Somewhere around 10 years ago, Barb Reppert was a CPA sitting in the C-suite, watching executives get displaced from companies.
The troubling part? Many of them didn't really know why.
“Sadly, quite a few of them didn't really know why. Now, as a coach, I can probably tell you if we're coaching with them, they probably did have a sense, but more in their subconscious than conscious.”
That observation became the foundation for Executive Impact, a coaching practice serving leaders across 23 industries. Barb traded numbers for people and never looked back.
If you're running a membership site, coaching program, or online community, Barb's decade-long journey offers practical lessons about retention, tech decisions, and building a business where clients actually want to stay.
The Moment She Stopped Chasing Balance
For years, Barb chased work-life balance. As an accountant, the math seemed simple: 50-50.
It wasn't.
“I keep doing it wrong. I can't get to 50-50. Like what's wrong with me? And a lot of self doubt. And then I went, why does it have to be 50-50?”
She replaced balance with what she calls “integration”:
- Prioritizing what's most important first
- Making space for family events regardless of work travel
- Choosing when to show up rather than having to show up
The shift gave her freedom. And it became the core of her Integrator's Edge program.
The lesson: If a framework isn't working, question the framework. Not yourself.
Why She Doesn't Do Contracts
Most coaches lock clients into multi-month agreements. Barb does the opposite.
“Have I earned the right to have the next meeting? That keeps some pressure on me to earn the right every single time.”
No long contracts. No binding commitments. Just consistent delivery.
Her reasoning? Rigid, litigious contracts don't work with people. And she refuses to put deadlines on what clients say their success looks like.
The result: High retention through referrals. Her calendar stays full without aggressive funnels or marketing pushes.
The takeaway: When your delivery is strong, you don't need contracts to keep people around.
What She Actually Sells
When asked what she sells, Barb's answer was simple:
“Confidence. They know what they're capable of and they're capable of more than they think they are.”
She uses two coaching styles depending on what clients need:
- Pure coaching (empty vessel): She doesn't bring her experience or baggage. She helps clients discover what's right for them.
- Mentorship: She shares her failures and wisdom when clients want it. “I tripped here before. This is what I screwed up.”
The goal is moving clients from external motivation to intrinsic motivation. Best practices are useful, but they need to be adapted. “How do I help you take this best practice and make it perfect for you?”
Her First Hire Wasn't Admin or Marketing
As a solopreneur, Barb wore seven hats: delivery, accounting, marketing, business development, admin, and more.
When she finally hired, she didn't start with admin. Or marketing.
She hired for client success.
“If I can't deliver for them, that's going to be a fail point.”
Her logic: Referrals were keeping her busy. If she dropped the ball on delivery, everything else would collapse. So she prioritized getting clients scheduled and taken care of first.
The principle: Hire where failure would hurt most.
The Custom Tech Platform She Regrets
Here's where it gets relevant for membership site owners.
Early on, Barb wanted a community platform where coaching clients could access materials and connect with each other. Nothing on the market did exactly what she wanted.
So she hired programmers. Built a custom platform. Spent the time and money.
Then her marketing firm tried to connect it to the rest of her tech stack.
“They don't talk. This is too customized.”
That's when she had what she calls an “epiphany moment”:
“I'm not a technology company. So there's no way I could keep up with it. So why would I ever build it myself? Like I was just like, that was really dumb.”
Her websites are now, in her words, “books on a shelf.” She's interested in bringing her vision back online but hasn't found the right tech partner yet.
The lesson: Don't try to out-tech the tech companies. Find tools that play nice together and let someone else handle the stack.
On AI: The Gap Between Knowing and Doing
Many of Barb's clients are nervous about AI disrupting their businesses.
Her take? AI won't close the gap between knowing and doing. It will widen it.
“There's like always been a gap between knowing and doing. I don't think that gap gets closer together with AI. It just explodes. It's like I have vast amounts of knowledge. Now what?”
The human piece remains: helping people execute, see their blind spots, and move past their blocks.
As she put it: “Almost every coach I know has a coach. We can't see our own blind spots. That's why they're called blind spots.”
What's Next: TEDx and Whiskey
Barb's current focus is her Impact Leadership Program, a $6,000, 10-month cohort-based experience combining group coaching, one-on-one sessions, and accountability partners.
She ran the first cohort with hand-picked invitees. Now she's exploring how to scale it to strangers while keeping the essence intact.
Beyond that?
“I challenged myself to a TEDx. And then I thought I should have a whiskey named after me. Executive Impact whiskey.”
Ten years in, she's still learning from her clients. Still figuring things out.
“I can't believe how much I've grown because of my clients.”
And that might be the most important lesson of all.
The Bottom Line
If you're building a coaching business, membership site, or online community, here's what stands out from Barb's experience:
✓ Question frameworks that aren't working (like 50-50 balance)
✓ Earn the next meeting instead of locking clients into contracts
✓ Hire for client success first, not admin or marketing
✓ Don't build custom tech unless you're a tech company
✓ AI expands knowledge but doesn't solve execution
✓ High retention beats aggressive funnels
Barb's business didn't scale through viral marketing or complex funnels. It grew through consistent delivery, referrals, and a simple question: “Have I earned the right to the next meeting?”
Sometimes that's exactly what it takes.
Get in touch with Barb at: https://executiveimpact.ca/
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