Behind the Scenes: Tips for Aspiring Health Coaches featuring Michelle Leotta
In this episode, host Megan McCrory chats with well-respected health coach, IIN graduate, and founder of the Health Coach Power Community, Michelle Leotta. They delve into Michelle’s experiences transitioning from a corporate career into health coaching, her trajectory in the field, and the evolution of her niche. They discuss the challenges new health coaches might face, the misconception that success will come easy without considerable effort, and the importance of putting adequate time and effort into building a business. Michelle emphasizes the importance of networking, advises against typical pitfalls such as overspending on digital marketing tools and services, and encourages focusing on providing value to customers rather than accumulating certifications. She also predicts legal regulations will become increasingly important in the health coaching industry.
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[00:00:00] Introduction
[00:00:01] Megan J. McCrory: Today I have the honor of talking with one of the OG health coaches and fellow IIN graduate, Michelle Leotta, and I have to admit that I am fangirling just a little bit. I am Megan McCrory, and this is the podcast all about becoming a health coach. When I started looking around in late 2017 for a different path from my corporate career, I stumbled on health coaching, and Michelle's website was one of the very first that popped up demonstrating that even then she had great SEO.
[00:00:37] Megan J. McCrory: So I joined her private Facebook group, Health Coach Power Community, along with 14,000 other health coaches where she is super active and engaged in helping health coaches with their businesses. Thank you, Michelle, for joining me today.
[00:00:55] Michelle Leotta: Ah, thanks for having me. When you put it like that, boy I makes me feel like I, I have been around for a while, it's been a minute. Wow, that's so cool. That's so cool that you found me way back when.
[00:01:09] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah, definitely. I mean like in 2017, I had no idea what health coaching even was. I was looking up like nutrition programs and dietician programs and IIN and you both popped up. I was very clear in my memory how that happened.
[00:01:24] Michelle Leotta: Wow, that is something. Yeah, it's, the field has really, really exploded and I'm gonna say the last five to 10 years, um, like really the last five I wanna say, it's just been bonkers. But early on there are very few of us out there doing anything, especially with a, a strong online presence.
[00:01:41] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah, yeah. So that's great.
[00:01:42] Michelle's Journey to Becoming a Health Coach
[00:01:42] Megan J. McCrory: Why don't you start with, um, maybe sharing a little bit about your background and what inspired you to become a health coach?
[00:01:49] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, well, I like you. One day was like, I gotta do something else. And I'm researching and I'm looking for stuff and I was looking up nutrition programs and it all came about because of my own health issues that I had been suffering with that led me, kinda through that winding maze of doctors who just kind of shrug and say, your blood work is fine.
[00:02:10] Michelle Leotta: And I'm like, but I'm not fine. You know, I was having fainting episodes. I had debilitating IBS symptoms. Never talked about it though. Never diagnosed. This is just in retrospect, you know, I had anxiety, you know, up to here. Um, but yeah, but my blood work was fine , so it really was this, like my own, like digging, like I have to do something.
[00:02:35] Michelle Leotta: What can I do? Who can I talk to? And like putting the pieces together myself. And then I tried yoga and then I tried, you know, some various rudimentary diet changes. And eventually I got to a place where, uh, I wasn't fainting anymore. In fact, I felt pretty darn good. And along the way, I, I met, a couple of people who told me about the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and I was like, that's like if I was gonna go back to school for nutrition, I'm gonna go back to school for nutrition.
[00:03:05] Michelle Leotta: You know, I lived in Boston at the time, so I was looking into Tufts program, their graduate program. I was looking into various, uh, other programs and all of them were going to cost so much money. I was already . Uh, I, I was working in advertising. I used to work in big advertising as an art director, and so that thought of going back to school for something other than art and getting all my prerequisites and the years it was gonna take to do it, not to mention the money it was going to take to do it, was a huge turnoff
[00:03:33] Michelle Leotta: as well as I. Like, did I really want that job? Like I wasn't so sure, but everything, every time I kept circling back to IIN I was like, that's the message. That's what I wanna do. That's what I wanna help people. That's what's helped me, you know, this more holistic approach. So, um, I. I just kind of took the leap and went for it.
[00:03:53] Michelle Leotta: I really never thought I was going to A, have my own business. B, ever health coach, anyone, I just thought it was like for my, my own personal growth, I was going to go to IIN. I thought at that point, career change will never happen hard.
[00:04:09] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. You know, that's really interesting 'cause I've talked before on a couple other episodes about like why people go into health coaching and it's either corporate burnout, they want to do something different or you've had a health issue. You kind of a, a little bit of both in there. But I also knew people at IIN when I was in 2018 going through the course that simply just wanted to do it.
[00:04:32] Megan J. McCrory: Like you said, for your own health, for your, the health of their family, their kids, you know, even parents sometimes. It's just, I often say that I was the healthiest during 2018 when I was doing all of these various things and exploring, mostly just paying attention to my body and trying different things and
[00:04:51] Megan J. McCrory: I mean, that's really what health coaching is all about, is paying attention and listening and then helping others do that with them. Yeah. To get along their health journey.
[00:05:02] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, I think a lot of people end up going down this route with, with no real end goal in mind, which is a beautiful thing and, and it's lovely that you can do that. You know, you can't Go to get your bachelor's degree or graduate degree going, Hmm, I don't know. I'm just gonna dabble in this. It's gonna cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars
[00:05:22] Michelle Leotta: But with health coaching, it's accessible enough that you can go, Hmm, let's just see what happens. And I love that. I think any healing I've done in my life has started with that thought of like, Hmm, let's just see what happens. Let's just give it a try. Let's just, I'm slightly intrigued. I'm being led down this path, so let's just
[00:05:39] Michelle Leotta: take that one next step and you know, maybe it's great, maybe it stinks. We'll just find out. this case, it was really life changing.
[00:05:46] Megan J. McCrory: Now you kind of dipped into a little bit about like your thought process on going to actually get a certification.
[00:05:54] The Evolution of Health Coaching Certifications
[00:05:54] Megan J. McCrory: And at the time when you were doing it, I'm imagining there wasn't too many options that there are like now. So can you kind of compare, or maybe you have a little bit more insight on the different levels of certification.
[00:06:09] Megan J. McCrory: 'cause I get this a lot. People are like, do I do this whole year program? Do I do this six week program? And like what are your thoughts on that?
[00:06:18] Michelle Leotta: Well, you're right. I didn't really have to make the choice because . In my memory, there were two options. One was IIN in New York City and it was still in person, and I went there on the weekends. I took the bus from Boston down to New York for classes all weekend long, once a month. The other option was Bauman, which is on the West coast and. That really just wasn't an option. You know? It didn't make sense for me to travel, although it's hilarious. 'cause once I was in school at IIN, we legit had people in our class who would fly. I think she was from Japan, one of the women she flew from Japan to attend classes in New York City. don't know, she must have had fa, I don't know the specifics.
[00:07:01] Michelle Leotta: I was just like, I really can't complain about my three and a half hour bus ride, you know, . So there, there really, there wasn't anything else unless you were gonna go, you know, to a college, get your degree, your bachelor's, your master's, et cetera. But these days, oh, so many options. And everyone always, I'll say, oh, what school are you from?
[00:07:22] Michelle Leotta: And they give me some acronym and I'm like,
[00:07:26] Megan J. McCrory: Ah,
[00:07:26] Michelle Leotta: that's good. I have no I can't even keep track of them here's what I know it doesn't matter. It does not matter what school you go to, what your certification is, short of being a credentialed. A licensed medical professional, a licensed medical, that's different.
[00:07:44] Michelle Leotta: Your scope of practice is way different. But if you're like a nutrition consultant, a health coach, a nutrition co, whatever, I don't care. It's all the same. It all means you are not a licensed medical professional but in one way, shape, or form, you can help people with their health and that's awesome. And we're all pretty much operating in the same sphere.
[00:08:06] Michelle Leotta: You're a functional medicine, this, that, or the other thing. I don't, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Our scope of practice remains the same. We can't diagnose, we can't prescribe, right. All we can do is what we can do, which is a lot. Um, so I think. That as more schools have popped up, it's created this like every school.
[00:08:25] Michelle Leotta: As with any branding, you have to try differentiate yourself, or you come to our school and you're gonna learn about X, Y, Z. You go to my school and we're gonna make you more about. But in practice, what matters is the work you do, how you show up in the world, how you help people, the presence that you build for yourself, your marketing, your branding, your outreach.
[00:08:43] Michelle Leotta: That's what's gonna set you apart more than the school.
[00:08:47] Megan J. McCrory: Over here we have a lot of coaches that are, uh, part or trying to get credentialed through ICF, the International Coaching Federation, and like being credentialed by an organization like that. I don't know. In the US do you see health coaches need this kind of additional credentials does that make a difference in your market versus some over here?
[00:09:09] Megan J. McCrory: I feel like it kind of levels the playing field against all of the European countries a little bit. I'm not sure. I, it's always also another question that people have asked me.
[00:09:19] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, so that's another thing that's happened. So we have all the different schools with all the various titles. I should add, when I first graduated from IIN, we were called Holistic Health Counselors, HHC,
[00:09:32] Megan J. McCrory: okay I haven't
[00:09:33] Michelle Leotta: and
[00:09:34] Megan J. McCrory: that before. That's
[00:09:34] Michelle Leotta: it. Yeah, that was our official put HHC after your name, that's what you were supposed to do.
[00:09:40] Michelle Leotta: These days, someone will keel over and die if you say the word counselor. Oh my God. That's not what we do. We're, you know, that's what we were called. Um, then at one point they changed it to holistic health coach.
[00:09:51] Megan J. McCrory: Okay.
[00:09:52] Michelle Leotta: Keeping that word holistic in there these days. I don't know what the heck it is. Um, oh, then it was certified, certified Health coach.
[00:09:57] Michelle Leotta: But now you can't say certified 'cause if you're certified, that means that you've gone through and become certified through the N-B-H-W-C. That's what everyone is, um, uh, becoming board certified. So this layer has appeared over all the schools of now we're gonna board certify you after you've gone through your various programs.
[00:10:18] Michelle Leotta: Um, and a lot of coaches are doing that. From where I sit, the only difference it makes is if a coach is looking to work with a functional medicine, facil, a practice of some kind, doctor, some sort of clinic. You're looking to be hired by someone else, like a, an organization who, and this is not all of them, but who is aware that this board certification exists?
[00:10:43] Michelle Leotta: Because of course, if you were gonna hire someone and you knew this certification exists, you'd say, well, let's, let's make sure we hire someone who has it but it's not very well known. Not too many of those opportunities even exist. Most health coaches are still going at it from the entrepreneurial route, which is what I have always done.
[00:11:04] Michelle Leotta: And in that case, absolutely 0% of average people walking down the street who gonna become your client know, care have ever heard about being board certified it's just like when I would say, oh, I'm a certified health coach. Nobody caress. They don't care. They don't know what IIN is. They don't know what the school, that school, they do not care unless you say Harvard, you know, or something like they've never heard of it.
[00:11:28] Michelle Leotta: So it, I think, makes absolutely no difference if you are looking for your own clients and working independently at this point.
[00:11:36] Megan J. McCrory:
[00:11:36] The Importance of Identifying Your Niche
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[00:11:36] Megan J. McCrory: Now let's move on to actually like really starting a business because most of the listeners are either thinking about starting a business or in their certification program or maybe they just finished and they're really wanna like kind of kick off.
[00:11:48] Megan J. McCrory: and in a recent episode that I did, I talked about 20 different niches that you know are kind of popular just to kind of get the brain juices flowing, what people could think about, which I think is probably one of the things that I find most interesting when I meet health coaches is to learn their niche.
[00:12:05] Megan J. McCrory: 'cause I'm like. Whew. I would've never thought about that very, very specific thing as a niche. So it's always kind of a, a little like a bingo sheet. Have I met one of these health coaches fitting this niche? So I'm wondering how did you determine your niche and what is some advice you would have for new or aspiring health coaches when they're trying to identify their niche?
[00:12:29] Michelle Leotta: It's funny, I also feel like I'm playing bingo a lot times when health coaches are talking about their niche, but I'm more like, Hmm, what is this person going to tell me That actually is not a niche, actually is not helpful at all in terms of defining a target market. We hear a, a lot of words, a lot of fluff, very little substance, and I think it's because everyone is Where I was and where every health coach I knew was when we started, which is like, I don't know, I don't know what I'm good at. I haven't done it yet, you know. I had no idea how I could niche down. And I, I think a lot of people use a lot of flowery language to describe, you know, like I help women who are sick of being sick and tired of being tired, become the most vibrant version of themselves.
[00:13:15] Michelle Leotta: I'm like, bingo, that's another one that doesn't actually say anything. You know, , um, you know, or I help whoever with gut health. Nope. No you don't. Nope. Because no, like very few, hardly anyone that you were talking about actually cares about their gut health. They just wanna lose weight or they have migraines or they have autoimmune disease or whatever.
[00:13:38] Michelle Leotta: Um, we might know things stem from gut health.
[00:13:41] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:13:42] Michelle Leotta: It's not the thing anyone's actually looking for. A target market is all about your marketing. It's not about what you do or what you specialize in, or what you like, it has to do with how you draw people in. So it has to be a message that other people are gonna respond to.
[00:13:56] Michelle Leotta: So anyway, when I started, I didn't know, and you just start doing the work you know, you just start holding workshops, meeting people. See what the universe has in store for you. Uh, you can try, you know, you can try, oh yeah, I'm gonna do this kind of thing with my coaching business. But then opportunities come along you never could predict.
[00:14:17] Michelle Leotta: So you give it your best shot in the beginning. Everyone. I also give this advice, you should know your niche. You should pick a niche, right? Um. Do it the best you can. It's almost like you're gonna carve a sculpture. You are Michelangelo, and it's gonna start very rough. You know, in the beginning it's just some weird shapes that you, you know, you cut out of the block and then as you keep going with the marble, you know, you get a little more detailed here, a little more detailed there, and like, maybe like
[00:14:45] Michelle Leotta: In five years, 10 years, you'll have your David statue. That's like, this is my niche. You know, I have really defined it, but it, it does take some time to get there and so it is, okay. So if you're just starting with like, I'm pretty sure I work better with women than men.
[00:14:59] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:15:00] Michelle Leotta: Great. Start there. You don't need any flowery language.
[00:15:03] Michelle Leotta: Just know that you're gonna be looking for women. Okay. Maybe they're moms. Good. Okay, that's a little more niche from there. It's going to evolve, so. So I always have health coaches take a stab at it, say, try to, you know, put a, put a stake in the ground, something useful. I know it like that. I know I work better with women than men.
[00:15:21] Michelle Leotta: Great. Let's start there. Um, is there anything in particular, you know, a lot about, maybe you yourself have gone through Lyme disease, you're gonna be very well suited to help people who've also gone through or are going through Lyme disease. That's helpful. That's really helpful. But even within that.
[00:15:39] Michelle Leotta: What I found as I was working, and I mean I had been doing the work for years and years and years. I must have been like, oh gosh, maybe six or seven years into my practice, and it was actually my ex-husband pointed out to me. He said, you know, a lot of your clients seem to be a lot like you. And I'm like, what?
[00:15:58] Michelle Leotta: Talking about? And he said, well, you're always talking about how they send you these like color coded spreadsheets when ask for like a food journal. You know, and, uh, and he was right. A lot of the, my best clients, the one that I, ones I really clicked with were very organized, very on top of their game.
[00:16:18] Michelle Leotta: Corporate types, like lists, bullets, color coded spreadsheets, like type A all day and uh, and that really got me thinking, and that was the first time that I think I really got detailed in, in my niche because I was doing it anyway. I just didn't realize it. I was just attracting people and I was working really well with people and them being referred to their friends because I too am very type A and that type of thinking makes sense to me.
[00:16:46] Michelle Leotta: When I had more type B personalities in my practice, it didn't, it just didn't mesh as well, so then it got me thinking, well. You know, okay, type A women, great. But then I realized, oh, type A women all tend to have the same health issues. And again, I was seeing it, I was living it.
[00:17:04] Megan J. McCrory: mm-Hmm.
[00:17:05] Michelle Leotta: But I hadn't thought about it in that way.
[00:17:07] Michelle Leotta: But type A women tend to be chronically stressed. Many of them have lived through trauma. That's why they take on this ultra like control freak personality, right? So they have the health fallout that comes from that. And that's everything I had been experiencing with myself, with my clients. Um, and is finally able to put a name to it or to describe it because of this, you know, my, my ex-husband's sort of third party View or perspective as to what was happening. So, man, you know, it is, it is hard, but once I found it, I could market to that group of women. So much more easily. Like I would offer the spreadsheets, I would offer, like the planning tools. They love that kind of thing. Before I was just shooting in the dark, you know, like, I don't know, maybe I'll give 'em a, a recipe book.
[00:17:58] Michelle Leotta: You know, I was able to do things that I knew would really resonate with them. I, I created a quiz that helped them see how all their different symptoms, health issues, were actually related to chronic stress. That's where my practice really. Truly took off.
[00:18:14] Megan J. McCrory: Wow. I would have to say, I think knowing your niche, I feel like some women that I've met, and men, who know their niche upfront, I feel like they've already like five steps ahead. Like a breast cancer survivor, she knows she wants to work with breast cancer survivors. Right?
[00:18:30] Megan J. McCrory: I also know a guy in Texas who is working for a coaching company that is geared to gamers. It's Healthy Gamer I mean. That is a excellent way of, you know, defining this niche of, you know, we have people who are sitting in their chairs all day playing games and they want to also be healthy.
[00:18:48] Megan J. McCrory: And, you know, I feel like the majority of us have the windy path that you did. And it's, I feel though it's like an egg and chicken, chicken and egg scenario because we hear all the time you have to talk to your ideal client.
[00:19:05] Megan J. McCrory: And if you don't know who your ideal client is, then who do you talk to? So it I, I like kind of your kind of pragmatic approach, just start doing some something. Start doing anything. 'cause I feel like that's also where a lot of people get hung up, is that they try to do something perfect, myself included, and then they don't produce anything.
[00:19:25] Megan J. McCrory: They don't put their face out anywhere. They don't actually interact with anybody and then they wonder why they don't get started. Um, so I think just doing anything to start then will get you onto the path where you will eventually need to be.
[00:19:41] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, everyone has to accept the fact that you are gonna be terrible at anything you do for the first time, and you're not gonna be great at it the second time, either or the third time, right? So it's just an iterative process of doing anything new, including building a business.
[00:19:58] Common Mistakes New Health Coaches Make
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[00:19:58] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. So that brings me to my next question. Um, because you work with so many health coaches, what is a mistake that you see the majority of health coaches making during their first year of starting their business?
[00:20:12] Michelle Leotta: Um, expecting way too much with too little effort.
[00:20:17] Megan J. McCrory: Okay.
[00:20:17] Michelle Leotta: You know, I posted on Instagram that I was accepting clients. I put, I posted twice on Instagram with a link to my application form or to my website. No one completed it. And I'm like, I'm shocked. Oh, no way. Like you mean they weren't beating down your door?
[00:20:44] Michelle Leotta: Like, I don't know where this idea comes from that you're gonna come out of he, your Health Coach certification program, you're gonna open up a social media account and the clients are just gonna flow in it. Will 1000% not happen that. I guarantee you. So that is the biggest mistake by far. And it has to do with, I think, too little effort being expected.
[00:21:05] Michelle Leotta: I think everyone's being sold into these schools. Become a health coach. Become a health coach. It's easy is like the, um, the unspoken subtitle. you're gonna sip smoothies and like do yoga all day and live your dream life. And clients need you so much, and the money is just gonna, it really takes about a hundred times more work than you think.
[00:21:24] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah.
[00:21:25] Michelle Leotta: That is the truth of it. Um, and then second to that, for some reason everyone thinks social media is the way that you find clients. It's not dead. Like, and right there end the show. It's not . It might be for like a couple coaches like make it really big on TikTok or whatever. They are the outliers.
[00:21:44] Effective Ways for Health Coaches to Promote Their Services
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[00:21:44] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. I think that's actually even my next question is kind of like how Yeah. Very, very well done. what is the best way for health coaches to promote themselves and their services if
[00:21:55] Michelle Leotta: Well, think of any business, like, any, like think of, uh, I don't know if you bought your house, your real estate agent, the person who did your mortgage. Think of your insurance broker or your accountant, uh, whoever who, you know, you get massages regularly. Who's that person or body work or et cetera did you find them on social media?
[00:22:16] Michelle Leotta: Did you like, follow a hashtag that they had used and then you found them and then you hired them the next day? Like, most of these businesses thrive because of their relationships. So like my realtor is a friend of a friend.
[00:22:30] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:22:31] Michelle Leotta: Uh, my mortgage broker was referred by another realtor. Uh, my accountant, what I was referred to, like through my community, So it's who knows who, that's how business is done, even at the highest level. I mean, when I was working in advertising, big deals were getting signed because, you know, a couple of the CEOs went out and had drinks or whatever, you know, spent a lot of money on a a weekend vacation together or whatever, like that's how deals get done in every industry.
[00:23:01] Michelle Leotta: So your relationships with people are gonna take you much, much further than something you're trying to do with the algorithm or whatever. on a social media platform, it's who you know. Who you talk to, who you've been helpful to, who they know, who they talk to, how many times you've put yourself in front of people.
[00:23:22] Michelle Leotta: It is everything to do with human relationships, and if we can keep that front and center, it does dovetail with a strong social media strategy, right? Because a strong social media strategy helps you create and nurture more relationships if you're doing it right. But that's just one small avenue. I know, I guarantee everybody you've ever met in your life, your high school friends, your college friends, your, your local neighborhood, et cetera, are, are stronger assets than, um, than any hashtag.
[00:23:54] Stepping into the Game: The Conundrum of New Health Coaches
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[00:23:54] Megan J. McCrory: So
[00:23:55] Megan J. McCrory: what would you say in terms of what kind of percentage of content and value should you be giving away as a new health coach in order to start making those connections with people versus
[00:24:08] Megan J. McCrory: potentially charging. And is there a difference in the, like, engagement of the participants, whether when they have a free something versus they pay 10 bucks or 20 bucks for a workshop?
[00:24:21] Michelle Leotta: yeah, I hear a lot of coaches like, I need to start making money. Well, sorry sweetheart. Like you don't get to make money until you've earned the right to do so, meaning you've earned somebody's trust. People have gotten to know you, you've proven yourself. So it's, it's kinda like being an intern. It'd be like if the unpaid intern, you know, waltz is into the office and you're like, okay, you're in charge of making the coffee and, uh, putting the stuff in the mailbox, you know, and they're like, well, I need to start making money.
[00:24:52] Michelle Leotta: You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, . Why don't you just start with getting the coffee and, you know, mailing the mail, and then we'll see. So even though you're your own boss in this scenario. You still have to, you have to get there. You know, you have to, um, you have to earn the right to sell your services to anybody.
[00:25:11] Michelle Leotta: So, um, so I, I kind of giggled to myself when coaches are kind of self righteously or like entitled, like, well, I need to start making money. I'm like, well get a part-time job then. Because in the beginning, especially in the beginning, but also I've been in this industry for 14 years.
[00:25:28] The Importance of Giving Away Value for Free
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[00:25:28] Michelle Leotta: You give and give and give for free because when people see how valuable your free stuff is, they're paying you.
[00:25:37] Michelle Leotta: If they're paying attention, they're paying you with their time with their attention. So valuable. So even though it's not money, the fact that they even paused to listen to your podcast episode or read that thing that they downloaded or read your blog post or show up for your workshop, they're paying you with their time.
[00:25:56] Michelle Leotta: And once they know that, that was like so, so worth it, that's when they'll think about paying you. And if you think it's gonna happen the other way, you are gonna be very disappointed.
[00:26:05] Megan J. McCrory: yeah. No, that's a, I like the way that you presented that as an intern and kind of earning your way through 'cause I definitely, I've also gone through that mindset before of, you know, how, why should I give this away? I've worked really hard on it. Somebody should just want to buy it because they know it.
[00:26:22] Megan J. McCrory: But you don't. They don't know who you are yet. And you need to, I think, I think the . The, the classic funnel is, you know, you find, uh, nurture and grow, you know, like kind of, and I think it's really the, this nurturing part where you're doing a lot of this free giveaway because, I mean, you do this for your group, your Facebook group every week for an hour, I think, or half an hour.
[00:26:49] Megan J. McCrory: I'm not sure how long it is. But you get up there and have a free q and a for anybody who wants to ask questions. And I think that, and you've shown up that way for like years, , I think that's kind of like your calling card and then you turned it into your podcast. And I mean, you know, there's just a fountain of information that comes out every week, and I'm pretty sure you probably feel like you've repeated yourself a thousand times by now, , because you know every
[00:27:20] Megan J. McCrory: Every December new batches of health coaches come into the world and ask all of the same questions. But, um, yeah, but you know, you're still there, you're still showing up. So I think that that's, it's a great example of what you should do, uh, when you're starting off as a health coach.
[00:27:36] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, you're right. It's been many, many years now and even before I had the podcast, I had the Facebook. I've been running the Facebook group for about a decade and I still show up in it. And when you see me in my Facebook group, it's me. It's not an assistant. And I'm Am I there as much as I used to be. No.
[00:27:51] Michelle Leotta: Do I have help now? Yes. Am I still there every day? Mm-Hmm. . And, you know, again, when you see me leave a comment or whatever, like it's, I'm actually doing it. Um, and that is why I have such a loyal base.
[00:28:05] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:28:06] The Art of Listening: Creating Solutions for Your Community
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[00:28:06] Michelle Leotta: And when I have something to offer, I'm not even gonna say sell, because what I hear is the need for my community.
[00:28:13] Michelle Leotta: This is what we need.
[00:28:14] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:28:15] Michelle Leotta: Then I create something to help them with that, right? I offer them the solution to the thing that they need, and then They want it It's so different from like, I wanna sell a product, or I wanna be this kind of coach. I'm gonna create this program, buy my thing, buy my thing, buy my thing, buy my thing to an audience that's like, I literally don't care.
[00:28:40] Michelle Leotta: you know, like they just, I'm not engaged at all. It has to go the other way. Then you're swimming. You know, you're swimming downstream instead of like fighting it.
[00:28:50] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah.
[00:28:51] michelle_1_12-19-2023_114046:
[00:28:51] How do we improve the success rate of health coaches as entrepreneurs?
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[00:28:51] Megan J. McCrory: So what can we do, to improve the success rate of health coaches as entrepreneurs? I think a lot of people that come into health coaching are not business savvy. They don't have marketing experience. They don't, some people don't have any business or corporate experience, you know, at all. So, and I feel like, I don't know what the numbers are, but I don't know how, what the percentage of people who go through health coaching.
[00:29:20] Megan J. McCrory: Wanna be a health coach, try it either as a hobby part-time, or even, you know, full, full-time and then quit because they can't get their business to go. So what's, what can we do to improve that success rate with health coaches?
[00:29:36] Michelle Leotta: I am wondering as you say, that if is the goal to improve the success rate of health coaches per se, or is the goal to improve the health of the world? Right, because that's why we got into health coaching.
[00:29:51] Megan J. McCrory: Mm-Hmm.
[00:29:52] Michelle Leotta: Or is it just to help all these people who became health coaches just in one way or another, feel successful in their lives?
[00:30:00] Michelle Leotta: Like I think what I wanna say is, if you're gonna succeed in running your own business, whatever that business is, uh, you need marketing skills, you need business skills. So get that support, you're going nowhere without it. That's that. Um, or you can spend like A decade figuring it out. That's also okay.
[00:30:20] Michelle Leotta: Like I said, like it takes time. You're gonna have to make mistakes. You, you just have to have the bandwidth for that. Um, and some people do and some people don't. Have the ability to wait that long. Do you know what I mean? To kind of like learn all the lessons yourself, but also be open to what the universe is, is moving you toward.
[00:30:39] Michelle Leotta: And that sounds super woowoo when I'm not a super woowoo person, but like here I am. Like I love my job. I love where I have ended up. Right now in my business, I've combined everything I know about marketing and advertising and design and copywriting and you know, big business with health. Wellness, you know, actually helping people, coaching, I, it's like it just came, it all came together and it's going to be different for all of us.
[00:31:06] Michelle Leotta: So maybe your quote, success as a health coach is not gonna be health coaching, but maybe it's gonna be something else that you get led towards through this process. I think that's really cool. You know, may we have health coaches who go on to, uh, change laws and, you know, affect, like, change at, uh, at, at the government level.
[00:31:26] Michelle Leotta: They're not like health coaching per se, but they're definitely having an impact. be open to it being a step on the path towards like, I don't know what, and neither do you. And that's the really cool thing. And. Anywhere you end up, if you yourself are trying to sell your own services or your own products, you need marketing savvy.
[00:31:50] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. I did the health coaching program while I was still in my corporate job, and instead of quitting right away and trying to start a business I actually switched jobs within the company. So that kind of freed up my mental energy. And then my company was very happy for me to
[00:32:07] Megan J. McCrory: Introduce some Mindful Mondays and some, you know, uh, workshops and things like that. And it was nice to be able to integrate what I was learning in as a health coach into my corporate world. And that for a long time really fed me, you know, until I was like, okay, I'm really kind of, now, I'm, now I'm really done with corporate.
[00:32:29] Megan J. McCrory: Um, but , but I, it, it is, I I really like how you're saying You don't need to be a 100% health coach, try to make a business work to give the gift of health coaching to people around you, or to be as IIN says the, to be the ripple, you know, to start the and to get that going.
[00:32:50] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah, I have a friend of mine, uh, I do another podcast called So Fricking Healthy, and she's also an IIN grad. And she started by, you know, teaching, having like, um, kids cooking classes, you know, and it had no desire to be a health coach. She just wanted to do kids cooking classes to like get kids in the kitchen.
[00:33:09] Megan J. McCrory: And then the parents were like, can we do this without the kids? Can you just help us eat better? And, you know what I mean? And again, it was. You know, naturally, organically happening, and I feel like, if you don't, if you don't keep your eyes open for those opportunities, you will miss them thinking that you have to do this thing that you've set your mind out to.
[00:33:26] Megan J. McCrory:
[00:33:27] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, I mean, I've, gosh, um, I've had bookkeepers who are health coaches, we have attorneys who are health coaches. I have copywriters who are health coaches and They've helped me in my business 'cause they understand my business. Like another attorney would not, another accountant would, not another. Right?
[00:33:48] Michelle Leotta: So they are helping me and together we're changing the world. Each one of us does not have to be MS. Health coach, you know, like sip in the green smoothie on Instagram. There there's so many ways that we can create that greater good that we're all looking for. And like Everyone has their, their gifts.
[00:34:09] Michelle Leotta: So yeah, like take the mold, try it, and then break it and do the thing that works best for you. But you do it, like you said, you gotta keep your eyes open for it. And I, for a long time I was shutting out the possibility of working with other health coaches 'cause that's not what I was supposed to do.
[00:34:25] Megan J. McCrory: Mm mm-Hmm.
[00:34:26] Michelle Leotta: Um, and ultimately, you know, it really is the better way for me to serve.
[00:34:29] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah.
[00:34:30] The Changing Landscape of Health Coaching
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[00:34:30] Megan J. McCrory: Okay, so earlier you mentioned that the kind of the landscape of health coaching has changed drastically in five years. I can feel that too, because that's kind of when I entered into, this was five years ago. So where do you see the future of health coaching kind of heading and do you see any
[00:34:47] Megan J. McCrory: Trends, emerging trends that as future health coaches we should be aware of?
[00:34:53] Michelle Leotta: Um, I'm seeing a lot of changing
[00:34:56] Michelle Leotta: tides in like the rules, the regulations. We have red states and green states and yellow states and what you're allowed to do where, and these are not things that anyone was ever talking about when I started. It was not on my radar at all. I think there's a lot more legal issues to be aware of, and I'm hoping that schools will start to be more accountable in that regard.
[00:35:22] Michelle Leotta: So, for example, in the US health coaches in Ohio are pretty much banned from doing most things that a health coach would do, and, uh, they may or may not know that. They will happily enroll in a school and the school will not mention this to them. And then once they graduate, someone like me has to break it to them, and that's, it just feels bad, you know?
[00:35:44] Michelle Leotta: I just feel like we're all catching up. We're all trying to figure out like, you know, what exactly do we need to do, um, in this industry to be to practice safely? Um, so that's continuing to sort of unravel. I don't think anyone should feel bad about it right now. I just think it's like, it's gotten messy.
[00:36:04] Michelle Leotta: So I'm hoping in the next five years or so, um, it will start to become more clear and everyone from the outset will know what this industry is that they're getting into as opposed to it being a bit of a wild card.
[00:36:17] The Rise of Health Coaching MLMs
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[00:36:17] Michelle Leotta: Um, and the other trends I think are really Booming right now is this influx of apps and tools and software and you wanna be a health coach and you feel desperate 'cause it's not working.
[00:36:31] Michelle Leotta: And so let me sell you all of my wares and . You know, and I say this as someone who does sell programs and products to help health coaches, although I was doing it first. Um. There's so much of it now, and I feel like it is more of a, uh, shark infested water of like, we just know that you're having trouble.
[00:36:54] Michelle Leotta: We are targeting you because we know you're having a hard time and now you're spending, I know brand new health coaches that are spending hundreds of dollars a month on these various services that they think they need in order to succeed. And I want to tell you, you need. To be a health coach, you need a phone, you need a pen, and you need, um, a pad of paper that's all you need to make money.
[00:37:18] Michelle Leotta: So don't listen to anybody who tells you otherwise. Everything else is just like extra, you know? It's like try it for a while. Keep your head your, and your expenses as low as possible because every time I open my computer, there's another service that's trying to get me to tell all my health coaches about what they have to offer, and I'm like, my God, it's too much.
[00:37:40] Michelle Leotta: It's too much.
[00:37:41] Megan J. McCrory: my husband calls it the health coaching MLM, because it, it, and, and not just for health coaches, life coaches, anything, any kind of coach.
[00:37:50] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, Listen, there was no help when I started. There was no one helping, no one with any service. We didn't, Facebook groups didn't even exist. I mean, there was very little available. Um, and, and it's just the pendulum has swung so much. I would've loved to have some of these resources available to me back then.
[00:38:08] Michelle Leotta: However, don't go, you know, far into the red. Before you've made a dime on your own. You know, like, just be careful, just as you would with, you know, spending in any category of your life. You know, buy what you need, make the most of it when you're ready. Maybe there's something else that you need, but, um, my goodness, right outta school, you don't need very much.
[00:38:32] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. Alright, so the last question and a probably very iconic question is if you could go back in time to the little Michelle, as she's starting off on her health coaching journey, what is one piece of advice that you would give yourself when you're starting out?
[00:38:53] The Value of Being Your Own Coach First
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[00:38:53] Michelle Leotta: I think, um, I needed to hear continuously, like you have to be your own health coach first you are your number one client. And there were times in my, in the growth of my business and even, you know, today where hit the brink of burnout and I've had health issues and um, from like working so hard or pushing myself so much or getting so discouraged because that thing that I really wanted to work didn't work.
[00:39:29] Michelle Leotta: Um, I. I think that it's easy. It's so funny, like as a health coach here you are telling everyone how to eat healthy and take care of themselves, but you're in the middle of a big launch and so you haven't been to the gym in three weeks and you're eating Cheez-Its, and you know, that's like the reality sometimes that you can fall into.
[00:39:46] Michelle Leotta: You have to take care of yourself first and walk your talk like always. Number one or else like legit, you won't, you just won't make it. You just it just isn't gonna work out in the end either the business won't work or your own health is gonna fall apart. So in, in order to be successful, um, that's what I needed to hear along the way.
[00:40:09] Megan J. McCrory: Very cool. Very, very cool. So I alluded to your podcast. Can you tell me a little bit more about, uh, your podcast and what, what do you talk about?
[00:40:21] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, so the Health Coach Power Community Podcast has been going on for many, many years now. We have over 260 episodes, uh, available, you know, everywhere that you listen to podcasts and I, I. Mostly pull topics from our Facebook group. Um, and you had mentioned right now we have about 14,000 members inside the Health Coach Power Community Facebook group, which all your listeners can, uh, join by just going to healthcoachpowercommunity.com.
[00:40:49] Michelle Leotta: And it is a community just for health coaches. Those already enrolled in a school or those already practicing and we work very, very hard to keep all the spammers out and, um, make sure that you're not getting bombarded with marketing messages the second that you get in the door by all different creeps that find their way into the group.
[00:41:09] Michelle Leotta: We kick out like 10 people every day just we're like, Nope, you're here to market yourself. You're gone. You're gone. We work really hard to keep it a safe space. I'm very, very proud of that. So when people ask questions in the group, like right after we record this episode today, Megan, I'm doing an episode.
[00:41:24] Michelle Leotta: Um. Answering somebody's question that she posted like three days ago, and that's my favorite way to use the podcast, is to share what I know at scale. You know, it was always one thing to answer a single person's question, but now I'm able to publish it and, you know, we have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of downloads, so, um, so subscribe and join the group, and I think it's like the best value out there for health coaches to get a lot of help and support for $0.
[00:41:51] Megan J. McCrory: Yeah. But if somebody wanted to pay you for, for help, what kind of paid help do you offer health coaches when they're starting their businesses or to help them grow their businesses?
[00:42:05] Michelle Leotta: Yeah, we have courses. We have programs. We have some done for you product. It's all at healthcoachpower.com slash courses.
[00:42:12] Megan J. McCrory: Okay, cool. Very cool. Well, thank you so much. It has been a real treat to interview you for this podcast. I feel like, again, like I've known you for years because I've just seen your face all the time, . So it's one of those, uh, moments that I will, uh, I'm very happy to have you, you here and, and thank you so much.
[00:42:33] Megan J. McCrory: It was very insightful for me as well. I, I heard myself in a lot of what you said. So I have a lot of thinking to do as well as I am also trying my best to get my health coaching business, but I'm definitely, I have ADHD, so I have shiny object syndrome, and I'm definitely
[00:42:52] Megan J. McCrory: In that camp of having way too many passions and trying to pursue, pursue too many things and I really saw that in the last year have a, a major impact in the ability to move my business forward. And just, that was my little meltdown that I was telling you about before we started recording over the summer
[00:43:10] Megan J. McCrory: And I'm just like, I have got to narrow my focus. I cannot keep doing 15 different things. I have to do one thing for the next three months. Just do one thing and keep doing that one thing, and then the next three months I'm going to keep doing that one thing. And I have to, I, I know that I work better in like three months chunks of time because I do not have that future horizon
[00:43:38] Megan J. McCrory: Ability to push myself. So as an ADHD person, I have to have very short deadlines in order for me to push myself and I have to be very public. So I'm learning all this stuff about my myself, and it is a completely different way of working than as a employee working for someone else. So, uh, I'm going through all of those learning pains and growing pains right now.
[00:44:00] Megan J. McCrory: So I really do appreciate the time that you spent with us today.
[00:44:04] Michelle Leotta: You are so welcome and I will just add that like even as a non A DHD person, being an entrepreneur is inherently distracting. What about that? What about this idea? How about this other idea? I don't have a boss to tell me what to do. Therefore, everything that comes across my eyeballs I'm gonna give attention to.
[00:44:23] Michelle Leotta: So it's very easy to become
[00:44:26] Megan J. McCrory: Very.
[00:44:27] Michelle Leotta: distracted, and you know, unfocused. And so one of the greatest skills that you'll ever learn as an entrepreneur is, how to say, not right now. Great idea. Not right now.
[00:44:37] Megan J. McCrory: So maybe I put that in the, in the hat in your question. How to, how to plan your business goals as a health coach to keep you on track. That might be one of my questions to you for your next episode. I'll put it, I'll put
[00:44:53] Michelle Leotta: Oh, okay.
[00:44:54] Megan J. McCrory: it into the Facebook group later on,
[00:44:56] Michelle Leotta: Yeah. Throw it in the mix. thank you so much for having me,
[00:44:59] Megan J. McCrory: Thank you.
Introduction
The health coaching industry has seen significant changes in the past decade, making insights from experienced health coaches invaluable for those starting their journey in this dynamic field. In this blog post, we'll delve into a captivating interview with Michelle Leotta, a trailblazer in the health coaching industry. Michelle and Megan J. McCrory covered a wide range of topics, including the journey of a health coach and the challenges they may face. Get ready to explore the ever-evolving landscape of health coaching and gain valuable insights from this engaging conversation.
The Journey of a Health Coach
Initially, Michelle saw health coaching as an exciting alternative to her corporate career. But through personal growth, preserving the memory of her own health journey, and integrating holistic aspects of health, Michelle's career evolved in unexpected ways. This long-term perspective is crucial for new health coaches who may sometimes feel discouraged when immediate rewards are not evident.
Interestingly, Michelle noticed a pattern among her most successful clients - they shared similar traits of being well-organized, meticulous, and 'type-A' individuals. Recognizing this, she refined her marketing strategy to attract clients with similar characteristics. This serves as a valuable reminder for health coaches to truly understand their clientele, as it significantly enhances the overall coaching experience.
Identifying Your Niche
One of the most challenging early steps for health coaches is identifying their niche. As Michelle stresses, it's okay to start broad and then narrow down. She highlights the relevance of real-world, face-to-face interaction with people, in addition to social media, which aids in establishing loyal, meaningful relationships and refining one's niche.
While having a niche can elevate a health coach's visibility and attract ideal clients, Michelle emphasizes that it's not just about having a niche; it's how you position it and interact with your clients that matter. She suggests that health coaches should not just focus too narrowly on one niche but also consistently communicate value to their potential clients.
The Future of Health Coaching
Concerning the evolving trends in health coaching, Michelle talks of the increasing need to be aware of the legal landscape of health coaching - a topic that was seldom discussed a few years back. The legal requirements – rules, regulations, and red tape are becoming more complex and vary from state to state.
Additionally, Michelle sees the influx of apps, tools, and software as an emerging trend in health coaching. She warns new health coaches to be careful about purchasing too many services and getting lost in this trend. It's crucial to remember that at its core, health coaching is about relationships and communication, and no app or software can replace that.
Conclusion
The conversation with Michelle Leotta offers an important perspective on the life of a health coach. The road to becoming an effective health coach can be challenging, but keeping your target clientele's needs in mind and maintaining focus can lead to a successful and rewarding career.
