Lead Better HQ
    All episodes
    EP 10258 minAugust 26, 2026

    Your niche isn't where your business starts. (with Elyse Wagner)

    Elyse Wagner has worked with more than 6,000 health coaches globally, and in this conversation she flips the usual 'start with your niche' advice on its head — starting with values instead. We dig into why your values are the roots of everything in your business, how to use them as a compass, and why embodying the work matters more than any borrowed blueprint.

    Guest: Elyse Wagner
    SHOW NOTES

    What we cover

    • Why Elyse starts with values instead of niche, website, or brand — and the flower metaphor that explains it
    • How to use your values as a compass for every business decision, from hiring to content to offers
    • Why health coaches struggle to get clients to change — and what to do when you're stumped on a call
    • Embodying the work: why your clients can feel the disconnect if you're not walking your talk
    • Social media boundaries: deciding what parts of your life to make public (and what to keep private)
    • Human design, gene keys, and astrology as tools for self-understanding and aligned business decisions
    • Connect with Elyse Wagner — Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website for a free training and weekly leadership notes
    • Let's Connect — Send me a DM at @nicole.leadbetterhq.
    • About the Show — The Lead Better Podcast is where established health practitioners get honest about what it actually takes to run the business behind the practice.
    how to start a health coaching businesshealth coaching businesshow to build a health coaching businessbusiness coaching for health coacheshow to find your niche as a health coachhealth coach business strategystarting a wellness businessbusiness alignment for health coachesvalues based businessauthentic business strategyhealth coach marketinghow to get health coaching clients
    TRANSCRIPT

    Episode transcript

    Nicole: Hi, and welcome to another episode of Lead Better Podcast. I'm your host, Nicole Harlow, and today I'm chatting with Elyse Wagner, a former licensed therapist, certified nutritionist, and health coaching academy co-founder who walked away from training aspiring health coaches to do something more important — helping health coaches actually get their work out into the world. For 15 years, she's worked with more than 6,000 health coaches globally, helping them cut through the noise, find their clarity and confidence, and create businesses that work for their lives. What she's actually known for is simpler than that: helping you uncover the gifts already inside you and get your work out into the world. No borrowed blueprints, no hustle and grind, just deep, practical, nourishing business and leadership-first strategy that aligns with your life. And I have to say, I loved this conversation. We talked about health coaching, where things were when Elyse got started, where things are now. And really, she taught me something that completely turned starting a business — thinking about getting started in a business where we think about picking a niche or building a website or needing a brand as like a first thing — she totally flipped it on its head for me in the most beautiful way. And of course, at the end, we talk about human design and gene keys and astrology because you all know that I love that topic. So without further ado, let's meet Elyse. Hey Elyse, I'm so excited to have you here with me on the show.

    Elyse: Oh, thank you. I'm honored to be here. Thank you so much.

    You know what you think happens when a new patient finds you.

    Want to know what actually happens?