Women of a Certain Stage

In this episode, Lauren is joined by Christelle, a French-born, Switzerland-based graduate of the Menopause Coach Diploma, whose perimenopause journey sparked a passion for educating women around her. Christelle shares how she pieced together her own experience in hindsight, what drew her to menopause coaching, and the niche she's carving out — including working with couples navigating perimenopause together.
Christelle grew up in France and has spent over 20 years living abroad — in Germany, the United States (Colorado), and now Switzerland, where she's been based for a decade. With a background in marketing and experience in the medical industry, she's now training as a menopause coach, planning a soft launch of her coaching business in May, and bringing a unique focus on couples and communication to her work.
What We Discuss
Christelle's international background Christelle has lived in France, Germany, Colorado, and Switzerland — speaking French, German, and English fluently. She moved to Switzerland in 2015 to give her children the opportunity to grow up bilingual in French and English, and has been there ever since.
How she found the Menopause Coach Diploma After attending a menopause webinar in the Zurich area, Christelle noticed a presenter who described herself as a certified menopause coach. She tracked down the contact via LinkedIn and eventually discovered Lauren's work — attending all eight of Lauren's webinars before deciding to join the diploma programme.
Her own perimenopause experience Christelle's perimenopause experience was something she only fully understood in hindsight. She'd been reading widely, listening to podcasts, following US-based doctors advocating for women, and became passionate about making sure the women around her knew they weren't going crazy — that there's a clear explanation for what they're experiencing.
What stood out about the programme Christelle had experienced plenty of pre-recorded, self-paced learning in her career and found it ineffective. What attracted her to the diploma was its practical, live structure — particularly being taken through the Menopause Plan as a coachee as well as learning to coach. She found the experience of being coached through the programme herself gave her a deeper understanding of what she'd be offering her own clients.
Changes she made through the Menopause Plan Being coached through the plan prompted real, practical changes: more awareness around hydration, reducing coffee intake (with the help of a mushroom-based adaptogen drink she discovered), and actively cultivating a more positive mindset. Lauren's opening question — "What's going well for you since we last met?" — stuck with her and shifted her default lens.
Finding practice clients Christelle's first practice client came organically — a friend who said "you've helped me so much, I want to do this for you." Others took more time, as people were interested but hesitant when coaching was mentioned directly. By the time of recording, she had three practice clients and was in conversations with a potential fourth.
Her niche: working with couples One of the most distinctive aspects of Christelle's vision is her focus on couples. Having noticed the impact of perimenopause on communication within relationships — and the fact that the 45–60 age bracket has the highest divorce rates, most often initiated by women — she wants to create a space for couples to open up dialogue about what's happening. Not couples therapy, but an opening of communication around a normal phase of life.
Her plans going forward Christelle is planning a soft launch of her coaching business in May, after completing a social media training course in April. She's building a bank of content ideas, posting gradually on Instagram and LinkedIn, and hopes to grow through word of mouth from her practice clients. Longer term, she's interested in expanding into couples workshops.
Key Takeaways
Perimenopause often only makes sense in hindsight — many women piece it together after the fact
Practical, live learning is far more effective than watching pre-recorded videos alone
Being coached through the programme yourself is one of the most powerful parts of the diploma — it builds genuine empathy for future clients
Telling people what you're doing is essential — clients won't come if they don't know you exist
The 45–60 age bracket has the highest divorce rates, and menopause may be an under-recognised factor — creating a real need for couples-focused coaching
Starting small, with practice clients, is a natural and effective way to build confidence as a new coach

Timestamps
[00:00] Introduction — Lauren welcomes Christelle
[00:01] Christelle's background: growing up in France, living in Germany, Colorado, and Switzerland
[00:02] Meeting her husband, starting a family, and building a career in Colorado
[00:03] Moving to Switzerland in 2015 — raising bilingual children and feeling at home
[00:04] Skiing in Colorado — Lauren and Christelle find common ground
[00:05] How Christelle discovered the Menopause Coach Diploma via a webinar in Zurich
[00:06] Lauren on why she runs free webinars before people commit to the programme
[00:07] What drew Christelle to menopause coaching — her own perimenopause experience in hindsight
[00:08] The importance of talking openly so menopause stops being a taboo
[00:09] What Christelle learned in the programme that went beyond books
[00:10] The value of the live, practical format — being both coachee and coach
[00:11] Finding practice clients — what worked and what slowed down
[00:12] What clients really want: to be heard about something they've never talked about
[00:13] Learning from coaches from other disciplines within the cohort
[00:14] Being taken through the Menopause Plan — embracing the process even when you think you know the content
[00:15] Real changes: hydration, reducing coffee, adaptogen drinks, and positive mindset shifts
[00:16] Lauren on starting sessions with "what's going well?" — and why she baked caramel shortbread
[00:17] Childhood joy revisited: baking with mum, and cycling in Colorado
[00:18] A cycling accident and the anxiety that followed — losing something you loved
[00:19] Building confidence back up — and the joy of wind in your face, cycling or skiing
[00:20] Plans for launch: part-time job search, social media training, and a soft launch in May
[00:21] Building a content bank before going public on Instagram and LinkedIn
[00:22] Lauren on visibility — why telling people what you do matters
[00:23] Christelle's niche: working with couples, and the link between menopause and divorce rates
[00:24] How couples coaching might look in practice — workshops and validation with early clients
[00:25] What Christelle would say to someone on the fence about the diploma
[00:26] Final advice: attend the free webinars and treat the diploma as an investment in yourself
[00:27] Wrap-up and farewell

Interested in working with Christelle, or finding a menopause coach near you? Visit womenscoachingschool.com to find out more about the Menopause Coach Diploma and our graduate community.

In this episode, Lauren sits down with Sara Beattie, a former primary school teacher turned menopause coach, whose powerful personal journey through perimenopause led her from forgetting her own lessons mid-class to becoming a qualified coach, master's researcher, and fierce advocate for women navigating the menopause transition.
Sara shares the raw reality of living with unrecognised perimenopause symptoms while teaching in Hong Kong — from debilitating driving anxiety and extreme dizziness to standing in front of a classroom with a pen in her hand, unable to remember what she was teaching. Her story is one of confusion, isolation, and ultimately, transformation.
Guest: Sara Beattie
Sara is a former educator with over two decades of international teaching experience across Asia and the Middle East. After completing a Master's in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, she pivoted to menopause coaching — a path sparked by her own difficult perimenopause journey and a desire to give other women the support she never had.
📸 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-beattie/ 🌐 Website: sarabeattiecoaching.com 📧 Email: [email protected]

What We Discuss
Sara's perimenopause story Sara experienced a range of confusing and frightening symptoms while living overseas — extreme dizziness that meant she could only turn right when getting out of bed, sudden and severe driving anxiety, brain fog so intense she'd forget she was teaching mid-lesson, disrupted sleep, hot flushes, sweats, and anxiety. For years, she didn't connect these experiences to perimenopause.
The impact of brain fog on her career One of the most striking moments Sara describes is standing at the whiteboard teaching maths to eight and nine-year-olds and simply forgetting what she was doing — mid-sentence, pen in hand. She also recalls forgetting children's names, addressing the wrong parents, and losing her thread in staff meetings. The experience shook her confidence deeply: "Have I still got this? Can I still do this?"
Dark thoughts and the turning point Sara opens up about experiencing dark thoughts during this period — including a particular stretch of her walk to school she privately renamed "Permission Street." It wasn't until hearing a radio segment that she recognised how serious things had become. She found Dr. Louise Newson's first book, took it to her GP, and credits an open-minded young male doctor who read it cover to cover and restarted the conversation — leading to Sarah choosing HRT, which made a significant difference for her.
The role of positive psychology Alongside HRT, Sara began her master's programme in applied positive psychology. Simple practices — gratitude, reflective writing, her "best self" letter — helped her feel more level and more like herself again.
Her master's research on perimenopause and brain fog Prompted by a supervisor who asked what she was truly passionate about, Sara redirected her dissertation to focus on perimenopausal women experiencing brain fog. She interviewed women across five time zones, hearing how much they valued having a space to talk about the real, lived experience of menopause — not just the medical facts.
What drew her to the Menopause Coach Diploma Sara was drawn to Lauren's programme because of its depth and rigour — a live, diploma-level course rather than a self-paced quiz. She valued the structure of being coached as well as learning to coach, and initially wondered if she really needed the personal coaching element (she did). She found the process of experiencing the programme as a client gave her profound insight into what she would be offering her own clients.
Finding practice clients Sara reached out to former workplaces, friends, and family — not to ask directly, but to ask if they knew anyone who might benefit. She also used Instagram and LinkedIn. Her advice: just tell people. If you don't, nobody knows.
What's next for Sara
Launching a group version of her coaching programme
Running a creative research project called "Age of Renewal" — inviting women of any age to share their experience or perception of menopause through whatever medium speaks to them: poetry, photography, collage, ceramics, nail art, doodles. The project was presented at the World Congress for Positive Psychology in Brisbane to a standing ovation, and is being launched again for a conference in Dublin.
Exploring workplace menopause education in the Middle East, including a potential move to Saudi Arabia

Key Takeaways
Perimenopause symptoms can be wide-ranging, unexpected, and frightening — especially when you don't know what's causing them
Cognitive symptoms like brain fog can have a serious impact on professional confidence and identity
Dark thoughts and low mood are real symptoms of perimenopause, driven in part by the role of oestrogen in psychological wellbeing
Finding the right GP makes all the difference — as does advocating for yourself and bringing information to appointments
Positive psychology tools (gratitude, reflective writing, future-self exercises) can complement medical treatment
Being coached — not just learning to coach — is a valuable part of professional training

Timestamps
[01:00] Sara's career in education and how menopause changed everything
[02:00] Unexpected symptoms: extreme dizziness and driving anxiety in Hong Kong
[04:00] Moving back to London, starting her master's, and the world changing in 2020
[05:00] Brain fog in the classroom — forgetting how to teach mid-lesson
[06:00] Loss of sleep and the knock-on effect on everything
[07:00] What we were taught about menopause at school (and how little it was)
[08:00] Dark thoughts and "Permission Street" — recognising how serious things had become
[09:00] Finding Dr. Louise Newson's book and a GP who actually listened
[10:00] Choosing HRT and the difference it made; starting positive psychology practices
[11:00] Lauren reflects on oestrogen's role in emotional and cognitive wellbeing
[12:00] Lauren opens up about her own experience with mental health during menopause
[13:00] Sara starts speaking openly at school — running a menopause café and writing policy
[14:00] A pivotal supervisor question leads to Sara's master's research on brain fog in perimenopause
[15:00] Searching for a menopause coaching course and finding the Menopause Coach Diploma
[16:00] What stood out about the diploma: live, rigorous, diploma-level training
[17:00] The value of being coached as well as learning to coach
[1800] Learning from fellow cohort members across different experience levels
[19:] Client outcomes: agency, empowerment, and trusting the process
[20:00] How Sara found her practice clients — and why you have to tell people
[21:00] Favourite parts of the programme: the cohort, Lauren's expertise, expert guest sessions
[22:00] The importance of up-to-date knowledge and weekly reflective practice
[23:00] The value of reflective practice for coaches working with clients over time
[24:00] Launching a group programme and the "Age of Renewal" research project
[25:00] Presenting at the World Congress for Positive Psychology in Brisbane — standing ovation
[26:00] Re-launching the research project for a Dublin conference; how to get involved
[27:] Coaching workplaces in the Middle East and plans to move to Saudi Arabia
[28:00] The disparity in HRT access for expats and people moving between countries
[29:00] Why the project is called "Age of Renewal" — reframing menopause in the Middle East
[30:00] Rediscovering joy and getting back to who you truly are
[31:00] Sara's love of cross-cultural learning and life as an expat
[32:00] Sara's message to anyone considering the Menopause Coach Diploma

Resources Mentioned
The Haynes Manual to Menopause by Dr. Louise Newson
Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology (MSc)
World Congress for Positive Psychology, Brisbane
The Menopause Coach Diploma — womenscoachingschool.com

If anything in this episode resonated with you and you're experiencing dark thoughts or low mood, please reach out to a healthcare professional or a trusted person in your life.

In this episode, Lauren welcomes Megan Bird from Seattle, Washington—event planner turned perimenopause podcaster and newly minted menopause coach. Megan's story is one many will recognize: the perfect storm of kids, COVID, and perimenopause that drained all the joy from what used to be her dream job, leaving her confused, stuck, and searching for answers.
For nearly 15 years, Megan ran a successful event planning company (70% weddings, 30% corporate—though financially the inverse), fueled by her love language of words of affirmation from grateful clients. But when her "give a shit was just tapped out," she knew something was profoundly wrong—she just didn't know what.
This conversation dives into the snake oil saturating the menopause industry (from useless supplements to sketchy "qualifications"), why Megan waded through the noise to find real, evidence-based education, and how sleepless nights with sleep scores between 20-50 finally pushed her toward exploring hormone therapy. She also shares why she initially didn't plan to coach but changed her mind halfway through the diploma, and how she's now launching "Coming of Rage"—a perimenopause-focused podcast co-hosted with her best friend since age eight.
If you've ever felt your joy bleeding away without understanding why, if you're waking up soaked through and changing clothes at 5:30 AM, or if you're desperately seeking real information in a sea of misinformation, Megan's story will resonate deeply.
Key Points Covered:
• From Dream Job to "I Don't Give a Shit": For 15 years, Megan owned an event planning company that was her pride and joy—weddings and corporate events (Xbox PR team included). She loved ushering stressed clients through high-stakes, high-budget events and basking in their gratitude: "We couldn't do this without you." That affirmation fueled her—until it didn't.
• The Trifecta: Kids, COVID, Perimenopause: When kids came along, COVID hit, and perimenopause started, the things that used to feed Megan "started to really fall flat." She struggled to understand why things that made her happy no longer worked. "All my joy is bleeding away," she said. "On paper it looks like you have everything, but it felt not that."
• The Confusing Soul-Searching: Megan felt "really stuck and really confused as to why I was stuck. It felt really sad." She couldn't put a finger on what was wrong—a common experience for perimenopausal women who don't yet realize what's happening.
• Early Onset Dementia Fear: Lauren shares her own experience of thinking she had early-onset dementia, highlighting how common it is for women to have no idea menopause is the culprit—even healthcare professionals like Lauren with a background in performance don't always connect the dots.
• The Snake Oil Industry: Megan describes the supplement industry (especially in the US) as "overwhelming"—particularly hair loss products claiming to fix perimenopausal hair loss. Her OB/GYN best friend confirmed: "That is just absolute garbage. Half of this stuff doesn't even get absorbed by your body."
• The Chocolate Bar Con: Lauren shares seeing a chocolate bar with a new label and tiny new ingredient (that does nothing in that quantity) repackaged as "menopause chocolate" at twice the price. Same product, new marketing gimmick.
• Sketchy "Menopause Coach" Programs: Before finding Women of a Certain Stage, Megan investigated programs that felt "very oily"—downloadable bundles of papers with no human interaction. "If you just regurgitate this 500-page printout, you can be a menopause coach. I wouldn't trust somebody with that accreditation. That feels really sketchy."
• The Instagram DM Reality Check: Lauren shares a recent message from someone who took a downloadable course (no coaching assessment, no human interaction) and now doesn't know how to actually coach, get clients, or build a business. "Can you just tell me what to do?" The person was referred to a business coach because information ≠ implementation skills.
• Why She Chose Women of a Certain Stage (The Big 3):
Personal connection: Listening to Lauren's story resonated deeply—"I felt like I connect with this person"
Top-tier experts: Meeting and learning from "movers and shakers in the industry" gave phenomenal confidence
Live, synchronous learning: "I wanted dialogue. I wanted to meet other people in the cohort. I wanted community."

• Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Explained: Asynchronous means no real-time interaction—just workbooks, tests, and due dates done alone. Synchronous means face-to-face (or screen-to-screen) learning with mentors and cohort members. Megan didn't want to be "floating out there in the menopause space alone trying to grab at stuff."
• AI's Role—But Humans Are Essential: Lauren discusses how AI is coming thick and fast (she attended Oracle conferences on AI back in the early 2000s), but believes deeply: "We still need that human-to-human contact. By seeing each other's eyeballs, watching body language, being in the same vicinity—that's what gives us fuel to be the best version of ourselves."
Timestamps:
[00:01:00] From dream job event planner to "give a shit tapped out"
[00:02:00] Words of affirmation love language and client gratitude
[00:04:00] Kids, COVID, perimenopause trifecta
[00:06:00] Desperate for real information in the noise
[00:07:00] Snake oil salesmen everywhere
[00:09:00] Sketchy menopause coach programs
[00:11:00] Why Women of a Certain Stage (the big 3)
[00:13:00] Asynchronous vs. synchronous learning explained
[00:14:00] AI is coming but humans are essential
[00:16:00] Waking up at 5:30 AM in Seattle
[00:17:00] Coming of Rage podcast launch
[00:19:00] Coaching mind-change halfway through
[00:22:00] The birthing industry comparison
[00:24:00] Not everyone can deep dive for 90 hours
[00:27:00] American healthcare's preventative care failure
[00:29:00] Sleep: The #1 cross to bear
[00:32:00] Hockey stick sleep decline and considering HRT
Connect with Megan:
• Instagram: @comingofrage • LinkedIn: Under construction (coming soon!) • Podcast: "Coming of Rage" launching end of February 2026
Resources:
• Women of a Certain Stage Menopause Coach Diploma: https://womenofacertainstage.lpages.co/menopause_coach/
• Free guide: "Top 5 evidence-based menopause resources" → womenofacertainstage.com/menopause-resources
• Oura Ring: Sleep and body temperature tracking
• Women's Health Initiative (WHI): Original 2002 study and subsequent updates
Content Warning: This episode contains frank discussion of sleep deprivation, night sweats, loss of joy, and includes swearing. Megan's podcast "Coming of Rage" will feature "lots of swears"—listeners, you've been warned!
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Meet your Host:
Lauren is the founder of Women of a Certain Stage and creator of the Become a Menopause Coach diploma program. Having experienced early menopause at 37 (diagnosed in her early 40s after initially fearing early-onset dementia), Lauren is passionate about providing real, evidence-based education in a market saturated with snake oil and misinformation.
Lauren's program features live synchronous learning with top-tier experts, human-to-human connection across global time zones, and ongoing community support for 12 months post-graduation.
Ready to cut through the noise and get real menopause education?
Book a free discovery call: https://bookme.name/womenofacertainstage/lite/tmsh
Join a live cohort where you'll learn from medical experts, practice coaching skills in real-time, and build a community that will support you for years to come—not just hand you a 500-page printout and wish you luck.
Disclaimer: Information shared is for educational and entertainment purposes only and doesn't replace medical advice. Always consult with healthcare professionals for your specific situation. Sleep scores mentioned are from consumer wearable devices and should not be used for medical diagnosis.

In this episode, Lauren welcomes Sarah Cooper, founder of Flamingo Menopause Coaching and a graduate of the Women of a Certain Stage Menopause Coach diploma program. Sarah brings over 10 years of HR experience, specializing in diversity and inclusion strategy, employee experience, and most notably, building workplace belonging—particularly for women navigating menopause.
Sarah's journey from contact center customer service to leading diversity and inclusion initiatives for an entire organization is a masterclass in identifying gaps and creating solutions. When she joined her last corporate role, they were just beginning to explore menopause support. Sarah volunteered to set up the menopause support group from scratch—and what she learned became the framework for seven other employee network groups across the organization.
This conversation explores what diversity and inclusion really means beyond checkbox exercises, why belonging (not just fitting in) is the foundation of workplace culture, how one painting of a flamingo became a business metaphor for creating safe spaces, and why Sarah's "menopause geek" tendencies finally found their perfect outlet after redundancy gave her the push she needed to go all-in on her passion.
If you've ever wondered how to make menopause support feel like genuine cultural change rather than a lunch-and-learn tick-box, or how to transition from corporate security to entrepreneurial freedom, Sarah's story will inspire you.
Key Points Covered:
• From Customer Service to Employee Experience: Sarah started her career in contact centers on the phones, then transitioned into HR about 10 years ago—swapping customer experience for employee experience, which became the foundation for her people-first approach.
• The Menopause Support Group That Changed Everything: When Sarah joined her last company, they were just beginning their menopause journey. She volunteered to set up the menopause support group from scratch, and her learnings from that became the framework for seven other employee network groups across the organization.
• What D&I Actually Means: Diversity and inclusion isn't just about reporting gender pay gaps or diversity in hiring (the "hard elements"). Sarah's strategy was heavily focused on belonging—making sure everyone in the organization felt they had a place, were accepted, understood, and valued for their unique contributions.
• Belonging vs. Fitting In: You can have diversity and inclusion policies without having a diverse workforce. True belonging means diversity of thought, acceptance, finding your place in the organization, and feeling like you truly belong—not just fitting into someone else's mold.
• The Family Analogy (With Caveats): Sarah is resistant to calling workplaces "families" because you're being paid to be there and many families are dysfunctional anyway. But the sense of belonging she aimed for was similar—ensuring women of a certain age don't feel pushed out, misunderstood, or like they no longer belong.
• Culture Starts with Line Managers: Senior leadership matters, but most employees (especially in large contact centers) never interact with the CEO. What makes the real difference is your immediate team and line manager. Do they understand you as a person, not just your role? Do they show kindness, flexibility, and genuine care?
• Common Sense Isn't Common: Sarah's HR mantra: "If we just had managers that use their common sense and were nice people, we wouldn't have HR problems." But somehow that common sense seems to "leave them at the door" when they become managers.
• Lunch-and-Learns Don't Change Culture: One soft lunch-and-learn on menopause (or any topic) doesn't make culture change. Real transformation requires line managers and team leaders developing life skills—listening, communicating, understanding—that go beyond any specific diversity topic.
• The Flamingo Story: Sarah originally planned to start her business in 2020, but COVID derailed it. After getting made redundant again, she thought: "If I'm ever going to do it, I need to do it now." The name came from a painting she created at a leadership offsite—despite her art teacher once telling her she had "good ideas but couldn't put them into practice."
• Creating Safe Spaces to Thrive: The painting instructor broke the task into manageable chunks, created an environment where everyone felt safe, and didn't judge anyone's work. Sarah came away with something that "vaguely resembled" the example and thought: "I quite like this." That experience of creating safe spaces for people to thrive became her business philosophy.
• Flamingo Fun Fact Friday: Sarah is implementing "Flamingo Fun Fact Friday" on social media—sharing fun facts about menopause to educate and engage her audience with personality and playfulness.
• The Menopause Geek Revelation: Sarah has "always been one of these people that researches the hell out of something" and became "a bit of a menopause geek." When she got made redundant, she'd been thinking about training anyway—and realized this was her moment.
• The Conference That Changed Everything: Before being made redundant, Sarah saw Lauren speaking at a conference (where Vicki Ramsden also spoke, who later became a faculty member in the diploma). That planted the seed for choosing Women of a Certain Stage.
• Why This Program: Sarah knew she didn't want a self-paced online course with no interaction ("I just don't do it"). She wanted live sessions with accountability. She also didn't want to just train people to deliver material—she wanted coaching skills because coaching was already part of her leadership style.
• The Comprehensive Factor: Sarah was impressed by the comprehensiveness—not just menopause and coaching content, but also business mechanics for setting up your own practice. The quality of teaching and variety of expert speakers exceeded her expectations.
• The Personal Growth Surprise: Sarah expected to learn information but "hadn't expected to grow so much as a person and increase my confidence." She realized she needed to take more care of her own health and wellbeing—practicing what she was learning to teach.
• The Decluttering Turning Point: For the first 3-4 sessions, Sarah was "just learning it"—studying how coaching was delivered. Then they hit the decluttering module and "something switched in my brain." She finally let herself be coached rather than studying the process, and "that was the turning point."
• Allow Yourself to Be Coached: Lauren always says during the menopause plan delivery: "Allow yourself to be coached. Don't study how I'm delivering this." The magic happens when you stop analyzing the technique and actually experience being coached—that's when transformation occurs.
• The Freedom of Entrepreneurship: Sarah loves the freedom to do what she wants without someone telling her what to do. Her brain constantly fires with ideas while walking, shopping, watching TV, or at the gym—"Oh, that would be a really good post!"
• Risk-Taking When Passionate: Sarah isn't naturally a big risk-taker or daredevil, but she's realized: "I don't mind taking risks when it's something I'm really passionate about because it feels like the right thing to do."
• The Corporate Safety Net vs. Solo Reality: In corporate, you have admin people, comms people, technical people—everyone doing their specialized thing. When you work for yourself, everything is down to you. Even if you outsource, knowing how your own business works and setting up systems is crucial.
• Finding Your New Rhythm: One of the biggest challenges is creating a new routine when you no longer have meetings, deadlines, and projects dictated by others. You need discipline and self-imposed deadlines or "you can easily find yourself wasting the day" and it becomes "an expensive hobby."
• Project Management Still Applies: Sarah used to manage projects with tools and techniques in corporate. She's had to remind herself: "All those things will help me. If I do a project plan, it will help me." The skills transfer—you just need to apply them to yourself.
• Outsource Your Weaknesses: Sarah tried to create her own logo—it was "rubbish." She outsourced it for a reasonable price, and someone turned Fabian (her flamingo) into a professional brand with a full toolkit, colors, and social media-ready assets. Play to your strengths; outsource the rest.
• Pay in Time or Money: You're paying either way—either with your time or with money. When something clearly isn't your strength and you'll waste loads of time on it, outsource if you can.
• Learn Before You Outsource: Even if you plan to outsource eventually (like social media), learn the basics first. You need to understand messaging, calls to action, information types, sources, and brand fit before handing it to someone else—especially when accuracy matters.
• Your Brand Will Evolve: Logos change, messaging changes, how you talk about your work changes. Sarah's seen people get stuck in "I need the website, I need the logo, I need everything perfect" when the first thing they should do is reach out to their existing network—that's where initial business comes from.
• The Gym Talk Success: Sarah did a talk at her local gym. One woman almost didn't come because she thought

In this episode, Lauren welcomes back Carey Peters—actor-turned-entrepreneur, co-founder of Health Coach Institute (HCI), and the coach who taught her how to coach. This is a raw, unfiltered conversation that veers beautifully off-script, touching on everything from voice training and stage presence to psychic downloads, the brutal realities of scaling to eight figures, and why menopause might be the greatest gift of midlife.
Carey brings over 20 years of business-building wisdom, having co-founded Holistic MBA and HCI, which graduated over 40,000 coaches and achieved one of the biggest exits in EdTech history before she stepped away in 2025. Now working privately with founders in the $1-5 million revenue range, Carey shares what she wishes she'd known before building her empire, why most coach training schools are failing their students, and how one to three strategic adjustments can completely transform a business.
This conversation is part masterclass in business strategy, part spiritual journey, and entirely Carey—bold, honest, hilarious, and deeply human. If you've ever wondered whether you should scale or stay small, whether that seven-figure dream is worth the 80-hour weeks, or how to coach with your whole heart while maintaining boundaries, this episode is for you.
Key Points Covered:
• Voice as a Tool: Carey discusses the importance of vocal training for speakers and coaches, drawing from her theater conservatory background. She emphasizes that voice, like clothing and physical embodiment, is an emotional communication tool that requires technique to appear natural.
• Unconscious Competence vs. Conscious Teaching: Carey reveals she's terrible at teaching stage presence because she has "unconscious competence"—she knows how to do it naturally but can't break it down. However, she's an excellent business teacher because she had to learn it step-by-step without natural skill.
• Psychic Coaching & Soul Connections: Before client sessions, Carey receives "full downloads" of what's happening—sometimes relatives come through to chat. She's unsure what's actually happening ("Am I the avatar of a 12-year-old girl in the year 2312?") but trusts what she hears and follows it.
• The Terror Barrier: New coaches hit what Carey calls "the terror barrier"—full-on terror when entering sessions. The scripts in her programs weren't meant to be permanent crutches but "training wheels" to ferry coaches through that initial fear until they gain 1% more confidence.
• The Massive Gap in Coach Training Schools: The biggest players in coach training (especially private equity-owned ones) fail catastrophically at one thing: sharing student success stories. With 40,000 graduates between Holistic MBA and HCI, there should be 20,000 stories showcasing return on investment—but PE-backed schools don't understand information marketing.
• Students Are the Stars, Not the Founders: When PE investors pushed to make HCI an "institution" rather than "the Carey and Stacy show," they missed that the answer was making students the stars. The #1 objection to enrolling is "Will I make my money back?"—and only student stories prove that convincingly.
• The Woman Problem in Coaching: 95%+ of coach training students are women, yet most major schools have no female faces representing the brand. Women need to see other women who've done it, who understand the unique layer of self-doubt, need for permission, and patriarchal limitations wired into female nervous systems.
• It's Only Been 50 Years: In 1974—when Carey was born—women in the US were finally allowed to get their own credit cards without a man. That's only 50 years ago. Women are still emerging from under "the crust of patriarchy" and need female role models who understand that journey.
• The Simplest Possible Strategy: Founders in the $1-5M range need to answer "Why do I want a $10M business? Do I even want that?" before diving into strategy. Often they need just 1-3 adjustments to scale—not a million things—plus the simplest possible structure to support creative minds.
• You Need CEO Eyes: Between $1-5M revenue, you can't afford a CEO but desperately need one. You need external perspective on operations, hiring, structure, and risk management because when you're in it, you can't see clearly. Mistakes get exponentially more expensive.
• The $3.5M Ceiling: Carey and Stacy hit $3.5M two years in a row and realized the choice: learn to become operators, scale back to an exclusive high-ticket model, or "shoot for the moon." They chose the latter, selling to partners who'd achieved a $750M EdTech exit—Carey's "MBA she never got."
• Top Line vs. Profit: "Seven-figure coach" typically means $1M+ revenue but only $200-300K profit. Turnover looks glamorous; profit margin is what matters. Carey emphasizes founders often bring on team too quickly, destroying profit margins unnecessarily.
• The 90% Profit Margin Secret: One-on-one private coaching with the right clients (working 1-3 years at premium rates) offers 90% profit margins. Carey coaches six days per month—far less work than building an empire but potentially comparable income without the stress.
• Lifestyle vs. Empire Building: Empire building is 70-80 hour weeks for years with enormous risk and pressure. Lifestyle businesses offer work-life balance while still requiring real work. The question isn't which is "better" but which aligns with your actual goals and values.
• The Hustle Culture Lie: Anyone teaching "get to seven figures without hustle and grind" is selling bullshit. Building to millions requires enormous work, mistakes, pivots, and grinding—there are no shortcuts. The person teaching the system worked their ass off to create it.
• Would They Have Made More Coaching Privately?: Looking back, Carey wonders if she and Stacy would have actually made more money over the years doing high-ticket private coaching instead of building HCI. It's a legitimate question founders should ask themselves.
• The CEO Struggle Is Universal: Watching accomplished CEOs with impressive backgrounds still struggle with operations, org charts, managing people, and daily business decisions was eye-opening for Carey. Even "experts" don't have all the answers—everyone is figuring it out.
• The "New Level, New Devil" Reality: Whatever level you're at in business—starting, scaling, exiting—there's always a new challenge. It doesn't stop. Everyone has the same beating heart and needs connection regardless of their revenue numbers.
• Brian Franklin's One-to-One Model: Carey credits executive coach Brian Franklin for teaching her the simple but powerful model she now uses for private coaching—focusing on lifestyle business principles rather than empire-building complexity.
• The Menopause Superpower: As estrogen drops, the biological imperative to please disappears. Carey describes no longer tolerating family dysfunction, relationship drama, or anything that doesn't serve her. The "veil lifts" and you genuinely stop caring what others think—it's freedom.
• Built on Big Wounds: Great businesses are often built from big wounds. For Carey, part of her drive to build HCI came from "I don't matter, so if I achieve a lot, I'll be seen as important and valuable." Letting go of HCI allowed her to realize: "I matter no matter what. I don't have to do anything."
• The 2025 Energy: Having left HCI in early 2025, Carey describes it as a "nine year" (endings, completions, letting go) leading into a "one year" (new beginnings). Her intuition shows something new is coming, though she doesn't know what yet.
• Surrender & Motherhood: When Carey suspected she was pregnant at 40+, terrified and spiraling while driving to LAX, she heard a clear voice: "Surrender." She knew immediately she was pregnant and had to have the baby. Her daughter became "the best thing I've ever done" and the catalyst for becoming the person she needed to be.
• Soul Destiny in Coaching: Carey believes deeply (whether right or wrong) that there's a soul-level reason she meets each client or student. It feels sacred and special. Even recording videos for 40,000 HCI students, she felt she loved the person watching and wanted them to "mostly feel loved."
• The 1.2 Billion Woman Market: With 1.2 billion women currently going through menopause globally, it's a massive underserved market. Lauren's tight specialization in menopause coaching is precisely why it works—it's specific, there's enormous demand, and it's what women in that age group are constantly discussing.
• The Male Menopause Coach Success: One of Lauren's graduates is a male VP in financial services who trained as a menopause coach after nearly divorcing over his wife's menopause experience. He now charges $20-30K for relationship coaching—far cheaper than the six-figure divorces his colleagues would face.
• Fall in Love With Your Clients: A phrase Carey and Stacy taught that initially confused Lauren like "a brick." Now Lauren tells her students the same thing: "Fall in love. Make your heart meet their heart. Connect with them where they are." By week 17-18 of each cohort, Lauren keeps tissues nearby because she doesn't want it to end.
• The Prize of Not Caring: At 51, Carey has reached the point where she doesn't care about proving anything, needing recognition, or...