Do You Have a Coaching Business—Or Just Another Job?

You started your coaching business for freedom—but does it actually feel like a business, or just another job? Too many coaches unknowingly bring the same habits from their 9-to-5 into their coaching business, leaving them overwhelmed, stuck, and chasing external validation instead of real impact.

In this episode, Elona Lopari shares her journey from corporate success to entrepreneurship and the key mindset shifts that allowed her to build a business that truly serves her. If you’re feeling like your coaching business is running you instead of the other way around, this episode is for you.

By the End of This Episode, You'll Know:

• Why success in a job doesn’t always translate to success as a business owner
• How to break free from the employee mindset and think like an entrepreneur
• The #1 mistake coaches make that keeps them stuck in “hustle mode”
• Why posting content isn’t the same as building real connections—and what to do instead

About Elona Lopari:
Elona Lopari is a business strategist who helps service-based entrepreneurs scale their purpose and profits to build independent companies that they can exit from, use as a philanthropy channel, or turn into a lasting legacy. She specializes in fixing cash flow issues and helping entrepreneurs scale beyond themselves by creating better systems and assembling the right team.

Want to learn more? Connect with Elona:
 🌎 Website: elonaloparicoaching.com

Next Episode Teaser:
Next time on Coach Smarter, we’re diving into something every coach needs to master—how to deliver an amazing client experience that naturally generates referrals. If you want clients to stick around and send others your way, you won’t want to miss it. Hit follow now!

Transcript

Stephen Box: 0:00

A lot of coaches start their business because they're searching for more, more purpose, more fulfillment, more impact. But too often they just recreate the same stress, pressure and external validation they left behind at their all jobs, and their coaching business becomes just another job. So how do you break free from that cycle and build a business that actually feels worth it? That's exactly what today's guest Elona Lopari experienced after reaching the top in corporate leadership. She had the success, the security, but not the fulfillment. That realization led her into entrepreneurship where she had to unlearn the habits that kept her chasing achievements instead of building a business that actually gave her freedom and purpose. And in today's episode, we're diving into a challenge so many coaches face. How to stop running your business like an employee and start thinking like a true entrepreneur. If you're new around here, welcome to another episode of Coach Smarter, where we help health and wellness coaches coach with confidence, market with clarity, and build a business that lasts. I'm your host Stephen Box, and today I'm sitting down with Elona Lopari to discuss how to break free from treating your business like just another job asked Elona what it felt like to reach the top, only to realize something was missing and here's what she had to say.

Elona Lopari: 1:28

Yeah. That was the realization. Once I climbed all the way to the C suite, I moved to the U S when I was 15, my parents, and pretty much I was, instilled the American dream, mostly for my dad, because due to his lack of opportunities or lack of opportunities of where we came from. So I was really early on Directed the path I was supposed to take. I graduated, with my bachelor's. and then, I was supposed to get a good job, a secure job and all of that. And then meanwhile, build a family. I had my small kids, I got married. early as well. So I was doing that alongside that. I happen to be in a good company actually for many years, which was my first job, which was a big corporation in the forge of a hundred company. Many years. I was very happy with them because they were in growth mode. So they recognized my ambitious, efforts and the value I was able to add. So I was promoted from many times for many positions, until I just kept going and reached that C suite level only to realize that the company actually had a change in leadership and changes strategy. So it turned very profit driven rather than caring about their people. So that's, Parallel to that, I was also feeling like all the success I had achieved it because I felt that I was no, that's the only thing that was going to fulfill me pretty much chasing and achieving. So it was very externally based on the outside. So at that point, I started hearing an inner voice. that I need to change direction. I didn't know which way I was going to go. The future of the company wasn't looking very promising, so that's where entrepreneurship showed up for me because it felt like if I work somewhere else and just transfer a lot of my skills, it would have been, the same thing. And along my journey, I realized that any time that I was gonna be fulfilled and happy is gonna be in service and contribution towards others, but also that I get to choose the things that I do and the way that I spend my day and the problems that I want to solve. So that's the journey to entrepreneurship. I started my business slowly but surely while still working. And then when I felt comfortable enough toe jump in and focus full time on my business, I was able to do that.

Stephen Box: 3:45

One thing I think is common for a lot of coaches, I'm curious if this was your situation as well, is when they come from an environment like that, where they work in some kind of a corporate environment, or they work for somebody else, where their success is very externally driven, although they're getting into coaching primarily to help other people, those habits are hard to kick, right? And so their business basically ends up just turning into a job where they feel this pressure to still have all those external validations instead of actually fulfilling the purpose of why they started the business, which was to help people.

Elona Lopari: 4:30

Yeah, absolutely. Because habits take a while to be built. And program is important. Now I know the difference. I think, the way that showed up for me as I was building my business was I had a challenge with kind of working on my own solo because I always worked with other people. solopreneur, we all most of us understand the journey that you have to do everything right. You have to put all the hats. so I think that was a struggle for me to be on that executionary mode at all times. and miss maybe the big picture or some of the big things that I wanted to focus on because again, I was pretty skilled in what I did, but I building an online business required new skills that I needed to gain. So I didn't always know what I didn't know. So that challenging navigation made it a little bit challenging, especially the beginning, to be able to navigate that, which is why I glad I invested early in mentors and people that are able to support me and we're further ahead with this new industry I was going into. and, yeah, so that's, that was my early challenges and also mindset wise when you work for other people, you, pretty much see the fruits of your labor pretty fast due to your compensation, but when you are an entrepreneur, you're working on projects months ahead of time. Before you even see the fruits of your labor. So it taught me lots of patience, which was definitely something, that I wasn't really used to. I was used to quick action, fast execution, get it done, and always on that go, do mode. But entrepreneurship taught me to be more in the, strategic thinking, plan ahead and, be patient with a lot of the fruits and the results of my labor.

Stephen Box: 6:17

I'm curious because I know that there's a lot of coaches out there that experience this, and I know I did as well, where If you're making that transition, and maybe even if you're not making the transition, this might still be an issue for you, where you're doing all this work, but you're not seeing those instantaneous results. And I know for a lot of people it's so easy to get shiny object syndrome in that situation. Where it's okay, this isn't working. I need to jump to the other thing. How did you deal with that or was that something that in the beginning you actually didn't deal with very well at all?

Elona Lopari: 6:54

Absolutely. The beginning, I think because of lack of experience, I think that happens when you don't have, enough experience in a certain thing that you're doing. You tend to think that everything else, like whatever you're doing, because you don't have a way to measure it or you don't know, how long you're supposed to be focusing on something. It's very easy to go and try the next. thing because you just feel like maybe this is the thing that I might be missing. So you have, FOMO and fear of missing out. Over my time and my wisdom gathering and my experience, I've learned to be more strategic and again, patient with my results. Also, understanding and researching how long it takes for certain launches or certain products or certain projects that I'm working towards and understanding the big picture and working on those most important priorities based on the growth of the business that I am in, while also staying very consistent and loyal and almost boring myself to death with some of the messaging and some of the same services and products and offers and things that I, putting out there in the marketplace. So I think with wisdom and experience, I have learned to be more patient and consistent and just trust. the process at the beginning of my journey, I would be the one that would just try a lot of things because I wasn't really sure what was the right thing to focus on or what was going to work.

Stephen Box: 8:17

I'm curious, what was that process like for you? Like when you were in that beginning and you were struggling with that. what steps did you take to get you past that hump?

Elona Lopari: 8:32

Hmm. just education, learning, learning, surrounding myself with the right people. Again, I mentioned that's very important because I'm learning from their wisdom and experience so that I can shortcut some of the pain that I'm still going to go through anyway. Because we all have our journey and pain to me is growth. Now that when I look back, I'm not the same person, as the entrepreneur that started their business. so education has always been my go to because the more I understood and I had the awareness, the better decisions I can make. So that's been my process. Learn, learn, learn, learn from my mistakes, learn from other people. Go back to the drawing board, strategize and really just go after the next logical step that's in front of me, while having that awareness. I think that's really helped me make better decisions in the long term and make less mistakes, even though I'm not shying away from mistakes. at the end of the day, that's how we learn. And if we don't make mistakes, we're not taking enough risks in entrepreneurship, which is also the name of the game. So that's been my thought process of how I've been, navigating entrepreneurship, over the years.

Stephen Box: 9:40

Okay. Just a quick pause here. If you're enjoying this episode and want more ways to coach Smarter Market with clarity and build a business to last, make sure you are on the Coach Smarter Insiders List. Every week we send out actionable coaching strategies, insights, and new episodes straight to your inbox. Join today for free using the link in the show notes. All right, let's get back to it. It's interesting that you used some of the languages you did there, because I think so many times coaches I see, especially when they're new, they're so afraid of making a mistake, right? And you said that making those mistakes, failing, taking those risks, that's all part of the process, right? But so many times coaches are so afraid they're going to do something wrong. They're like, Oh, somebody tell me how much to charge. Somebody tell me how many calls to offer. Somebody tell me exactly how to set everything up as if there was some magic, correct answer. That's just gonna. magically solve everything and make life smooth.

Elona Lopari: 10:47

Yeah. For me, it showed up big ways in, being an overachiever in fear of failure, meaning that if I took risks and I fail, I made that all about, my ability to be able to do this. And, it. My confidence took hits until I learned how to reshift and you know what this journey entailed and how to shift those failures into just information and insight that was going to be really necessary to be used next time around as I improve the processes. yeah, that's how that showed up for me in the fact in the sphere of procrastination and perfectionism in entrepreneurship, there is honestly no such things like putting one foot in front of the other and then, testing and getting back up, getting your learnings and then moving on. But yeah, it's definitely a good training for perfectionism and procrastination, for sure. If you want to continue and move ahead and not get stuck. Otherwise there's tons of, people I've supported with the work I do that, do get stuck in that. And, that stales the growth of our business as well.

Stephen Box: 11:56

Yeah, and I think, sometimes it can be beneficial, even if someone does give you a system, right? because most of us, if we came from a background where we worked for someone else, we more than likely had systems in place in that job, that company had invested thousands, if not millions of dollars into developing. And it's Very naive of us to think that we're just going to jump in with no plan whatsoever and be successful, right? So as you said, getting those mentors, having someone give you a system, but that doesn't mean that you just have to like, take that system as is and use it. you have to make that system your own. You have to make it work for you and for your business.

Elona Lopari: 12:39

yeah, those are the perks, right? So you don't get. those structures in place, and come up to the table, there's always, the negative to everythin way that we can, you is to derive the learning challenges and then lean on to some of the strengths Yeah, either way, when you are working, for another company, you have those basis and structures, but you still obviously have to go through a certain path. And for the creative entrepreneurs and innovators. You don't have a, a lot of times you don't have a map because you're already, you're creating a new path based on your own experience, background, what do you think you want to bring to the table, what makes you different in the marketplace and all of that, which could feel, could feel very overwhelming, but also it's where creativity lies because now you have freedom to create, and that is always needs to be based on fundamentals for sure. Otherwise it's going to be very hard to just puzzle piece everything every day without a certain, blueprint or map as to where you're going while allowing yourself to create the freedom to create and innovate and be adaptable along the journey.

Stephen Box: 14:01

Yeah. No, a lot of times the advice that Coaches and entrepreneurs in general are seeing out there is this idea that you need to be everywhere, right? If you go through a Facebook feed, you will be convinced that this week you need to learn to be a great writer, that you need to learn to make great graphics, that you need to be a great speaker, that you need to start a podcast, that you need to write a blog, and About a billion other things, right? So what would be the one piece of advice that you would give a coach for where to focus their time and energy, especially if they're fairly new and they're still trying to get their systems in place?

Elona Lopari: 14:44

Yeah. If you're fairly new, follow your market. Where are they? I would go where they are, and use that channel. whether it's, Facebook, LinkedIn. Who are the people you want to help and who is your offer for and what is the problem you solve for them? So it's very, that's how simple it should be at the beginning for sure. However, as you scale and you grow brand, then you become more strategic because now you have, you're adding your audiences, maybe you have some systems in place, maybe you have people to support you, and more time. So you can venture out because. I think it would be smart to venture out for sure, but make sure that you are in places where you have your ideal audience. Because again, it's not about the numbers, about the quality of the people that you're hanging out with. And it's all about building relationships anyway. so I would rather focus dial down on one platform where I have really high engagement and great relationship. And it's really my ideal person that I wanna support. Then just be all over the place with tons of people that might not even be a good fit for what I do. and focus on those identity metrics of followers or just, people on our lists. Yeah, that's what I would say about that to follow. Always. you need to have a pulse on your market at all times. I think that's another big painful for entrepreneurs. They like to work behind the scenes. Talk to the people you help. Where are they hanging out? What is there? How is it that you could support them? And even today's in these challenging times, I think it's more important than maybe the problem you solved is no longer relevant or urgent for them. So fix a problem where they need a painkiller to get better, not a vitamin problem where it's nice to be to have this, solution to this because we're living in different market conditions. So I always love to speak to the people I help because they give me so much information with everything that I do. So I would say that's the best advice. Go straight to the people.

Stephen Box: 16:41

Can you bring up a very interesting point? Because what I see a lot of times is people will say, okay, I'm going where my audience is, right? I'm on TikTok or Instagram or LinkedIn or Facebook or wherever their audience is, and I'm posting stuff every day and I'm not getting any kind of engagement and a piece of advice that I often give to coaches is Posting is not connecting. It's yes, you can create a connection. You might make some posts that people relate to and might do that. And I'm not saying that not post, but that's not really what's driving your business. Like you really need to reach out and connect with people. So do you have any suggestions to coaches on how they can actually build those relationships in those environments?

Elona Lopari: 17:26

Yeah, you're absolutely right about that. Because when I began my business, it was earlier on, I've been now in business for five years. So yes, there was a time, once upon a time when you could post and, people react because they wanted the information. Obviously, that's also back to the quality of your posts. If you are, adding value with your posts, you're not just slapping, sales messages all day. That makes a difference because, then you just want something for me at all times. Are you creating value for me? So I'm hanging around you. so that would be, the beginning, but nowadays it's. It's really more challenging because algorithms have changed, right? More people have come on to the online space. Now we got chat GPT. So we have more content creation happening out there. So I think what's important today is to build the love, reciprocity with people. If you want to other people to engage with your content. be able to go into their accounts and be able to support and at least connect virtually. But then in the back end of that, I think it's important to have a prospecting journey, a know, and trust journey that you're very intentional with, so that you're moving people from just hanging out with you to to buy your offer if they're the person that, they're qualified through your prospecting journey. I think it's important to have that in place is no longer, you just post, put a post up and you just have people buying from you. It's, we're not living in that reality anymore. So it's very important to have a very nurtured. prospect and journey is what I call it. And it's what I do for my clients as well.

Stephen Box: 19:00

Yeah. And I'll just add one small thing to that is for most coaches, this might sound overwhelming because they're like, Oh, how am I going to make time to talk to all these people? But the reality is most of us really don't need a lot of people, right? I've. One person I follow that is a mentor of mine, they made a post a few days ago that actually said if you have 30 clients and you're charging 300 a month to those clients, you have a 100, 000 business.

Elona Lopari: 19:33

Yeah, it goes to where I always begin my work with my clients is understand your business model, your marketing, your messaging. A lot of entrepreneurs usually go for. Low price, high volume, meaning they're charging low, but they need a lot of people to meet their business goals because they don't understand how long it takes to move someone through the prospering journey of the know, and trust. So you have to be very clear with your business model. You have to have a good. Price on it based on the result and the transformation that you're able to begin to res to, give out and then be very, aware around the prospecting journey. So then when you are coming up with your goals for new clients a month, a quarter of the year, you understand that if you need, 30 clients. you would need to prospect maybe 100 of them, 200 and have those, those lists really healthy and always focusing on your dream list of the people that you want to work with. So it's back to strategy, knowing what are you after, and then structuring your activities according to that.

Stephen Box: 20:42

So would you say that it's more important, especially for new coaches to get That first say 1015 clients and then work on developing their systems, because I know for a lot of coaches, they do that the opposite way. They think I need to get my systems perfected so that can get the best results for my first clients. And then they spend all their time getting systems, but they have no way to test them because they have no clients.

Elona Lopari: 21:10

Yeah. Or they go behind the scenes and build. I've done a lot of that myself and I'm sure you can relate where, they'll just recording, content and less content, that is, and they have trouble with selling it for sure. So yeah, it's the first one, focus on the people that you already know, and trust, because they'll. Always going to be the relationships you can tap into, and get those people on the door with enough experience of service. You're always going to be improving your offer. And the only way to improve your offer is through you putting people through your offer. so You know, maybe at the beginning you want to just, have a beta test and, get a few people off your, on your program and gather testimonials. but it's always the high touch, conversations with people that will always going to give you the business results. everything else is honestly BC priorities. A priority is always front face with people and have conversations. The more people you talk to, the more you realize. You know who you can help and if they need the help and if you're, your timing matches, meaning are they looking for someone like you and are you at the right time having the right conversation with the right person. So I always tell everyone, start with the people that you already know, and trust and then build from there.

Stephen Box: 22:26

Awesome. Here in just a minute. I'm going to give everyone kind of my big takeaways from our conversation today. that way they walk away with some talking points here. But before I do that, would you mind sharing with me who exactly you help, what you help them do, and how can people contact you if they would like to work with you?

Elona Lopari: 22:49

Thank you for that. Service based entrepreneurs in the service industry, zero to 10 million in revenue, scale their purpose and profits and build independent companies that they can exit from, use them as a philanthropy channel, or be able to, leave a matter as a legacy. so that is who I help and how I support them. And I offer fractional service, to be able to help them through the journey of scaling, their business. And the two main problems I solve is inconsistent cash flow, and then they reach a certain capacity and they can't scale beyond themselves. So we would need to, support them with more systems and bringing on the right team.

Stephen Box: 23:30

And for someone who maybe isn't familiar with the term fractional, what does that mean exactly for them?

Elona Lopari: 23:36

Oh, they hire me, monthly, on a monthly basis based on their budgets, and I'm able to work with them. on my process to help them either create consistent cashflow or scale.

Stephen Box: 23:49

Okay, and what would be the best way for people to get a hold of you?

Elona Lopari: 23:53

the website elonaloparicoaching. com and they also have a few free resources on there they could check out.

Stephen Box: 24:00

Okay, and I will put a link to that in the show notes for people as well. Elona thanks for being here today. Appreciate you.

Elona Lopari: 24:08

Thanks so much. It was a great conversation. Thanks for having me.

Stephen Box: 24:12

Alright, that wraps up our conversation for today. A huge thanks to our guest, Alona. Ari, if you wanna learn more about Alona and the work that she's doing, I've got all of her links in the show notes, so you can go check those out and connect with her there. I. While you are there, make sure you are on the Coach Smarter Insiders List. Every week we send out practical coaching strategies, exclusive insights, and new episodes so you never miss out. Join for free using the link in the show notes. Alright, before we go today, a few key takeaways from our conversation. Number one. The habits that made you successful in a job might be holding you back as a business owner, you have to learn to think differently. I compare this to the difference between learning how to change your habits for weight loss versus the habits you need to create for maintaining weight. There's a slight difference in the two things that you have to do. Number two, shiny object syndrome is real. The secret to sustainable success is patience and consistency, not jumping from one strategy to the next. And number three, posting content isn't the same as connecting. If you're struggling to get clients, stop just throwing stuff on social media and focus on building real relationships, not just trying to be visible. And next time on Coach Smarter, we're talking about something. Every coach needs to master how to deliver an amazing client experience that naturally generates referrals. If you want clients to stick around and send others your way, you do not want to miss it. So hit that follow button now. That's it for today. This is Stephen Box reminding you that coaching smarter creates a lasting impact for you and those you serve.