The Real Reason Teams Break Down at Work with Sarah Singer

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets, our guest is Sarah Singer, a leadership strategist, HR consultant, and business advisor who helps organizations improve performance through stronger people strategy, communication, and leadership development. Sarah shares powerful insights on hiring the right people, building resilient workplace cultures, navigating leadership challenges, and why emotional intelligence and psychology are critical for long-term business success. We also dive into the mistakes companies make when scaling teams, how leaders can create accountability without burnout, and the mindset shifts needed to build high-performing organizations in today’s fast-changing workplace. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, manager, coach, or aspiring leader, this conversation is packed with practical lessons on people, performance, and sustainable growth.

You can find her on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfcsinger/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahfcsinger/

Transcript

Sarah Singer 0:00

What? I had no idea he would be interested in coaching. It was crazy. The day before I said I am I'm ready to do this and he said, Let's do it. What are your rates? I'm like, I don't know what my rates are. I've never been paid. So that was the moment for me where I had a 10-second sort of fork in the road.

Davis Nguyen 0:15

Am I going to present myself as a legitimate coach and I have a legitimate business, or am I just going to 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 Stein 0:52

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. I'm Pedro and today I'm with Sarah Singer, a certified career business life design coach and founder of Life's Your Adventure, where she helps purpose-driven women turn clarity into bold, aligned action as they pivot careers or build meaningful businesses. Her approach blends strategy and soul, shaped by nearly a decade at partners and health leading global mental health strategy across 10 countries. What stands out about Sarah is how she connects personal clarity with real execution through one-on-one coaching, retreats, and her group program, The Adventure Collective, while also advise and mission-driven organizations navigating growth and change. Her work sits at the intersection of purpose, career design, and conscious business, helping women build lives that feel as good as they look on paper. Welcome to the show, Sarah.

Sarah Singer 1:57

Thank you. I loved the way you pulled that intro together. That was a great cohesive summary. So thank you. So excited to be here.

Pedro Stein 2:05

Well, first of all, it's all your fault, right? I can only blame you about the intro. That's all you're doing. But thank you. Kudos to me. I'm gonna tap myself on the back here. So appreciate that. And it's also it's great to have you, you know. And at this point, I love to rewind a bit, get back to the origin story because every coach has that moment, but they look at the life and say, Yeah, I guess this is what I'm doing now, right? So when was that for you, Sarah?

Sarah Singer 2:32

Yeah, that's such such a good question. So as you say that, oh, I guess I'm doing that now. What stood out to me, and we could talk about this later, but I'm willing to bet this has not come up on your show yet, is this concept of cosplaying. Are you cosplaying starting a business? Have you ever heard of this framing?

Pedro Stein 2:48

No, please enlighten me.

Sarah Singer 2:51

So I've come up with this idea, but I love what you said. We're like, oh, I guess I'm doing this now. Because what I found, and I'll share my story, is that sometimes we realize we're kind of on this path of building our own business or becoming a coach or whatever it may be. And we've been dabbling in it. And sometimes people actually are almost cosplaying, like they want to build something, they're dabbling, they're starting to post on social media, maybe they're getting a few clients, and then the kind of fork in the road is okay, am I really a coach? Am I really gonna go all in and do this? Um, and or am I just cosplaying, pretending I want to do this and I'm gonna stay in my job? So that's what came up when you said that for me.

Pedro Stein 3:29

But uh like the shift, right? Wearing the hat, really wearing the hat, like not just pretending or cosplaying, like I said.

Sarah Singer 3:38

Exactly. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, because that's where the hard work starts. Um, and I think a lot of us might get stuck in that for some time. But for me, taking it back a few years, really, if I sort of look deeper at it, post-COVID really woken me up, woke me to a lot of different career and life opportunities and changes, as I'm sure for many people. And having come from a very go, go, go background in my old nonprofit work where I was leading and managing large programs, I was supporting a large team. And I got to a point where candidly I got quite burned out and I loved what I did, and my identity was very connected to my work, and I was so proud of what I did, and I was there for many, many years. But I looked around both, you know, internally and externally at what the lives were like in the field that I was in, and I realized there just wasn't spaciousness to candidly be a mom, to be able to make the impact that I wanted, to have the creativity that I desired, and I wanted more flexibility and to travel and to work on my own terms. So it really created a spiritual awakening, for lack of a better word, once things slowed down during COVID. And through a few years of that internal work, I got the clarity on what I actually wanted to do. My background was in mental health. So for years I thought I wanted to be a therapist and go down the PhD route. And I know a lot of coaches start with this question of maybe I'll get an MBA or maybe I'll be a therapist. And you realize actually what you wanted was coaching all along, right? But we didn't necessarily have those terms, let's say five or 10 years ago. Um, so I found out that that was really what I was looking to do. And I took a pretty bold leap after having a very successful six-figure career in my early 30s, and I could have been comfortable and happy and stayed on that trajectory. Um, but I knew I wanted something different. So I left that organization. I went and did a lot of traveling, made some major life pivots. I went to a coach certification program, got that education. There were a lot of highs and lows and dips along the way with the roller coaster, which maybe we'll get into. I won't get into the details now. Um, but I think that moment for me was really once I realized that there was no going back and I was already on the other side and I had left my old job. You're in the messy middle, you're somewhere, you know, where you're not making much revenue yet. You've been getting some clients, but the money's not fully there. Um, and it was probably about a year in where I realized that that was fully it. And I was not cosplaying, I was all in. I'm really going to be an online coach, I'm really gonna be doing this work. Um, and once I went all in with myself and invested in my own coaches, I definitely haven't looked back and I feel really proud of what I've done and I absolutely love it. So I'll pause there. We can get more into the specifics, but yeah, great starting question.

Pedro Stein 6:23

Okay, first of all, when you mentioned cosplaying, I know what cosplaying is, like Comic Con and all of that. I just was not connected to exactly right.

Sarah Singer 6:32

That's why I bring it up.

Pedro Stein 6:34

What is she talking about? Now I get it, so I appreciate you clarifying that. Now, I want to understand a moment that usually happens uh in the identity shift of a coach is like when did you shift from I'm helping people to, you know, I'm building a real business around this, you know. I'm not sure if it's the first invoice, the first paying client, you know. So when did that play out for you?

Sarah Singer 6:58

Yeah, it's a great question. I think along that journey when I had left my when I was leaving my job and getting some of my first clients, and I had innate clarity about how I would help people, and I had had some beta clients for free, for example. But I was con I had some conviction that I wanted to get my first paid client, and it was spring 2023. I was working with my coach, building my you know, business, dabbling, right? Like we were just talking about along the side. And I said, This is it, I'm really ready to do it. But I didn't know where I was going to find this client, and it was actually a crazy story. Um, again, this is my first paid, right? Because I had been helping people maybe get organically along the way and had some free clients. A friend walked into my apartment door, it was the craziest thing. He called me and said, Hey, I'm in the neighborhood, I'd love to come by and see you and your husband. So he comes by and he we're catching up and he asks what I'm doing, and I share what I've been building and a bit about this coaching practice. And he's like, I want to do this, I want to work with you. And I'm like, What? I had no idea he would be interested in coaching. It was crazy. The day before I said I'm I'm ready to do this and he said, Let's do it. What are your rates? I'm like, I don't know what my rates are, I've never been paid. So that was the moment for me where I had a 10-second sort of fork in the road. Am I going to present myself as a legitimate coach and I have a legitimate business, or am I just going to, you know, help with help this um, you know, friend on the side? So I said, My rate is $50 per session. We can do two sessions for $100. You know, this is a starting point, right? He knew I was just beginning. I don't know if he knew he was my first paid client. He gave me a hundred dollar bill right there. And then I that was my first paid client. Um, and I think that was the the fork in the road where I realized it is a legitimate business. And of course, I'm not charging hourly now. I'm not charging $50 per session. It's a completely different model, but I I think that was the first moment where I realized that yeah, this is something legitimate and and and people want to know, and it's time to really like step up to the plate.

Pedro Stein 9:00

Okay. Did you frame that $100 pill?

Sarah Singer 9:04

I did, yeah. I did. I like the I took a picture, I took a picture of it. Yeah, I don't know where it is now. I probably saved it somewhere, but yeah.

Pedro Stein 9:12

Nice. Okay, and let me ask you this because after you got rolling, right? And you got that first paying client and you did some pro bono work, who are the people that kept showing up? You want the ones who realize, okay, this is my tribe, right? Because I'm not sure if you're if you're really niche down or not. It's just about the the question is more about if in the early days, especially, just to give you some context, it's like we see a lot of coaches trying to help everyone, right? And the entire world, there's us taking clients and doing the raps and all that. Did you eventually realize there were a per a certain type of people that you would, you know, work best with?

Sarah Singer 9:51

Yes, absolutely. So, again, like by I was sharing my backgrounds in nonprofits, mental health, more purpose-driven fields. And so I came at this from the lens of pure career coaching, meaning it's helping people navigate career transitions and find new positions. And it was for the beginning portion, more people who were in that similar field, right? Like mental health, nonprofits, education, healthcare, um, return peace score volunteers, right? Global health. This is the world that I was in. And it started much more around helping people with resumes, cover letters, right, finding positions. This is also before AI really became a thing. And I never wanted to actually be a recruiter. That was never the direction I was desiring, but I had that skill set as a manager and hiring manager, right? Um, so I was helping people like that. I was helping people in corporate. I did try to have some clarity from the beginning, and I actually feel pretty good about that because you're right, you could spread yourself way too thin. But there was still too much breadth, right? And not enough depth in the beginning. And over time, what I found is that people came in for the careers, but really what we were doing was much deeper life coaching and mindset work and bringing in more of the depth around the identity piece and your values, and how do you want to design your life? And that's the work that lit me up, right? Like the career is a great inroads, it's a good top-of-funnel concept, it's something people can hang their hats on, it's a searchable term that they're looking for. They're looking for a career coach, but really I'm not a traditional career coach, and that's what sets me apart, and that's why people are drawn to work with me. Um and so it's evolved into that. And from there to now, really where it's evolved is it's the business side within the career lens. And it's particularly for women who are, for the most part, let's say in their late 20s to early 40s, they'll say millennials. I've worked with a woman as old as 70 and someone as young as, you know, 22 right out of college. Um, but for the most part, it's this millennial demographic of purpose-driven women who do want to make a career life pivot. And in our work, we just uncover that for the most part. It's really helping them to launch their own impactful business in coaching, consulting, community type work, or healing professions because they're highly professional, they have skill sets, and now they're ready to build something on their own terms. So it's evolved from a much bigger picture of career to bringing in the life to now career from the lens of business. And that is really the sweet spot of the people that you kind of highlighted would be my tribe, and it's a perfectly aligned mutual fit.

Pedro Stein 12:23

Okay, interesting. Well, two points, right? Well, first of all, you mentioned they're coming, they were coming up for the career, um, but eventually the transformation would not just the career, right? It's not just that. So that that brings me to a quote, right? It's like sell them what they want, give them what they need, right? So they you can because I understand that the positioning sometimes for coaching is very abstract, right? It's hard on the top of the funnel to sell that idea, right? Which in at the end of the day, it really happens, but it's hard for people to grasp it, even you know. So that's one thing. I love the reminder. The second thing is like, I want to introduce you to my long-distant cousin, right? That's Pedra. That's your ICP. Let's pretend Pedra wants to work with you. Okay. So, first of all, how Pedro would eventually find you in the first place, right? Marketing-wise.

Sarah Singer 13:15

Yeah, well, nice to meet you, Pedra. Um, I think the way she would find me is through Instagram, uh, joining my newsletter, and now I'm converting that into a Substack. So moving forward, the top of funnel will be Substack and Podcast via Substack and Instagram. And then I'm I have a recurring newsletter that's going to be coming from there. So that's how she would be nurtured and get to know me and welcomed into my world to start.

Pedro Stein 13:39

Okay. So Instagram, and we're talking about a newsletter, Substack, and all of that. Let's pretend she resonated with what you get out there, right? Got through a sales process, whatever that looks like. And there's alignment, okay. I understand you have potentially different offers, which is totally fine. So let's pick one that makes more sense or the one that averages the usual you want to talk about. Okay. Um, let's say there's alignment, like I said, she closed, she wants to work with you. Okay. So walk me through the point of view of Pedra being on boarded, and what are also the potential outcomes to work with your business?

Sarah Singer 14:20

So, depending on again, what package she signs up, what are her challenges, right? We'll give a kind of general example. So once we're onboarded, we can celebrate it. We're very excited to move forward. Um, assuming this is a one-to-one container to start so that it's customized, you know, to around what she's looking for. I always start around the clarity and the mindset. And so, really, the first month to six weeks is really helping do deep work around uncovering who a woman is meant to become and who they want to be, right? So we're not going to just jump right into what do you want to do? It's the deeper internal work. Um, we get clear on their priorities, work-life balance. We do tools like finding your purpose with the Iki guy, looking at your wheel of life and understanding, for example, like how much of your definition of success is tied to your career, etc. And so we really help create a whole picture and understanding, you know, who they are and where they want to go. And then from there, we would take that as the foundation and we get into the career portion of it. And what I like to call it is that if we imagine almost like a telescope, right? Everyone has an aperture that they see the lens through. So usually let's say maybe Pedro was, I'm making this up, a teacher. And she's thinking, I can either be a teacher or I can leave teaching school and I can go and become a therapist, right? And she has these two black and white ideas, and she's circling the drain on I'll stay as a teacher, or maybe I'll go and you know become a therapist because I always loved mental health. And so the idea is we help broaden her aperture and to see that first of all, this is a pretty linear frame of mind that she's probably had. And secondly, that actually there is a whole permutation of options in between. Again, the example being a teacher and therapist that she's not actually thought about. And it's not something where she's just going to search this on Google or LinkedIn, but for the most part, the women I work with actually are smart, they're all very smart, resourceful, and capable, I should say. And they actually want and can design their own career that is something unique to them. And so we go in a process of getting creative around, well, what opportunities are there? How could you find something that aligns with your skills and strength? And through that, for the most part, the women that I'm working with really now in my world, sometimes we go down the nine to five route purely, and they that's where they want. But more often than not, they're going to have a job in parallel andor just doing their own business, especially in this economy, especially with AI, especially working with women in their 30s. As an average, they want that flexibility as a mom or as a family, and they also don't want to give up the impact that they they want in their career. And so for Pedra, it would likely look like getting clear on okay, so you're you were a teacher for a decade. How could you perhaps create a teaching consulting business, right? And and we would help her get clear on what she could do to create that. Um, and through this work, we would get thoughtful around what's her niche, who would she serve, what would be some of her offers, working alongside the tactical strategy with the imposter syndrome that might come up, the limiting beliefs, the mindset blocks, right? And after six months, she would have clarity on the idea. And maybe she started with a beta client or started to bring it out into the world. What I found is that it's a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time, obviously, to go this route. And so the women I work with actually they think they're coming, like what we talked about before, for the career, but what they need is this evolution journey, and we might end up working longer term. Maybe they join my group coaching program, maybe they go and get certified or get some other training. And an outcome would be she's, as an example, started her own teaching consulting business, and maybe she's moved from Brazil to Boston and she's made her big life transition. And you know, a year or two later she's she's left teaching and now she's really living in a life authentic to her. So I made this example up, but I think that's a pretty good summary of what could be possible for Pedra, and it's a completely different A to B transformation than what she thought, which was just getting another teaching job.

Pedro Stein 18:23

Okay, so we're we're peeling off the onion right here, right? It's not just surface level tactical, it's like getting in the root cause of whatever moves Pedra talking about move. I made her up, but you're taking her out of Brazil and moving to Boston. We're gonna miss Pedra, okay? So that's one thing, and uh first curveball for you, okay. Um I see a lot of coaches out there, and thanks for sharing the the point of being a climbing on border. That was great. It's like seems like a very customized experience, first of all, and also there is the one-on-one, there's a group component, and all that. And I see a lot of coaches back to my point, uh, out there advocating against burnout, right? But sometimes they burn out themselves because they're wearing all the hats, business development, marketing, uh, ops, you know, sales. So, how do you think about capacity today so you don't stretch yourself too thin?

Sarah Singer 19:19

It's a great question. I've obviously thought a lot about this because the irony, as you said, is we often create these businesses and paths because we want to have more spaciousness for ourselves, and then we get burned out in the process. So I've definitely been there, I'm totally with you. But I thought a lot about it. Yeah, it's so real. I think it's good to name. And a couple things that stand out. I mean, one is my coach has helped me think through are you building a business? Are you building a job? Right. And so, for example, like if you were on vacation and you took a break, would things still be moving? Would you be able to come back in their systems? So, as an example, I just came back from some travel. I was away for about 10 days. It was a lot of back-to-back vacation, family things, and I and I was just out of work, out of the business for a while. And this was, if I'll be honest, the first time I came back and I felt like, wow, things are moving in the way they should be moving. Like this is three years in. There were actually some issues, right? Like I had some feedback from clients I needed to resolve, and you know, things like that wasn't perfect, but I had two discovery calls booked that were aligned clients. I had a potential client emailing me, following up from a prior conversation we had. Um, I had clients in my business doing breakthroughs, my communities that I've organized, they're they were supporting and engaging each other, right? The Substack was going right. And and that's how I think it should be is that that's that's an ideal scenario. But it's taken me about a year and a half of being in the trenches to build to that system where that works. So that's the way I like to think about it is what would the ecosystem be beyond just me? And if I'm being honest, it's taken me having been burnt out and realizing it's not sustainable in the model to get to the clarity of what it needs to look like. Um, so I'll start with that.

Pedro Stein 21:08

I'm right there with you. I I sometimes I feel like the same on my podcast holds full-time position, and also I'm uh I help Brazilians land jobs internationally in the tech space, so full-time job, and also right, my own coaching practice. So oh my god, and it's sometimes it doesn't feel like work. That's the worst part, right? You're comparing I compare to my past experiences, banking, consulting, and I'm like, yeah, but that was kind of work, and I just turned the switch off, and now I'm doing this, and it's pretty cool to talk with people like in the space, right? In the podcast stuff, and also do my own stuff. And I'm like, oh my god, how do I stop myself? I need to set some boundaries, right? Because it doesn't feel like work. Do you feel like that sometimes?

Sarah Singer 21:50

Well, you asked me when we first got on this podcast, you're like, How's your day? And um I I said it's honestly just starting, right? Normally I'd get up at seven, I'd go on.

Pedro Stein 22:00

long walk da da da right um but the reason it was just starting is because i was up till 10 p.m building a new coaching program with my close friend and business partner and i was you know so in the flow and creative space last night and i the amount of clarity and work i've done this week is unbelievable right and so sometimes i'm doing that and it's so fun but then yeah you you can forget it you do need to have a more normal cadence and rhythm and working you know um but it's yeah it's because we love it right and i don't feel like it's always feeling like work but it's important like what you're saying to just kind of create a bit more of those systems in space um but i love it so much more if we're gonna be working you know these many hours i saw this quote on instagram this like funny meme it's like working for yourself is the joy of getting to choose your own 128 hours when you work a week or something and it's like I'm not of course I'm not working 128 hours I'm working I don't know 40 right but it's on it's it it it's this misnomer where you think that you're gonna just have a perfectly work-life balance schedule and and we don't because you love it so much when you're working for yourself yeah you know and one thing I want to shift gears real quick for a second is talk about a hot topic that I really love because you mentioned pro bono work at the early days right and I think uh just to introduce it it's pricing right but not talking about hard numbers and the reason I want to brought this up is because it's a very self-worth path for the coach especially in the early days right and you mentioned a meme right that brings me up to a meme too it's basically you know there's a fridge outside in the sidewalk and it says free take it nobody takes it right and then the other day the guy puts a price a price tag on it saying like $50 and it vanishes right because it's the perception of value. Sometimes we see a lot of people trying to do pro bono work in the coaching space and people no show them you know people don't do the work because they feel like sometimes it's worthless because it's free right I'm not sure if you're right there with me but I want to understand from you how do you think about the pricing bit today and were there any lessons along the way that shaped how you landed where you are right now?

Sarah Singer 24:11

Such a good question. Yeah this is a lot of what I do with the clients and the women I work with so as an example I shared that story of the first time I got as a paid client. The first time I had a a long-term client that was you know let's say like a susp a substantial scope of work I was at a spa with a friend for her bachelorette and it was a very fancy nice spa I don't normally get to go to these types I could but it's just not something I guess I'm doing and it was for a special occasion we were there we were chatting with this woman who was in the spa and she was saying she's a big lawyer and she's wanting to make a career pivot and she stuck da da da my friend whose um wedding it was turned to her and said Sarah's a career coach and this was right before I this is right when I started I had never gotten paid right we were having those sort of deer and headlight moments where it's like how do you position yourself and again it was another one of those moments where I thought okay how how will I want to present am I a legitimate coach or not so I introduced myself we had a nice chat we got her number we scheduled a call she was lovely and here's where I got stuck with the pricing I know this woman has resources she's at a very expensive spa. I know she's a big lawyer right um but I was just getting started and she didn't see the perceived value in the work that I was doing and that's also kind of reasonable if we're being honest because I had just started right but I did fall short on that the way I was positioning it where I said in the future this three month coaching program I don't remember what I said let's say I said it's gonna be three thousand dollars or something but I'll I'd love to do it for you for 1800 or something right um which is pretty reasonable I mean to be honest but she knew I had never worked with anyone and I knew she had resources so it was this awkward situation. And I and I wanted to go all in and like really work with her in depth, you know, versus just a two time session I I wanted to do this transition or transformation. So she said you know she didn't see the she kind of said like I'm sorry I don't see the value or I don't know what she said but it just she didn't want to pursue at that rate and I was crushed because I felt like wow if she can't afford this or do it who will long story short I ended up doing it for free for three months because I wanted the experience right and you know when I look back I don't regret it because it helped me build my program. She was my first beta client it was a great opportunity I got really good experience but that was not the right approach right I probably could have found a middle ground where we we had a better pricing strategy because three months for pro bono was pretty insane right and and so we don't need to do that right but we also don't need to you know oversell ourselves when we're just getting started there needs to be a middle ground. So now that I have that experience I like to think about pricing and my coach taught me this for the outcome I want to have and I have a lot of women whom I've worked with two or three times let's say and they really stay in my world and in the community and they want to grow. And so I think about it in that way of if they're going to be potentially involved for more than let's say six months, I want it to be something that's sustainable on both ends. Right. I know I would not if I'm being honest after investing let's say in a three or five K coaching program for six months do that every single six months with the same coach. It's just not it's just not going to be the way I'm gonna approach it. I'm gonna want to try something different or have a different tier right people don't think they're gonna start investing five or 10K in coaching every year when they do this. It's just not there's no budget for that when when they start so I actually feel a lot more confident and comfortable in finding a price that's stretchy enough that they're gonna do the work and that is a good investment for me and my time and commensurate with my experience but that they could feel like they're really growing and in this and it's a mutual fit. So I'll start with that.

Pedro Stein 28:05

I love the the stretch on the price so it can have more commitment right from the the coach and that brings me back to my college days right when we're playing Texas Holdem and there we're playing no stakes and everyone's so bold right and everyone's all in zone here and there and whenever you put a dollar in the pot that the game changed completely right it's like and because they have skin in the game right they're having even if it's one dollar they're like oh this is not the same stuff. So it's good to have some commitment. I think that's the key word especially when pricing now let's shift gears for a second because I'm curious about where you're taking all this you know Sarah looking ahead where do you see you know life's your adventure going you know are you thinking about scaling hiring or is there a next step you're excited about well maybe building off what I just shared I'm so excited to be building my community because there are a significant number of women who have just gone all in in the last few years and are staying in this in this work in this world.

Sarah Singer 29:07

So I've been partnering with a close friend and business partner who is a nervous system coach and does a lot of embodiment work and she's from a very professional background in finance and similar journey to me but she brings in more of the the deeper somatic type work and mindset aspects that are required for high achieving entrepreneurs and and women to to hold the capacity to do this work. So we're gonna be partnering in the group coaching aspect which I'm really really excited about. If we did a beta this spring we're going to be partnering on that moving forward and that will be a space where women can if they would like you know they can sort of grow into this work longer term. I'm expanding my Substack I'm starting a podcast I really see this as a movement. I don't mean to sound like egotistical and beyond you know grandiose but it's not just a small service provider coach you know in my you know office you know one-to-one clients um there really is a community in an ecosystem something else is that I've been doing a lot of in-person events um in my local community hosting some retreats and I think with AI and just the way things are shaping in the world people want that connection and community much more than ever in person as well and so creating some more space and cultivation for that um and to really yeah expand the impact beyond.

Pedro Stein 30:32

So I'll I'll leave it at that nice nice yeah okay yeah especially with the AI I I feel like in this era AI era the the in-person events are are in the 2.0 you know they're being revamped I think they're they're coming with a full on you know and pretty powerful because whenever someone uh gives me like sends me a message the first thing I'm thinking right now is like is it a bot you know that I'm talking to is it a real person so that's one thing or an automation even right now whenever we're aiming towards the next chapter like your group setting with your partner and all of that there's always something we're refining in the present right so what are you currently trying to improve or tighten up in your business right now?

Sarah Singer 31:15

Hmm great question. I'm improving and tightening up my funnel process right like we just talked about the top of funnel the the gap is the top of funnel for me. The middle of the funnel is incredibly strong I have very high referral retention rates and I have very high close rates because it's so personal and community driven and I focus my effort on those and I feel really confident in that area now I I need to increase the the top of the funnel with social media the podcast etc so that's one area. But I'm glad I did it this way because to me this is a more sustainable way anyone can do a Canva Instagram post. Not everyone can build real community. So to me this was important but for sustainability obviously you need more of a pipeline. So that's important. And then the group program I'm really revamping and so sort of what we talked about before that there's a very clear process where people can get started, get their feet wet with this type of work should they want to move forward either it's a one-to-one or group option and then how they can grow into this work longer term. So there is a phased approach where like I said before it's commensurate with the level of intensity they need and they're not going to be every single six months doing the same thing but they can get supported along their journey with more depth. So that's what I'm working out with my colleague right now around now that we've worked with dozens of women, what are the transformations people actually have and then meeting our support to get them where they need to go.

Pedro Stein 32:42

Oh that's exciting okay now if someone listening wants connect with you or follow your work I mean we're gonna have all the links here in the description but what's the best way to find you and connect with you yeah well I'd love to meet you if you listen to this please shoot me a message and I'd love to just hear what resonated most for you.

Sarah Singer 33:02

So the best ways would be Instagram it's Sarah FC Singer and my Substack I believe it's Sarah Singer just exactly on Substack. So those would be the the right ways to connect and on the Substack I will have my podcast link there as well as the regular newsletter and yeah I would love to just hear what resonated and what stood out to you and thanks for listening.

Pedro Stein 33:24

Okay you know there were a few things you shared today that really stay with me first one uh cosplaying as a coach I love the term knowledge of the way you framed it right it's so funny I'm always thinking about a hat but I'm just picturing the Comic Con of how coaches and they were just like pretending to be coaches but they're not really because they're not you know uh at the end of the day feeling like it the idea it's an identity shift at the end of the day that you don't feel weird inside when you say hey I'm a coach right it's like I felt like that I still feel it sometimes okay now that was a great reminder um the second would be like when you have that friend that visited you and you're like your first paying client I love the story you're like sharing that and being super vulnerable uh as much as you were vulnerable talking about the pricing bit that you reminded us uh tell told us about the spot owner right and that you ended up doing pro bono work and the reason I feel like that is so interesting is because I always say this on the show I think personally that being vulnerable is a true key asset for a coach right because you're gonna ask hard questions to your coaches and all of that it's only fair you meet them in the middle and not try to be a know it all or pretend you're perfect which you're nobody is right so at the at the end of the day it it makes the connection connection so much easier with person to person right now this is my long-winded way of saying that I appreciate what you do and I appreciate you being here and sharing so openly today okay great having you on Sarah thank you so much this was so great and yeah I will just say on the openness and the vulnerability that came from overcoming realizing I'm not cosplaying and just be comfortable being comfortable and embodying my actual self and that's a learned skill and once you get on the other side it feels so amazing to just be able to share your authentic self.

Sarah Singer 35:26

So for anyone listening I would just encourage you to to lean in and be 1% more vulnerable and it you'll feel awesome doing it.

Davis Nguyen 35:33

Thanks Pedro that's it for this episode of Career Coaching Secrets. If you enjoyed this conversation you can subscribe to YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts 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 purplecircle.com