Clarity, Confidence & Authenticity: Arti Halai’s Path to Global Coaching Impact

 In this insightful episode of Career Coaching Secrets, host Rexhen Doda sits down with Arti Halai—executive coach, communication strategist, former BBC/ITV presenter, and co-founder of two seven-figure businesses. Arti shares her journey from shy student to media leader and coach, revealing how clarity, confidence, and authenticity shape powerful communication. She discusses her bespoke coaching approach, ideal clients, marketing strategies, and her goal to bring her message to global stages. Whether you're a new or established coach, this episode is packed with wisdom, mindset shifts, and real-world lessons on building a values-aligned coaching business.



Connect with

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artihalai/
Website: https://www.artihalai.com/

Transcript

Arti Halai: 0:00

What I really want to do is get my message around coaching with clarity, confidence, authenticity in particular, which I think is so important in today's day and age, out to a much more global market. So I think my goal for the next three years is really to stop onto bigger stages and that message out.

Davis Nguyen : 0:24

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: 0:55

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Career Coaching Sewards Podcast. I'm your host, Regjan, and today's guest is Ati Halahe, an executive coach, media expert, and communication strategist helping trailblazing women lead with clarity, confidence, and presence. A former ITV and BBC presenter with over 15 years in broadcast journalism. He later on co-founded and successfully exited two seven-figure businesses, blending commercial acumen with deep expertise in communication and leadership. And it's a pleasure for me to have her on the podcast today. Welcome to the show, Artie.

Arti Halai: 1:34

Well, I'm so excited, Raj, and thank you so much for having me.

Rexhen Doda: 1:38

Thank you for coming. It's a pleasure for us. And I wanted to ask you about the beginning of your coaching journey. So when we look at your coaching business, I know it's been around for almost six years right now, if I'm not mistaken, right?

Arti Halai: 1:55

It's actually, I always say to everybody, my speciality is communication. For 30 years, I've been doing a deep dive in communication. And really, whether that's media, business, leadership, but the one thing I've learned is when it comes to success, it's not actually just about what you know. It's about how you connect. And my coaching is based on that. My coaching is very much based on how do people communicate with clarity, with confidence, and with authenticity.

Rexhen Doda: 2:30

Cool, yeah. So at the beginning of it though, what inspired you to become a communication coach? What sparked that?

Arti Halai: 2:36

Yeah, I think look, in 1992, after I graduated from university, I knew that I wanted to have a career in the media. And interestingly, every single person I met said, you'll never make it. And they weren't wrong because at that time it was all about who do you know in the industry? And I didn't know a soul. So I did carve a career in the media. And that's really where my love for communication began, in that art of storytelling as a reporter, as a producer, um, looking at priority and treatment of stories. And as a presenter, of course, how you're conveying with clarity a message that has to land. I think that's how I really started. And it wasn't intentional. I had no if we had, if you had said to me, Artie, 20 years ago, you would end up in this space in communication, working and coaching with leaders, I would never have believed you. I would have laughed because at school I was the girl that never, ever, ever put her hand up to answer a question. I was excruciatingly shy. Um, I was quiet. You you would never know I was there. And yet I end up carving this root and this career in in television. And so 15 years there, and then venturing into this world of business, where I also took these skills that I'd cultivated, thinking the world of business could do with it, is really how it started. And I think there are so many things here around lessons, reflections, time, and sharing these messages openly that have really got me to where I am today as the communication coach.

Rexhen Doda: 4:22

When we talk about the ideal client profile, how would we describe that? As I mentioned to you earlier, we might have that person listening. So we did talk about them being women mostly. And is that only women? Is it a certain age group? Is it a certain industry? Is it only communication? How would you describe that ideal client profile?

Arti Halai: 4:43

Yeah, my ideal client profile isn't solely women. I have a lot of men who I've worked with in the past, 100%. But the reason I look for trailblazing women in particular is because I'm looking for women who are looking to step up and get a seat in the boardroom or who are above middle management and want that role as a director, that promotion. They are women entrepreneurs who um are maybe looking to scale up their business. And there's a simple reason for that, to be honest, and I don't shy away from this either. I think in any coaching business, you really need to know where you're pitching. There are so many coaches doing so many different things. And for me, I walk my talk. So, you know, I am somebody who has uh had a business, who has built a business, co-founded in a recession, not one, but two, grown them and then exited them. So I think I bring quite a bit to the table in terms of walking my talk. When it comes to communication, I'm an active presenter. I take to those stages, I compare conferences, I do keynotes. So the sort of women I'm looking for have to be able to not just be ambitious and be looking to make an impact, but also be able to afford my prices.

Rexhen Doda: 6:04

When we think about how they work with you and the engagement they have with you, how is it like? Is there a certain program of a certain length that they go through? How do you describe that engagement?

Arti Halai: 6:14

I think it depends largely on what they want. So I'm not a conventional coach. Your conventional coach tends to be an executive coach or lifestyle coach or um can mix and marry two things. One is communication. So somebody might come to me and they might say, I want some presentation coaching. So I can offer them that as a coaching program. Or they might say to me, actually, I want some executive coaching. I want to get my first seat at the boardroom. That's much more executive coaching. So for me, I'm not conventional, and I think it depends on what they want. So if it's presentation coaching and they've got a keynote they want to deliver, or I don't know, maybe they just feel like I want to motivate my teams more, or I had a lawyer I worked with who was super, super bright and had done concert pianists as a teenager, but was really scared. She was changing firms, going into a new firm, and she said, I know I'm gonna have to talk to a team, and I'm really uncomfortable with that. That's also a type of presentation coaching. So, you know, there I worked with her on initially we started with a four, one and a half hour program. And that was the start starting point. And as it happened, that worked fine for her. That's all she needed. But some people might need a little more, some people might need a little less. On the executive coaching, they tend to be more 12-hour or six.

Rexhen Doda: 7:42

So it's it's accustomed to the needs of the people that you're working with. This is not like one program, for example, one program for executive coaching and one program for communications. It all depends on their needs and their goals. Yeah.

Arti Halai: 7:56

Everything I do, I always say is bespoke, and all coaches will say they operate in a bespoke way. And that is true to a certain extent, because of course every individual you're working with is unique and special. But I think what I offer in terms of difference is this ability to pivot. So I'll give you a quick example. I had a lady who came to me initially saying she wanted some presentation coaching. She was due to sit on a panel uh conference, and she came to me to say, I feel like I really want to sharpen my skill set here as a member of a panel. And, you know, we set all this up and it was all green, you know, ready to go. And then when I set I when I had my first session with her, she turned around and said, Oh my goodness, you know, there's been a change in the company I work with. And they say that there's a process I have to go to before I can take a stage. So then, you know, we started to explore that a little bit more, and that turned into actually an executive coaching session. Because, you know, there's no point in me saying to her, okay, you know, let's continue and let's still do the panel discussion that you want or the panel coaching, the presentation coaching that you want when you're not going to be on that stage. Yeah. That's a total shift. And I'm able to do that very comfortably.

Rexhen Doda: 9:17

Yeah, it takes a lot of skill too. Uh, and it's great that you have the ability to do both. So when working, is it mostly one-to-one coaching or is there also group sessions?

Arti Halai: 9:28

At the moment, I prefer to work individually on a one-to-one basis. I feel like that's what I choose to focus on. It doesn't mean that I couldn't broaden it out to a group or, you know, even a massive auditorium. But I like the one-to-one dynamic because I have other boltons as well. I have the ability to work in different ways and I love the variety that the work offers me by doing it the way I do.

Rexhen Doda: 9:55

Cool. And the question that I've been wanting to ask you from the beginning of this podcast is marketing-wise, when it comes to marketing, and I have a marketing background as well. So, marketing-wise, either for clients to find you or you to find them, what have you seen working really well for you? Could be one channel, could be multiple channels, but how are you seeing that working for you?

Arti Halai: 10:18

Okay, well, I'd love to say I'm a spring chick, and I'm not. So I've been in this space for a long time. And in this instance, age really does work nicely in my favour, um, because it brings not only a lot of experience, but also I've worked with a lot of clients over a period of time. And I think that really helps. And I also say to people, I'm not shy to tell people what I do. A lot of people I find are really reticent or reluctant to speak about what they do. Whereas I'm very open about that. I think, you know, if you don't talk to people about what you do or where you want some help, then they don't know. So, you know, I feel like I'm pretty strong asset in going out, just sharing conversations, having conversations. I'm a people person, I love people. So, you know, I think people need to be, number one, really confident in having their voice and using that voice. It's not just about others using their voice, it's about you using your own voice as a coach. So I think that's been great for me. I think for me also, I don't have a marketing background. But what I did have was a media background, and that really helped. And what I do say to everybody is learn to leverage. So I definitely leveraged from my position as a TV presenter when I knew that I wanted to venture into the world of business. And I think that really helped me. And people say it's easy for you. You were a TV presenter, you had a profile, but it it's that's not the case at all. And it's certainly not the case now because now, in a way, everybody's a presenter. You know, what we're doing now on this medium, what we did during COVID, meant that everybody can use this medium, everybody can set up as somebody who does a podcast or has a YouTube channel. So it's not so much about that, it's clarity in what you're offering and which mediums you're using. So in social media, I use only LinkedIn and I really focus on LinkedIn, and that's been really hard work. So, you know, I've been trying to chip away at LinkedIn for a really long time. And I think it's consistency, I have to say, is the master of so many things. So it hasn't been easy for me. I've spent quite a bit of money, I've spent a lot of time, I've worked with a lot of experts, and it's still work in progress. But LinkedIn has delivered some results for me, definitely. You know, clients that I might never ever have come across. There was one lady who contacted me and said, I'm going to do some work at Stanford University, and actually I'm terrified. And yet she's an academic at the top of her game, right? So, you know, our paths would never have crossed. Um, or there was a gentleman who said, Archie, I worked with you years ago. Uh, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm now leading this team, and I really want to talk to you about somebody in particular in my team.

Rexhen Doda: 13:22

Yeah.

Arti Halai: 13:23

So it's worked in lots of different ways, but I would say choose one medium if it's social media or new media. I also would say that think a little bit about getting your story out there.

Rexhen Doda: 13:36

Yeah, and that is great advice. And focusing on, like, like you said, it could be one channel only. In in this case, for example, LinkedIn. Most of the clients you have kind of like come from your network anyway. But LinkedIn, oftentimes, what we've seen actually from other coaches that I've interviewed is LinkedIn also serves as a second touch point. They might have seen you somewhere, they might have heard from you somewhere, and they just want to see that you are actually who they thought you are, and it just like is all for branding. They go to look up your name and they're okay, that makes sense. Maybe I might schedule a discovery call with her. So it kind of like also serves as a branding point, if not an initiation point.

Arti Halai: 14:17

Absolutely. I was just going to say that, you know, to your point, LinkedIn is now the CV and it's the business.

Rexhen Doda: 14:24

Yeah, yeah, our online CV, yeah. So that is interesting. Now, when thinking about the future of your coaching business, looking at the next one to three years, do you have any specific business goals that you're working towards though?

Arti Halai: 14:37

Yeah, I think what I really want to do is is get my message around coaching with clarity, confidence, authenticity in particular, which I think is so important in today's day and age, out to a much more global market. So I think my goal for the next three years is really to stop onto bigger stages and that message out.

Rexhen Doda: 15:02

So basically to a glob more global market. So right now is only UK, right?

Arti Halai: 15:06

Yes, I and I did some work quite a few years ago in the Middle East. Um, and of course, you know, this medium means you can talk to anybody and you can actually get a message out in so many different ways. My clients tend to be much more UK-based at the moment. And the trajectory has been much more UK-based. So it's not I'm in London, the capital city, but my clients come from all over the UK. I would very much like to really start to explore and get this message further out. I want to work with different cultures. I love cultures. I've done work in the Middle East. I have clients in in America as well, North America. But I feel like, you know, there's a lot to learn. And I think the one thing I'll say about being a really good coach is it's always a two-way process. In anything I do, I always like to say to my coachy at the end, what is your key takeaways? And how have you felt this session went? Is there anything I should be doing better or different?

Rexhen Doda: 16:06

And getting your message to to a more global market and speaking to bigger stages, would it also mean that you'd also be scaling your business in a way because you're speaking to a broader audience, or is just the fact that it's international that matters to you more mostly?

Arti Halai: 16:24

I think both. I've got to be honest. I I exited two businesses 2022, um, and I'm really enjoying this space. So this is the the solopreneur space. There's absolutely no reason why you couldn't scale. The thing I think for everybody to really bear in mind is it's got to be the right time for you. So for me, you know, I've been working for the best part of more than 30 years. I have a 10-year-old daughter, and and you know, it's important for me to really enjoy my time and this time with her, um, and and really kind of sort of also enjoy my family time, enjoy my work time, and enjoy me time. And so, you know, though I get, you know, people are looking to scale, and I'm all for it. I've, you know, I've worked and and kind of grown through seven-figure profitable businesses. I do think that, you know, don't, I would say to everybody, don't succumb under all the pressure or don't be looking to sprint ahead. You know, there is a time, uh, but just be measured in your approach and also be really clear. There's nothing, nothing to be embarrassed at when you say to people, I work on my own, I'm a solopreneur at the moment. You know, I'm open to collaboration. I've always been open to collaborate. You know, some of some great work, some great marketing comes through working with other coaches, other trainers, helping each other in that space. But I do like to say that, you know, do it, do it in just because everybody says, oh my God, you know, everybody's doing this, it doesn't mean it's the only way, and it doesn't mean it's the right way. And my whole career path has been built in that way.

Rexhen Doda: 18:08

Yeah. And when thinking about this growth internationally and even speaking to bigger stages, what would you say are the challenges that are services as a bottleneck for you right now? What's holding you back in terms of challenges?

Arti Halai: 18:23

I think it's just really some of it is definitely me, because I haven't really got my act together enough. Um so I I kind of feel my starting point would definitely be where are these opportunities, first of all. So, you know, which conferences do I want to target or which big stages do I want to target? And I, you know, and then kind of sort of okay, where if the opportunities aren't there, how am I going to create them? Because I'm a firm believer that, you know, if opportunity doesn't come knocking on your door, then you have to build that door.

Rexhen Doda: 18:56

Yeah, that's such a beautiful that that could be one of our shards with this podcast. Thank you. Thank you, RT. Switch topics a little bit. I also wanted to talk about investments in the coaching business. And you could think also about the recent years as well. What have been some investments that you've done in your coaching business that you feel really good about? Either you learned a lot or got a good return from, and these could be investments of time, money, or both. And on the other side of that, what have been investments that you would have preferred to have avoided if there's any bad investments?

Arti Halai: 19:29

I think in the coaching space, I think the number one thing that I did, and a part of it was really investing in myself, because I did a certificate, a level five coaching and mentoring with the Institute of Leadership and Management. And I did it back in 2014. And I think it was one of the best investments I made because it, you know, whilst I'm not saying I'm a theory coach, I'm really not, and I'm not saying that I'm a conventional coach either, it did really help catapult me and it made it a differentiator between a lot of other coaches who were coming up. So I think that coaching qualification really helped me understand better what a coach did, how they differed from a mentor. It helped me with some models, techniques, gave me a really good, solid foundation. And I think that was that was a really, really strong investment in my initial coaching journey at the start. And I'd done it way before then as well, with something called the Coaching Academy, which was more lifestyle coaching. And at that time, it was such a new concept. It was such a new idea. But then I knew that I wanted to go down the exec route, and I knew that I wanted it with a reputable organization. So that was, I mean, that great investment, both in terms of finance and time and effort and energy and learning. And then off the back of that, I went on and I did different types of learning, which have also helped me with my coaching. Not just to make me a better coach, but it's really helped with the breadth and the depth of what I offer my client. So there was neurolinguistic programming. Uh, I became certified in emotional intelligence. I like psychocybernetics. I mean, two years ago, I did a Harvard X course on managing happiness. And all of it really makes me a better coach because there are tools and techniques and methodologies that I can bring to my coaching, but fundamentally, I'm not academic and I'm not a theorist. For me, my coaching is really based on real life experiences and examples. I've got to say, hand on heart, I don't think I just miss because I genuinely believe that there's so much to learn, and even when it hasn't gone right, there's a learning that you take from that to move forward. And I often say to people, where you know, where old enemies, so many people carry baggage forward and then they layer it and layer it, and I'm totally the opposite. I'm like, no, we're we're stripping right back, get to the essence of things. That's why you talk a lot about clarity, because that's where clarity really comes from. And I I think so investment, no, I mean, even when I have invested in something and it hasn't gone to plan, or you know, I felt I've been sold one thing and you know, it hasn't really been what I had expected. I've often thought, well, I didn't perhaps ask those right questions. There's the learning right there, second time around, don't be stung it that way. Um, but uh also maybe like that person's also trying their hardest.

Rexhen Doda: 22:44

Yeah. There yeah, that definitely there's always a learning that comes from even these bad investments in figuring out why that turned out to be a bad investment. There could be many reasons, there are many opportunities to learn. So that is a great mindset. Is there any advice you'd like to give to these coaches?

Arti Halai: 23:02

Yeah, I mean, I I this is purely personal experience. I would say to these coaches, you know, I feel I have success because I did it my own way. Don't copy what other people are doing. You're not them. Your way is the right way. So I would I would probably say, you know, carve your own path and and trust your own and your own instincts. I think we all have to start somewhere. So be open to this learning from other people, always be learning. I think that's that's what coaches always do. They're great. But I would say do it your way. And I think the other thing I'd say is also, you know, invest in in having a coach for yourself, because I think that's really strong and powerful. I think you know, you as a coach also need to be able to park things, know that you're on the right track, know when you're being judgmental, and another coach would give you that.

Rexhen Doda: 24:03

Yeah. It's kind of like taking your own medicine because you want other people to believe in coaching. It makes sense that you also believe in coaching for yourself. Thank you so much for coming to our podcast. For anyone who wants to connect with you or find you, number one, they can go into LinkedIn and look up RT Halai. They'll be able to find your profile. They can also go into the website, which, if I'm not mistaken, should be rthalai.com or aageaction.com. I'm not sure which one is the one.

Arti Halai: 24:39

Both work, but I thought, you know, I'm a creature of simplicity. So I just thought let's keep it rthalai.com. And it's the same on LinkedIn, you know, you'll find me easily. So gosh, this has gone so fast. I'm having I'm still I'm still raring to go.

Rexhen Doda: 24:54

We'll put the website link in the description. But yeah, I totally agree with you. I really enjoyed our conversation. So thank you again, RT. This was this was a great podcast.

Arti Halai: 25:05

Thank you so much for having me. And uh honestly, it's been such an honor.

Davis Nguyen : 25:09

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 an impact and having the life that you want. To learn more about our community and how we can help you, visit join purplecircle.com.