Career Coaching Secrets

Beyond Habits: Catherine Barron on Lasting Change for Individuals & Couples

• Davis Nguyen

Share episode

Rexhen Doda interviews Catherine Barron, a mindset empowerment, relationship, and career coach focused on "transforming from the inside out." Her model blends mindset tools, feedback, and personalized resources. Catherine draws from her background in psychology and a family history of service. She emphasizes the challenges of building an online coaching business, needing self-correction, learning, and adaptation. She passionately works with diverse clients, addressing relationship and career issues, with a focus on mindset and personal development.

Catherine uses all marketing channels, particularly referrals, YouTube, and large counseling platforms. Her long-term goal is continued service, even without payment. Key lessons include the importance of certifications and technology education. Her ongoing challenge is consistent lead generation, balanced by prioritizing client needs. She has begun outsourcing resume design.

Catherine worries about delivering value to discerning clients and advises coaches to be specific, consistent, patient, and self-compassionate, and to seek help from other coaches.

Find Catherine Barron:


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

Catherine Barron:

Well, I think with any business, and especially today and going online, is risky. And so there's going to be a lot of ups and downs with that. And what determines your success is how you counteract those things, what you do to correct some of that, some of the flaws. And some of the flaws are going to be within yourself. And that's going to be a little hard because you're going to say, do I need to change something? Or what do I need to learn? Or what do I I need

Davis Nguyen:

to add to... 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 Doda:

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. Today my guest is Katherine Baron, a mindset empowerment coach, relationship counselor, and career coach helping individuals, couples, and couples transform from the inside out. Katherine's work goes far beyond surface-level advice with deep roots in psychology and passion for lasting transformation. She's guided countless people through life's toughest moments, whether if it's navigating relationships, career shifts, or internal blocks, and has helped them step into clarity, confidence, and personal power. She's known for her 24-7 accessible coaching model blending mindset tools, feedback, and personalized resources to make change stick. If you ever felt stuck in your habits, disconnected in your relationship, or unsure how to shift your thinking, Catherine is the guide you want by your side. We're thrilled to have you here. Welcome to the podcast.

Catherine Barron:

Thank you. That was a great introduction. Thank you. Maybe it's, you know, Coaches, generally speaking, are pretty humble people, most of them, I would say. And that's because their intentions are to do good work. And so those create, it works hand in hand. People that want to serve are usually pretty humbled. So when people talk about them or give this sort of introduction, it is humbling, but also inspiring. So thank you. Happy to be here.

Rexhen Doda:

You're more than welcome. Catherine, tell me a little bit more about what inspired you to become a growth mindset coach.

Catherine Barron:

That's such an excellent question. I think that many coaches share the same values, but Each of us are unique, of course, based on our backgrounds and so on that prompts us to do things in life. For me, it was I grew up in a family of service. My parents worked very hard. They had jobs, but they always had time to serve. And so it was sort of a mindset within me, very young. I did volunteer work as I was maturing when I graduated high school. And from there, I knew that there was something that I had to do that had to be a contribution. But it didn't come that easy. I floundered. It wasn't in our household and in my environment, our community, it wasn't what are you going to college? It's what college are you going to? So I skipped that and it was a mistake. But also on the flip side of that, it actually grounded me When I came back to go to return to school and get my degree in psychology, I was affirmed by what I'm going to do. I'm going to serve people, individuals. I'm going to get into their heads and into their deepest rooted concerns. And I'm going to help them sort that out. And that's how it started really. But it was a long process and it wasn't easy. And yeah. But I'm glad I chose that in the final analysis of it. Yeah.

Rexhen Doda:

And how does it look like from the point that you started it? So from the point you started your coaching business to where you are today, how does the journey look like?

Catherine Barron:

In what context? What do you mean? Be a little bit more specific. Look like as far as... So

Rexhen Doda:

how did you see yourself as being a coach? How did you experience that pivot? How

Catherine Barron:

did I see myself that way? How does it affect me?

Rexhen Doda:

Did you see your experience as a roller coaster? How does this coaching business feel like?

Catherine Barron:

Well, I think with any business, and especially today and going online, is risky. And so there's going to be a lot of ups and downs with that. And what determines your success is how you counteract those things, what you do to correct some of that, some of the flaws. And some of the flaws are going to be within yourself. And that's going to be a little hard because you're going to say, do I need to change something? Or what do I need to do? to learn or what do I need to add to my profile of who I am and what I am. So you're always going to be shifting and changing because in life, generally speaking, nothing is permanent, right? Everything is transient and it applies to business. So an online business is tricky. So I see it as being a struggle. You have to admit it's a struggle. I'm not going to come in here and say that I decided on what I was going to do and I did it successfully. It just took off for me. No, that would be, you know, not telling the truth. And I'm not ashamed to say that because I needed to learn a lot of things that I had a misconception of, thought. When we visualize something for ourselves, we're hyped up. We want to go for it and we're going to do it. usually people that are self-motivated, right? Then you visualize it, but it's usually more in the fantasy state as opposed to the realistic. And that's normal. I mean, there's research on that. But when you bring that concept, idea, plan, journey together, to fruition, or not even fruition, on the way to fruition, you're gonna see that it's gonna transform into reality and when the reality sets in then you've got to hunker down and you've got to take a look at it especially if you're working alone you don't have a lot of outside opinions but you need to reach out and get advice from people like you and other people who are experts in their field and believe it or not they're pretty generous they're not going to be there forever maybe you're going to get 15 minutes with them but they are kind and they're generous and they want to help. So you need to soak that in. You need to do your reading research. You need to educate yourself on technology. And I haven't done that to the fullest extent. I'm not a technical person in that sense. These people are just so talented. I have to say this generation is so talented. So, but I, I, do the essentials and I get myself through and do as much as I can for myself without asking because wherever there's a question, there's payment. So you've got to balance things out as you go along. But yeah, it was tough. But I do have to say one thing. The knowledge that one accumulates with all of the problems that come in in between is enormous. I mean, you have to grow with that. I mean, I wish that the first clients I ever had, I could go back and talk to them and tell them what I know today. It's that kind of thing. But that's okay. because that is the process, the evolution of yourself and your practice.

Rexhen Doda:

And when it comes to these clients, who are they? What kind of group or target artists are you mostly working with? Or what are you targeting and what transformation do you help them achieve?

Catherine Barron:

Well, you know, I'm a pretty open person. I get started and let's say, for example, a couple comes to me for... relationship problems, communication, infidelity. I look at that problem as what constitutes that. How did that evolve? How did it get to this place? And a bad habit that couples have, for example, would be to wait till it's very late in that relationship to get help. But I go underneath it. I'm a person that goes underneath because if you don't get to the underneath, the top is not going to be stable no matter what I give them. So it's just an understanding. I'm not a therapist in that sense. I'm not a doctor, but I can see rooted problems. I can see the whole picture. I don't know why, but once they give me the information, I'll ask questions, and then I see the whole framework. I see where they're at, where it came from, where they're at, and not 100%, because again, I'm not a doctor and I'm not God, but some things are just obvious. And then I see what they have to do each, and then what it would look like if they do it that's kind of what happens but i'm not stuck in one area i like people who are want to get ahead in their life who want to investigate their career options when they tell me something i may not know their industry so well but all kind i get all kinds of sparks and options just from the personality of the person or what really makes them tick. And then I'll study their industry even before the session, obviously, so that I can have some background and help them. And then on personal development side, mindset, growth mindset, that's what really gets me going because of the psychology interests that I've always had. and helping people really transform. I've had people in front of me. I had a young man who came to me and he was very down, depressed. He just got out of a divorce and he was still in love with his wife, had a little boy. And his career was pretty good, but he was just at a low point. And I took him and I raised him up to a level. By the time we finished his sessions, he was The color in his face was changed. That's what gets me going. That's what propels me. That's what inspires me. That I could actually suggest to this person, try this, do this, and you've got these qualities. You are good to go. You know, that kind of thing. Inspiring them, supporting them. Just fascinates me how... Quickly, somebody can turn their life into a different direction almost overnight with a few sessions. So it is mindset. And so that's really, I love doing that because people deserve that. People are unique and they're good people. they want good things we all want the same things basically good people and so it's my pleasure actually uh i wish i didn't have to get paid for it i still would do it so yeah that's um pretty much what i do and how i enjoy it try to enjoy it

Rexhen Doda:

and where like uh currently uh what is the main way of you connecting with these potential clients what marketing channel works best for you

Catherine Barron:

well Really, and I would suggest this to all coaches starting out, is use all of the channels. They tell you now, don't do everything. Just focus on one thing. I've had some super experts tell me that. I've taken their courses. I personally use everything. I use everything. The YouTube, I do podcasts. I go on social media. I have my personal groups on Facebook. And I write my own articles on my website. Just everything at platforms. Because, again, on the internet, online businesses, you always have to have backup. The business of coaching is a business experience. A risky business that is not predictable in a sense. It can be predictable for a while, for years, for a couple of years. And then there's going to be changes. So you need to be prepared. And so using all of those channels and all of those methods without burning yourself out is a good practice, I would say. But the media like YouTube, getting that exposure and being consistent with that is really what starts to trigger a momentum and a response to your business. Yeah, that is, it works. It does work, but you gotta hang in there.

Rexhen Doda:

And when it comes to personally you, what have you seen or for yourself work best in terms of the marketing channels?

Catherine Barron:

For me, I think it's, well, there's a certain amount of referral that happens, okay? When you do good work and something comes up, people are going to start to refer you. So there's part in referral, there's part in the YouTube channels, and there's part in you just utilizing, like there's tons of counselors that are on these great platforms and they're worldwide, that's huge. So if you can get on one of those and then keep your personal exposure, your contact with the media, social media is hugely important. They have to see you, they have to hear you, and you have to be consistent. And then, of course, referrals so those would be probably those three main places and those are the places that contribute to me and one might be better than the other at times and then the other not but you know it's part of nature of business too

Rexhen Doda:

and um wanted to ask you what are do you have any goals that you're working towards in the next one to three years

Catherine Barron:

Yeah, I still am. You know, I had a conversation with my family doctor about a couple of weeks ago and is an older gentleman. And he said, I don't want to retire. People ask me, why don't you retire? Why don't you slow down? He says, I'm never going to retire. And he's right. And I thought about that because why would I want to retire? So my goal is to keep going for as long as God permits me. And I'm physically and mentally capable of helping people. Now, if that means that later on, I don't have to charge as much or I won't charge at all at some places, that's what I'm going to do. And if it comes to that, even one day, that I don't charge at all, that will be fine with me because I still need to be in service to the community, to people. I love it. I don't do it because it makes me feel good, but one of the gifts of doing it is it makes you feel good. You can't deny it. But seeing other people derive happiness and, you know, I've had people tell me, gosh, I'm so glad you said that. I'm so relieved. Just I know what that feels like when you have something that you can't resolve it and you don't feel good and it's weighing on you. And then somebody says something to you and you go, oh, it's like a load off of you. And then you can start living life a little bit better. That will never go away for me, doing that for people or trying to help them.

Rexhen Doda:

Yeah, I really like that. And what investment or resource has been most valuable in you growing your coaching business so far?

Catherine Barron:

My own. Building up and taking what the resources that I have to put back in and keep it going and getting more out of it. And, you know, I haven't taken any large loans or anything like that. People do, and I'm 100% for that. Yeah, if you can do that. I just don't like it. Loans. I don't like that. I prefer to hear now what I can do. But sometimes you have to. And so I'm not against it. But just for me so far, this is the way it's worked. For the future, I don't know. It's possible. So more or less self-reliant on that.

Rexhen Doda:

Is there something you wish you had known when you first started scaling your coaching business? Is there like an unexpected lesson learned?

Catherine Barron:

Yes, I think everybody has this, but mine was that I probably would have started more early on in getting certifications and things like that, because when I started, it wasn't really that valued. It wasn't needed. And then all of a sudden you're hit with, hey, certification you have. Well, I have experience. And, you know, Today's society wants to see that first. And I don't blame them, I'll be honest with you. I think, yeah, you don't know. what's behind the person, especially online. Could be a lot of fluff and whatever. And so you have to narrow that down. So I'm not against that. But if I would have known that in the beginning, I would have done it in the beginning. The other things are the technical side of the internet and online work. You have to educate yourself, take courses or get a mentor on that. Somebody, a friend who can really give you advice and save you sums of money. Spending, no, don't spend on that. Learn this and do it yourself. That kind of thing. Yeah. If I would have known, if I would have been more savvy in that, it would have saved me a lot of time. Time is of the essence here. Yeah,

Rexhen Doda:

time is, yeah, for everyone especially. Yeah. What are some of the biggest challenges you face in scaling your coaching business or that you're still facing today?

Catherine Barron:

Yes, the main challenges, and I think you'll hear this across the board, is that having a continuous flow, a continuous stream of clients. Because what happens with the clients, couples especially, when they reach a certain peak, sometimes they give up. And they're gone. And it's not anything that you didn't do. It's just circumstances, could be a million reasons why people stop taking coaching or whatever. And so you have to allow for that. You have to consider that. And you have to keep it going. So that is the biggest challenge for all of us. So that's why I suggested earlier, to get in all the areas or at least have two or three main sources of where you're out there and you're getting your exposure because you're going to need it. You're going to need it to come back to you. I

Rexhen Doda:

think a lot of coaches do resonate with that. And even when I did my research paper, it was one of the issues that came out the most. is basically consistent lead generation has been one issue that even with this podcast, we're trying to attack with different guests that we have on. So hopefully we can solve the issue and not keep this information behind the paywall, but have it in this podcast. How do you currently balance balance, handle the balance between delivering great client results and managing business growth on the other side?

Catherine Barron:

Well, first of all is the client, okay? So that pre, that tops everything that I have to do. I do everything with some systems, of course, but I have to forego some things because of the client. If they need me, if they need a, you know, like a session, immediate session, I try to fit that in right away. Because I know something is wrong, something is happening. And if you don't get it then, you may not be able to help them. It just happens like that. It's a balancing act, and it's a tough one, and it wears you out. There are times when you're going to be so tired you can't wait to get to sleep, and other times you can't fall asleep because you're thinking of business or somebody or something that you need to do, and it never stops. If you want your business to grow, It never stops. It's a challenge. It's a continuous challenge. I don't think that I'll ever have it down unless I hire help or unless I don't really know the answer to that. The place that I'm in now, it's a challenge and it gets tiring. But you find that you dig down and the energy comes up and you do what you have to do otherwise. Do

Rexhen Doda:

you currently outsource any help that you need? Do you have any hires currently?

Catherine Barron:

Haven't until now, but now I have to in the career phase of the business. Since I added in career and executive coaching because it extends into resumes, job interview preparation sessions, and that I hired, well, we're in partner actually to do resumes because resumes are huge right now, huge business. And technically speaking and design wise, these people are much more adept than I am. But in the coaching process of it, you know, I have to see the client first. I don't care if it is for a resume because there's going to be so much stuff in there that I need to sort out for them to make sure we get it right. And then I give it to them and they do the designing according to the specifics of that session and then do the whole formatting and everything. I do the proofreading, they do editing. And so we're working in that together to get a perfect product because you can't make, There's not too much room to make mistakes when you're in career coaching, especially on resumes, the CVs. Those have to be fine-tuned down to the wire. And cover letters have to be very specific because they get the job. They get the job. You're going to get referrals.

Rexhen Doda:

And you moved. Sorry,

Catherine Barron:

go ahead. No, I was just going to say that was my first outsourcing, I guess you could say. I was working together, actually.

Rexhen Doda:

Yeah, yeah, it totally fits. And I wanted to ask you, so it's been almost two years now since you switched to career coaching or you've added career coaching as a focus on your coaching business, right? Yes. Is there any aspect of running your coaching business right now that would figuratively keep you up at night? No.

Catherine Barron:

yes it's you're always thinking about um are you getting enough value in like even today even in the mindset which i've been doing since i started um that if i have a new client that am I going to be able to give them exactly what they're after? Because these people are very astute. When you get people on the executive level and the career option level, they know exactly what they want. I mean, it may not turn out exactly the way they want it, but they know what they're after. And so you really have to be on top of it to give them what they need, okay? So... That keeps me up and I'm always devising and going over and revising and do I have the right course for them because I made eight courses in the mindset area. What parts of that course can I apply to their specific issues and so on and so forth? I have to be on top of it because if you're not giving them value, they're they can go somewhere else you know and you don't i i okay so the money is the one thing profit you don't want to lose that but on the other hand It really goes to the person's value of what they're doing, their work. Are you competent enough? And that's what gets to me. More than the money is like, can I do a good job? I've had to tell people that I don't think I'm the right fit for you because I know I don't feel qualified to give you what you're after. That's possible, you know? I'm not... God. so in that context i i'm not afraid to do that and i don't think it's a discredit to me it's just um if i do something like that and take it on it will keep me up all night i don't like it but uh yeah you should be honest with with people really you should be because you're you're doing a disservice to them and even to yourself

Rexhen Doda:

and yeah especially to yourself as well um is there any final advice you'd like to give to other career coaches who are looking to scale their impact

Catherine Barron:

well you mean already they're already in coaching

Rexhen Doda:

they're yeah career coaches who have started yeah looking to scale their impact

Catherine Barron:

the only thing I can tell them they all are pretty sharp people I know that they've done their work they've done their studying they're qualified obviously and I would just say that be specific about what you want to give and then to elaborate on that because there's many avenues to take on one uh specific role be specific in that uh narrowing it down as they tell you on the internet because people don't like vagueness okay and it'll work better for you and then the other big thing is to be Consistent. And I know people hear this all the time, but that is what works. Have patience with yourself. Be kind to yourself. In psychology, we learned that, and this is research stuff, it's not just an opinion, is that we are harder on ourselves than anybody else. And I do it to myself too. But we need to remember that. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself respect in that you've come this far. and you've done this much work and you're in a service to people, you're contributing to society. Those are huge things and they need to be considered and respected and stay the course. Just hang in there. Be patient and don't be afraid to ask for help from other coaches because we want to help.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you so much, Catherine. And for anyone who wants to find you and connect to you and reach out to you, they can find you on your LinkedIn, Catherine Barron. And they can also find you on your website, CatherineBarron.com. Is that correct?

Catherine Barron:

That is correct. Thank you.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you for coming to

Davis Nguyen:

the podcast.

Catherine Barron:

My pleasure. Thank you.

Davis Nguyen:

that's it for this episode of career coaching secrets if you enjoyed this conversation you can subscribe to youtube spotify apple podcast or wherever you're listening to this episode to catch future episodes this conversation was brought to you by purple circle where we help career coaches scale their business to seven and eight figures without burning out to learn more about purple circle our community and how we can help you grow your business visit join purple circle.com so