Courage & Clarity Podcast: Episode 165
Mara Signed Three $6K Clients & Exploded Her Audience in 30 Days
Host: Steph Crowder
Guest: Mara Eller
Date: November 10, 2025
Episode Overview
In this power-packed episode, Steph Crowder welcomes her client Mara Eller, a writing coach, teacher, and editor, to break down Mara's transformational journey over the past two years—culminating in her recent viral moments, significant audience growth, and three high-ticket client signings in just 30 days. This episode offers an authentic look into what it takes to move from side hustle to full-time entrepreneur, the mindset shifts behind messy growth, and the practical strategies that drove Mara’s success.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Mara's Transition from Teaching to Full-Time Business (03:20–07:27)
- Mara recounts her start: teaching English and writing at high school and college levels while running her coaching business part-time and managing three kids.
- She describes feeling “constricted” by time and unsure how to scale or leave her teaching job (03:27).
- In May, after 11 years at her school, Mara shifted fully into her business. Family income now depends on her entrepreneurship.
- Memorable Moment: The surreal feeling of "not going back" to school in the fall, which made the transition real (06:19).
- Benefit of business: Increased capacity to be present for her children after years of late nights and weekends building her business.
2. The Myth of “Coaching Perfectionism” (7:27–14:33)
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Steph highlights a common hurdle: believing one must have “all their ducks in a row” before joining a coaching program (07:27).
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Mara admits to feelings of coaching perfectionism but credits her progress to “showing up and being honest anyway” regardless of doubts or messy clarity.
“I rarely regret being transparent or vulnerable in life… So I would just bring the messy questions and let it be a gradual, messy process.”
— Mara (12:32) -
The coaching space, described by Mara as both business and life coaching, fosters genuine growth beyond surface tactics.
“It’s not just growing my business. It’s also making me a better person, which is pretty much priceless.”
— Mara (10:47) -
Key lesson: Progress happens when you’re willing to bring your “messy middle” forward. The point is not to become perfectly clear before starting but to get support through the messy parts.
“What you do is you help us get comfortable with it being messy and moving forward anyway.”
— Mara (13:40)
3. Reasons to Reinvest in Coaching (15:18–19:50)
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Mara took a six-month break from coaching and found that while things went well, “What if I could grow that much again?” prompted her return.
“There was just something really grounding about [the coaching calls] and encouraging and motivating…. Even if I could figure this out on my own, maybe it would take 2, 3, 5, 10 times as long."
— Mara & Steph (17:23) -
Steph reframes reinvesting as a proactive move—like a marriage tune-up, not just damage control.
4. Going Viral & Exploding Her Audience (20:23–26:14)
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Mara’s audience and engagement had stalled—“stuck at the same number of followers for like two years” (20:23).
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After embracing TikTok (prompted by coaching), Mara posted a video about Taylor Swift’s new album through her lens as an English teacher. The post went viral: 450,000 views and 3,000 comments (22:58).
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Virality spilled onto Instagram (+4,000 followers in ~2.5 weeks) and Threads.
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Unexpected: Many new followers joined her email list and enquired directly about coaching offers—even when not directly promoted.
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Her ability to pivot and ride cultural moments, backed by consistent “reps” of talking-head video and value posts, made her ready for the opportunity.
“I had been practicing using my voice… I’d gotten coaching in your program to do more talking head videos… and was doing posts about my offers, so when people started following me, those were there.”
— Mara (25:16)
5. Turning Eyeballs into $18K — Three High-Ticket Client Signings (26:14–31:27)
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Mara signed three clients at $6,000 each, all resulting from her recent visibility and refined messaging.
- One client found her through Instagram after a viral Taylor Swift post.
- Another reached out via TikTok—proving high-ticket buyers are on the platform.
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These conversions were made possible by clarity and infrastructure built in the Mastermind (optimized bio, link in bio, clear offer posts, confident sales calls).
“All it takes is one post that hits someone at the right moment… She said, ‘OMG, this is exactly what I need!’”
— Mara (27:25) -
Mara participated in Steph's "30-Day Fast Track" program (September), focused on daily action to sign 1–3 clients. She didn't see instant results but continued after encouragement and landed the three signings in October.
“I did almost everything, but nobody had signed… And lo and behold, I’ve signed three clients in October.”
— Mara (31:04)
6. Strategic Readiness for Launch Moments (31:27–34:17)
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Steph explains the concept of "launch magic" and the "launch triangle" (eyeballs, interest, sales).
“When the eyeballs came, we were ready with the pinned post and the links were in the right place and we had our offer refined. Then she also knew what to do to close sales calls.”
— Steph (32:03) -
Mara’s story proves viral content alone isn’t enough—you must be ready to convert attention into business.
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Example: Many creators go viral but have nowhere for audience to go next; Mara had her funnel and messaging dialed in due to prior work.
7. Following the Fun & Strategic Offer Creation (35:00–37:20)
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Mara leveraged her viral Taylor Swift content into a podcast & upcoming workshop: “Write Like Taylor Swift.”
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She describes this new direction as both fun and on-brand—tying popular culture analysis with actionable writing techniques.
“People really want to have fun. It doesn’t have to be meaningless, though… Leaning into that has been fun for me.”
— Mara (37:00)
Notable Quotes & Highlights
- On moving into full-time business:
“Here I am working from home, living the dream.” — Mara (06:19) - On the messy middle:
“You help us get comfortable with it being messy and moving forward anyway.” — Mara (13:40) - On going viral:
“I gained 4,000 Instagram followers in like two and a half weeks… starting at 1,300, so a huge difference for me where I had been stuck there for two years thinking, nobody cares. Nothing I do is of any interest.” — Mara (24:36) - On direct results:
“I signed someone for book coaching off of… the whole reason she found me was somebody sent her this original Taylor Swift post and she thought, ‘Well, that’s cool. I wonder what else she does.’” — Mara (26:14) - On readiness for attention:
“I think it could have been… ‘Oh, wow, this is a cool post,’ and then you go to the page and you’re not sure what is going on… Just as you were saying, I had enough in place that people… started being interested in sticking around and then exploring more.” — Mara (34:17) - On fun and resonance:
“It’s great to have fun. And so leaning into that has been fun for me.” — Mara (37:10)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 03:20–07:27 — Mara’s transition from teaching to entrepreneurship
- 09:38–14:33 — Embracing imperfection and the messy middle
- 15:18–19:50 — Why Mara chose to reinvest in coaching
- 20:23–26:14 — TikTok virality and explosive audience growth
- 26:14–31:27 — Turning audience into high-ticket clients ($18K in sales)
- 31:27–34:17 — Strategic readiness and launch magic
- 35:00–37:20 — Fun, offers, and riding the wave
Where to Find Mara Eller
- Website: maraeller.com
- Instagram: @maraeller
- Podcast: “lit112: The Life of a Showgirl” (pop-up podcast analyzing Taylor Swift’s new album as literature)
Wrap-Up
This episode is a masterclass in embracing imperfect action, trusting the messy process of business growth, and pairing tactical readiness with bold, creative risks. Mara’s story proves that powerful results can follow when you combine strategic support, consistent showing up, and a willingness to ride the wave when opportunity hits.