Anna Marcolin, Founder of Anna Marcolin Coaching and Counseling
Name: Anna Marcolin
Founder: Anna Marcolin Coaching and Consulting
In one sentence, what problem do you solve and for who?
I help high-functioning, high-achieving women over 40 build emotional mastery—so they can regulate anxiety, stop overthinking, and show up calm, confident, and in control in their real lives.
What's your story?
I’m a therapist and personal development coach, and I’ve spent nearly 30 years sitting across from women in my office—high-functioning, capable women who look like they’re “handling it,” yet carry the same patterns in every arena: the pressure at work and in business, the mental load at home, the complexity of marriages (and our divorces), the worry about kids, the pull of aging parents, and the quiet exhaustion of being the one who holds it all together. I've worked with the husbands and wives, their teenage and young adult kids—and somewhere along the way I realized that we are all carrying much of the same stresses and concerns. And, it was me as well. So I started my podcast, the Badass Confidence Coach, as a way to "pay it forward". And after all these years, having conversations with women, is why I built a practical emotional mastery approach, shaped by both clinical work and the discipline I’ve lived as a triathlete, to help women train calm, confidence, and resilience for real life.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
It means getting to spend time around like-minded women who want to build each other up. Being a FoundHer member also means getting to illuminate each other and to help bring out each other's superpowers. For years now I have been looking for a group that isn't just transactional and performative, but one where women are available to support, teach and guide each other along in our unique journeys.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
This is a big part of my coaching and therapy practice! Being a founder and an entrepreneur is a lot of work....often wrought with doubt, misgivings and imposter syndrome. I help female founders remember who they are, their strengths, and WHY they are doing what they are. Sometimes we just need a reminder that we "got this" and that we have all we need, and to keep going!
What are three podcasts you listen to that have helped you with your business?
Finding Mastery, Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies, Suze Orman's Women & Money
Who is a female entrepreneur you look up to and why?
Codie Sanchez because she built her 7 figure business from very little. I respect her grind and hard work; she talks about how hard it is to build a business, which is relatable and realistic. She also gives tangible ways to continue building one brick at at time.
What are the first five things that you did when you were starting your business?
Hired a coach.
Hired a social media consultant and manager.
Built a new website.
Rewrote all of my content (which was 10+ years old).
Surrounded myself with people I looked up and those who pushed me out of my comfort zone.
Who is someone who has helped change or shape your business for the better and what did they do to help you?
My former consultant, Susan Kennedy, made me the therapist I am today. She challenged me, encouraged me to further advance my education and was there for me through all of those tough "I don't know what I am doing" moments. My business coach, Jami Schaer, who also "talked straight" to me; reminded me of my wins and consistently encouraged me to "be myself" on social media. She reminded me of my gifts as a therapist and coach. (She would often say, " I wish I wasn't your business coach, because I want you to be MY life coach") That was a great compliment.
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
I've taken all of my years working in hospitals (oncology, psychiatry, eating disorders, ICU, ER) with me into my practice. Having worked with individuals and families in crisis, I am comfortable sitting with ALL the feelings. This translates to most of us in everyday life. It may not be a medical or psychiatric crisis, but these positions taught me how to think clearly....how to hit the ground running...when my clients are in crisis. At work, at home. I know how to bring calm and confidence. Sometimes we just need someone to tell us what to do. I know how to work with women to come up with a plan; one that works and gets them moving forward.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
Right now I handle it all myself. I have had several social media managers over the years. What I found is that no one could convey what it is I wanted to say quite like me. What they wrote always felt close to my voice, but yet, not quite me. So yes, I added a lot more work to my weekly life. The biggest challenge was fitting it all in; the content creation, the filming, having to put on makeup or having to at least look decent! What makes it work is time blocking each week. And batching. Now it's just a part of what I do and I have begun to enjoy it.
How did you land your first client?
Through word of mouth. That, to me, is always the biggest compliment.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
As a personal development coach, I look for what it is the client ISN'T saying. My 30 years as a therapist has taught me to listen for the "in-between". So even though a client comes to me to be coached (and we both know it isn't therapy) they love that I have the knowledge and deep understanding of psychology as a therapist. This is quite different that the industry standard in coaching.
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