We were lucky to catch up with Dani Bourdeau recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

As a life and wellness coach, I actually try not to “give advice”. My job and overall goal is to guide my clients to the answer within themselves by asking the right questions. However, every once in a while I come across someone who will flat out ask for my advice. In this instance, I was coaching a client to improve their health and teaching her how to better better her balance sugar as she had been previously diagnosed with pre-diabetes. One day during one of our weekly sessions, she confided in me that she was very unhappy in her romantic relationship and she felt stuck and did not know what to do since she was financially dependent on her partner. Since this was a bit out of my scope, I told her I prefer not to give advice on relationships. She insisted and asked me what I would do if I were her in her situation. I told her we could finish our session and then we could talk about it. She agreed and at the end of our session she asked again. I told her that I would come up with an exit strategy that would help me somewhat sustain my preferred lifestyle but be willing to make short term sacrifices. I reminded her that things will always come and go but she has one life to find the love and have the relationship she truly desires. I asked her questions around what material things she could live without and had her visualize what life would look like without her partner. It was important to help her see not only what she would be losing but also what she would essentially be gaining. I sensed that she had lost her sense of self and her confidence in her ability to generate income on her own. We spoke about her accomplishments and people in her network that may be able to help her find work in her field of expertise. I was careful not to encourage her to leave but rather to always choose herself and her own happiness, whatever that may be. We continued on with our sessions for another few weeks without talking about her relationship until one day she told me she was moving out of the state to stay with a relative to reassess her life and figure out her next move. She explained to me that being able to see her happiness outside of her relationship helped her see things more clearly. She also let me know that she secured a few interviews to reenter the workforce. She thanked me for helping her not only improve her health but for reminding her who she is and what she’s capable of.

Dani, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Although I decided to become a Life and Wellness Coach pre-covid, it was covid that really let me know I was the right path. In my early 20s I developed a passion for nutrition and overall wellness and healing. With a family history of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and alcoholism, I knew if I didn’t become intentional about healing from the inside out that my quality of life would become plagued with health concerns as I aged. I also wanted to be a better example and break any unhealthy cycles for my children. Once I became a certified coach, I began taking clients to help them learn how to create better habits to develop a better relationship with food and curate a healthier lifestyle. It’s important to me that my clients leave my program with tools they can use for the rest of their life. I want them to not need coaching into perpetuity. My goal is to make sure they feel empowered to make more informed decisions around what to eat, when to eat, how to eat and what habits will lead to results over time. This is not a quick fix! I’m proud of the fact that my clients will come back to me later on telling me how they were able to sustain many of the things implemented during the course. They feel less confused and overwhelmed and feel more in control of their health. There’s so much misinformation about nutrition and what it means to be healthy. My ultimate goal is to help as many people as possible become more educated so they can lead longer, energy filled lives.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One way to grow clientele is to not be so dependent on social media. Provide quality services so your work will spread in the real world by word of mouth. I will still walk into business and ask to put my business cards in the lobby. Never be afraid to talk about what you do and how you add value whenever possible. Also, always have a follow up strategy. It is easy to meet people, hand them a business card and have a brief conversation. But what about after you go your separate ways? Building your funnel is all about the follow up strategy, without it, you won’t grow.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Other than training/knowledge, I think excellent listening skills and the ability to connect with people on a deeper level make for an effective coach. So much of coaching is intuitive based and trusting your gut to lead you so you can be of service to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: danifostercoaching.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thedanibourdeau
• Facebook: Dani Bourdeau and Triggered AF Podcast
• Youtube: youtube.com/triggeredafpodcast
• Other: triggeredafpodcast.com triggeredafevents.com instagram.com/triggeredafpc

Image Credits
@Deshstudios @directorbryan