
#117 - When Your Coaching Business Feels Too Hard (Part 2): Self-Doubt, Money, and Staying in the Game
The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity
Feed the flywheel with tiny weekly actions
Robbie and Alex advise committing small weekly tasks to steadily grow your business despite other demands.
When your coaching business feels too hard, it’s rarely just about strategy.
In this conversation (a follow-up to Episode #115), Ruth Saville, Alex Whitton and Robbie Swale explore three of the biggest pressure-points coaches face as they try to stay in the work for the long game: self-doubt, money, and the quiet temptation to question everything when things feel wobbly.
Together, we talk about:
Self-doubt: how it shows up, why it’s so persistent, and what helps you stay grounded (including building your own evidence bank of impact)
Tactics and alignment: the difference between “hard because it’s growth” and “hard because it’s avoidable suffering”
Money pressure: why financial scarcity affects how we think, and how simple, practical actions can bring steadiness back
Staying in the game: creating systems that help you keep moving even when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or questioning your path
This is an episode for coaches who want to keep going - without pretending it’s easy, and without needing to take themselves quite so seriously along the way.
And if you’d like support with all of this - building the business and staying human while you do it - you can explore The Coach’s Journey Community here: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/community
Listen to Part 1 of this conversation: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/115-what-do-you-do-when-your-coaching-business-feels-too-hard
Download Robbie’s ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, here.
For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.ruthsaville.co.uk/
For more information about Alex , visit http://www.exploregrowbe.com/
For more information about Robbie, visit https://www.robbieswale.com/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE MENTIONED THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN
Free Ebook: An Introduction to the Coaching Business Flywheel: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel
The Coach’s Journey Community: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/community
Get to know Ruth better: Robbie’s interview with Ruth on The Coach’s Journey Podcast https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-66-ruth-saville-how-to-be-a-rebel-misbehave-more-and-set-your-sights-on-being-a-master-coach
Get to know Alex better: Robbie’s interview with Alex on The Coach’s Journey Podcast https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-64-alex-whitton-balancing-the-being-and-the-doing
Part 1 – What Do You Do When Your Coaching Business Feels Too Hard https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/115-what-do-you-do-when-your-coaching-business-feels-too-hard
The Power to Choose by Robbie Swale: https://geni.us/powertochoose
The Power to Choose in conversation on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-114-robbie-swale-the-power-to-choose-calm-complexity-and-the-courage-to-be-fully-yourself
The Coach’s Journey – Writing: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/writing
The Coach’s Journey – Videos: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/videos
Joseph Campbell quote from the Power of Myth and Alex’s blog on it: https://www.exploregrowbe.com/blog/what-are-the-rules-we-hold-ourselves-to-where-did-they-come-from-and-how-are-they-serving-us-nownbsp
Campbell and Bill Moyers talking about Myth, Sacrifice and Bliss: https://billmoyers.com/content/ep-4-joseph-campbell-and-the-power-of-myth-sacrifice-and-bliss-audio/
Philosophise this - Silence, Obedience and Joy https://www.philosophizethis.org/podcast/episode-158-the-creation-of-meaning-nietzsche-the-ascetic-ideal-f8k5h-k8xfx
Ashana Crichton on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/98-ashana-crichton-the-potential-for-true-partnership-if-we-pay-attention-to-power
Chloe Garland on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-65-chloe-garland-the-jam-donut-principle-quarter-life-crises-and-the-philosophy-of-coaching
Jenny Bird on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/109-jenny-bird-the-joy-of-sparkly-new-things
The ICF’s Global Coaching Study report - https://coachingfederation.org/resources/research/global-coaching-study/
Patrick Quinton-Smith on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/107-patrick-quinton-smith-clarity-is-revealed-in-momentum-so-build-momentum-and-clarity-will-come
Henrietta Nelson on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-46-henrietta-nelson-nobody-else-can-put-a-feeling-in-you
Rebecca Norton on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/96-rebecca-norton-how-coaching-walks-can-guide-us-to-new-pathways-through-life
Robbie’s book How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up: https://geni.us/justdoit
Dan Pink – “When” (timing & energy rhythms) https://www.danpink.com/books/when/
Elizabeth Gilbert - Big Magic - https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic/
Ellie Scarf on The Coach’s Journey: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/102-ellie-scarf-our-stories-and-scars-can-be-points-of-connection
Ellie Scarf’s podcast episode, The Funds are in the Follow Up - https://www.elliescarf.com/podcasts/the-business-of-executive-coaching/episodes/2148989827
James Clear, Atomic Habits - https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
Atomic Habits – Business appendix (PDF) https://s3.amazonaws.com/jamesclear/Atomic%2BHabits/Business%2BAppendix.pdf
The Art of Possibility (Zander & Zander) https://www.benjaminzander.org/the-art-of-possibility/
Robbie’s Zone of Genius blog - https://www.robbieswale.com/the-12-minute-blog/2022/2/3/the-zone-of-genius-the-most-powerful-thought-experiment-for-personal-transformation
The Prosperous Coach (Rich Litvin & Steve Chandler) - https://richlitvin.com/book/


