'm talking with a couple of coaches who are like, yeah, I'm gonna go [00:33:55] take three weeks off for the holidays. And it's just like, the VA can handle [00:34:00] things.
[00:34:00] I'm gonna try to finish training them in the last couple of weeks so that they can handle sales [00:34:05] calls.
[00:34:05] I am curious though, what inspires me is the stories of the [00:34:10] work that you've done, the lives that you've touched. Is there any story that comes to mind? [00:34:15] Anybody who you've worked with that you think about that I did a good job there.
[00:34:19] **Laurie:** [00:34:20] There's several stories that come to mind. I mean, there was, a wealth [00:34:25] manager who, had very defined, audience that he was serving, in the [00:34:30] sports world. He, business was starting to slow a little bit. His wife had a new [00:34:35] opportunity and it would require him to kind of pivot [00:34:40] to a different sort of small business owner kind of audience.
[00:34:43] He's at a point in his life [00:34:45] where his kids are kind of tween age. So there's a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure at [00:34:50] work, a lot of pressure at home. And now it's like, oh my gosh, [00:34:55] I'm mid-career and I need to reinvent myself. How in the world am I ever [00:35:00] going to do this?
[00:35:01] You know, we worked together for, I think it [00:35:05] was, 24 sessions.
[00:35:06] It started at, last summer. He recently was just [00:35:10] like, we've done it. I have a new customer. My pipeline is full. You know, I have [00:35:15] a, a great offer. I feel good about giving to people and I'm set [00:35:20] like six months ago I didn't know what I was gonna do. Right. I felt like everything was [00:35:25] just, like, everything I knew had been kind of, was changing and now I feel [00:35:30] renewed I'm back in the game.
[00:35:32] **David:** I think when you're, when you're 80, 90, [00:35:35] years old, right? Those are the memories that you're like, oh, I spent my time, well, I did [00:35:40] things that were meaningful that, that genuinely helped people. I,
[00:35:43] **Laurie:** I know so.
[00:35:43] **David:** I think that if you [00:35:45] have stories like that, the more people you work with, you'll just keep collecting those stories. [00:35:50] Right. We can keep working the corporate jobs, we can just the idea of success, right. But I feel [00:35:55] like it's that sometimes it's just so insular you're not gonna take that money with you. Right. [00:36:00] And if you can connect with and touch the lives of people to help them, not just the [00:36:05] business owner, it's their spouse, it's their kids. Because what happens to them in the [00:36:10] workplace that stress, it's very difficult to go home not have that impact [00:36:15] and so, right.
[00:36:16] **Laurie:** When I started coaching, it's funny you should say that. When I started [00:36:20] coaching, the kinda my North Star I was like, if I can [00:36:25] help a small business owner, stay in the game and grow their business with greater [00:36:30] ease, there's gonna be better daycare pickups. Because I just remember [00:36:35] go, you know, going to daycare, being frazzled.
[00:36:38] Oh my gosh, am I gonna get [00:36:40] there on time? Oh, and I'd finally get there and I'd be like, okay. All right. Get your boots, put 'em [00:36:45] on. Okay, now we're back in the car. And then, you know, I have this little person in the [00:36:50] car seat and. My mind is now just snapped right back to the [00:36:55] problem that I didn't get to finish before I left work that day.
[00:36:59] You know, [00:37:00] the conversation that I had to cut short 'cause I had to run out the door and I'm [00:37:05] like, we can do better. Right? Owners don't have to have that pressure.
[00:37:08] **David:** Mm-hmm.
[00:37:09] **Laurie:** The people [00:37:10] on their teams, should, should have an environment where they can pause, change [00:37:15] gears, and then we can have a conversation with that little person in the back seat [00:37:20] on the way home.
[00:37:20] **David:** The more stress that I've been under, like you may, maybe you don't sleep [00:37:25] well. And then with your, with your kids, unfortunately, and with like your [00:37:30] family, because you can't, show that at work. So sometimes it just comes out at home. So [00:37:35] again, like the work that you're doing, when you're working with like small business owners, helping them [00:37:40] to build, to strategize, to have those systems, then when they get home, all of that [00:37:45] it's not there. So they come home lighter, happier, more energized, right? So I think. That is [00:37:50] wonderful. Right? I think that's amazing.
[00:37:51] **Laurie:** It's good work.
[00:37:52] **David:** I think good meaningful work [00:37:55] that helps the family, helps the business, helps the local economy, right? There's lots of
[00:37:59] **Laurie:** Right?
[00:37:59] **David:** there.
[00:37:59] **Laurie:** [00:38:00] Exactly.
[00:38:00] **David:** Um,
[00:38:02] **Laurie:** to all the coaches.
[00:38:03] **David:** I mean, honestly, like all the [00:38:05] coaches I've spoken to, there's always, you know, a handful of stories at least that [00:38:10] they, that comes to mind right away of lives that they've changed. You
[00:38:13] **Laurie:** always say that, that [00:38:15] I just ask the right questions. Right? They have all the answers.
[00:38:18] **David:** Yeah.
[00:38:19] **Laurie:** [00:38:20] anybody I talk to, I'm like, no, you, have the answers, right? I just ask the right questions.
[00:38:24] **David:** [00:38:25] Different opinions on coaching and methodologies and what you should and shouldn't do. Right? You are still [00:38:30] there with them helping them to realize and get to that, point, right? [00:38:35] If you ask the right questions or you guide them through there, or you just straight out tell them, like you're still [00:38:40] bringing them to the place that they need to be so that they can change so that they can [00:38:45] grow and develop.
[00:38:45] Right. I really wanna keep talking because I'm really enjoying this conversation, but we [00:38:50] are almost already like an hour in. So before I end, I like [00:38:55] to ask these two questions. Which is the first one is what have you learned [00:39:00] about yourself through this coaching, this process of becoming a coach, building your own [00:39:05] business?
[00:39:05] **Laurie:** I think, I don't know that I've learned as much as [00:39:10] there's a lot of things that have been reinforced, that I love to learn [00:39:15] that as hard as it is to, you know, clarify my vision, empower my [00:39:20] fractional team and build my systems, I still enjoy it. That I'm in it [00:39:25] for the impact. You know, when I left. A W2 gig. I was [00:39:30] like, oh, this is so scary. It's really not that scary on the other side. And I [00:39:35] think that we have a huge capacity for, empathy and emotional [00:39:40] intelligence, and we can always keep building on that and doing [00:39:45] better.
[00:39:45] **David:** Always do better.
[00:39:46] **Laurie:** Yeah.
[00:39:47] **David:** The hard part is like knowing we can [00:39:50] always do better. Then creating the right, like roadmap of priorities to [00:39:55] focus on one thing at a time
[00:39:56] **Laurie:** For sure. Yep.
[00:39:58] **David:** yeah, because I mean, the, flip side [00:40:00] of that is I can always do better and then try to do better in like 20 different facets of your life, which is just [00:40:05] way too many.
[00:40:05] **Laurie:** One a quarter.
[00:40:06] **David:** Uh, the, the last question I'd like to ask before we [00:40:10] close is, what's one piece of advice that you'd give to someone who's just beginning their [00:40:15] coaching journey?
[00:40:15] **Laurie:** I would say, find a community, find another group of [00:40:20] coaches, that you can bounce ideas, of, that you can learn from. Every single coach I've [00:40:25] met is incredibly generous, in terms of sharing their resources, sharing [00:40:30] what's worked, sharing what hasn't. So find your people.
[00:40:34] **David:** Lori, thank you [00:40:35] so much. I really appreciated your time. I, loved having this conversation. We [00:40:40] should do it again if you, if you're up for it.
[00:40:41] **Laurie:** Oh, I'd love to,
[00:40:42] **David:** so for everybody listening, if [00:40:45] they wanted to find you and connect with you, where should they go?
[00:40:48] **Laurie:** uh, you can find me [00:40:50] on LinkedIn, under my name Laurie, L-A-U-R-I-E, [00:40:55] Hollinger, H-O-L-L-I-N-G-E-R. You can, certainly visit my [00:41:00] website. I would love to see you there. That is hollinger [00:41:05] co.com. And I would love for you to follow [00:41:10] my untapped newsletter. You will find the sign up there in my website.
[00:41:14] **David:** Okay. [00:41:15] Wonderful. Lori, thank you again. I've really, seriously, genuinely enjoyed this [00:41:20] conversation today.
[00:41:20] **Laurie:** Thank you. I have two, David. Thanks for guiding us through it.
[00:41:24] **David:** Have a good one,
[00:41:24]