Coaching

running coachMaking a living doing what you love

My passion is enabling people to create really fun, profitable businesses! I’ve written two books to help other solopreneurs get their business from a dream to reality. Building and Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional is considered the bible of infopreneurship and takes you through every step of planning, designing and building your information business. My most recent book for solopreneurs is The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Making a Living Doing What You Love, which walks you through how to set up a service-based small business. My audience is anyone from coaches to technical writers, consultants, event planners and everyone in between. I blog about solopreneurship at The Reluctant Entrepreneur. And I have created a collection of tools and resources for new and long-time solopreneurs.

I provide strategic coaching services for people who already have a business and want to grow it to a new level, and for those starting a business who want to hit the ground running, based on advice from a highly successful solopreneur.

“After talking with you, I felt energized, motivated, and excited about approaching my business in a new way — something I’ve been trying to figure out for 5 years and you drew out of me in about 5 minutes. And I didn’t even know you were doing it.” –Verna Wilder, Wilder and Associates

I am known for my outcome-oriented, individualized coaching, coupled with a genuine desire to help others succeed in their business. Here’s what some of my clients have to say about my coaching style:

“As a result of Mary Ellen’s coaching, my presentation and speaking business has dramatically increased.” –Marcy Phelps, Phelps Research

“The value I get from Mary Ellen’s insight and consistent push to think of things in a new manner is worth many times the investment cost as I am setting up my new business. I am able to gain clear knowledge and direction on what might have taken a year or two to learn through experience. A huge value!” –Britt Mueller, Infoliquidity

I have also created several online learning programs to help solopreneurs hone their skills and strengthen their business. Find out how to make the most of word-of-mouth marketingget paid what you’re worth, get your first five clients, or re-think how you price yourself. Note that I charge for these programs; if you’re a coaching client, I will give you access to these at no charge.

Want to know more about my coaching? Check out my article, Ready, Set, Help!: How to Find a Business Coach. Learn more about me in this AIIP Connections profile. And check out my page of tools and resources for solopreneurs.

How does coaching with Mary Ellen work?

For many years, I charged for my coaching services, in order to both manage the demand on my time and ensure that my coaching clients were fully invested in building their business. However, I have come to realize that this model doesn’t work for me anymore. The rest of my business – strategic research and analysis services, speaking and training, and consulting services for the information industry – fully supports me. Instead of charging for my coaching time, I am focusing on finding other ways to feel compensated.

There is nothing more rewarding than hearing coaching clients tell me that they have taken specific actions and seen clear results based on our conversations. So… here’s how my coaching services work now. If you’re interested in working with me, contact me to set up an initial get-acquainted session. If it seems that I can be of service, the way you pay me is to send me an email before our next call, telling me what specific actions you’ve done since our last call, what results you have seen, and what your current concerns are. As long as you are consistently working toward strategically building your business, including doing things that scare you or push you outside your comfort zone, then we will have a great relationship.


Are you ready to turn your business into something you love? Contact me to schedule a get-acquainted session today!