Two distinct journeys. One coach who has personally walked both.
Business coaching is for executive coaches and solopreneur consultants who are already in business and want strategic support to build something profitable and sustainable. Exit coaching is for senior corporate professionals planning the transition out of corporate and into independent work. Both are private, 1:1 engagements designed around your goals, your timeline, and your specific situation.
If you are not sure which path fits, scroll through both. The differences will be clear quickly.
Schedule a Chemistry CallYou are already in the work. You have certifications, clients, maybe a niche idea you are testing. What you do not have is a clear strategy, a sustainable pipeline, or someone in your corner who understands both the coaching craft and the business behind it.
That is where a business development coach for coaches comes in. Sometimes it is called a business coach for solopreneurs. The label matters less than the work.
The coaches and consultants who hire me one-on-one share a pattern. They are talented, they have momentum, and they have hit a ceiling they cannot break through alone.
Sometimes the ceiling is positioning that reads as vendor instead of expert. Sometimes it is revenue concentration in a single contract. Sometimes it is the quiet fatigue of running every decision through your own head.
Clients describe finding what one called her organizing principle. A north star that makes yes-or-no decisions almost automatic.
They stop selling themselves short. One client recently increased an engagement budget request 8x after we rewrote her positioning. Another finally got clear on who she was not for, which freed up her calendar and her energy.
The shift is consistent across the practice. Reactive becomes intentional. Vendor becomes expert. Murky becomes precise.
Coaches and consultants working independently. ICF-credentialed or in process. Annual revenue typically $40K to $250K. Ready to invest in growth rather than figure it out alone.
Schedule a Chemistry CallElissa is a kind and effective business coach who asks insightful questions and offers valuable suggestions and resources based on her wealth of experience. She is highly present and attuned to me during our sessions, and her observations and questions have helped me clarify my priorities in this stage of my business and create actionable plans to move my business forward. I leave our sessions feeling more capable and confident and with specific steps to help me reach my business goals.
Jessie B., 1:1 Business Coaching client
Exit coaching is for the leader who has not yet left corporate but knows the path is no longer right. You are not looking for a career coach to place you in the next VP role. You are looking for a strategist who has personally made the leap from Fortune 100 leadership to independent practice and built a profitable business doing it.
The exit coaching clients I work with one-on-one tend to arrive depleted. They describe the Sunday-night dread. The feeling of working three jobs in one day: morning parent shift, work shift, evening parent shift. Ending every day with nothing left.
They describe losing their sense of self inside the role. Questioning what the sacrifice was for. Feeling clouded about what comes next, even though they are clear it is not this.
Clients describe feeling like themselves again. They move from reactive to strategic. They set boundaries without guilt and walk into rooms with composure they had lost.
One client put it this way. She went from "should I quit today?" to a clear 12-month plan and the confidence to execute it.
Another said she finally gave herself permission to give less than 125% at work. That kind of shift is not soft. It is what makes a sustainable exit possible.
Senior corporate professionals at the Director, VP, or C-suite level with 15+ years of experience. Considering a transition to independent coaching, consulting, or a portfolio career. Want a thinking partner who has done this herself, not just studied it.
Schedule a Chemistry CallI spent two decades in Fortune 100 risk management before I left. That lens shapes everything I do.
We do not build coaching businesses on hope. We do not plan exits on adrenaline. Every decision gets pressure-tested against four dimensions: financial, professional, psychological, and life obligations. That is the Four Pillars of Entrepreneur Risk framework I developed, and it is what makes the work durable.
Most business coaches will help you build a brand. Most exit coaches will help you process. I do both, and I do them with the operating discipline I learned in corporate and honed as an entreprenuer.
Voices from coaches who have worked with Elissa one-on-one.
Working with Elissa gave me the structure and accountability I needed to move my business forward. She helped me get clear on my offer and stop second-guessing every decision. The pricing work alone changed how I show up in sales conversations. I leave every session with specific next steps and the confidence to take them.
Lauren G., 1:1 Coaching clientElissa brings real business operating experience to coaching, which is rare. She has helped me think about my practice the way I would think about running a P&L. The strategic clarity has translated into real revenue. I trust her judgment because she has done the work herself.
Mike W., 1:1 Coaching clientI came to Elissa stuck and overwhelmed. What I got was a clear plan, a stronger sense of my own positioning, and a coach who held me to the standard I was setting for myself. Her questions are sharp. Her support is steady. The work we did together still shapes how I run my business.
Jeri H., 1:1 Coaching clientEight-session packages start at $4,299. Sessions are 60 minutes, scheduled at a cadence that fits your situation. Most clients run weekly or biweekly over two to four months. Between sessions, you have email access for questions and consultation.
Custom engagement scopes are available. We talk about fit and scope on the chemistry call you schedule here.
If you are leaving corporate and want the structured curriculum, peer cohort, and accredited ICF CCE credits, Corporate to Coach® may be a better fit. The cohort runs six weeks, three times a year.
1:1 coaching and the cohort program can also be sequenced. Many clients start with the cohort to build the foundation, then continue with private coaching to scale what they built.
Learn About Corporate to Coach®Business coaching is for solopreneur coaches and consultants who are already in business and want strategic support to grow. Exit coaching is for senior corporate professionals planning the transition out and into independent work. The two clients are at different points on the same arc.
A business coach for solopreneurs works specifically with one-person businesses, where the founder is also the service provider. That changes the math, the strategy, and the priorities. Generalist business coaches often optimize for headcount and scale. A solopreneur business coach optimizes for revenue per hour, capacity, and sustainable systems.
An exit coach helps senior corporate professionals plan and execute the transition out of corporate. Most clients are heading toward independent coaching, consulting, or a portfolio career. The work covers the financial, professional, psychological, and life-stage dimensions of the leap.
Career coaching helps you find your next employer. Exit coaching helps you leave employment altogether and build something of your own. Different destinations, different methodologies.
Yes. Most 1:1 clients who fit the executive coaching for entrepreneurs profile are a fit for business coaching here. The work is strategic, the buyer is sophisticated, and the engagement is built around running a profitable solo business rather than scaling a venture-backed startup.
Eight-session packages start at $4,299. Sessions are 60 minutes. Most clients run weekly or biweekly over two to four months. Email support is included between sessions for questions that cannot wait until the next session.
If you want curriculum, cohort, and ICF CCE credits, start with Corporate to Coach®. If you want personalized strategy that wraps around your specific situation from day one, start with 1:1. The two can also be sequenced.
A business development coach for coaches helps you build the revenue side of your practice. That means positioning, pipeline, pricing, packaging, and capacity planning. It is distinct from coach training, which teaches the craft, and from coaching supervision, which sharpens your practice. Business development coaching focuses on the business behind the coaching: how you get clients, what you charge, and how you grow without burning out.
Elissa Kelly is a PCC-credentialed executive coach and former Fortune 100 executive. She spent two decades in corporate risk management, most recently as Chief Product Officer of a $4 billion insurance company, before pivoting to coaching. She earned her MBA from Arizona State University as well as coaching certificates from the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara and the Team Coaching Studio in the U.K.
She built her own coaching practice to six figures in year one and doubled revenue in years two and three. Today she runs 1:1 coaching alongside Corporate to Coach® and the Solopreneur Insider Circle™
She coaches the way she ran her P&L. With strategy, accountability, and a clear-eyed read on risk.
I have had the privilege of working with Elissa, and I recommend her without hesitation. She combines a rare mix of executive rigor and PCC-level coaching expertise, along with a very human, grounded presence. She listens intently, asks insightful questions, and then provides practical, actionable guidance. Anyone lucky enough to work with Elissa will get a partner who is fully in their corner and wholeheartedly dedicated to their success.
Howard S., 1:1 Coaching client
A 30-minute chemistry call is free. We will talk about where you are, what you want, and whether 1:1 coaching is the right next step. If it is not, I will tell you that and point you somewhere better.
