How We Built a $220M Coaching Empire (And What I’d Do Differently)

Together with my co-founders, we built Holistic MBA and Health Coach Institute from zero into a $220M coaching empire, trained 40K+ coaches across 100+ countries, and created a positive impact that I’m very proud of. But the full story is more interesting than the headline number.

In my 20-year career as a coach, I’ve built six businesses —> six-figure, multiple six-figures, multiple seven-figures, multiple eight-figures.

Looking back, I can see that these businesses fall into one of three distinct paths. Each has its own rewards, its own costs, and its own corners you can’t see around until you’ve turned them.

Path 1: The $1M-10M Personality Brand

My business partner Stacey Morgenstern and I started Holistic MBA almost by accident. We launched our first joint program as a test, and when it generated $70K in revenue we thought “this partnership might have legs.” It did. We grew from $500K in year one to $1.2M, then $2.3M, then $3.2M, then growth stalled at $3.4M. 

Lessons learned: When growth stalled, I knew it was an operational problem. After all, if we hit $3.4M, we could hit $7-$10M. The lead volume was available, however our operational skill at driving leads, converting them and delivering the service profitably was not. We were charismatic founders and smart marketers, but we hadn’t yet learned how to be operators.

Ask yourself: If you’re between $1M and $10M and your revenue has stalled, is this because of market conditions, or because you have to make the shift from founder to operator (and you don’t know how, or if you even want to)?

Path 2: The High-Complexity “Big Swing”

When we merged Holistic MBA into Health Coach Institute, Stacey and I partnered with experts in for-profit education enrollment. We went from $0 to $25M in three years for our flagship program, The Become A Health & Life Coach Training. We gunned for even more growth, with an exit as the goal. The result was extraordinary. It also required 5 partners, outside capital, a platform acquisition strategy, and organizational complexity with a large team. The stakes and the pressure were incredibly high. 

Lesson learned: Chasing a “big swing” high valuation business with multiple partners requires surrendering a degree of control, and even more so when outside capital enters the picture. For creatives with a clear vision, this isn’t easy.

Plus, this was all happening at a time when I had my daughter, experienced massive postpartum depression, and started into perimenopause. I had to hire a LOT of help and train like an athlete to keep my physical, mental and emotional stamina at the level required.

Ask yourself: Is a business with this level of difficulty – and the lifestyle that comes with it – what I truly want, or is it what I think I’m supposed to want? 

Path 3: The Simple Business 

After leaving HCI, I paused. A part of me wanted to dive right into another “big swing” business. 

After all, there are huge gaps – and therefore huge opportunities – in the coach training industry right now. I could jump in and use my expertise and experience to create the coaching school that I believe would capture significant market share.

However, another part of me wanted to experience what life was like when, after 20 years as an entrepreneur, I’m NOT running a marathon at a sprint pace. 

A mentor coach of mine showed me his simple but lucrative model for private coaching, where I get to use all my experience and expertise to help other founders navigate starting, scaling and selling businesses. I jumped in and love it.

Lesson learned: A simple, well-positioned private coaching business with strong 1-on-1 conversion skills is one of the most profitable models that exists. High margin, full control, low overhead, and supports having a life outside of work.

Ask yourself:  If you want to build a business that gives you financial freedom, what if you didn’t need funnels and social and ads and teams to do it? If you could still make the same money and have the same impact, would you prefer a simpler structure?”

Three paths. Three very different lives. The one that’s right for you depends entirely on your why. And, your why will evolve as you do. 

Mine did. At 35, I wanted world domination. At 50, I want impact, freedom, and to be present for my daughter. Both were right for their season. 

The most expensive mistake a founder can make isn’t a bad hire or a failed launch. It’s spending years building the wrong kind of business for who and where they are right now.

My job is to help you figure out which season you’re in, and build accordingly. 

Let’s talk.