Rachael O'Meara: From Burnout to a Thriving Coaching Business

How Curtis Butler Built a Fully Booked Coaching Business

In this powerful follow-up episode of Success Leaves Clues, host Davis Nguyen sits down once again with career coach Curtis Butler to discuss the incredible growth of his coaching business, the lessons he's learned, and the personal challenges he's overcome since their last conversation. Curtis shares how he transitioned from a successful 30-year career in finance into coaching, despite financial uncertainty and family pressures. He opens up about the struggles of entrepreneurship, the importance of mentorship, and how staying committed to his mission of helping students, graduates, and families has transformed both his business and his life. From packed calendars and growing demand to achieving milestones that once seemed impossible, Curtis reveals what it takes to build momentum, create lasting impact, and scale a coaching business without losing sight of purpose. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtisbutler/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtisbutler/] Website: https://www.guidedascentcoaching.com/ [https://www.guidedascentcoaching.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2466506/support] You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues [https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues] If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com [https://joinpurplecircle.com/]

Rachael O'Meara: From Burnout to a Thriving Coaching Business

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues Podcast, host Davis Nguyen sits down with Rachael O'Meara, former Google leader, bestselling author of Pause, and executive career coach, to explore how high achievers can break free from burnout, self-doubt, and analysis paralysis. Rachael shares her personal journey from struggling with burnout during her 13-year career at Google to building a thriving coaching business that helps ambitious tech leaders gain clarity, confidence, and career fulfillment. She also reveals how joining Purple Circle transformed her business by creating a consistent flow of leads, sales, and sustainable growth. Together, Davis and Rachael discuss the importance of investing in yourself, trusting the coaching process, overcoming overthinking, and building a business and life that are both successful and sustainable. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeara/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeara/] Website: https://www.rachaelomeara.com/ [https://www.rachaelomeara.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2466506/support] You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues [https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues] If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com [https://joinpurplecircle.com/]

Alex Barker: How I Built a Business That Runs Without Me

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues Podcast, host Davis Nguyen sits down with Alex Barker, pharmacist, entrepreneur, and founder of a successful career coaching company, to discuss the lessons learned from building, scaling, and transforming a coaching business. Alex shares his journey from being an unhappy pharmacist to helping hundreds of pharmacists land better careers while growing a team-driven coaching business. He opens up about the challenges of hiring the wrong people, managing an underperforming team, creating consistent revenue, and making difficult leadership decisions that ultimately changed the trajectory of his company. Together, Davis and Alex explore what it takes to build predictable lead generation, improve sales, create high-performing teams, and develop systems that allow a business owner to step back without sacrificing growth. They also discuss the importance of taking action, embracing tough conversations, and overcoming the obstacles that keep many entrepreneurs stuck. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barker-pharmd/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barker-pharmd/] Website: https://thehappypharmd.com/ [https://thehappypharmd.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2466506/support] You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues [https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues] If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com [https://joinpurplecircle.com/]

The Secret to Sustainable High Performance with Max Martina

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets) our guest is Max Martina, entrepreneur, leadership advisor, and business strategist, who shares powerful insights on personal energy management, purpose-driven leadership, founder burnout, and building a business that aligns with your strengths. Max breaks down how entrepreneurs and high performers can identify their deepest sources of energy, conduct personal energy audits, delegate energy-draining tasks, and create sustainable long-term success without sacrificing fulfillment. This conversation is packed with practical strategies for founders, coaches, executives, and ambitious professionals looking to operate at their highest level while building meaningful work and stronger teams. You can find him on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-martina-41396715/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-martina-41396715/]https://cambridge-leadership.com/ [https://cambridge-leadership.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2466506/support] You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues [https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues] If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com [https://joinpurplecircle.com/]

The Founder Is the Bottleneck: Fixing the Real Problem in Scaling Businesses with Forrest Derr

In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets), the host is Pedro and guest Forrest Derr, a fractional integrator and COO who helps founders turn chaotic, owner-dependent companies into structured, scalable businesses that can run without them. Forrest shares hard truths from working with scaling founders between $2M–$50M revenue, where the real bottleneck is often not the team—but the owner themselves. He breaks down why accountability issues usually come from lack of clarity, how empowering teams changes everything, and why most founders unknowingly build businesses that trap them instead of freeing them. The conversation dives deep into the shift from trading time for money to building outcome-based consulting models, the danger of overusing AI without real strategic thinking, and why systematizing—though boring—is the key to scaling and eventually exiting a business. Forrest also walks through his own fractional COO model, including his one-day deep-dive diagnostic process and six-month engagement structure designed to install leadership systems and replace himself with a strong internal second-in-command. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forrestkderr/?skipRedirect=true [https://www.linkedin.com/in/forrestkderr/?skipRedirect=true] Website: https://derrconsulting.com/ [https://derrconsulting.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2466506/support] You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues [https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues] If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com [https://joinpurplecircle.com/]