960: LEADERSHIP STORIES: Top Struggles of My Business Coaching Clients Right Now

Shameless Leadership

Sara Dean

Self-improvement, How To, Business, Management, Education

4.7 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode is especially for business owners and consultants, but the themes will resonate with anyone navigating leadership in challenging times. No matter your role, the struggles we face are often more similar than different, and there’s always something to learn from the stories of others. Recently, my business coaching clients and entrepreneurial colleagues have been sharing struggles that might feel familiar: "What sold before is not selling now." "I am ready to make a pivot, but I'm feeling nervous and unsure about how to do so." "With the online space feeling loud and saturated, I'm feeling less confident in making myself more visible." "I need to grow my team, but I'm nervous about finding the right people and/or giving up control." "I'm struggling with boundaries and communication with my team." "I'm overwhelmed and exhausted by my business + the state of the world!" Over my 22 years as a business owner, the state of the world has forced me to reimagine (and sometimes rapidly pivot) my business, my offers, and my team multiple times. After a few moments (or days) of "WTF?! Why is this happening to me?!", I've always been able to find a path forward and often have found a stronger sense of purpose and drive because of this driving mantra: I know what I'm good at. I know I can create incredible outcomes for people. I have proven that I can be endlessly adaptable and resilient in my 49 years on this planet. This time is no different. LFG. In this episode, I’ll share 3 steps you can take right now to address these struggles head-on. Because the world being extra loud and extra messy does not diminish the need for your work. In fact, it amplifies it. Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com. Links Mentioned: Attend Sara’s Influence & Ignite Retreat for Women Business Owners: saradean.com/retreat Join Sara’s Next Business Coaching Cohort: https://saradean.com/influence-ignite-business-group-coaching/ Hire me to speak: saradean.com/speaking Coach with me: https://saradean.com/executive-coaching-services Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradeanspeaks Watch Shameless Leadership episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saradeanspeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Say hello to the next generation of Zendesk AI agents, built to deliver resolutions for everyone.
0:05.3	Loved by over 10,000 companies, Zendesk AI agents easily deploy in minutes to resolve 30% of interactions instantly.
0:11.9	That's the Zendesk AI effect. Find out more at Zendesk.com.
0:19.1	Welcome to shameless leadership. I'm your host, Sarah Dean. This show is for women, transgender people,
0:25.2	non-binary folks, as well as allies, who are committed to advancing their leadership while also
0:30.2	advancing the leadership of those around them. In each episode, we will offer practical tips,
0:35.3	leadership strategies, and inspiring stories to help you become a more
0:38.6	confident, compassionate, and inclusive leader. The truth is, you were born to lead. What might
0:44.6	happen for you if you were to wholeheartedly embrace that part of yourself? So let's start now,
0:49.5	together. Hello, shameless leaders. Today we're going to be talking about some things I'm seeing with my
0:56.0	business coaching clients that I'm eager to share with all of you, regardless of whether or not
1:01.0	you have a business. And so this will pertain to you if you do have a business. If you're a business
1:06.4	owner, if you are a consultant, if you're in the coaching space, sometimes I know business owners
1:13.3	solidly identify as business owners. And then there's people who don't identify as business
1:18.8	owners who are maybe more in the consulting space or maybe have some sort of side hustle.
1:22.9	And sometimes you're even dismissive of like, well, it's not really a business. If you do
1:26.7	something that generates revenue for yourself it's not really a business. If you do something that generates
1:28.1	revenue for yourself, that's owning a business. And it's something where you're exchanging
1:34.5	services or goods for money. And so oftentimes this net of like who's a business owner is
1:41.0	much larger than sometimes people think. And sometimes there's way
1:44.8	more people who live in that net than self-identify. So clarifying that up, I'm also making sure
1:50.6	that you know that this episode is also for those of you who don't own businesses, because here's
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sara Dean, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sara Dean and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.