Ep 23: Values-Driven Entrepreneurship: Finding Your Voice in Turbulent Times
Release Date: 02/18/2026
Ep 30. Ginger Bitters & Big Feelings: Long-Term Clients Without the Codependency Spiral
The Coaching Mixer
A listener asked: How do you support clients long-term without accidentally becoming their emotional support human, their outsourced decision-making brain, or their personal “always be closing” sales funnel? Erin and Elana get into the uncomfortable truth, that “dependency” is not a villain. It is a spectrum. But coaching that ends up training people to distrust themselves is problematic. And yes, they also talk about the marketing version of coaching that’s basically: “Your life is terrible, I’m the cure, please renew for six more months.” Huge ick. The spicy bits: ...
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Ep 29. Spicy Cherry Plot Twist: How to Create Without Suffering for It
The Coaching Mixer
If you’ve been telling yourself that your creative work “doesn’t count” unless it’s hard, dramatic, or all-consuming, this episode is a gentle (and very real) reset. In this Coaching Mixer conversation, Erin and Elana talk about what it actually looks like to create when you have clients, responsibilities, and a life. They unpack why “going all-in” is often a pressure story (and sometimes a privilege story), and how tiny, consistent steps can build serious creative momentum over time. You will walk away with a calmer, clearer way to create work you care about,...
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Ep 28: Letting Go of “Doing It Right” over Whiskey
The Coaching Mixer
If you’ve been trying to “do creativity right” and it’s making you avoid the work, this episode is for you. Erin and Elana talk about how to stop forcing someone else’s process, choose a next step you can actually do today, and create from real life instead of performance. They get into: Why your best content often comes from what you’re currently struggling with. The myth that you can’t coach or teach something until you’ve fully solved it. What your audience actually needs from you: probably not perfect lighting, a power suit, and a scripted TED Talk. More likely it's...
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Ep 27: Sips and Shifts—Why Every Client Needs a Different Medicine (pt. 2)
The Coaching Mixer
In part two of our episode we talk about why warmth is not the opposite of serious coaching but a pathway to lasting changes for clients. Sometimes warmth is the most serious thing you can offer a client who sees themselves in harsh light. We talk about what actually helps clients who find the “tough love” storyline tempting, and swap notes on the kinds of tools that feel like medicine instead of a cookie-cutter script. A few things we get into: Deep curiosity as a genuinely healing force (yes, even in business coaching) Creating low-stakes “rehearsal” space, where imagining...
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Ep. 26 Sips and Shifts: Why Every Client Needs a Different Medicine
The Coaching Mixer
In this episode of The Coaching Mixer, hosts Erin Aquin and Elana Mckernan talk about “different kinds of medicine” in coaching. Not every moment calls for a mindset reframe. Sometimes it calls for a pause, a practice, or plain old validation. Also, beverages matter: Erin is drinking a carrot–apple–ginger–celery–lime–beet juice (vampire lips included). Elana has an apple cider seltzer with berries (with the berries plopped in, of course). In this conversation, you’ll hear: Why a “reset” can be less about deprivation and more about changing patterns with care. How coaches...
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Ep 25: Coaching Without Preaching
The Coaching Mixer
Sometimes your client says something that isn't socially or personally acceptable to you. Suddenly might find yourself feeling distracted by their comment and unable to stay in your lane as a Coach. These are the moments when curiosity matters and where real change can happen. In this week’s Coaching Mixer, Erin and Elana talk about what to do when a client’s worldview is wildly different from yours, how to stay human without preaching, and when it might be wise, to end a coaching relationship or session. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why screaming your position online is...
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Ep 24: The "Hell No" Filter: Boundaries, Beliefs, and Business Coaching
The Coaching Mixer
Grab a blanket and a mug: we’re answering listener questions while getting a little buzzed on cozy winter spirits. Things get deep, a little spicy, and surprisingly "medicinal" as we dive into what happens when a coaching session hits close to home. How do you handle a client whose worldview makes you cringe? Can you coach someone you fundamentally disagree with? We explore the boundary between professional curiosity and personal "hell no’s." What’s in the Mug? Elana: Spiked Hot Cocoa. Heavy on the Bailey’s, sweet, creamy, and definitely not for kids (despite the "Best Dad Ever"...
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Ep 23: Values-Driven Entrepreneurship: Finding Your Voice in Turbulent Times
The Coaching Mixer
In this episode, we dive deep into one of the most challenging aspects of running a business right now—how to show up authentically when the world feels heavy, complicated, and politically charged. We explore what it means to be human in your business, how to protect your energy while staying engaged, and why your wellness as a business owner matters just as much as the service you provide. Drinks of the Episode: We're keeping it cozy with warm beverages. What We Talk About The messy reality of showing up online: When do you post about current events? When do you stay quiet? How do you...
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Ep 22. Coaching Through the Storm: Navigating Business and Politics When the World Feels Heavy
The Coaching Mixer
Picture this: Erin's in near-Toronto dealing with minus-30°C weather, Elena's buried in New Jersey snow, and we're both pretending we're somewhere tropical by mixing up vacation drinks. Elana's got a tangerine whiskey sour with egg whites (made in a mason jar, because sometimes you just have to work with what you've got), and Erin's sipping a margarita—no salt, because when the tequila's good enough, you don't need it. We're recording from our respective winter fortresses, and honestly? The polar vortex called for this kind of creative escape. Sometimes you need to pretend you're somewhere...
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Ep 21: Grateful, Not Needy: The Secret to Healthy Collaboration
The Coaching Mixer
Ever wonder what it's like to build a business with your spouse? In this episode, we dive deep into the messy, magical world of collaboration—from working with family to choosing the right creative partners. Erin gets refreshingly honest about the challenges of running Superabound with Steve, including the time she realized she was more interested in the business than their romantic life (yikes!). Key Topics: Working with Family: The good, the bad, and the "are we talking as business partners or life partners right now?" Erin shares how she and Steve navigate the tricky waters of being both...
info_outlineIn this episode, we dive deep into one of the most challenging aspects of running a business right now—how to show up authentically when the world feels heavy, complicated, and politically charged. We explore what it means to be human in your business, how to protect your energy while staying engaged, and why your wellness as a business owner matters just as much as the service you provide.
Drinks of the Episode: We're keeping it cozy with warm beverages.
What We Talk About
- The messy reality of showing up online: When do you post about current events? When do you stay quiet? How do you navigate being "the only witch someone knows" or the face of your business when people have strong opinions about everything?
- Performative activism vs. genuine action: The difference between posting to avoid backlash and actually living your values. We discuss how social media algorithms capitalize on outrage and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is make a phone call instead of posting a hot take.
- The emotional labor of being visible: How to handle snarky emails, entitled feedback, and people who want you to change your entire business model to suit them (spoiler: mostly happens to women in business).
- Why you need your own support: Even if you're a coach who knows all the tools, you can't be your own therapist. We talk about the trap of always being the helper and why you need a space to process your own emotions without your coach hat on.
- Creating space for your clients: Sometimes the best thing you can offer isn't a brilliant coaching intervention; it's just witnessing someone's humanity and giving them permission to feel what they're feeling.
- AI as an emotional buffer: How AI tools can handle the energy-draining parts of customer service (like those snarky emails) so you don't have to take the emotional hit every time someone has an opinion about your prices.
Who This Episode Is For
Service-based business owners who are exhausted from trying to be everything to everyone. Coaches who care deeply about the world and their clients but are struggling to show up without burning out. Anyone who's ever gotten a snarky email about their prices and needed three days to recover. People who want to run a business that reflects their values without losing themselves in the process.
This conversation is heavy, but we hope it was thoughtful, and maybe even a little fun. The world is complicated, your business is complicated, and you're a human trying to figure it all out. Give yourself permission to not have all the answers, to change your mind, to take time to process, and to prioritize your own wellness so you can actually serve the people who need you.
As always, there will be someone out there telling you how you're supposed to do it. And as always, they'll be wrong. Do what feels right for you, tend to yourself first, and remember: what good is a pile of money if you're alone and exhausted when you get it?
Resources Mentioned
Erin's book Superabound - for more on Personal Filters and boundaries
The concept of the Tending Triad from the book; these are self-investment practices that sustain you
Connect With Us
Erin Aquin is a Master Certified Life Coach and co-author of the #1 bestseller "Superabound: Live the Life the Universe is Dreaming For You." She provides whole life coaching for business owners, integrating success and personal fulfillment through her unique all-in-one approach.
Learn more at besuperabound.com
Elana McKernan is a Master Certified Life and Creativity Coach who specializes in helping perfectionists create more by treating themselves better. You can check out her free content here and learn more about coaching with her here.