Career Coaching Secrets

Scaling a Coaching Business: Strategies from Shannon Russell

• Davis Nguyen

Share episode

 In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, Rexhen speaks with Shannon Russell—career transition coach, founder of Second Act Success, and host of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. Shannon shares how she pivoted from a TV producer to a business owner, then again to a full-time coach helping women transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship. From podcast growth to publishing her first book and launching evergreen courses, Shannon walks us through the tools, mindset, and systems that keep her business growing while empowering other women to thrive in their “second acts.” 

You can find her on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonrussellcareercoach/
https://www.instagram.com/secondactsuccess/
and her website https://secondactsuccess.co/


You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets

If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

Get Exclusive Access to Our In-Depth Analysis of 71 Successful Career Coaches, Learn exactly what worked (and what didn't) in the career coaching industry in 2024: https://joinpurplecircle.com/white-paper-replay

Shannon Russell:

So thinking about what else can I do? If you offer one-on-one, can you offer group coaching? Can you offer a membership? Can you offer individual workshops that you run once a month on a Saturday? So thinking outside of the box. And then if it's something else that you might want to promote your business, like a podcast or a book or speaking or individual digital products or whatever it might be, just thinking about what else really blends well with the coaching and the services that you want to provide to others. but can give you a little bit more of that reassurance that you have revenue coming in when you're in those downtimes that we all have the highs and lows.

Davis Nguyen:

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets, the podcast where we talk with successful career coaches on how they built their success and the hard lessons they learned along the way. My name is Davis Nguyen, and I'm the founder of Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to seven and eight figures without burning out. Before Purple Circle, I started and scaled several seven and eight figure career coaching businesses myself and consulted with two career coaching businesses that are now doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or just building your practice for the first time, you'll discover the secrets to elevating your coaching business.

Rexhen:

Welcome to the Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. Today, my guest is Shannon Russell, a career transition and business coach helping women pivot to purpose-driven careers. She's the author of Start Your Second Act, which is coming out on May 7th this year. She's also the founder of Second Act Success. and the host of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. So I'm very excited to have another host of another podcast with me today. She was sharing some tips with me at the beginning, more about Shannon. So before coaching, Shannon spent about 16 years as a TV producer for networks like MTV, Yahoo!, then successfully built her own business. Now she empowers others to do the same, and I'm excited to dive into her journey. So welcome to the podcast. Thank

Shannon Russell:

you so much. Thanks for having me. I'm excited.

Rexhen:

Tell me a little bit more about what inspired you to become a career coach.

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, it's a funny story because as you said, I worked in television for many years and then I opened a, my first business was a franchise business where we taught children STEM education. So robotics, coding, that kind of thing. And as I was working with children, the parents would say, oh, you must have been a great teacher. And I would say, oh, actually, I was a television producer. And it would spark that conversation of how did you go from that to this? And then they would start asking me, well, I don't really like my job. Can you help me figure out what I should be doing? And so I started helping friends and people that I knew. And I realized that there was a need for especially women who were kind of like new moms and kind of in that part of their life that just felt really stuck and that their career wasn't aligned with what they were doing anymore. and that they needed help figuring out what else they could do. And I realized that I had done it and I was really excited to help others figure out their next career pivot too. And that's where the idea came for Second Act Success.

Rexhen:

So it was a very natural transition from your, basically you started helping people and then moved on to it as a full-time business. What about your journey, but basically from when you started to where you are now?

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, so I started... my coaching business and I started my podcast at the same time. And they're both named the same, Second Act Success and Second Act Success Career Podcast. So I started them parallel. And the podcast itself, I was bringing on other people who had made career transitions to inspire listeners. And as I was doing it, I was learning a lot about different people who had changed careers from really, you know, like a teacher into a jewelry designer and just really different areas of expertise. And And so it taught me a lot so that when I met clients, I was able to really pull on these stories that I heard from these other amazing women who had changed careers. And so I felt like that podcast and what I was doing there really helped. And I had, like I mentioned, a previous business. And in that business... We were really well known in my community. Like it was a very well to do business. And so a lot of my customers, when I announced that I was opening a coaching business, wanted my help and they wanted my help to build a local small business because they saw that I was able to do that with the first one. So I had a lot of local clients to start with, which were great and word of mouth kind of spread. And then, yeah, it's now going on about three years. And I, you know, obviously have clients all over now. which is great and I get them from the podcast. But yeah, it's just really kind of evolved organically and I've since sold that other business. And so I'm a thousand percent in my coaching, which is, it really excites me.

Rexhen:

Interesting. And the previous business, basically had nothing to do with any type of coaching.

Shannon Russell:

No, it was just that business entrepreneur stepping stone to get me out of television that really taught me what it was like to build a business. And then I said, well, this is fun. And I was good at it with that business. So let me try something else. And yeah, that's where it came from. But this is where my heart lies, I think, helping other women like myself make those transitions in life.

Rexhen:

Are you... like only working with women or is there a specific target audience like women that are, or in tech, is there an industry or something specific or any women that are actually looking to pivot their careers, just like you mentioned, going to a jewelry job type?

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, I started really broad with helping anyone and everyone. And then, yeah, now I'm really focused on helping women who want to leave a corporate job to start a business. So whatever that might be, but just kind of figuring out their exit plan from that nine to five job to actually taking their skills and experience and building a business around

Rexhen:

that. Nice. Okay. So mostly on corporate. And what is the main way? You mentioned initially you had people basically that you knew from your older business or previous business. Then you had friends that kind of found out that you're doing coaching. You also have the podcast that also helps for you to find your clients. What is the primary way of you connecting with your potential clients right now? Because you are three years in.

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, right now I think it is kind of a combination of all the things. But definitely, like even actually just this morning, I got a what I call strategy call from a new potential client. And she said that she listened to the podcast, but she followed me on Instagram. So I don't know. I haven't had that call. That's this afternoon. But at least I know that it's from one of the two of those, which is great. Because sometimes you put... content out and you don't know if people are actually seeing it. But so yeah, I'll be interested to know if she found me from Instagram and then listen to the podcast or vice versa. Yeah, I think it's social media. I think it's Instagram and LinkedIn are my two places that I'm at the most. I kind of post everywhere, but those are the two that I have the most DM conversations. And then, yeah, the podcast, I love meeting people who just find the podcast and hear the strategies that I teach and then want to work with me. So I would say it's probably between those two.

Rexhen:

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. And when it comes to the podcast itself, is there a specific method that you're using to market that or just basically posting it both on social media and on the podcast platforms as well? Or do you also have like an email list that you post? weekly send this podcast to as well? And this is a question that I'd like to know as well.

Shannon Russell:

Yeah. So I do all the things. I post pretty much like two to three posts about that particular podcast during the week on social. And then I do put it up as a blog on my website as well. So it's like kind of more of a written blog and then it has a link to the podcast as well and the transcript of the podcast. And then I send it to my email list every week as well. Yeah, that's the main way I also have promoted the podcast using overcast ads there's different kinds of podcast ads but overcast seems to be the one that gets me the most traction and if you look a month or two ahead you can get pretty good deals in the categories that you want so for me I'll go under business but business usually is really large so I'll try like kids and family to reach those moms out there or lifestyle and social impact like you know i try to find different categories and put up ads every once in a while that seem to give a good return or at least get new ears into listening

Rexhen:

interesting so overcast i'll look into that right after this episode and see how we could do that as well and maybe how other career coaches are watching this they can do it in a similar way just like you mentioned so My next question is more on goals for your business. Do you have any goals that you're working towards for the next one to three years? I

Shannon Russell:

do. Actually, I'm very close to taking a course that I created for my coaching a few years ago. It's kind of like a self-paced course with group coaching. And I've run that a couple of times, but now I'm turning it into more of an evergreen program. So I'm setting that up where there'll be like a webinar that people can watch basically anytime. And if they're interested, they can enroll into the course program, which is called Second Act Accelerator. And yeah, so I just want to kind of have that on in the background running all the time instead of doing live launches to say, hey, I'm running this program. So I'm going to try that within the next month or two, just getting all the pieces together and Thank you so much. even if you're in a role at a company that you enjoy, thinking about even transitioning within the company to different roles or departments and just kind of getting out there to speak to people and let them know that there is opportunity for change and improvement if you look for it. And you don't have to stay stagnant in the same role until retirement. So yeah, that's my goal to get even more visible out there. And with my book coming out too, it's a perfect time to be able to go and kind of promote that as well.

Rexhen:

Yeah, thanks for sharing that. When it comes to the book, actually, I've had a guest in the episodes right before these. So you'll see that even at the end of this podcast, I'll ask you about what advice you would give to other career coaches. And one of them said, having a book, publishing a book is a very successful method that has worked also for other coaches in the past and has worked for this coach that shared that tip with me. And so you kind of have a very good setup. So you have a book coming out. You have the webinar also in the future. You have your own email list. You're not at the beginner level. You're three years and you have basically a coaching business that's fully set up. I wanted to ask what resources or support have been most useful for you or most valuable in growing your own coaching business?

Shannon Russell:

That's a really great question, I think, for anyone, because I love to learn. And I feel like whether you're just starting out or three years or 10 years or 20 years in, there's always something more that you can learn, especially from other coaches in the same industry. So I join other memberships, like I'm in a membership for another career coach right now that, you know, it's just nice to get her perspective and resources and learn from someone else who's in the space, maybe just a little bit ahead of me. And so yeah, joining other their programs. I have a career coach friend of mine who is a mentor of mine from the very beginning. She was on my podcast, I guess, three or so years ago. And she's in a different, like I deal with women who are changing, you know, to get into business. She's more of an executive coach. And so we're in different spaces, but a lot of what we teach and our strategies are similar. So it's just nice to have those conversations. You know, every few months we get on the phone and just talk about what each other is doing. So I think, to not be afraid to really befriend other people that are in a similar space because you can learn from each other and see what tactics they're using and like your podcast here just having people come and share what's working for them can spark new ideas for other people so yeah I just find that really like Learning and continually putting yourself out there and networking and learning from others has really helped and I will continue to do that as I move forward. And

Rexhen:

as a coach, you mentioned that you have a mentor as well. Do you feel like you've also received great coaching?

Shannon Russell:

Oh, yes. Yes, I always say you want a coach who also has a coach because I have a business coach myself who, honestly, I don't know how much I necessarily need her, but I want her because she's like an accountability partner for me to keep me on my And I want to be that for my clients. So, yeah, I think you want to have a coach that's a coach and that is always learning. And I want to be that real support system for my clients. And even if I have had clients in the past who will work together for six months and then our time together is over, but I still keep in touch with them and I want to support them in any way I can and celebrate them. And I think that's important, too, because it shows that you care about your clients.

Rexhen:

months you'd have a client then then you'll not have that client after is that like how your program works is it six months or how does your program work now I'm just curious about that

Shannon Russell:

yeah I've switched it around at different times too but right now I have an eight week option where it's just a weekly session for eight weeks kind of like I need to make this change I need to make it now and then I have a six month option that's longer it's bi-weekly and you know you're progressing to where you want to go and then I definitely have clients who when there are times is up whether it's eight weeks or six months that they continue so i think it's just kind of like what i was saying about my coach like i just keep renewing because i i want to work with her need to work with her so yeah i definitely have clients who keep me on or will just say okay well can i just pay when i need you for like like i had a client last week who just had a really big pitch and she's like i just need to have a meeting with you to make sure my pitch is going to go well and so we jumped on and she just paid for the one session so so yeah i try to be really flexible because everyone's budgets are different and their needs are different.

Rexhen:

So you also offer like one hour sessions after they finish the program, let's say. Yes. And also I

Shannon Russell:

forgot to mention is that I'm also UMAP certified, which is a career assessment. And so people hire me to just give them the UMAP assessment. And then we have like, so they'll do the test and then we have a three separate 60 minute calls to debrief everything that that profile, that assessment gives them. So that's another option to just really give them what they need. This is going to help them, you know, kind of steer in the direction that will be best for them. And then if they want to continue with regular weekly or bi-weekly coaching, we can, but at least it's another option for them as well.

Rexhen:

How do you stay connected with other career coaches? I know we mentioned that having those connections can be very helpful. Do you currently stay connected with career coaches like yourself or mostly like business coaches

Shannon Russell:

well I guess with both I meet a lot of people through my podcast and networking but but yeah there's two or three career coaches that I have just known from working in the industry and so that we connect and like one is I'm in one of someone's program and I take her classes there's another that's just a great friend of mine but our businesses are really aligned and then the mentor I mentioned as well so yeah I just I keep in touch like more on like a friend basis and wanting to learn from them. I guess. Yeah. Business coaches as well. I think just I'm in a mastermind with a lot of women who are coaches, you know, different kinds of coaches like health coaches, business coaches, leadership coaches, and even their strategies and my strategies are similar and we can really share ideas off of each other that way.

Rexhen:

Is there any specific online community that you find that is very useful to connect to other coaches or mostly it's just these three coaches that you know because you're in the industry?

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, it's just those three that I've met through whether it's podcasts or networking events. But yeah, I would love to know if there is a community for career coaches to come together online. I have... yet to find that, but that would be wonderful.

Rexhen:

Okay, great. So we'll be linking some of those into the description of this video because I do have some of those that other coaches that I've had in the podcast before have shared. So I'll be linking those into the video as well. What is something that you wish you had known when you first started scaling your coaching business? What is an unexpected lesson learned for you?

Shannon Russell:

I think it's everyone's pain point is social media. And I think in the beginning, I just thought, well, if I post then people will find me and they'll hire me. And it was post, post, post and not seeing that happen. And for me, I think the hard part was, like I mentioned, I had a lot of organic clients coming from people who knew me or in my circle or warm lead referrals from my town and my area. And really reaching out from that was tricky. And I felt like I was doing all the things, the podcast, social, like what else can I do? And it took time. And I think That was something I wasn't prepared for. I wish I knew exactly how long, but it was like probably that first year or so before I really got further. Like I, you know, and really started getting people from other states into my world. So, yeah, I think that was like the biggest problem and sometimes continues to be. It's like you can think that you're in all the places, but sometimes it's just getting messaging across to really reach that ideal place. client. So yeah, I feel like I still struggle with that sometimes.

Rexhen:

So you'd say that is kind of like one of the biggest challenges you face currently in scaling the coaching business?

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, I think it's just like, or sometimes I'll have calls with people who it just doesn't align. Like they're not, like I've had a lot recently, like people who have been let go and they're looking for other jobs and I can help them, of course, but like that's not who I'm messaging to. So it's like trying to message to people leaving, you know, wanting to go from employee to entrepreneur and then not seeing that really get across. I feel like there's always that last time when you're really posting and trying to get your message out there until you actually get those ideal clients coming in. So yeah, I feel like that's a constant struggle probably for all of us.

Rexhen:

Yeah, I think it's a constant struggle, yeah, for most of us for sure. The next question is more of like, how do you handle balance between delivering great results and managing business growth? at the same time. So basically working in your business versus on your business.

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, that is a great question. And that's why one of the reasons I'm setting up the webinar that I mentioned, because it'll be one less thing. It'll be a little bit more automatic. And especially with right now, I feel like I'm in this whirlwind because I'm promoting the book, which takes me out of promoting to get more clients and really working with my clients. So it's a fine balance, but I look at it like I have my clients that I have now, which is great. So I'm able to continue to work with them while I take my foot off the gas for a little bit to promote the book and have the webinar in the background and have other fires going. But yeah, it's kind of hard to get it to be a perfect balance. So I'm trying more to put more of those systems in place and really have the podcast on a schedule and I batch record so that I can edit ahead of time and just have the podcast go out. So it's one less thing. So I really try to just stay present with my clients, present with whatever I'm working on next to really work, I guess, on the business instead of in the business, you know, like really just get things kind of automated so that I can just focus on what's needed at the time. Do

Rexhen:

you feel like most of your time goes working with your clients versus working on your business?

Shannon Russell:

No, I think clients is probably a third, maybe actually actual time spent. And we talk, my clients have access to me in between calls. So there's still, I'm reviewing things. I also do just one-off LinkedIn and resume reviews. I do audits for people. So people will book me just for that. And that's time consuming that I do just on the side. Those aren't one-on-one clients. Those are just like, Hey, can you just look this over for me? So all of that is probably a third. And then I would say a third is, the book and the podcast and book, you know, booking myself for speaking gigs. And then the other third is just the business and what's coming on, you know, up down the road. And like, what am I promoting next month and the following month? And just really that continual business growth.

Rexhen:

Yeah. So basically a third of it is working with the clients. The next part is the book, the podcast and other business operations. So all of it kind of goes into the business operation. Even the book kind of works for promoting the business. Yeah. Interesting. So the next question I wanted to ask you, what aspect of running your coaching business keep you up at night in apprentices?

Shannon Russell:

No, I feel like anytime you're an entrepreneur, you're up at night thinking the 24 hour a day business. But yeah, I think it's just always like that next thing right like right now it's getting that webinar out and then it's the book the next month and it's you know and i look forward to every day like i definitely wake up and I'm excited to sit down at my laptop and my desk and just start working but I'm always thinking about those three things i have to do because i'm big on the three so i make that list the night before of three things i need to accomplish and so i'm always thinking what are those three three things and then there's so many other things and it's just I think I'm a creative person, so I'm so excited. I have all these ideas that it's narrowing them down and staying focused on what needs to get done. I think a lot of times keeping me up at night is just... the potential of so many different ideas and projects that I want to accomplish.

Rexhen:

Okay. Thanks for sharing that. And maybe that kind of connects a little bit to the other question that I have, which is also the last question. What advice would you give to other career coaches that are looking to scale their impact and maybe connects a little bit with what keeps you up at night?

Shannon Russell:

I think it's those having multiple streams of income, right? And reaching out beyond where you feel comfortable. So I guess it's two things. The first would be, you know, be on the social platforms that you feel comfortable with. But regardless, you need to be on LinkedIn. And so many times I hear from people who are not. And I think especially as a career coach, that is where we need to show up. That's where we need to be. You know, it's easy to create a newsletter over there and just connect with other people. But Definitely to post about what's going on, whether you think it's interesting or not, all over and on LinkedIn. And then also, I think it's that the revenue streams, right? So thinking about what else can I do? If you offer one-on-one, can you offer group coaching? Can you offer a membership? Can you offer individual workshops that you run once a month on a Saturday? So thinking outside of the box. And then if it's something else that you might want to promote your business, like a podcast or a book or speaking or individual digital products or whatever it might be, just thinking about what else really blends well with the coaching and the services that you want to provide to others, but can give you a little bit more of that reassurance that you have revenue coming in when you're in those downtimes that we all have, the highs and lows. So that would be my two pieces of advice.

Rexhen:

Thanks for sharing that. That was very powerful. Well, thank you again for coming to the show. It was a pleasure having you on the podcast. And for anyone who needs to find you, they can find you on secondactsuccess.co. So it's not .com, it's .co. And they also can find you on your LinkedIn, Shannon Russell. Is there any elsewhere that they can find you if they want I wanted to reach out to you.

Shannon Russell:

Yeah, those are great. The only other thing is my book. You can go to startyoursecondact.com and you'll get all the information on my book that's coming out in May.

Rexhen:

Okay, so I'll put that on the screen as well. Well, thank you so much, Shannon.

Shannon Russell:

Thank you. This was so great. Thank you very much for having me.

Davis Nguyen:

Thank you. Thank you.