Success Leaves Clues

Davis Nguyen
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Success Leaves Clues is a podcast spotlighting the stories, strategies, and transformations created by today’s top career, leadership, executive, and other coaches. Each episode dives into the real-world journeys behind coaching businesses, how they started, scaled, and succeeded, along with lessons learned, client success stories, and practical takeaways for aspiring or established coaches. Whether you’re helping professionals pivot careers, grow as leaders, or step into entrepreneurship, this show offers an inside look at what it takes to build a purpose-driven, profitable coaching practice.

  1. From Passion to Profitable Coaching: Hazel Russo’s 25-Year Journey

    1 day ago

    From Passion to Profitable Coaching: Hazel Russo’s 25-Year Journey

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, host Pedro sits down with Hazel Russo, an EMCC-accredited executive coach, coaching supervisor, and creator of the Lumination coaching game. With more than 25 years of experience helping leaders and professionals create meaningful transformation, Hazel shares the remarkable journey that led her into coaching and the lessons she learned while building a thriving business. Hazel opens up about discovering coaching through personal development work, landing her first paying clients, and embracing the identity of being a coach. She discusses the challenges of marketing, networking, pricing, and growing a sustainable coaching practice, while sharing practical strategies that helped her attract opportunities and build a strong referral network. The conversation also explores the creation of Lumination, a unique coaching tool designed to spark insight, creativity, and powerful conversations. Hazel shares her perspective on finding your niche, increasing visibility, scaling a coaching business without burnout, and delivering transformational results for clients. Connect with LinkedIn: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelrusso/ Website: Website: https://www.hazelrusso.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    34 min
  2. Dr. Bob & Dr. Judith Wright: The Secret to Purposeful Leadership and Lasting Success

    4 days ago

    Dr. Bob & Dr. Judith Wright: The Secret to Purposeful Leadership and Lasting Success

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets), host Davis Nguyen sits down with the founders of LiveWright, a husband-and-wife team who have spent more than 45 years helping executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders build extraordinary careers while creating meaningful, fulfilling lives. Drawing from decades of coaching experience and research, they share insights from working with leaders of multi-million, billion-dollar, and global organizations. Dr. Bob and Dr. Judith discuss the hidden challenges that successful executives face, including imposter syndrome, burnout, lack of fulfillment, and developmental blind spots. They explain why purpose-driven leadership creates better business results, how great leaders reclaim their time through intentional delegation, and why investing in personal growth delivers returns that extend far beyond financial success. The conversation also explores leadership development, executive coaching, company culture, lifelong learning, and the importance of continually evolving as a leader. Packed with practical wisdom and inspiring stories, this episode offers a powerful roadmap for anyone looking to build a successful business while living a more meaningful and impactful life. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjudithwright/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbobrobertwright/ Website:https://livewright.com/meet-judith/ Website: https://livewright.com/meet-bob/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    24 min
  3. How to Build a Coaching Business That Runs Without You | Davis Nguyen

    4 days ago

    How to Build a Coaching Business That Runs Without You | Davis Nguyen

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues, host Pedro sits down with Davis Nguyen, founder of Purple Circle and My Consulting Offer, to discuss the realities of scaling a coaching business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Davis shares his journey from building a side business to creating multiple seven- and eight-figure coaching companies. He explains the four levels of business growth, the biggest mistakes coaches make when trying to scale, and why many business owners focus on the wrong problems. You'll learn how successful coaches generate consistent leads, improve sales, build systems that create time freedom, and develop businesses that can eventually operate without their daily involvement. Davis also provides an inside look at Purple Circle's coaching framework, including the Vision Planner, the 72-Point Assessment, and the four growth tracks that help coaches increase income, impact, and freedom. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamdavisnguyen/ Website: https://joinpurplecircle.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    42 min
  4. How Curtis Butler Built a Fully Booked Coaching Business

    4 days ago

    How Curtis Butler Built a Fully Booked Coaching Business

    In this powerful follow-up episode of Success Leaves Clues, host Davis Nguyen sits down once again with career coach Curtis Butler to discuss the incredible growth of his coaching business, the lessons he's learned, and the personal challenges he's overcome since their last conversation. Curtis shares how he transitioned from a successful 30-year career in finance into coaching, despite financial uncertainty and family pressures. He opens up about the struggles of entrepreneurship, the importance of mentorship, and how staying committed to his mission of helping students, graduates, and families has transformed both his business and his life. From packed calendars and growing demand to achieving milestones that once seemed impossible, Curtis reveals what it takes to build momentum, create lasting impact, and scale a coaching business without losing sight of purpose. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtisbutler/ Website: https://www.guidedascentcoaching.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    22 min
  5. Rachael O'Meara: From Burnout to a Thriving Coaching Business

    4 days ago

    Rachael O'Meara: From Burnout to a Thriving Coaching Business

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues Podcast, host Davis Nguyen sits down with Rachael O'Meara, former Google leader, bestselling author of Pause, and executive career coach, to explore how high achievers can break free from burnout, self-doubt, and analysis paralysis. Rachael shares her personal journey from struggling with burnout during her 13-year career at Google to building a thriving coaching business that helps ambitious tech leaders gain clarity, confidence, and career fulfillment. She also reveals how joining Purple Circle transformed her business by creating a consistent flow of leads, sales, and sustainable growth. Together, Davis and Rachael discuss the importance of investing in yourself, trusting the coaching process, overcoming overthinking, and building a business and life that are both successful and sustainable. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeara/ Website: https://www.rachaelomeara.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    28 min
  6. Alex Barker: How I Built a Business That Runs Without Me

    4 days ago

    Alex Barker: How I Built a Business That Runs Without Me

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues Podcast, host Davis Nguyen sits down with Alex Barker, pharmacist, entrepreneur, and founder of a successful career coaching company, to discuss the lessons learned from building, scaling, and transforming a coaching business. Alex shares his journey from being an unhappy pharmacist to helping hundreds of pharmacists land better careers while growing a team-driven coaching business. He opens up about the challenges of hiring the wrong people, managing an underperforming team, creating consistent revenue, and making difficult leadership decisions that ultimately changed the trajectory of his company. Together, Davis and Alex explore what it takes to build predictable lead generation, improve sales, create high-performing teams, and develop systems that allow a business owner to step back without sacrificing growth. They also discuss the importance of taking action, embracing tough conversations, and overcoming the obstacles that keep many entrepreneurs stuck. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-barker-pharmd/ Website: https://thehappypharmd.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    35 min
  7. The Secret to Sustainable High Performance with Max Martina

    29 May

    The Secret to Sustainable High Performance with Max Martina

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets) our guest is Max Martina, entrepreneur, leadership advisor, and business strategist, who shares powerful insights on personal energy management, purpose-driven leadership, founder burnout, and building a business that aligns with your strengths. Max breaks down how entrepreneurs and high performers can identify their deepest sources of energy, conduct personal energy audits, delegate energy-draining tasks, and create sustainable long-term success without sacrificing fulfillment. This conversation is packed with practical strategies for founders, coaches, executives, and ambitious professionals looking to operate at their highest level while building meaningful work and stronger teams. You can find him on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-martina-41396715/ https://cambridge-leadership.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    43 min
  8. The Founder Is the Bottleneck: Fixing the Real Problem in Scaling Businesses with Forrest Derr

    29 May

    The Founder Is the Bottleneck: Fixing the Real Problem in Scaling Businesses with Forrest Derr

    In this episode of Success Leaves Clues (formerly Career Coaching Secrets), the host is Pedro and guest Forrest Derr, a fractional integrator and COO who helps founders turn chaotic, owner-dependent companies into structured, scalable businesses that can run without them. Forrest shares hard truths from working with scaling founders between $2M–$50M revenue, where the real bottleneck is often not the team—but the owner themselves. He breaks down why accountability issues usually come from lack of clarity, how empowering teams changes everything, and why most founders unknowingly build businesses that trap them instead of freeing them. The conversation dives deep into the shift from trading time for money to building outcome-based consulting models, the danger of overusing AI without real strategic thinking, and why systematizing—though boring—is the key to scaling and eventually exiting a business. Forrest also walks through his own fractional COO model, including his one-day deep-dive diagnostic process and six-month engagement structure designed to install leadership systems and replace himself with a strong internal second-in-command. Connect with LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forrestkderr/?skipRedirect=true Website: https://derrconsulting.com/ Support the show You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thesuccessleavesclues If you are a coach looking to grow your business, you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com

    35 min
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About

Success Leaves Clues is a podcast spotlighting the stories, strategies, and transformations created by today’s top career, leadership, executive, and other coaches. Each episode dives into the real-world journeys behind coaching businesses, how they started, scaled, and succeeded, along with lessons learned, client success stories, and practical takeaways for aspiring or established coaches. Whether you’re helping professionals pivot careers, grow as leaders, or step into entrepreneurship, this show offers an inside look at what it takes to build a purpose-driven, profitable coaching practice.

Information

  • Creator
    Davis Nguyen
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    690
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Success Leaves Clues
  • Show Website
    Success Leaves Clues
  • Provider

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