Building the Life You Want Through Coaching—Steve Perkins' Framework

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Pedro sits down with Steve Perkins, executive leadership coach and founder of Greenhouse Coaching. Steve shares his 12-year journey from corporate engineering to discovering his true calling as a coach — and eventually building a thriving coaching business.

Steve reveals how he helps leaders and entrepreneurs create clarity, momentum, and healthier work cultures through a unique mix of coaching, advising, and tailored systems. He also breaks down his hybrid “business builder” model for coaches, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how he balances group learning, one-on-one access, gamified progress, and sustainable capacity.

From discovering your niche to building trust-based marketing that doesn’t rely on sales calls, Steve unpacks the real strategies that work in today’s coaching landscape. Whether you're a new coach or scaling toward your next level, this episode is packed with insight on creating a business — and life — you truly want.



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Coach Business Builder - GrowthPlan on YouTube - https://youtu.be/Uhhrf8qT77U
Coach Business Builder - Trust Cycle on YouTube - https://youtu.be/5Q7CQs_2Mco
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Other Greenhouse Coaching Resources:
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Mini Courses - https://greenhousecoaching.co/products
BizBldr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coach_business_builder
Steve LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-perkins-leadership-coach/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenhousecoaching/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@steveperkinsghc

Transcript

Steve Perkins: 0:00

But what I'm most excited about is this business builder for coaches who are building their business. I've shifted this year to more of a hybrid approach. I found that, okay, in one-on-one, first of all, I run out of time. Like I only have so much time. So I can only help so many people. But then when you do a group model, it's like, eh, the quality really drops off. I never liked that. And so I'm finding the this hybrid model is great where it's a group. We meet every other week as a group. And that's kind of QA and building stuff together. Offline, people can access me anytime through our group chat. So they actually get their answers a little quicker than if they had to wait till their next one-on-one meeting. But what I'm doing is they still get access to me one-on-one. It's just kind of gamified.

Davis Nguyen : 0:40

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 Wynne, 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 businesses 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.

Pedro: 1:13

I'm Pedro, and today's guest is Steve Perkins, a business growth advisor and executive leadership coach who helps leaders turn intention into clear, workable plans. Through his company, Greenhouse Coaching, he guides clients in building a custom growth map that strengthens focus, execution, and momentum. He supports founders, developing people, leaders, and professionals feeling stuck, helping them build healthier cultures, better systems, and the clarity needed to lead and grow without burning out. Welcome to the show, Steve. Thanks for having me. Hey, great to have you too. And all right, I'm a sucker for origin stories, so I like to rewind a bit.

Steve Perkins: 1:55

Same. They always say don't start with when I grew up.

Pedro: 1:58

I'm like, no, that's the part I care about. And also I'm kind of a nerd, so I like the Marvel origin stories, the first edition to see where Captain America went through to get where he is right now. So you know, every coach has that moment where they look at their life and they say, Hey, you know what? I guess this is what I'm doing now. So when was that for you?

Steve Perkins: 2:18

Yeah. Well, I like to say that moment took 12 years for me. But you know, my struggle was I'm I'm a generalist, and probably everyone listening to your podcast can relate. As generalists, there was no path in the world for us. No one told you what to be when you grow up. I never knew what I wanted to be when I grow up. So I found I figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up when I was about 32. It was a long path of trying to figure that out. So yeah, I think it's just the tricky thing that we've got these systems that are thankfully finally changing school system, workplace system that kind of are built for these very defined boxes of teacher, doctor, lawyer, firefighter. You know, if you're outside of that, if you're creative, if you're good at lots of things, interested in multiple things, there's no clear direction for you. So, you know, I grew up, I went to college for engineering, then I started working in that space. I just like this doesn't fit me at all. I'm kind of the person who in the room who's like more interested in the dynamics of the people than the subject matter we're talking about. And I've always been an entrepreneur, but again, no one pointed that out. I didn't know entrepreneurship is a route you should take. So yeah, I kind of did a bunch of all the different things. My LinkedIn makes no sense. It's a very nonlinear path. And through a series of basically conversations and trying to figure it out, I was in the corporate world working in a big bank and finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up. And that was you know what I'm doing now, which is coaching and building a coaching business. So my first product when I started my company was called Career Sweet Spot. It's like helping people figure that same thing out. Um, because I was just frustrated. I felt like there was nothing out there to help you figure out what you want to be, what you're good at, what you love to do, how to translate that into a career path. And so I kind of always hated the people who had figured it out and somehow had that magic moment. And now I'm one of those people.

Pedro: 4:08

That resonates a lot with me. Like I'm a business graduate, you know. So I was like, after I finished my business, my business and got my major, I was like, this was a terrible idea because I'm a jack of all trades and master of none, you know, in a certain way. And later on the path, I'm 39. I'm like 10 years later, I'm like, oh, this was a great idea because now I can solve problems. That shift I can really resonate with. So that's interesting that you mentioned. And when did it shift? You know, you mentioned you you had your aha moment when you were 32. So when did it shift from I'm helping people to I'm building a real business around this?

Steve Perkins: 4:42

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, because ever since I was a kid, I loved hanging out around a fire pit and talking about your life plans and goals. I've always been into these kinds of things. I didn't know it was a job. I remember, you know, I'm working in big corporate America in a big financial institution, and people would always want to get coffee with me and pick my brain. And I remember one day walking down the hall telling a friend, like, what if I could get paid for this? Wouldn't that be cool? We kind of laughed out loud, like, yeah, right. And what if you could get paid to like help people figure out their life and career and and you know get clarity and take next steps? Because I seem to be really good at that. And people always say they're energized after talking with me. And so fast forward like a year, I got this cool chance to work on transforming the culture of that company from the inside. So I got to kind of build a business within the company. And through that team and that effort, I met these coaches and they were on staff at the company just for like the C-suite executives. So they were total like guru coaches, really great coaches. And they go, Steve, you need to be a coach. What are you doing? And I was like, nah, no, thanks. I'm not a therapist. I'm like an entrepreneur and I'm gonna build a company one day. And they're like, No, you are a coach. They saw something in me I didn't see in myself. Right. So they kept pushing. At the same time, I'm going through my own, like trying to figure out what I want to be and mentorship conversations and all this stuff, listening to podcasts like this. And I'm starting to piece it together. So they pushed me to the point where I went back to school to get my executive coaching degree. And it was like, yes, they're right. Like, this is the thing. This is what I'm made to do. And so for me, it was a combo of falling in love with like coaching is the kind of company I want to start because I always knew I wanted to start a company, but also coaching really works. And I was the guy hiring people like me. I was bringing in speakers and workshops and this and that, and nothing would ever work. You get everyone real pumped and there's all hype about something, and then Monday it's just like back to old habits. And so I saw in coaching something really powerful that it is consistent over time. So it's not just like flavor of the month or you know, rah-rah at a conference. It's consistently meeting and taking steps over time, but it's also customized to that person and how they're wired and how they're motivated and intrinsically. So I just think coaching works better than so many other things out there. And that's when the light bulb kind of started clicking. I want to leave corporate when I have a new baby and a new house and all these my wife just stopped working. Like, you know, what the heck are we doing? And start a company. And uh it's been a wild ride, but I wouldn't change it for anything because it just feels right. I always tell people who are figuring out if they want to start a business or career next steps. I'm like, it's not just about what you like doing and why you want to do it, but also the environment. Like, where do you want to work? Because I had an incredible dream job, but I was in a corporate setting that boxed me in. And it was like for me, that was the wrong environment to work in. I needed an entrepreneurial environment with variety and with like meeting new people and building new ideas. And so, you know, I think it started to click for me. I'm made to be more entrepreneurial, and this coaching thing is like that's just what I want to do with my life.

Pedro: 8:07

Yeah, I got it. And I love the fact that it was so organic, right? And it involved other coaches. They're like calling you out. I love that. You know, hey Steve, what are you doing with your life? Come on. So that's so natural, right?

Steve Perkins: 8:20

Yeah. And podcasts like this, there were a few I listened to every morning in the car, and it gave me that shot of hope that I needed. There was something about the conversations that you and I are having now that was that's so exciting to me. I can't wait to be in that kind of a world. And it gave me the hope as I was still trying to figure out what I was wanting to do. So that played a big part too.

Pedro: 8:43

Yeah. Nice. So after you got rolling, you know, who are the people that kept showing up? The ones you realized, okay, these are my people, you know, because at the start, we see a lot of coaches that are trying to embrace the entire world, right? So who do you, I would say, niche down, or even if you did that, how that how how how do you identify, hey, this is my crew, you know?

Steve Perkins: 9:05

Yeah. Well, my niche, my crew is I call them coach business builders. So it's coaches who are trying to build their business and get it to the next level to create more of the life that they want. So our tagline is grow the life you want. And it's all about not just making more money for the sake of more money, but like building a business to create the freedom and the lifestyle that you want. But it took me about eight years to figure that out. As most coaches struggle with, yeah, it's hard to niche down because by nature we are generalists and we also coaching can help lots of people. It's not narrow to begin with. So it took me a long time to figure that out because my company uh as a whole, we help executive leaders, we help them build culture and dial in their team, we help people with career transitions. We coach different types, but for me, I always felt like, yeah, but all those things aren't aren't really my thing. My passion is other entrepreneurs trying to build their coaching business. So I mean, for me, the struggle was like I probably knew that deep in my gut years ago, but it took it took about eight years to finally name it and like own that and step out with that. I was afraid to name that for a long time.

Pedro: 10:15

Right. Okay. I mean, that's interesting, you know. The fact you're in different levels of support, right? You're talking about executives and talking about other coaches. So that's the coaching side. Now let's talk about the part nobody escapes, right? And it's marketing. So how do people usually find you? I'm not sure if we're talking about the executives, I'm not sure if we're talking about that specific niche you mentioned, the coaches, but how do people find you?

Steve Perkins: 10:41

Well, yeah, with the corporate work and leadership development, that's really all word of mouth. And a lot of what we've done is just systematize that. So instead of waiting and hoping for referrals, we actually ask in really intentional ways, systematizing the word of mouth, and that's worked well. But online and with with these coaching business owners, I use something called the trust cycle, and it's really designed to be marketing that doesn't require sales. I don't like sales, most coaches don't like sales. It's it's a drain, and I really don't believe that you need to do it in this kind of business. So the trust cycle is like just uh kind of an intentional system online to build trust with people over time with clear calls to action so they know how to join the programs when they're ready. And so it's really just like a content marketing strategy that doesn't require sales calls. And and yeah, we found success with it, and I just really love that approach because it feels right as a coach.

Pedro: 11:39

Okay, so in a way you're delivering value, and then we have some something down the line, we have a call to action if they're feeling good and it's almost automated. Would that be something like that?

Steve Perkins: 11:51

Yeah, and it's I mean, the funny thing is like anyone listening who's done this stuff and familiar with with online marketing, it's not that what I'm about to say won't sound that different from anything, any traditional funnel, but in the nuances of it, it's entirely different. So, you know, like in the past, I would run funnels where we're doing content, we're running paid ads, we're trying to get people onto discovery calls and sales calls, and then some out of lots of people, some small amount fall out as clients. This approach is a little different. Short form content, so for us that's Instagram, that leads every single step of the way, it's always leading people to long form content, which for us is YouTube, and then YouTube is always every step of the way leading them towards a core offering that we have. And so it's essentially like if I was to meet with someone in person, let's say you and I and we had a bunch of conversations over coffee, and then you were like, Yeah, I want to work with you. It's because we built some trust through all those touch points, and it took a lot of conversations for you to see like my vibe, my methodology, to see proof that like, well, this is gonna work for me, and to know that like we resonate. So this kind of short form to long form to offering, it allows that to happen just digitally. And I I like that it kind of mimics what used what usually happens in person, just online. So you remove the need for sales because essentially people are the trust and credibility is already being built up through that content.

Pedro: 13:21

Interesting. I like that. Yeah, that's a different take. I haven't seen it for a while, especially in the high-ticket scenario in the coaching space. That's very interesting. Yeah. The way you're you're presenting the value and trying to build trust, right?

Steve Perkins: 13:34

Yeah, I mean it's it's kind of a future-proof approach because with with all the big players in the mix on ads, and now AI like flooding the market, the cost of ads has gone up crazy. You can't, as a solo coach or a small business, you can't really compete. And so what used to work to throw money at ads and get a high volume of people, it just doesn't work that way anymore. But the other thing, and this is where I failed for years, I made these mistakes, is just trying to get high volume of traffic. And so through organic content and ads, just trying to get high, high numbers, but it never really worked. And what I'm finding now is this trust cycle approach, it targets the right people. So I don't need a huge audience, I don't need a hundred thousand people through my ads. I just need a smaller number of the right people and then really building the relationship. So I think it's really gonna be the way going into 2026. Anyone who's trying to scale online at all, I think it's gonna start moving more in this direction. But yeah, we've been seeing a lot of success with it. So that's kind of how we're finding clients for online.

Pedro: 14:41

Nice. All right. So let's talk business for a second, right? So people find you, they go to your Instagram from there to go to YouTube. Let's say they resonate with your work and eventually they want to know what working with you actually looks like. So everyone builds their coaching business a bit differently. So when someone actually becomes a client, what does that experience look like right now?

Steve Perkins: 15:03

For the different tracks, it's a little different. Do you want me to just kind of share for each one or um yeah? So for leaders, we have one-on-one coaching and then we also work with teams. Really our sweet spot is combining workshop workshops and coaching. So usually uh the leadership team that just signed on last week, it's like the executive, the top leader, and then five executives. So each of them are doing one-on-one coaching where we meet every other week. They meet every other week with their coach for six months. And then at the same time, every month, we're doing team workshops around key topics that they want to grow in. So it's kind of like the training, but then to my point earlier, the change sticks because we're applying it through coaching as well and helping people overcome their own barriers. So that's typically the team and leadership side. Career coaching, it can really depend on the person's situation, but it's usually like a six-month one-on-one coaching where they utilize different tools and courses we have along the way. But what I'm most excited about is this business builder for coaches who are building their business. I've shifted this year to uh more of a hybrid approach. So I found that, okay, in one-on-one, first of all, I run out of time. Like I only have so much time, so I can only help so many people. But then when you do a group model, it's like eh, the quality really drops off. I never liked that. And so I'm finding the this hybrid model is great where it's a group. We meet every other week as a group, and that's kind of QA and building stuff together. Offline, people can access me anytime through our group chat. So they actually get their answers a little quicker than if they had to wait till their next one-on-one meeting. But what I'm doing is they still get access to me one-on-one. It's just kind of gamified. It the common complaint is like people will get the content or the homework and they don't follow through. And we were our own worst enemy. So, what if the structure of the program actually helped them follow through? And so, for example, when you sign up, you get access to the foundational modules. And as you complete a module, it unlocks the next one. And when you can complete a set, then you get a one-on-one session with me to implement those learnings in your business. And so kind of it's really motivating to get through the material and implement, but also you don't lose the one-on-one component altogether. So that's that's what we're most excited about right now because it's really allowing us to reach and help more people and scale the business up, but also give people even better quality of delivery. So we do things like a quarterly planning session where everyone is planning their own business for the next quarter, but I'm kind of helping and guiding them do it. So that is, I don't know, I I'm finding that to be really fun because I'm recommending that same structure to all my all of my coaching clients. I think this is the way that they can scale beyond their time without losing the quality of what they give to their clients. Interesting. Yeah. And I think it's no, please go ahead. Well, I just think it's worth noting because I always used to be frustrated about this. People don't call this out, but when we work with leaders, that's like ICF coaching. This is more custom tailored, deep listening, helping them find their own solutions. And that's really valuable. But people in the ICF world, they think that's the only way. Well, there's also a whole world of like advising, and hey, I've been there, done that. You're on the same journey as me. I can show you how. And that has value too. And I think there tends to be these camps. There's a whole bunch of coaches online who are actually not coaches at all, they're just advisors. And then you've got like ICF people going, Oh, you can only ask questions, and you're basically a therapist. And we like to merge those worlds because I see value in both. Sometimes you need to come to the solution yourself and find what works for you, not just copy what I did because it won't work for you. But sometimes you need advice and tactics, and hey, I've figured this out and you can apply this. So I just want to call that out because I I hate when people only talk about one camp or the other and don't acknowledge the difference.

Pedro: 19:06

Right. Yeah, it's like, yeah, no, I get what you're saying. It's it's uh you're trying to get the best of both worlds. It's a bit of telling and a bit of listening. So yeah, that makes sense. And you mentioned we, right? So your work seems pretty hands-on. So you also mentioned you created a way to get your one-on-one depending on the module, so that will give you some leeway. So, how do you think about capacity so that you're don't stretch yourself too thin?

Steve Perkins: 19:32

Well, just as a little team, we're big on a weekly meeting. I just had it with my team, and every week we kind of look at those things like how are we doing? Actually, today we checked in on my capacity because I just booked some new clients and I'm feeling like uh I'm reaching the limit. So, yeah, I mean, that's part of why I was motivated to do a hybrid model with the program I run, because that's the coach business builder. We're all working on the same stuff. So it's better to be in community than just one on one. But that's that's also why I've built a team of coaches so that as we, you know, reach capacity that we have other people who can step in and help. But yeah, I mean I I'm big on designing your week. So for most coaches, I'd say you need Monday and Friday just to yourself to work on the business, to do creative work, to do deep work, and then like in the middle of the week, pick two or three days where you're working with clients, but have different modes because when coaches have clients all throughout their week, they lose so much productivity because you're switching modes and it's totally different being with a client, which is also a ton of energy output, versus oh, I'm gonna build, you know, this PDF or I'm gonna build this, like, you know, record this podcast. They're just different working modes. So I like I like to block the calendar real strategically. But yeah, what have you seen or what do you do yourself?

Pedro: 20:54

Well, we we see and that really depends on because we were talking about a sweet spot, right? At the end of the day, because we we've seen people that, hey, I just want to coach. I don't want to deal with marketing, I don't want to deal with YOPs, I just want to coach. So different people, different levels, it's really personal. I've seen people, I'll give an example, that they one option would be have a like a results coach. So you train someone into coaching that can step up into your ops coaching if you're stretching yourself too thin. But then again, really personal depends on what you're aiming for, right? One thing I would like to pinpoint here is that I want to hear your take on it because I think this is important. It's you know, every coach they they wrestles with at some point is pricing, right? Yeah. And how to package their work. I I'm not talking about hard numbers here, right? I I'm just how do you think about it today? And were there any lessons along the way that shaped how you landed there? And the reason I ask is because sometimes, in especially in the coaching space, it sounds like more of a self-worth, you know, type of thing. How much my time is worth. So I would like to see your point of view on pricing. That changed a lot in the years.

Steve Perkins: 22:05

I know. I had that same struggle. It's probably one of the first questions all of my clients ask about. And we we actually do it as a kickoff thing in that program. The first session we create their whole pricing structure because it's such a freeing thing to solve. So yeah, I mean it's hard to answer, but I think my approach is first of all, don't ever give away coaching for free, but also don't go guru high out the gates because I think there's a lot of gurus online saying, you gotta charge so much money and just be confident that yeah, but then you can't get traction. So what I like to do is say, hey, if you're starting out, offer your first clients, have your price and be confident and price what it's worth, but then discount it half off in exchange for their uh a testimonial, an interview, a referral, all the different kinds of assets that you need that are so hard to get at first. So now you have this great exchange, but you're not devaluing yourself. And then from there on you can continue with that healthy price. And I do think there's like a range of what makes sense for coaches, but you increase steadily over time. A lot of my clients I'll have them increase a bit every month because it gives urgency for people to get off the fence and buy now, but it also allows you to increase your rates as you increase your experience and value and confidence. So I tried because I had a coach that was like, come out the gay super high. And I came out, my first coaching offer was like $4,000 a month. And it was like, no, no one bought it. I met one rich line. I know I met one super rich guy, and he was like, Okay, I'll do it. And then he even fell through the cracks. So I went back down to something reasonable that was like $500 a month, and then I steadily increased, and you know, now I charge like $2,000 a month. Well, but I got there over time because now I can charge that much, but at the beginning it didn't make sense. And then, of course, there's the type of service and the type of clientele. My executive clients, I can charge a lot because it's they're super high up and they're in giant companies and financial services, they have the money. But if you're serving nonprofit middle managers, they can't afford the same. So I think it's worth thinking about that. And if you're a consultant, I think it's worth thinking about pricing on the value instead of the hours. Because I also see people get caught in that. They're they price based on the hours, and then it's just a terrible downward spiral from there. So those are kind of the three my three points of view on it, I guess.

Pedro: 24:37

Yeah, that's interesting that you brought up the hourly rate because uh a lot of people that we see in this industry is that they tie, I would say they tie down their results to a clock, which doesn't really I mean if it's 59 minutes or 60 minutes, that's not exactly what this is all about, right? You're trying to deliver results, transformational change. Yeah. So that makes a lot of sense, you know.

Steve Perkins: 25:02

Yeah, and here's the bigger problem. You actually punish yourself when you price on time because if you're better, that means you're faster. And if you're faster, that means you actually make less money.

Pedro: 25:13

And if you're 56 minutes, it feels like you're stealing four minutes, and if you're an hour and five minutes, oh, I should charge for those five minutes. It's just a complicated math. And it and another point that I think it's relevant to make is because you place yourself as a commodity, right? So it's easier for them to compare Steve to Bill, the other way, that is a dentist that's not even in the same space. And he's like hey, that's weird. Our cleaning lady, she's charging X and she's doing a lot, and Steve is just telling me some stuff, and it's way higher. You know what I mean?

Steve Perkins: 25:52

100%. You're exactly right because sometimes they do that math subconsciously and don't even realize it. So now you can't raise your prices because they're comparing you to the cleaning lady. And it's like, well, no, I'm a high value coach. I'm helping, you know, I just got a new client, he runs a business, they're doing really well, and literally the value of my coaching to him this year will be a hundred million dollars in revenue for them. So so you're telling me my service is only worth 200 bucks an hour when I delivered a hundred million dollars of results for you. It's crazy, right? Now, at the same time, I can't charge him 50 million, obviously. So, how do we do with that? Well, that's where I like to um have people come up with your hourly rate on the back end. Don't tell anyone, but have your hourly rate, look at a gig, price it out with that rate, and then mark it up like 300 to 500%. And that's your price, and you present it as one price point for the results that will be delivered and the value of those results. Keep their mind on the problem they have and the solution you're gonna get them, and just a price attached to that. You came to the price through some hourly calculations, but you bake in the profit margins that you want, and now it makes sense. And this is how like some of the big creative agencies that have done really well, this is how they do it. So, yeah, I couldn't agree more with you. I think it's all the time, even coaches they're thinking about the hours, and now their clients are thinking about the hours, and it's like that's not what you want. That's not good for anybody, right?

Pedro: 27:25

Yeah, and a side note on behalf of cleaning ladies, they should charge more. Okay. I'm just defending those. It's not that Steve is charging too much, it's not about that. It's that they're not charging enough. Not I know.

Steve Perkins: 27:37

I was thinking about that, like, okay, we have someone that helps us with cleaning. Honestly, if she came to me, if we sat down and talked about it and she had me map out how much time I save every weekend, and then the price of my time in my business, I mean, she could charge thousands. Would I do that? That's another question. But yeah, I mean, I think there's something to that because here's the other part. Coaches, we can be very empathetic and very we want to help people. So we start thinking, like, okay, well, you know, I don't want to make them uncomfortable with the price that's too big. And, you know, here's here's kind of the hourly rate. I can't go too high. What if they say no? We get fearful. But just think about it, like play it out. If that's my mindset as a coach, how am I gonna help people break through and have transformations when I'm stuck in my own limiting beliefs that hardcore? So it's gonna bleed out into my work, and then I'm gonna be doing too much work for too little pay. And so I'm gonna show up burnout and at my worst. And that doesn't serve my clients well. So, you know, sometimes I think the gurus are go a little too far with the pricing, pricing too high. But I do believe there's something to valuing yourself at a level that's gonna help you show up the best for your clients and lead them, like actually live out what I'm preaching to them, which is overcoming my limiting beliefs, having confidence in my value and really doing my best work.

Pedro: 29:01

Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Now I'm curious about where you're taking all this, right? So looking ahead, where do you see the business going? Are you thinking about scaling, hiring, or is there a next step you're excited about?

Steve Perkins: 29:13

Yeah, I know it's been interesting because you know, we had this membership site and we're kind of scaling that pre-COVID. COVID killed that. So we pivoted, we started building a team of coaches where each of us could build a personal brand online. It kind of sort of worked. So at this stage, like what we have now is really working. I want to scale that up over the next few years and get to like a five million dollar company. And and what I would love to do then, I mean, we're we're already doing it now, but really lean into in-person retreats and meetups. And so my passion is like getting people together in person, especially now that we have so much of this on screens, I think it's even more fun and valuable. But small in-person meetups in beautiful locations with great food and just like fun time together, connecting, but then having a lot of intensive like getting things done with entrepreneurs like building our business, with leaders, you know, making their plans. And then we're even dabbling in retreats for couples because, like all coaches will know, like I mean, you're coaching the whole person, and the relationship parts of life come into the picture, but there's so few places that help with that. Like relationships are really tough, and no one seems to help us with it. So we also want to get into that and just create these really amazing experiences to get away from the hustle and like have time and come in a great community with some people who are doing similar things. So that's that's kind of the that's the dream.

Pedro: 30:40

That's interesting. And one thing caught my attention is the fact that you mentioned the couples, right? And I remember I have a friend, his like it's kind of a small business, and he was like, him plus five partners. And I was like, that sounds like a lot. And he said, and he asked me why. Well, it's not really five, it's actually ten, right? Because you have to spouse. Yeah. And he's like, Oh my god, I have never thought it like that way. So I think it's not actually five partners. So yeah, that resonates a lot with me. I mean, I know.

Steve Perkins: 31:10

I mean, there's nothing entrepreneurs love more than like, yeah, as couples, can we figure out our life and make some plans and also make sure like our relationship is thriving because of our business versus suffering because of it? I mean, is anyone getting that perfect? No. But I've just I've experienced in that and also some highs, and I'm like, man, I love life when I'm loving business and my relationship's really good. So, you know, I'm like you uh I've got a kiddo and I'm married and we're both running businesses, and it's just hard to like can stay connected and find the time. So yeah, that's that's become open for me. Yeah, okay.

Pedro: 31:51

And I mean, of course, whenever we're aiming toward the next chapter, there's always something we're refining in the present, you know, big goals. So what are you currently trying to improve or tighten up in your business right now?

Steve Perkins: 32:02

Oh my gosh. Oh you have good questions, by the way. Sometimes these interviews, you know, it's like I appreciate it. Your questions actually get me thinking. I think it's two things. And I'm you know, I like just being transparent and sharing stuff. I think it's more helpful when we're just wicking details. I'm I'm on a and a mission to get to my business being 80% profit margin. That's one of my big challenges because I made the entrepreneurial mistake of like building up expenses more and more, and so we're not in a great place with that right now. I want to get to a better place mainly because building those great in-person experiences costs a lot of money. But also for lifestyle purposes. I'm on a journey right now making changes to just tighten up on the expense side, but also structuring the business better of some of the stuff we were talking about before. So that's just kind of an honest thing. And then what I mentioned at the top is growth without sales. That's that's my other challenge. I want to I want to get a place where we're doing zero sales. We do very little right now compared to most coaching businesses, but um, I want to get to zero. So that's my goal.

Pedro: 33:13

When you when you looking for zero sales, we're talking about the traditional sales, right? You're meaning like they interact with Instagram, go to YouTube, and then they have a call to action and then they buy for themselves. That's what you mean. Okay. I've got zero sales, it's kind of scary. I'm sorry. Just that my brain was like, oh, wait a minute. Zero revenue? What? Is this a scale? Uh is this a non-profitable organization I'm not aware of?

Steve Perkins: 33:38

It's a giant pyramid scheme. No, yeah, exactly. It's kind of meant to be provocative because it's like zero exactly what you said. Zero sales meaning zero sales calls, zero sales team, zero sales effort. We're using marketing and we're using our coaching skills to build trust-based relationships, and people are coming to us when they want it. So I just had this yesterday, a new client who he saw all of our stuff. He loved what he saw, he went deep into it, and then he came to me when he and he said, Can I can I do you? Where do I get started? And we had a two-minute interaction where he was asking me and we just got him signed up, versus the the grind of out and trying to chase people and convince people and that kind of sales effort. So yeah, it's like a nuanced shift, but that that's one of the big challenges in this next chapter.

Pedro: 34:32

I love that. Okay. And if someone listening wants to connect with you or follow your work, where can people find you and connect with you, Steve?

Steve Perkins: 34:40

Best place is my Instagram or YouTube, which are called Coach Business Builder. Our website is greenhousecoaching.co. You can check stuff out there and send a message through there. We also have a podcast called Roots Up.

Pedro: 34:51

There were a few things you shared today that really stuck with me. Okay. Well, first, not having it all figured out like Timmy, you know, at five when he knows he's gonna be a firefighter. So yeah, that that's really I mean that at the same time, it's funny, it's so real, you know, so authentic. So and coaching, that's in my point of view, it has to be authentic, you know. So I really like that. Also, the way you structure your sales process, I think that's different. I want to take a look, you know, I want to see that more uh and how that works, so how that plays out. That's very interesting. Want to point that out. And also the fact that you were so open about the all hourly rate, you know, that could be really with our audience. So I appreciate what you do, and I appreciate you being here today and sharing so openly today. Okay, Steve. It was great having you.

Steve Perkins: 35:38

I appreciate you, me on. This is really fun. It's great meeting you and chatting. Things like you mentioned, if like if you or anyone listening wants to check out that kind of no sales growth approach, I do have a video on my YouTube channel, Coach Business Builder is the channel. And I think the thumbnail says like no funnels, I do this instead. That video goes on. But yeah, I'm happy. I'm always talking with people about their pricing and give them pointers on the exact prices that they should use or how they should think about it. I think it's important for us all to help each other with that.

Davis Nguyen : 36:08

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 join purplecircle.com.