The best coaching businesses are not built through pressure or perfect sales scripts. They are built through curiosity, connection, and conversations that genuinely help people. In this episode of Leading With Purpose, I'm with Candy Motzek to talk about what it really takes to build a coaching business that feels aligned, authentic, and sustainable.

We explore why so many coaches struggle with feeling salesy, how curiosity-driven conversations can naturally lead to clients, and why relationships and human connection matter more than aggressive marketing tactics. Candy also shares how podcasting has helped her grow her business, build meaningful collaborations, and create opportunities through genuine conversations rooted in purpose and alignment.

Key Takeaways:

- Why many new coaches struggle with feeling “salesy” and how to market authentically.

- How market research conversations can become one of the best client attraction tools.

- Why curiosity and connection create stronger coaching businesses than aggressive sales tactics.

- The role podcasting plays in building trust, visibility, and meaningful relationships.

- How purpose and alignment help coaches lead more confidently in business and life.

- Why coaches need their own support systems to grow with integrity and confidence.

About Candy Motzek:

Business coach and trusted mentor for aspiring coaches. She specializes in empowering intelligent professionals to launch and grow successful coaching businesses. With a unique blend of practical strategy and mindset mastery, Candy helps her clients achieve greater clarity. Her calming & personalized approach enables coaches to play bigger, sign more clients, & create meaningful & profitable success. As a former corporate executive & engineer, she combines her extensive business acumen with a deep understanding of personal development to guide her clients towards their fullest potential.

Connect with Candy:

https://stepintosuccessnow.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/she-coaches-coaches/id1527473940

https://open.spotify.com/show/6ysdzca1YEWOFsrpSxzNJA

About Me:

Hi, I’m Mark Porteous; the Soul Connector.

My stand is for ALL people to recognize themselves as Divine Beings who have chosen the human experience for a reason and to live in alignment with that knowing, so they can THRIVE in their purpose of transforming lives.

I help mission driven entrepreneurs to make their Soul Connections so that they can impact and change the world, scale their businesses to six and seven figures, and enjoy thrilling Soul Success in every arena of their lives.

Connect with me at:

https://markporteous.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcporteous

https://www.instagram.com/mark.porteous1/

https://www.facebook.com/markcporteous/

Take the Soulful Leadership Assessment here: https://markporteous.com/#tve-jump-184964db927

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Hello. Today, I'm joined by someone who brings both grounded strategy and deep personal insight to the coaching world. Candy Motzek is a business coach and trusted mentor for aspiring coaches who are ready to step into their next level. She specializes in helping intelligent, capable professionals turn their experience into a thriving coaching business that are both meaningful and profitable. With a background as a corporate executive and engineer, Candy blends real world business acumen with mindset mastery in a way that feels both practical and deeply supportive candy. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. Welcome to leading with purpose.

Oh, and thank you so much for inviting me to be on your show. I'm really looking forward to the conversation too. Every time somebody reads my bio, I think, who is that I wrote it, but still, I was like, wow, who is that person?

Well, it's funny because I like to normally run it by the person say, Is this accurate? And many of the people I know personally, it's really funny because we were on a panel together about podcasts and the power of podcasts. It was the first time I had ever met you, and there was so much alignment, where I was like, Oh my gosh, I want to have you on my podcast. Normally, I want to get to know somebody every now, but it was just instantly, so I'm very happy to have you here.

Yeah, me too.

And again, there was a lot of interesting alignment. You even mentioned right off the bat that soon as I said the name of my podcast, leading with purpose, you actually had a company with that name.

It did, yeah, when I started out as a coach back in 2013 2014 that was my very first website. It was lead with purpose coaching. And I, I still wish I had that domain. I think I let it lapse a couple of years ago, but it really, for me, it really speaks to the importance of coaching, you know, like anything that we're going to do on our life, let's do it in a way that is more purposeful and more purpose driven, right?

Well, I think that's a great way to start off. I love that. That's how your your brand started, and I'm curious now with the women that you help are, like you said, highly intelligent, capable women taking their expertise. What do you see as some of the biggest challenges that women or people in general face when they're transitioning into becoming a coach, or they've been coaching for a while but aren't getting the traction? What do you see as like, kind of the the biggest problem that most of them are facing internally?

Yeah, so internally, a lot of the big challenges are they worry about feeling salesy. They probably have spent the better part of their life being pretty accomplished, you know, they've got the degrees, they've done the, you know, the things in their career, they've got a good life, and now they're starting this thing called coaching, and they're worried that they're going to look flaky. So, you know, like, am I going to be flaky? Will anybody take me seriously? I've been a XYZ for all these years, and now I'm going to put coach behind my name. And is that really a something, you know, like, really, like, is it really that meaningful? And so I see that as a lot of the inward worry, can I say this? Will people think I'm silly, that I become flaky, and then that, you know, and then I don't want to be salesy or pushy, because it's not in alignment with who I am.

I love that, especially the idea, like you said, the idea is that you're taking your experience and expertise, and especially have certificates or training awards that say how great you are at this one thing, and yet anybody can call themselves a coach in most places. I don't know anywhere where there's limitations on calling yourself a coach. I remember that I became a coach after a 90 day coaching certification program that taught us all that we needed to know about how to help people get the success and all we need to know about how to market ourselves and grow a business in 90 days. And it reminded me of doctors take, you know, eight years before they can practice, we're going to start practicing. So how do you get people to that bridge of doubt, like, where do you start with your clients?

Yeah, so we start with the basics, the business basics, because most of them do have coaching skills, either true coaching skills that they've learned through their training program, or they have just been that mentor throughout their career, and so they're used to supporting people. So we start with the business side. You know, do you have a niche? Who would you love to work with? Like, what's your dream client? And then let's get you an offer. Let's create an offer that you can invite people into. I love that word, like how you're. Um, you know how you said, you know, a doctor eight years before they can even practice, and that's kind of how I think about a coaching practice, too. And I think that that helps the new coaches, that when we use that word practice, it means that we're always improving. It doesn't matter if you've been coaching a month or a year or 10 years, you're still practicing. You're still on that journey. So where I start with clients is the business side, you know, like, let's get the basics of business in place. But then from the coaching side, this is just the beginning of your journey in having these kinds of conversations.

I love again, that that's a one of the unique pieces that you get to do, both the strategy, the business part of it, and the inner coaching to help them to be great coaches with the strategy side of it. That's one of the things I've seen a lot, that people just kind of do a spaghetti to the wall, or they're here all these different marketing ideas. Are you? How do you help them with the marketing? Because that's the biggest challenge, is getting clients. For most people, how do you attract clients and that you can serve? How do you get enough of them?

Yeah, 100% that is it. By far, it is the biggest challenge for coaches. And so I have kind of an unusual approach most of the people that I work with, many of them are introverts, and they love this sort of one on one conversations. They love to talk to people, but they're not necessarily the people that are going to go to a networking event and, you know, spend their day schmoozing, you know, with a drink in one hand and a napkin in the other and try and pass out business cards. It's not really their style. And so what we've done is we've taken what's pretty standard at first, market research and use that as a coach attraction tool. So I encourage all my coaches to create a survey, and it's either a true survey that somebody fills in. But also some of them are they, instead of doing that kind of formal survey, they'll actually do market research calls. The prerequisite is it has to be with people that they would love to work with, like, that's the kind of person I love to talk to, and it has to be something they're really curious about. I really want to understand why female physicians are so good at caring for others and not so good with caring for themselves. So start with that real place of curiosity, and then ask the questions that will give you information that you can share with your clients that will really, really help them. So I recommend a survey, whether it's a survey or conversations, and then what they do is they take all of that data and they create a report out of it. It might be a short report, it might be a long report, but what's happened is they've already know so much more about the kind of people they want to work with, and I encourage them to invite people into a conversation. So I'll just tell you, for example, back in last fall, I did what I call the coaching business growth survey, and we invited a number of coaches to take part, and we had 115 people fill in the survey, and one of the questions

in the survey is, Hey, would you like to have a conversation? And of those 115 people, 57 of them, said yes. So 57 conversations like, wow, right out of the blue. And I was blown away. But those conversations, that's the beginning of a professional network for a new coach, it's conversations, and I really believe that conversations lead to clients, so let's getting you have conversations with people. Conversations can lead to all kinds of other things too, like joint ventures and affiliates and opportunities like you and I met on that panel, and you're also going to be on my podcast, you know. So it's this beginning of an of a relationship. So that's what I teach them to do, get curious, ask some questions, talk to people, build that relationship, and then from that, you will sign clients. The fun thing is that the questions that they ask and what they're curious about is really them, you know, like it really is aligned. It's purpose driven for them. They want to know what's going on with this, so the questions that they ask and how they interpret the responses makes this basically unique IP. So now they have a report that only they could have created that talks exactly to their dream clients, and then they share it with their dream clients and say. Hey, listen, I talked to 50 female physicians, and this is what we learned. So it's like, really a great win, win all around it's fabulous. Just love it.

I love the whole process. I'm a big fan of market research surveys, especially a process that's been taught to me where there's nine very specific questions. And again, if you do it in a it's preferred to do it in the conversation format. And a lot of people are feeling like, Oh, it's just set up as a fake sales conversation, and it is not. So that's part of the enrollment for when I'm talking about it is helping people overcome like, No, we're asking people, and most people love to give you their opinion for one, right? How do you but you said that the questions are asked in a very specific way, so I'm just wondering, and imagine that's part of your IP and part of what you teach is how to formulate those surveys and those questions. But how do you get it out to people so that they feel. How do you get them to fill out? How do you get 115 people to say, yes, I want to, I want to take my time, fill that out and get on a conversation with you.

Yeah, so there is, certainly, there's a process, you know, there's those nuts and bolts kind of process. We invited a bunch of people, and then we followed up, like, that's essentially how it works.

That was one, right?

You got to ask people, right? But then it's the I wanted them to know that it wasn't another organization asking for their global study. It was the DMS and the emails that were written. They were written in my voice, hey, it's candy. Listen, I've been really bugged that coaches are having problems signing clients. I'd really appreciate if you'd spend five minutes and fill in this survey. And because you do that, I'm going to bring together all these responses, and I'm going to share the response with you so there was something for them, and it was personal. I use AI in all parts of my business as a tool, but I am a real strong believer that conversations and people and connections like humans are wired for connection, and that's the only way I think a coach can have a really successful practice with their clients is by being really human. So I kept it really human, and it's, you know, we just kind of kept plugging along. We're kind of persistent in that way. I would think it's like we just kept asking, and people kept saying yes. So

I love that, and I love that. The two responses that I heard was you started with the why. Why are you asking them these questions? And when people understand why you're asking, I want to be able to serve you better, not I want to sell something to you

Exactly, exactly understand that part.

And then, by doing this survey, then you're going to get a reward of not only understanding what your answers are, but what that looks like compared to everybody else. That's why I love looking at polls and everything else and seeing where I fit in

Yeah, and, you know, most of the polls that I've seen and most surveys that I've seen come out, they are doing it with and they're very upfront. You know, we're doing this because of market research, and we want to be able to create better content to you know, to offer to you, right? And I think that that's important, and it is certainly something that I did with the survey results that we got too. But I wanted to gift them something. I wanted to say you're the first to see this report. And here's, you know. And along with it, we do a monthly master class where we go through the results. And that masterclass is not a webinar that says, Okay, now come and sign up for my group program, and with the offer stack and all that, it is the most bare bones like, let's look at this data together. Now, let's make sure that you're busy. I'm busy. Let's build some time in for you to really reflect on what it means to you. And then if you want to have a conversation, I'd love to have a chat with you. I mean, I'm I can't believe the people that want to have conversations. I did a masterclass, the one that I did in May, and sorry, in April, coming up to the May one, and we had 22 people attend live. Everyone stayed the entire time, and I had eight conversations from that

amazing

just to meet these people and to learn more about them. And some of them, who knows? Some of them are clients. Some of them are not. That's okay. We learn. We learn more the more people we talk to, right?

That's the next thing I was going to ask about. So that was the next thing you're talking about.

Was conversations huge.

This is what we're doing here. This is our first one on one conversation. Again, we were part of a panel. We got to learn a lot from what our. Of love to get a host was was extracting and but you talk about so many different types of conversations, and again, whether it's out networking, whether you're getting on podcasts, whether you're speaking to a group, and all the different possibilities that can come from it. So how do you help your clients as coaches know when they're in a conversation, is this somebody that I can collaborate with? Because, to me, I always talk in the through the lens of collaboration, rather than trying to sell to somebody selling through them. If you've got other people that you can refer there's so many different ways. But how do you help coaches identify what type of relationship that conversation is having?

That's a great question mark. You know, I don't actually do that, so I love the question. I think that my clients are smart and they're going to know who they want to spend time with. What I do encourage them to do is to have that conversation, but be really upfront. This is a conversation where we're on the same side of the table with our sleeves rolled up, and we're going to look at you and what's going on, and only if we think that we might be interested in working together. Then we'll book a second conversation. This conversation is not for that so they I encourage them to put up those guardrails right at the start so the other person isn't feeling like, okay, are they going to ask me to that's really

what I was addressing,

right? Like, oh, I have to be on guard. But if you just preface it by saying, let's talk. We're here together if we think we might want to talk again about working together. Like, if I see something that I can help you with, I'll say, Hey, do you want to have a separate conversation? We can talk about that. So it is the quality of the conversations before I encourage them to think about how that individual might fit into their business and their relationships, and it's showing up as a coach, super open, super focused and present and curious. And then if you like the person, there's going to be something you do together. Who knows what? It's going to be, right? You're going to keep in touch, right?

And I think you answered the question. It was about not going in it with agenda. I think I positioned it as, what's the agenda going into the conversation? Okay, I don't have an agenda going into the conversation. You know, the right way to do it. And I guess the question was that, see so many coaches that are like hammers, where a hammer sees everything as a nail, you know? And then every single conversation is like, how do I enroll this person? But I love your idea. It starts with curiosity and just seeing, what are you about, what are you doing? And then you can figure out, oh, this is somebody that my friend can help. Oh, you're looking to write a book. I know a publisher

Exactly, exactly, or you're interested in being part of a collaborative book. I know people who pull those together too, like you start to introduce people to each other, you start to help people, just plain old, helping people. And maybe that conversation turns into something immediate, like a client or a client down the road, or a referral, or you just remember that you there was something in common and that you'd like to have another conversation, and that's okay too, right? We build by relationship.

Yeah, absolutely. And when people are first meeting you, how do people find you? If you're on a podcast like this, how do people follow up with you?

So people find me mostly by my podcast. I do I was going to say weekly podcast, but that's not true right now. It's three episodes a week for sure. We do a one episode a week. So they find me from my podcast. It's been around for forever. It's called she coaches, coaches, and I've got all kinds of things on there, everything from teaching to motivation to great interviews with people, and they they hear my voice, and that's sort of the trigger. It's like, oh, she's a human you know? I like the way she talks. I like that conversation that she had with mark on her show, and then every episode, there's a way that they can click a link and go to my website or book a call or download, you know, some kind of a free lead magnet that's valuable for them. So I keep that open. It's up to them to choose what's right for them, but the podcast is the center of everything I do,

Yeah it is, and you're not new at this. How many podcasts have you been? How many are you up to now?

Oh, I just Well, I can't remember what release number we're on, because I like to record well in advance. But I am right now. I'm filming episode 388, so it's been six years. That I've been doing this. And every time I learn more about podcasting, there's one more thing. I'm like, Oh, that would be great. We should add that. We should do this. We should do that. So that's why we're at three episodes a week right now.

And you do some of them solo, by yourself, and then some with, yeah,

Yeah, exactly. And then some really short ones as well, just like, Two Minute Tips.

Oh, very nice.

Yeah

And you put them on as a podcast and on YouTube, I'm imagining with video and reels,

Yeah, the whole the whole nine yards. I had a great conversation with Mariana. She's a woman who's been supporting me for years and years, and, you know, we talked through like, what are we gonna what are we going to do with this? And she her genius is, well, let's make shorts and let's put them up on Instagram and LinkedIn and all the places. But when you start with that, that one thing, and it's got the message, and it has either, if you're a writer like that, it has your voice in the writing, or it has your actual voice in the recording. Then there's endless things that you can do with that content.

I imagine that you must have all kinds of experts, especially coaches that coach coaches I do. There's an abundance that for those who want to, there's a process I would imagine for applying to be on your show, and I got to cut the line by being on a panel with one of our dear friends, and imagining that happens a lot too, and you're on somebody else's show and you get invited onto a lot of other shows as well.

Oh for sure, yes, definitely. It happens all the time. And for people, what they usually do is they email and say, Hey, I'd like to be on their show, which is fine. And then sometimes we have a chat before. Sometimes I just have a look at what they've sent and I can see, yeah, this is the kind of person I would love to have a conversation with. And often, if they've got a podcast, I'll say, well, let's, you know, let's do an exchange. It's a great way of meeting people, and it's a great way of getting the message out. So it's pretty organic. And my, you know, my biggest problem with the show is I get too many people wanting to be on it, and I know it's a terrible problem, but, like, I don't want to wait for forever to release the episode, and sometimes it feels like it's a long wait,

Right? Yeah, and that's good thing that you have them in the can well in advance, so you know what's coming up, and you know how to market it and promote it, all that other stuff. And the partners are ready. It's really nice to be on a podcast and to be a great partner. So if other people want to have you on their podcast, the same kind of thing where they would just reach out and say, I'd love to have you on my podcast.

Oh, exactly. And I have people do that all the time, and I'm always like, yes, yes, let's talk. That'll be fun. One of the nice things, and I mean, you know this, one of the nice things about having so many interviews is that then those are the people like as we've had this conversation. This is a deeper conversation than you and I might have had if we met at some luncheon, right? And so now it's like, oh, I'm interested in doing something, an event or whatever. I had those great conversations. Who would I love to invite? You know, so oftentimes the podcasting is just the beginning of other opportunities. Just like you and I met on the panel, it's the same. It's exactly the same reason I was on there and it was funny.

It was a podcasting panel.

Yep, exactly.

And again, going back to the our origin of our conversation, you had a company lead with purpose coaching, correct? What's the name of

Yes, yes.

I'm curious now, because we are on leading with purpose podcast. What do you feel leading with purpose means to you?

Yeah. So for me, it always starts with the within. What is within, you know, what in me? I I encourage people, and I because I've done the work myself, what are your real values? Why are you here? You know you've got a unique message, a unique story, skills, superpowers, talents that nobody else on this planet has or will ever have, so lean into that thing that feels the most aligned. So I think for me, purpose and alignment are pretty close, and when you lean into that purpose and alignment, then you're going to become a leader in whatever way is the right kind of way for you, whether it's in the home or in business, in a community in some way. But purpose is sort of core to everything that I do.

Again, another deep alignment with us, purpose is my North Star as well. And for a lot of times, people have a hard time figuring out what, what is my purpose, but you gave a clue, and then we kind of went over that you start with values. Values exercise writing down. Values. And I think a lot of times, your values will will shine a light, a light on what you're here to do

Exactly. And you know, especially if you're really irritated about something, that's a real sign too. It's not just the things that you're really drawn to, but it's also the things that really repel you. If you're super frustrated about something, a situation or a conversation, like, what is it that's bothering you there? And that's a real great highlight to you know that means that you really value this, that because you're not seeing it in this situation,

I think that is exactly right. It's knowing exactly what you don't want helps you to really clear on what you're here to do.

Yeah? Oh, 100% Yeah, that's beautiful

I just love speaking with you. I'm excited to be on your show, and definitely want to have more conversations and figure out how we can collaborate in other ways. For now, curious if there's a last word that you'd like to share for somebody who may already be a coach, but that they're wanting to be more aligned or take that next step in their business,

Yeah. So to become more aligned, you've got to do your own work, right? And oftentimes that means going for therapy when you need therapy, and working with your own coach. You know, it's really challenging to sign clients and to sell coaching if you don't believe in it, enough for yourself. So work with a coach. Work with a peer coach. You know, there's coaching available in so many ways, but get that support so that you're growing too, and then that makes you the perfect example for the people who would love to work with you.

What a wonderful answer. One of my greatest values is integrity, and it's like the cobbler who needs new shoes if you're not taking care of yourself, if you're not offering yourself the thing that you're telling everybody else that they need, it feels out of integrity.

It does. And I think that at the heart of it, many of us, if we're in that kind of disconnect, we can't show up like there's something holding us back, and we might not know exactly what it is, but you know, if you're the cobbler and you're going barefoot, you're kind of hiding your feet under the table, right? Like you're not standing face forward, you're feeling like you need to hold back. So I love that metaphor

Absolutely again. Candy, so happy to have you here. We'll put the links to the podcast again. Want to name it again. She coaches, coaches, coaches.

Yeah,

That simple, not easy. Fantastic. Thank you again. So much. I appreciate that and look forward to our next conversation.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to have the conversation with you,

And again, for you listening. If you're welcome to put comments down below, we'll make sure to answer and respond to any comments questions, and please click the links connect with candy, and you'll be glad you did for now, keep shining your light. You.