How I Transitioned To Coaching After Being In Corporate Sales My Entire Life
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Coach: Barbara Grant
Founder, Hope For Couples
Profitable: Yes
Founders: 1
Employees: 0
Who are you, and what coaching business did you start?
I’m Barbara Grant, and I’m what you would call a neurodiverse relationship coach. That's a big mouthful. It's basically neurodiversity. People who are autistic, have high-functioning autism, ADHD, maybe dyslexia, or even OCD. Many people are that way but are very high functioning and don't even know it until one of their kids are diagnosed and then all of a sudden all of the marriage problems that have been around for 5 to 25 to 55 years surface. Like, "oh my gosh, this is a piece of our puzzle."
I got into this field because I’ve been married twice. My first marriage lasted 20 years, and we didn’t know at the time that my ex-husband was neurodiverse. After we separated, I got married again, and this time, my son—who is now 34—was diagnosed with high-functioning autism and ADHD. That led me to realize that my second husband was also neurodiverse. While my son’s father and I are now great co-parents and best friends, this experience helped me learn a lot. I decided to pursue a master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy, alongside biblical counseling, to learn even more.
Eventually, after evaluating my relationship, I made the difficult decision to leave my second marriage. But in the process of learning all about these moving parts of difficult marriages and neurodiversity, I got coaching, and my coach inspired me to become a coach, so all the skills and gray hairs of wisdom that I've got, I now put to work for my clients and their families internationally.
What did you do before and how did you transition into full-time coaching?
Well, you know, I thought I had actually retired. I had been in corporate sales and marketing and communications all my real professional life as an adult, and was most good with relationship building. I had done a lot of mentoring of people at church, and that's kind of what helped me understand, you know, people have more problems than just spiritual problems. There are mental health issues. There are things going on. I had retired from actually working in marketing and sales, but my growth in my own understanding of my family situation and the many people who struggle with marital relations, issues with neurodiversity, that's kind of what got me into learning about it for myself. But then I figured I've got to get a master's in marriage and family therapy to really understand the big picture of mental health. And sadly, they don't teach you anything about neurodiversity in that arena. You learn that in your life, and you have to get special training, which I eventually did.
I was working under the encouragement of a mentor coach, and she had a lot of client overflow. She knew my expertise and I liked the idea of interacting with people and giving them homework so they had something to do in between sessions. So it wasn't just talk therapy. They were going to be the athlete and me the coach. They have to go practice and do their push ups and run their laps and I optimize their effort.
So I was told, "Hey, I have a couple I can't fit them on my schedule. Can you work with them?" And I'm like, sure. And I basically designed stages of coaching (seen below). Let's do intensive care triage for the marriage first. And then as they settle down and get into their own lanes, and everybody's learning what they need to do to be better at the partnership, then I developed a roadmap for couples coaching, which is kind of my my blueprint.
But from that experience, there were a lot of women who wanted to work on their marriages and not their husband so much. So I started having classes for women and created curriculum using all kinds of resources. So, I did Zoom classes, and one-on-one meetings. It sort of grew from there and I'm still experimenting with what's best.
How did you figure out your pricing?
Well, because I had never done this before, and I had been doing biblical counseling for free, my bar was very low, and my mentor, who was also an ordained minister, took hardly any money because she was subsidized by her church. So I was like, well, I feel weird charging more than you because you have all these accolades, you've got a podcast, you're somebody in the industry. So I charged what she charged, but then I started applying pressure to her. I'm like, you need to raise your rates. I've done research the the industry is triple what you're charging. And I need to make more, so you need to charge more. So, we increased our rates together. I'm still below market rates relative to what some people are charging. But I think I found a sweet spot of sustainability.
How do classes fit into your business model now?
The truth be told, I make most of my money by the hour with the classes. Because once you develop a class in the curriculum, then you just basically have to hold the class and execute and do a little admin in between the classes. And that is a great space to deepen relationships. Then women end up pulling their husbands in. It flowers in many ways. So my ROI on classes and groups is actually very high, and that's kind of the direction I'm growing. I've recently built an online group community with drop in Zooms sessions as a monthly subscription. That's the model I'd like to expand on in the future.
How much did it cost to get this business off the ground?
Well, I was a pretty "do it yourself", gal. I built my own website on GoDaddy and posting everything on Facebook. And because initially I was still in school and I was getting referrals, I didn't advertise anywhere. I played around a little with Facebook ads and LinkedIn booths and posts, but that never netted anything for me that I could measure. I think this is this year is been my first big foray into actually hiring a business coach who pointed me in the direction of somebody to help me set up my coaching platform, which I use, CoachAccountable. This has been a huge time saver in my life. I used to do everything manually, and I'm I'm working with people who are helping me to really understand Google ads, SEO, optimize my website, and I'm getting into a more focused and specific way of targeting people, nurturing leads and building relationships on multiple channels.
Since launch, what has worked to attract & retain customers?
Well, I kind of backed into my niche. I'll be honest. I just looked at everything that I was: multi-married, Christian neurodiverse husbands, family of origin and children. And I mean, that was it right there. Plus my coach had been a faith based, neurodiverse couples expert, so she kind of modeled this thing for me, and, you know, she's pioneering that whole offering in the Christian world, and I'm really right up there with her as a thought leader. So that was a door that opened for me that I'm like, "I think I can go this way".
This makes sense. This is who I am. It was so authentic for me, because it comes right out of my life experience. And now I'm getting more into discernment counseling because of my divorce experience. A lot of people need help with that as well.
So, in essence, I attract clients by being very clear about my niche: neurodiverse relationships, Christian values, and coaching rooted in my personal experience. I also keep clients engaged by providing them with tons of valuable resources, which they’ve told me are among the best out there. They often come back with new challenges or refer their family members, so the relationships continue to grow organically.
In terms of partnerships, I have definitely explored the world of podcasting. Not that I'm a podcaster, but I am on podcasts a lot, and there are people I'm meeting with saying "Oh my gosh, this is so important. Thanks for being my guest. I'd love to have you back." So I've been on some neurodiverse specialty, focus on neurodiverse relationships podcast. I've also been on some more general Christian life goal/life development podcasts. I'm also partnering with just Christian therapists or Christian coaches in general, through LinkedIn and Facebook. And there is even a hub of neurodiverse focused coaches where I'm part of a monthly national think tank. Twenty-five of us get together and talk about what we do and how to do this, and how to help each other and refer people to each other, because we all have different specialties.
Any mistakes or lessons learned along the way?
Automate immediately!
I wish I had known about CoachAccountable when I started because it was worth investing in. I didn't understand how many hours I would be using of my time to do all these things manually, and I would have done that sooner.
I also probably would have educated myself a lot sooner about where the market was going and where I was unique in the market. So I do have a unique offering, and finding a unique value proposition is very important, because getting that message out to the market is what will distinguish you and people who are looking for you are going to find you if you position yourself correctly.
I don't want everybody who has a marriage problem or is married to an autistic person to come online. I have a specific "these are my ideal clients" , and this is who I'm messaging to, and this is what I'm attracting, and this is what I am able to service well. So knowing your niche is, I think, pretty critical, and I didn't figure that out right away at all.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Right now, I’m in a big transition phase. I’ve invested in rebuilding my operations, hiring a business coach, and stepping up my marketing. My profitability has dipped this year, but I see it as a necessary investment. I’m laying the groundwork for bigger things in 2025, with a clearer focus on marketing strategies, nurturing leads, and building multi-channel relationships. So, while the profitability isn’t there yet, the pipeline looks strong, and I’m really excited for the future.
I’m planning to create more courses where people can access modules and workbooks for a reasonable price. I’m also looking into offering group coaching sessions for couples—something I haven’t done before but have been told there’s a need for. Communication skills are a big focus, and I’ve received great feedback on the tools I’ve developed, so I want to turn that into classes. I’m even thinking about writing a book, but that’ll probably come in 2025.
How did you determine there was a need for group coaching and membership?
I held focus groups with long-time clients—about 20 women who’ve been with me through different stages. I asked them directly what they’d want to pay for and how I could add value. The feedback was incredibly specific, including keywords and what they’d search for. I used that as market research. I realized there wasn’t a faith-based women’s group focused on neurodiverse relationships, so I thought, why not? It’s all about finding out what your clients want and delivering it.
What tools are you using today for your business?
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- The Neurodiverse Christian Couples podcast hosted by my mentor
Advice for other coaches who want to get started or just starting out?
If you’re just getting started, have something unique to offer. There are so many people flooding the coaching market, so it’s essential to stand out. Make sure you’ve got the right training and a network or referral base that can send you business. It’s not enough to just have a coaching certification—you need credibility and a clear path to clients.
Where can we go to learn more?