From HR to High-Impact Coaching: How Malena Munarriz Built Be Coaching

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen sits down with Malena Munarriz, founder of Be Coaching and an ontological career coach who has guided over 90 professionals through meaningful career transitions across Europe and Latin America.

Malena shares how her frustration with people treating work as something exhausting or “just a paycheck” inspired her to become a coach — and how she built a structured method to help leaders and managers reconnect with purpose, clarify their positioning, and upgrade their soft skills to unlock new opportunities.



Connect with

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malena-munarriz/

Transcript

Malena Munarriz: 0:00

When you for example, I mean f from from my side, um, I know that I am a good coach. I I really don't doubt it and I have uh really good uh feedbacks on my clients, so I know I can do that really good. But when you have a a business and you need to make like this strategy, like okay, you need to learn all other parts like marketing, communication, um digital marketing, of course, and different strategies and seldom and um and a lot of other skills that of numbers, oh numbers. So um, all of that uh I I I honestly invest a lot in it on it. I had I think well, you asked me for the best one.

Davis Nguyen : 0:46

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets, the podcast where we talk with successful career coaches on how they built their success and the hard lessons they learned along the way. My name is Davis Wynne, and I'm the founder of Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, and even $100,000 weeks. Before Purple Circle, I've grown several seven and eight-figure career coaching businesses myself, and have been a consultant at two career coaching businesses that are doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or building your practice for the first time, you'll discover the secrets to elevating your coaching business.

Rexhen Doda: 1:18

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. I'm your host, Regin, and today's guest is Malena Munaris, uh, a career coach, facilitator, and founder of Be Coaching, where she helps leaders and professionals navigate transitions and position themselves for new opportunities. With a background in HR and training, um, as uh an ontological coach, Malena has guided more than 90 professionals through one-on-one coaching and led recruitment processes, hiring over 80 people across Europe and Latin America. Her signature approach focuses on three pillars strengthening professional personal brand, uh building effective positioning strategies, and developing key soft skills like leadership, communication, and time management. It's a pleasure for me to have her on the podcast today. Welcome to the show, Malena.

Malena Munarriz: 2:12

Hi, Rijan. Thank you very much for for that little overview about myself. I'm very happy uh to be here. I was listening to your last podcast in this week, and I'm I feel very grateful to be here, honestly. So thank you again for the opportunity.

Rexhen Doda: 2:28

I'm grateful to have you on. I actually want to learn as much as I can from you uh when it comes to be coaching, which is a business you've started almost five years ago. So when it comes to the beginning of it, uh what inspired you to become a coach and then start your own coaching business?

Malena Munarriz: 2:48

Okay. Uh so I was about to finish my HI degrees, uh, and I noticed that people described work as something exhausting or boring or maybe just a way to pay a bill. And I felt frustrated about it. Like I was totally not uh agree with that. And I thought, how can we spend one third of our day in something we we really don't like? Doesn't make us feel good. So that was, I think, uh what I I believed uh which pushed me to study this because I believe that work could be totally different. Um a place to grow, and also at the same time a place to change, uh like to challenge ourselves and make us feel energized. And um so yeah, I don't know. Did you ever stop thinking about it? Like, do you generally uh enjoy your your work?

Rexhen Doda: 3:52

Yeah, absolutely. It's something that is uh like doing the podcast and like the other things that I do in my day-to-day uh are some like it's the type of work that if you didn't enjoy it, then it's it's probably not possible to do. To do well, especially.

Malena Munarriz: 4:13

Totally. Exactly. I I do too. I I also love it. But some some people don't. Uh so I think uh that was uh when I decided to study coaching. Uh I wanted to I wanted tools to to help people um to change their relationship with their work. Um not just to sit on a way of for paying the the the check, let's say, uh also a space for um have a better impact and grow and and fulfillment, I think.

Rexhen Doda: 4:49

And so when we're thinking about the the people that you work with, how would you describe the ideal client profile? Is there some sort of uh an industry, demographic, psychographic? Do they have some common goals or other commonalities uh when it comes to the people that you work with typically?

Malena Munarriz: 5:08

Well, um I found some, of course, because I explored uh my my favorite uh clients, the favorite process I've been doing, and I like to work uh with like I tend to find some patrons like um common patrons in between them. So I normally work with managers or directors, let's say people who has eight to 15 years of experience, normally in a corporate experience. Um honestly the area doesn't change that much. I work with people in finances, marketing, HR a lot. Um, so it doesn't make a difference, but with that uh amount of years uh working. So most of them normally have um a team, uh so we work a lot with their leadership, like on leadership and uh the leadership with the team, of course.

Rexhen Doda: 6:03

And um how how is it like to work with you? Is there do they go through some sort of a program uh of a certain length? Uh is it one-to-one coaching? How would you explain working with you?

Malena Munarriz: 6:15

Well, honestly, it it let's say that it changed a bit. Uh, I mean, um today I have a clear method that I create, but uh of course I wasn't that clear in the in the beginning. Um I am a coach since, as you said, uh 2019, so around six years ago. And um but but this method I'm working right now, I think we was I started on March of 2023. So um I work with one-to-one coaching sessions, yes, as you said, but the the process itself uh has uh three main stages. In in the beginning, the first stage is self-knowledge and personal brand exploration. So here we use uh well in Spanish, in Spanish we call it uh FOBA, but in English is S W O T analysis. I think you you probably know it, um, where we explore the strengths, uh, weaknesses, uh, opportunities and feats of each uh professional. So we look on internal and external self-awareness. So we want to have um others' perspective and their purpose itself. So with that, um, we connect with their career aspirations and design a SMART goal. Specific, mental, um, architable, uh, relevant, and time-owned. So that is the first step. When we have that information, that info, we go to the second one, which is basically uh positioning. Um, depending, of course, on the client, we can go a lot on LinkedIn profile, strategic of networking, and interview tips, of course. And that will be the second uh stage. And the last one, last one, and I think the I guess the from my point of view, the more powerful one will be working on uh soft skills, uh, that is, as you mentioned, the the ones that have a biggest impact on the role and on the future goals. So are most of the cases we work with communication, self leadership, time management, uh, stress management, uh leader in leading uh leading others. So those are the three steps I I work with.

Rexhen Doda: 8:45

And in terms of marketing, uh where do people usually find you? Is there a certain marketing channel that works very well for you?

Malena Munarriz: 8:55

Definitely LinkedIn. I'm I'm in love with that uh with that um tool actually. I I find it as I think that around sorry, 80 to 85 percent of my clients came from that um uh that platform. The other part, of course, uh because reference references and I do have also Instagram, but uh it is it doesn't work that well. Or let's say that the also that the clients they come, there they are like different, uh less, of course, less amount and also different profile. Uh honestly, LinkedIn. I found that in LinkedIn I feel really comfortable actually um talking because it's a platform that um pushes you to talk with and discuss with professionals, and it's really good for networking. Uh, for example, I remember I was listening to one of the interviews here of Susan, uh, I think it was one of the last ones. And yeah, this week I I just connected her, and it's like so amazing. How can you write a name of someone or or maybe it's just a role and a count and a company, and you can find that information. Uh so definitely LinkedIn.

Rexhen Doda: 10:22

Yeah. And and it has been the case for most coaches, actually, it is LinkedIn, uh, especially in the career space. Career coaches and executive coaches or leadership coaches are mostly in LinkedIn because that's where their audience is at too. And so when when looking into the future with your coaching business, uh, do you have any specific business goals that you're working towards?

Malena Munarriz: 10:47

Honestly, I'm I'm I think I'm I'm kind of building or not building, but rebuilding it because be coaching was one kind of business in uh 2019, then it make a change on 2023, and I'm I'm looking forward for the next step. Uh, for the moment I have very clear that I want to do um premium uh sessions. Like I want to do like one-to-one sessions and I want to make them amazing. So I'm improving on maybe um, I don't know, for example, doing some classes or some extra information or resources that I can send to that person. So yeah, I'm I'm working on on improving it. Uh, but that is my goal, like to have one-to-one coaching sessions and make them better every time.

Rexhen Doda: 11:43

Cool. And um right now, throughout the time that you've been doing this for the last almost five years, um, when it comes to investments that you've done in your coaching business, what would you or in yourself, what would you say have been some good investments that you feel really good about? And what have been some investments that you don't feel so good about, or maybe bad investments if there's any of those too? Hopefully not.

Malena Munarriz: 12:09

Definitely, yes, of course, because when you, for example, I mean from from from my side, um, I know that I am a good coach. I I really don't doubt it, and I have uh really good feedbacks on my clients, so I know I can do that really good. But when you have a business and you need to make like this strategy, like okay, you need to learn all other parts like marketing, communication, um digital marketing, of course, and different strategies and selling and um and a lot of other skills that of course numbers, oh numbers, so um all of that uh I I I honestly invest a lot in in it on it. I had I think well, you asked me for the best one, um digital marketing, digital marketing, definitely because and and there I I um I'm including like the designers of the logo, the colors, the type typograph, everything which represents me, and also the strategies behind. So I think that is the most the best one, and the bad one. I didn't do uh a web a web page. I I think that could be because uh everyone tells me like don't do that now. So uh I think it was Instagram um mentors, honestly. I think that that was not a waste of time and money, but yeah, not not my favorite one.

Rexhen Doda: 13:56

Yeah. So yeah, it it actually depends on and and sometimes uh when it comes to uh mentors of a specific channel, uh there's a lot of work that goes with it. So this was uh Instagram, you said, right? Yeah. And and oftentimes with Instagram is also hard from what I've learned from other coaches as well, in terms of like measuring the success there. Um, because with LinkedIn, uh usually it has been the primary source for many coaches. Uh with Instagram, I actually haven't met that many coaches who have been able to utilize Instagram too. So it does make a lot of sense to why that would be uh maybe not the best investment too. Yeah. Um and so uh right now, when thinking about your goals as well and trying to do more one-on-one coaching, improving that, uh, what would you say is the biggest challenge that you have right now?

Malena Munarriz: 14:59

Um the challenge will be to um, I told you, right? I have the sessions, and in between them I want to make classes and send them as a pack. Uh but I have this challenge on being personalized and also doing these classes, and and and when you make these classes, you of course want to talk to more than one person, so it's not that personalized. So I'm I'm I'm working on it. I really want to make it personalized and uh also find resources to help others. And these others are a lot of people which with different backgrounds, different challenges, different story, like working stories. So I think that is that is my challenge, and this is what I'm I'm working on.

Rexhen Doda: 15:53

Cool. And um, my final question to you is uh when thinking about the coaches want to scale their impact, uh, as we were talking earlier. Um in your case, um, you're also making an impact with every client that you're working with. So for coaches who want to scale their impact, is there any advice you'd like to give to these coaches?

Malena Munarriz: 16:14

Um well, my biggest advice will be to focus on what really makes a difference. Um, as a coach, you can do a lot of things. Um, well, every I think with most of the of the um studies. But usually there is one thing that truly transformed your practice right now. So you need to find this one thing and do it not well. Great, amazing. Uh so for me, um deciding this uh was also a challenge because I didn't want to be just a coach and I needed to focus on specific out audience, um, specific challenge um and design my method that I really work. But as I told you before, um I didn't woke up and and I have all my answers, of course. I tested, I learned it from my mentors and make like um models. Uh so I look back in my like personally, I look back in my experience uh in HR. Like I work a lot of years in engagement, learning, and recruitment, and then I wrote down all my skills, I um rethink about my experiences, my friends, and um, and then I say, okay, I will mix them. Uh, how can I help them? I I will I can help them better if I do my best. So I mixed it, and um then I find okay, what will make a difference on on these people, on these people who want to work with me, and decide and say no, because when you choose one type of person and you make yourself very good on that, you really get give like a a lot like a really better um services. So yeah, that was to find my strengths and um to bring them in the table and think okay, what will make a difference on my audience?

Rexhen Doda: 18:24

Thank you. Thank you so much, uh Malena. Thank you so much for coming to our podcast today. For anyone who wants to connect with you or find you, uh, they can go into LinkedIn um and look up uh Malena. Uh we'll be able to find your profile. So uh just for everyone who is listening, Malena uh Munaris is how you pronounce it. Uh we'll also put uh the uh the LinkedIn link profile in the description for people who can find it. Uh but I really appreciate your time today. Uh thank you so much for coming. It's so it was a pleasure for for us to connect.

Malena Munarriz: 19:06

Thank you very much, again, for for this opportunity. I feel so grateful to be here right now uh and being interviewed with you. And I'm again very, very thankful and looking forward to to hear it.

Davis Nguyen : 19:20

That's it for this episode of Career Coaching Secrets. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to this episode to catch future episodes. This podcast was brought to you by Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, or even $100,000 weeks, all without burning out and making sure that you're making the impact and having the life that you want. To learn more about our community and how we can help you, visit join purplecircle.com.