The Endurance Coachpreneur: Business Tips for Triathlon, Running and Cycling Coaches

Race weekend is the best recruiting content of the year. In this episode, I share how to turn any race, whether you’re there or not, into content that attracts your ideal athlete, plus the little Ironman Maryland game I played five years ago that led me to my assistant coach Robin.

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Every athlete who leaves makes room for a more ideal one. In this episode, I share what happened when two of my athletes took a break, why getting tighter on your niche attracts better athletes, and the homework I want you to do this week to name your ideal athlete.

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Social media was the first shift that left endurance coaches behind. AI is the second. In this episode, I zoom out on 20 years of coaching, who adapted, who got left behind, and why I am bringing AI into my business (but not into my training plans).

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Everyone wants to hire assistant coaches early. Most of the time, it's too early. In this episode, I share what went wrong in my first business, why I waited to add assistants at Fiv3 Racing, and the two traits I screen for before I bring anyone on.

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October is a collision. Your athletes are racing their biggest A races. And it's SELLING season, when athletes are shopping for their next coach.

So why is your plan writing still happening at 9 PM on a Sunday?

In this episode, I break down the RPE system I've used since 2010 to coach 22 athletes in 30 to 60 minutes a day.

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I keep coming back to AI because you guys keep asking about it. This week, I'm breaking down exactly where it belongs in your content process, and where it doesn't.

AI is a dial, not a switch. How much I want you leaning on it depends on where you're at.

Here's my warning - athletes can smell AI-written content, and it costs you trust. I go through the tells (paragraphs that say nothing, repetitive sentence shapes, over-designed posts, suspiciously perfect spelling) and make the case that a typo is proof you actually wrote it.

You can't will your way into a full roster. In this episode, I break down why coaching skill alone was never going to be enough (for me or for you) and take you back to the exact moment Coach Michelle Lake was born: a stalled business, a kid headed to kindergarten, and a decision to finally learn the parts of running a coaching business nobody teaches you.

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It's peak selling season, and I'm making you grade yourself!

Inspired by those old magazine quizzes, this episode walks through a self-audit across the four levers that actually grow a coaching business:

I break down what to look for in each one and give you a simple 0-3 scoring system so you can see exactly where you stand, and which program fits you best based on your numbers.

DM me your four scores on Instagram @CoachMichelleLake. I'd love to hear where you...

You sign up for a race with zero guarantees. So why won't you sign up for your business?

In this episode, I break down why "I'm not good enough" and "I'll do it when I'm further along" keep coaches stuck in the same place a year later.

In this episode, I discuss:

"Until you sign up for the race, it'll...

We've talked about worth. We've talked about pricing. Now it's time for the thing that actually sits underneath both of them: money.

I heard a quote this week that stopped me in my tracks. "If you're scared of money, you'll make no money." And once I heard it, I couldn't stop thinking about how true that is for so many of the coaches I work with.

This episode isn't about spreadsheets (okay...it's a little about spreadsheets). It's about why so many of us were taught to avoid talking about money, where that...

16 years ago, I started coaching with an email, a PDF, and a lot of guesswork. Today, my athletes' workouts sync automatically and we're commenting back and forth before I even finish my coffee.

This episode came from a conversation with my friend who asked me what's actually changed the most since I started coaching. I break it down into three things. Communication. Data. Community. Then, I'll tell you where I think each one is headed.

We talk about:

Selling season is almost here, and up to 70% of athletes look for a coach between September and February. That means most of your future athletes are about to start searching.

Some of them already know your name. But a lot of them don't, yet. They're the lurkers. The quiet Googlers. The ones who find you on Instagram, or through a friend, or (yes, this is happening now) through ChatGPT.

So when a total stranger lands on your website, what happens next?

In this episode, I'm sharing the one thing I see...

Your athletes finish their last big race. Weather cools off. Kids go back to school. And your numbers start to dip.

I used to panic about this. Now I know better. This is just the season, and it's the biggest one of the whole year, the one where over 70% of athletes buy coaching.

In this episode, I'm breaking down what selling season actually is, why it happens, and the two things every coach needs to focus on right now to make the most of it. I'm also walking through my Selling Season Star, the framework...

Just got back from two weeks in Europe, fjords in Norway, a Greek village nowhere near the tourist islands, and one group call taught from happy hour in Athens.

But that's not what this episode is about.

It's August. Your inbox might feel dead. Your athletes are quiet because they're heads down for their A races. That silence isn't a problem. It's the calendar.

Here's what matters: quiet doesn't mean nothing's happening. Athletes are already shopping, they've just been at it for months before the credit card comes out.

In this...

It just happened to a coach I work with. Her athlete didn't finish, and the conversations we had after got me thinking about something we never talk about: how the coach handles a DNF, not just the athlete.

In this episode, I get into the grief of it (yes, even my own DNS-turned-finish story at Ironman Lake Placid), what you can and can't control as a coach, and a simple debrief process to help your athlete (and yourself) move through it and find the next start line. Plus, why this isn't just a race day problem. It...

I write my training plan every week before I ever step foot in the pool or on the track. So why would my business be any different?

In this episode, I'm breaking down the framework I teach inside Dream to 6 for building an actual system around your sales, not just random posts and hoping something sticks. I call it the Six C's, and I walk through all six levels of the "triangle," from the daily habits at the base to the bigger quarterly plays at the top.

I talk about:

How many athletes did you lose last year that you could have kept? Not the ones who got hurt or pregnant or had to step away for good reasons. The ones who just quietly drifted off.

We spend so much energy on the front door, getting new athletes in, and almost none on the back door, where people are leaving and we're not even noticing.

In this episode, I'm breaking down:

Two weeks ago, we talked about the worth wound. Today, I'm taking it further, and we're doing some actual math.

I want you to break down exactly how many hours a month you spend per athlete. Plan writing, calls, texts, feedback, all of it. Then divide that into what you charge.

Most of you are going to be shocked at your real hourly rate. And I mean shocked.

We'll get into why this happens (hint: you're pricing off what YOU would pay, not what the transformation is worth), the mistakes that...

I'm heading into vacation and this idea hit me mid-teaching Content That Recruits Module 2. I had to share it now!

One of my mentors just gave our group a stat that stopped me cold: 82% of people don't have any systems around how they do their work. I'm a little obsessive about systems these days, and it's the exact thing that's saved me the most time and made me more fulfilled with my athletes and coaches.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the one system I want every coach listening to build right now: the one...

If you've ever been at the kitchen table on a Sunday night still writing training plans, second-guessing every decision, that's not a time management problem. That's the worth wound.

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Got five athlete experience and know your worth...

Selling season is coming. Most of you will spend it chasing new athletes. I want you thinking about retention instead.

I recently did the math on my own roster and found my average athlete sticks with me for years, not months, including some who've stayed through major life detours and come right back when they were ready.

In this episode, I break down what actually keeps athletes around for years instead of one race cycle:

AI is coming for a lot of industries. But is it coming for ours?

This episode is for every coach who's had a quiet worry in the back of their mind about what AI means for the future of endurance coaching. And for the coaches who are using AI to get ahead, this one's for you too.

Here's the thing. AI can write a training plan. It can analyze data. It's getting smarter.

But there's one thing it cannot do.

Be HUMAN.

In this episode, I discuss how I...

I just got back from Happy Valley 70.3 with 10 athletes on the course.

And I've been thinking about what coaches can do RIGHT NOW, in mid to late June, that will pay off all the way through 2027.

It's not a funnel. It's not a new offer. It's a team race.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why picking a team race (and picking it early) might be the simplest retention move you're not making. We talk about how to choose the right one, when to announce it, how to use it to...

You're spending hours on a single post. You edit it, sleep on it, edit it again, and still don't hit publish. And when you finally do? Crickets.

Sound familiar?

In this episode, I get real about why your content isn't converting. Spoiler: it's usually not a content problem. It's a system problem.

I cover:

Four apps. Around $20/month each. Hours saved every single week.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the exact tools I've added to my coaching business that have changed how I interact with athletes, process information, and plan my week, all without changing how I actually coach.

One is for podcasters. The other three? Every coach needs to know about them.

You're going to want a notebook for this one.

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The Recruitment Engine Masterclass is coming June 23rd. Free training for...

85 coaches. Five days. Inquiries by day two.

In this episode, we discuss what we did in the Sales Sprint last week and what it proved.

The Sales Sprint ran May 18th–22nd and the results spoke for themselves. This episode breaks down the five-day framework so you can put it to work, whether you were in the challenge or not.

The biggest takeaway? SELLING IS RELATIONSHIPS. Nothing more, nothing less. And you probably have more warm leads sitting in your world than you think.

We also dig into the pipeline construct: th...

You wanted a full roster. Now you have it. So why does it feel like you're stuck?

A full roster doesn't mean you've made it. It means the rules just changed. And if you don't know what's coming, you'll hit a wall you never saw coming.

In this episode, I walk through the 4 risks every coach faces when they start to up-level.

What you'll learn:

You're not bad at content. You're bad at deciding. There's a difference, and that difference is costing you hours every week.

In this episode, I break down the exact 5-step system I use to get a post out fast without sacrificing quality or authenticity.

What you'll learn:

You created the thing. You posted the certificate. You updated your bio. 

And now you're waiting.

Here's what nobody tells you: changing your identity to "coach" doesn't automatically move athletes into your inbox. That's not a talent problem. That's an outreach problem.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why coaches at every level get stuck waiting for inquiries instead of going to get them and what to do about it. Whether you have zero athletes or a full roster you're trying to grow, the skill set is the same. And it's a skill s...

Should you be using AI for your content? The answer isn't what you think. 

I break down where AI is a hard no, where it's a strong yes, and why the real opportunity might not be content at all.

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I'm pulling back the curtain on what actually happens inside a Dream to 7 mastermind virtual retreat. Eight hours. Three power topics. A room full of the next generation of big endurance businesses. This episode gives you a real look at what's possible when you stop coaching alone and start building alongside people who GET IT.

Plus — It's my 50th birthday today so I'm offering an exclusive BIRTHDAY FLASH SALE. 30 minutes 1:1 with me for just $50, one day only: April 29th. DM me @CoachMichelleLake on IG to grab it before it's gone.

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