Career Coaching Secrets

Karyn Annan (Riley): The Coach Helping Women Live a Life They Truly Love

• Davis Nguyen

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In this Career Coaching Secrets episode, host Rexhen interviews Karyn Annan (Riley), founder of Riley Life Wellbeing. With nearly two decades of coaching experience, Karyn helps time-poor moms and female entrepreneurs overcome overwhelm and regain confidence.

Karyn's coaching focuses on simplifying life and work routines. She uses tools like CliftonStrengths to help clients manage imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs. She is also the author of "How to Keep the You in Mom", a book she plans to release as an e-book and audiobook.

Her business is primarily built on word-of-mouth and her extensive women's network. She also leverages LinkedIn and her private Thriving Women Facebook group for community building. Karyn's best investments have been in her own education, including studying psychology and becoming a certified strengths coach.

Her main challenge is managing the technical side of her business. She overcomes this by focusing on her strengths and delegating tasks to experts to avoid burnout. Her core advice to other coaches is to "Just do it"—take one action at a time to build momentum and confidence.

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Karyn Annan (Riley):

Not yet. That's one of my upcoming goals. So at the moment, people can purchase this on my website, rileylife.co.nz. I'm selling it directly, but yes, I'm going to turn it into an e-book for the American market. It'll be more than just a mom. And yes, also an audio book too. But yes, it's just one of those things about getting it out to as many women as possible and even though it's for time poor business.

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 $100,000 years, $100,000 months, and even $100,000 weeks. Before Purple Circle, I've grown several seven and eight figure career coaching business myself and have been a consultant at two career coaching businesses that are doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or 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. I'm your host, Regan, and today's guest is Karen Annan, founder of Riley Life Wellbeing and a productivity mindset and well-being coach, helping busy women and parents create lives they truly love. With nearly two decades of coaching experience, Karen empowers time-poor moms to and female entrepreneurs overcome overwhelm, regain confidence, and simplify their routines using CliftonStrengths, productivity systems, and mindset tools. She's the author of How to Keep the You in Mom. a dynamic speaker and a passionate advocate for self-care without guilt. Through one-on-one coaching, workshops and her thriving women's community, Karen is helping women across New Zealand and other countries internationally thrive in work and life with more clarity, calm and confidence. And it's a pleasure for me to have her on the podcast today. Welcome to the show, Karen.

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Thanks, Regan. Nice to be here.

Rexhen Doda:

Well, it's nice to have you on. So I want to know, how did this How did you start your coaching business? What inspired you to become a coach in the first place and then do this as a business

Karyn Annan (Riley):

I believe everything happens for a reason and I always believe looking back that I was meant to be a coach so when I left school I had no idea what I wanted to do so without intention as you do when you leave school if you don't have that intention you just tend to fall into a job or a career so I left New Zealand traveled Australia and was working in the telecommunications industry and my manager at the time said to me I want you to represent our state in a national business coaching program and I knew nothing about coaching but our company was owned by an American company at the time so coaching was unfamiliar in Australia but it was kind of commonplace back then in countries. They became a member of a national team in Australia to roll out a business coaching program, which we did. And we trained staff and it was about improving productivity. So when I became a credit manager with the same company, I used the business coaching model to get the best out of my staff because we were there to improve our business productivity, to reduce the debt. But what I found out when I was doing the business coaching with my staff was that it is never just about the business. So there was, you know, people's beliefs, people's mindset, what was going on in their personal lives was all impacting their business productivity. So, um, It was the part of my job as a credit manager that I really loved. I loved working with people to help them achieve our business goals. And we also incorporated personal goals to help achieve that as well. So I left Australia, came back to New Zealand about 25 years ago, and I was sitting in a hairdressers, reading a magazine as you did back then. And I came across an article about life coaching and it just sparked that little aha moment And right there and then was when I decided I was going to become a life coach or a coach. So I did my life coach training. I looked into how to do that because in New Zealand, there was very little life coach training at the time. So I trained online with Coach U in America while I had two little children. Yeah, just absolutely loved it. Got my coaching credentials, became an ICF or International Coach Federation accredited coach and started coaching. And because of where I was at with my personal life, having two young children, I was involved in a lot of parenting support groups. And what I found when I became a parent was that there was no support for parents post having your baby. So you were just in there. There's no manual for parenting. So by default or by design, I began working with mums who had lost their identity and were overwhelmed and just time poor and I had gone through that myself so it led me to coaching and I remember years ago when I first started in the organisation in Australia I was at the job interview and they said to me have you at the end of it they said have you had any training so I reeled off all the systems that I trained in and they said no no no we know personal development training and I kind of looked at them blankly and I said no they said you know you just feel very seem very confident and you come across knowing a lot and I said well that's just who I am so yeah I believe that I was always meant to be a coach it just took me a while to get there

Rexhen Doda:

cool amazing thanks for sharing that story and how many Years has it been since you started doing this, since you started your coaching business?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Yeah, well, I started my coaching business in 2006. So yeah, coming up towards 20 years in my own business. So it's been rewarding. It's been challenging. There's times when I've had to step back from the business, you know, with life challenges. But yeah, I just am passionate about helping women live their best life. So yeah, absolutely love it.

Rexhen Doda:

And throughout these 20 years or so, getting to 20 years, which part of the coaching journey when you're working with a client, which part of that coaching journey do you find the most rewarding?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Well, I just love it. Seeing someone go from here to here, just that whole transformation. One of the ladies that I was working with in Australia who was in my team, she was talking about wanting to be back in management. So she was probably in her 40s and so she was just in a call center environment and she had just lost her confidence and her self-belief. I said to her, you know, why don't you look at getting into a team leader role? And she said, oh no, I couldn't do that. I did that, you know, when I was in my 30s. I couldn't do that now. So part of the transformations that I worked with with her was to just remove all those limiting beliefs that she'd put on herself. And when I left Australia, she ended up taking my job as the credit manager. And she was, she just not believing in herself to having a job and a career that she loved again. So whereas she felt stuck, she just felt like that was going to be her life. And so it was wonderful seeing that transformation and helping her see what was possible.

Rexhen Doda:

So you have lived in Australia before going to New Zealand, right? Why did you move to New Zealand? I

Karyn Annan (Riley):

find that interesting. Yeah, New Zealand is my home, so I left Australia. New Zealand in my 20s and yeah traveled around Australia so ended up in Perth and came back to Christchurch in New Zealand

Rexhen Doda:

okay okay cool awesome I thought you were from Australia initially and then moved to New Zealand cool I've you you're probably the fourth guest that I've had from New Zealand I've had actually a coach from New Zealand that when I had the interview with that A guy, he actually had been in Albania just two weeks before our podcast. So that was like interesting. Could have met also in person. It's such a difficult time zone generally to have this talk between New Zealand and Albania or Australia and Albania. So thank you for taking that time. And when it comes to the people that you work with, with and what transformation do you help them achieve so how what does your ideal client profile look like and then the programs go through working with you

Karyn Annan (Riley):

yeah so i tend to work with time poor busy overwhelmed mums and female entrepreneurs women in business generally because that whole mindset belief that I have. So I help women get clear on what they want, make the most of their time and to regain their confidence. Often when I'm working with women, confidence is one of the number one things that comes up. So whether they've lost their confidence and identity when they become a mother, whether they're dealing with imposter syndrome at work, the whole inner critic mindset, self-belief, it can be really limiting. And people say sky's the limit, but actually we are our limits. So I help women get clear on what they want to step back from the busyness of life, because often when you're just in that treadmill of life, life happens and then 10 years goes by and we go, oh, well, I never achieved that. So actually just stepping back, and stopping that hamster wheel and just stopping the juggle for a short period of time to actually look at your life and determine what it is that you want. The other thing that comes up quite commonly is the multitasking and the pressure that society and we put on ourselves to be everything to everyone. So helping... Busy women just clear all the clutter, the mental clutter in their head, the overthinking and the self-doubt, guilt and the worry and the anxiety. And just to focus on one thing at a time. That's one thing I found when I became a parent. I had all these other extra responsibilities and all of a sudden I was managing everyone's priorities. And you can't do it all at once. So yeah, I've had to learn how to focus on one thing at a time. And that's what I help the busy woman do. So I was working with a client years ago in New Zealand and she had, I think, two or three to-do lists and very overwhelmed, was creating a lot of stress and anxiety as a result. So we just took that to-do list and just broke it down and prioritized and used a system to plan so that she could focus on one thing at a time and One of our last sessions that we had, she came in and she said, Karen, I'm now achieving more by focusing on less. And I absolutely love that. Just absolutely love that. The programs that I run. So I have one online coaching, group coaching. Absolutely love group coaching because you're all learning from each other. Yeah, just like I said earlier, absolutely passionate about helping as many women as possible just live their best life and have a life that you love. It's one of the reasons How to Keep You in Mum I just became so overwhelmed and I couldn't see a way out. So writing the book helped me spread the word to more women about what's possible.

Rexhen Doda:

Absolutely. I really like that not only does it help a lot of people at scale, they are able to read the book if they cannot afford to work with you directly or they can read the book if they cannot get to you because of also your availability. There's so many hours in there. You cannot serve everyone. It's a beautiful thing to have a book. And we're also make sure, is that in Amazon as well?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Not yet. That's one of my upcoming goals. So at the moment, people can purchase this on my website, rileylife.co.nz. I'm selling it directly but yes I'm going to turn it into an e-book for the American market it'll be more than just a mom so and yes also an audio audio book too so but yes it's just one of the things about you getting getting it out as many women as possible and Even though it's for time poor busy mums, there's information in there for any time poor busy woman about managing guilt and setting goals and making the most of your time.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. And right now, when it comes to, and this will be a question that mostly coaches, other coaches would be interested in. When it comes to marketing, how do you find people that work with you?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Well, I absolutely love marketing. I've studied marketing. I'm very passionate about creating relationships. So a lot of my meaningful relationships, not networking for the sake of networking. So a lot of my clients come from word of mouth and my network. So I've got a lot of, a very expansive women's network. I run women's events as well because I'm really passionate about bringing women together because the power of community is huge and women supporting one another and lifting one another up rather than, you know, putting each other down is hugely empowering. Yeah, a lot of my clients just come through word of mouth. I obviously do social media too. get the word out, and you found me through LinkedIn. So yeah, just really communicating and building relationships where it's a win-win situation. Because I think when you focus on adding value to people and you're authentic and you can genuinely help people, then you attract the right clients.

Rexhen Doda:

So it is also some people come to you through the book, they read the book, other people send the book to other people. That is also another way. So the live events, what about, you said LinkedIn is not something you put too much focus on right now

Karyn Annan (Riley):

right yeah no I do do a bit of LinkedIn I probably about last year I started back on LinkedIn I've been on the years ago and then had stepped back from that platform but yeah I start probably post on LinkedIn and other socials maybe once a week I have a Thriving Women Facebook private group community. So I post in there a lot more often. We've just done a 30 day declutter challenge for June, which was amazing. The feedback was great. And at the moment I'm doing a thrive in five tip because some of the women said it'd be great to just have a five minute, either a decluttering job or an inspirational task or even just a mindset thing that you can do where, you know, something simple like just being five minutes breathing, just taking some slow deep breaths which for busy women we don't often prioritize so um yeah i go and i mean i speak to events i run my own events but i also go and speak at events as well parenting groups so yeah just trying to get get inspire as many women as possible to live a life that they love

Rexhen Doda:

cool thank you thank you so much for that do you have any specific goals in your coaching business for the next one to three years that you'd like to share i

Karyn Annan (Riley):

have lots but yeah one thing it of time. I always take my own advice. So yes, like I said before, turning the book into an e-book, an audio book. I've just gone through a website redesign, which was just getting my online presence back up and running the way I wanted it. And so I'm focusing on building online offers now so online courses a membership site having a podcast i attended a how to podcast workshop last year and i hadn't thought about podcasting before but it really inspired me because again it's building that community and those relationships and i think for women in particular we often feel like we're going through things alone but you are never alone so Yeah, just building my online presence and an online community because yeah, I want to reach out.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you. Thank you so much. And when it comes to investments, have there been any investments in your coaching business? that you'd like to share, meaning investments that actually have had a good return on that investment. Could be investments in yourself, investments in your coaching business, coaching programs, communities. I don't know, whatever investment that you can think of that was actually a good investment in your opinion. Or if not, you can share also terrible investments if there's any.

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Any terrible investments, because I do really look at what I invest in. Certainly, I mean, myself has been one of the The best investments I've done right from doing the CoachU training through to studying psychology. So when I left high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do, like I said. So I actually went back and studied psychology in my mid-40s. Absolutely loved it. And, you know, I'm really fascinated in how the brain works and how powerful it can be and how you can use that to have a positive growth mindset. and to remove those limiting beliefs. CliftonStrengths, I trained as a CliftonStrengths coach last year and I absolutely love strengths. I think it's one of the reasons why years ago I got asked that question about had I done any training as such. So I bought the book Now Discover Your Strengths years ago and hadn't kind of quite put two and two together when I went and did the CliftonStrengths training. I'm like, oh, This was meant to be. Yes, one of my strengths is learner. So I love to learn. I love to invest in myself so that I can then help others better. So the more I know about well-being and psychology and mindset, the more I can share, the more information I have. And I have all these little positivity sayings. Positivity is also a strength of mine. No surprises for anyone who knows me this. Just bringing that optimism and that hope to people that you can make a difference in your life. You can make positive changes. And some of the changes that I've gone through in my life, some of them I've wanted to change. Some of them have been forced on me as Life happens, the rollercoaster of life. It's where I've grown the most and it makes you resilient and makes you stronger. And it really helps you get clear on what you want and what you don't want. So yeah, certainly investing in myself so I can help others has been huge.

Rexhen Doda:

Cool. And right now, what would you say is a challenge for you that you're trying to solve for next with your coaching business? Where is the bottleneck, would you say right now?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

I think, well, certainly for me, but I also think it's true for a lot of coaches is that the technology, you know, I coach because I love people and I am really passionate about relationships and working with people. The technology side of things, I love to learn. So, you know, I like to learn how to do things, but I also, like I've said, you can't do everything. So the technology side of things, especially when I'm looking at automating systems and having that online presence is always a challenge. So it's about reaching out to people that I know who are experts in that area rather than trying to learn and do it all because you just, you know, we all have a limited amount of time. So you want on how to use that time to the best of your ability. And that's where things like strengths comes in and mindset. You can't do it all. So stick to your strengths. Do that really well. And then look at people who can help you setting up technology. So, yeah, that's the biggest challenge. And also, I think just avoiding... you know, when you, I've been in my own business for almost 20 years now. So when you are self-employed, it is a challenge and there's all sorts of different challenges. And of course you wear different hats. So it's make sure that you do reach out to those people who have expertise in areas that don't light you up so that you don't burn out because a lot of self-employed people burn out, you know, they're just working too long, trying to do everything. So yeah, that's another consideration that making sure that you're working you know taking that step back and working on the business not just in the business 24 7.

Rexhen Doda:

Absolutely how do you how do you manage that right now when it comes to putting time to make sure that you're working on your business as well as in your business how do you find the balance between these? I

Karyn Annan (Riley):

have had to work very hard on that so over the years you know when I first started out I was just like all in the business so yeah it's been a learning curve to actually prioritize that time so when I became a parent and got really busy and of course I was starting my business then as well I had to learn how to plan chunks of time and just make that non-negotiable so and that included time for me self-care but also as I grow my business and certainly when I've come back with kind of a bit of a refocus on where I want to be in my coaching space really just planning that non-negotiable time and when you actually stop and sit down with a piece of paper and pen it's hugely powerful because you get all the thoughts out of your head and down onto paper and And then the brain finds a way to make it happen. So it's hugely powerful and you get a lot of clarity around, you know, what you want to focus on. And, you know, certainly I find there's so many things I'd love to do, but you can't do it all. So you've just got to focus on one thing. What's most important? What will bring in, say, revenue? You know, what is one thing that you can focus on that will bring in the revenue to set you up so that you can then go and do other things. So it's really about prioritizing that time and making it non-negotiable.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you. Totally. Totally agree with that. Thanks so much for taking time to come into our podcast today. Is there any final advice you'd like to give to other coaches just like yourself who are trying to scale their impact?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

I think, yeah. I mean, my big thing is just one of my favorite sayings is just do it. The Nike, just do it. So You know, when you do take action on that one thing at a time, it will build your confidence and it will build your momentum. And when you get that clear vision in place, it's your roadmap. So you know where you want to go. A lot of times we have so many things in our mind. When you get it clear and down on paper, you can see the steps that you need to take. You can see the action that needs to happen. yes, sometimes your journey, it'll be going like this. But like I said at the start, I always believe things are meant to happen. And when you look on people's journeys, you can see the trajectory so that if you had the plan and it went this way, there was a reason for that. So I think, yeah, just believe in yourself, focus on one thing at a time and just go do it. One of my favorite books is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. And I read that in my mid twenties and just changed my life around mindset and self-belief. We all feel fear, you know, we all have the imposter syndrome, you know, but it's how we manage those thoughts that make the big difference.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you. Thank you so much, Karen. Thank you for coming to the podcast. For anyone who wants to connect with you or find you, they can go into LinkedIn and they'll be able to find you and connect with you. in LinkedIn at Karen Annan. Is there any other way that people can reach out to you and connect with you?

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Yeah, my website, which is Riley Life.

Rexhen Doda:

Thank you. Thank you so much. We'll also make sure to put that link into our description. And thank you so much for coming today. It was a pleasure having you on the show.

Karyn Annan (Riley):

Been a real pleasure. Thanks, Regine.

Davis Nguyen:

That's it for this episode of Career Coaching Secrets. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to this episode to catch future episodes. This podcast was brought to you by Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, or even $100,000 weeks, all without burning out and making sure that you're making the impact and having the life that you want. To learn more about our community and how we can help you, visit joinpurplecircle.com.