Ryan Musselman

Founder @ Coaches who Close

I help executives, coaches, and creators turn their career experience into a coaching offer and leverage their YouTube/LinkedIn channels as conversion properties.

In July of 2023, I left my executive role behind to pursue a content coaching business. 

Wild ride. 
Tons of failures. 
Totally screwed up at first. 

But in 2025 I passed $1M in coaching sales. 

Focusing on the big 3 (Offer, Content, Sales) is what got me through the valley, so my content is designed to help you do the same.

Founder | Coaches who Close

Equipping coaches to close, scale, and enterprise with new clients, content engines, and constant lead flow.

My life and business are changing. 

On December 26, 2025, I upload my first YouTube video. 

YouTube is hard. 
I currently suck at it. 

It’s a whole new journey compared to LinkedIn. But the journey is exactly what it’s about for me. 

Ideating, scripting, storytelling. 
It really is a science and art. 
It takes time and patience.

So I’ve paused my coaching practice in its current form. 

Because last week I produced a video about how my LinkedIn journey led to a 7-figure coaching business and it’s taken every ounce of energy to not delete the post. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful. 
I’ve met amazing people. 
Especially clients. 

But the video confirmed my growing suspicion: 

I’ve reached the inevitable, “what’s next?” question.

The only answers I have:

— Build my next ‘thing’ in the creator economy
— Join a company remotely in the creator economy
— Or a combo of both. I’m excited with any answer.

I also have a major desire to launch a podcast studio in the Dallas, Texas area.

I love podcasts and want to build mine/help build them for others. There's something special about this idea, but I don't know what it is yet.

I recently had a coach tell me:

“Ryan, to the degree you transform your state of being into the truth of your being, you are free to create the life of your choosing.”

That quote will be vague to you if you're not familiar with the best book in the world, "Straight-line Leadership" by Dusan Djukich.

The information in that book helps you unpack that statement. 

Between December 26 and the date of this post, I’ve created and deleted multiple YouTube channels and multiple YouTube videos. 

And it’s because I battled with the “shoulds” of life. 

“I should niche down…”
“I should do a channel like this…”
“No, I should do a channel like that…”

So, I’m ditching the echo-chamber of online biz advice.

Not because it’s altogether bad, but because I need to return to creating for the joy of creating. 

That’s how this whole LinkedIn thing started.
And the only reason it became successful. 

I love content, educating, sales, and building. So, I’ll put on my backpack, grab my Alani energy drink, and walk that rode until the true opportunity reveals itself.

I'll still be posting on LinkedIn. 

PS) I converted 2 spare bedrooms in my home. One is called the boardroom and it's for writing/ideation. The other is a studio for recording. 

And we bought a puppy. Meet Chaila-Rose 🐶🌹

Pictures attached.

Write for 20 minutes every day (without Chat GPT).

My top 5 favorite times to write:

1) After commenting on posts. The brain is awake.
2) Early in the morning (with a coffee - well 3 ☕ )
3) After a walk with no music (only thoughts)
4) After inspiration from a podcast
5) After reading

This isn't an anti-AI post. 
I like Chat and others.
I use them often.

Content creation is a deep skill that changes you - your thoughts get clearer and your communication gets stronger. 

There's a unique satisfaction on the mind when your thoughts get developed word-by-word for a post. 

Your LinkedIn content needs this. 
Your audience wants this.
You do too. 

Enjoy the slowness of it. That's the magic doing its thing.

Most creators on LinkedIn see a flatline when they start. 

Low reach, empty comments, tiny followers. 
But this doesn't mean you suck. 
You're just new.

When I first started posting in 2022, I talked about brand partnerships in the creator economy. 

Each posts was under 10 likes.
Then I steadily grew to 6,000 followers. 

But then I got hired as a content executive, didn't think I was going to post anymore, so I nuked my profile (the irony lol). 

(literally deleted every post 😅)

I started from 0 a few months later. 
Low reach, mild comments. 
Slow follower growth.

This story doesn't end with a sudden burst of explosive growth. That's not how LinkedIn works for 99.99% of people. 

Most of us will experience drops of growth at first with an occasional breakout post. 

Then small growth spurts. Then another breakout. 
This is how growth happens on all platforms.
So embrace the slow process.

This person will always grow:

The one who creates.

They improve each post by 4.79% (kidding - just aim to improve one thing with every post, whether it's the hook, body, story etc).

They don't stop creating. 
They don't stop improving. 

You can't unsee this data below.

LINKEDIN
Posting just once a week puts you in the top 1% of the platform's most visible professional voices.

YOUTUBE
Once you hit 100 subscribers, you are in the Top 63% of all YouTube channels globally (1,000 subs is top 34%).

PODCASTS
If you reach Episode 21, you have officially outlasted 99% of all podcasts ever started.

The only unfair advantage someone has is not quitting.

I made $1M from LinkedIn and learned this.

No seriously, you want a small LinkedIn audience.

Content saturation is creating more fragmentation than ever, but this is actually an advantage in disguise.

My LinkedIn is living proof of this in 3 ways:

1) I never "blew up" on LinkedIn

My 73,000 followers might "seem" big. But in the expansive creator economy, it's tiny.

I've never been viral. 
I only had a few growth spurts.
Mostly, my growth was pretty slow. 

I started posting in April of 2022, 4 years ago. 

My smallest LinkedIn growth was in 2025, but it's my highest year of earnings. 

I grew most when I posted about copywriting.
...but made little (2023). 

Second-most when I talked about LI growth.
...but earned more (2024).

Slowest with coaching businsesses. 
...but totally crushed it (2025).

I freaked-out when reach dropped even more last year 😂

It made me want to go back to "what works" for getting attention. I diagnosed all of the wrong problems, changed things I didn't need to change, and felt miserable. 

Then I stayed the course to focus on one topic:
The coaching lane with my proven niche. 
And only focused on solving. 

My clients got great results and I did too.

2) I never "blew up" because I niched

I do 1 thing: help you build a coaching practice on LinkedIn. 

If that doesn't describe you, then you'll only like my content for how it helps you grow on LinkedIn. 

If it does describe you then this is also true:

You're a leader with career experience. 
You've likely held an executive role.
You're probably 35+ years old. 

And you want to coach to:

A) Own your career
B) Help people

3) I never "blew up" because I didn't need to

And
You
Don't
Need
To
Either. 

99.99% of LinkedIn accounts won't be huge. 
But you can let the pressure off. 
You don't need scale.

I had a client earn $200K in January alone:

- He is super niche'd on LinkedIn and YT
- Very little engagement across the board

Another earned $42,000 from 1 workshop:

- She only works with people in tech
- Less than 30 likes per post

And a 3rd got his first $30K/month.

- He only works with Dads
- 20-70 likes per post

Here's the real way to think about LinkedIn:

1) Growth is slow

Accept this truth. It's sufficient. 
Delete 'fast' from your mouth.
Just target your buyer.

2) If your offer is clear, you will sell

Yes, it must solve a real problem.
There must be real demand.
Biz/Career coaching = 💰
(even w/ saturation)

3) People buy from you, BECAUSE of YOU

Your vibe. Your stories. 
The way you solve.
How you coach. 

You can try all kinds of persuasion tactics, but everyone sees fake scarcity and fake urgency miles away. 

Just start helping people solve a problem.
Then invite them to continue teaming. 

Solve problems and your niche will find you.

ADHD Career Coach | Founder of Momentum — the 8-week coaching program built to get ADHD brains off the overthinking line and into a rhythm of task execution (even on low-energy days)

If you're like most senior leaders I work with, you're not stuck because you lack experience, but because locking into your next move feels impossibly heavy.

I know that feeling well.

For years, I could lead teams, close deals, and make high-stakes decisions without blinking.

But when it came to my own next step?

– Everything blurred.
– The options multiplied.
– The second-guessing crept in.

And the longer I sat with it, the harder it got to move at all.

You can probably relate:

– You can see multiple lanes.
– You can imagine yourself in all of them.
– You can talk yourself into each one if you're not careful.

But eventually, the weight of all those possibilities starts to work against you.

➝ Your story doesn't point anywhere.
➝ Your positioning feels scattered.
➝ Your confidence nosedives.

And you start asking the real question:

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?"

Most people assume it's a motivation problem.

It's not.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

Because when you're keeping too many options open, nothing really lands.

Once you stop hedging and lock into one clear lane, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀:

➝ Your direction locks in. 
➝ Your positioning becomes clear. 
➝ Your visibility grows in the right spaces. 
➝ Your authority increases with the people who matter.

Small wins start stacking again.

Movement feels normal.

Confidence comes back online.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝗱𝗼.

Through 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 — my 8-week 1:1 career accelerator — I help leaders in transition stop hedging, lock into one clear path, and build visibility and authority where it actually matters.

Here's what you get:

– A structure for clarity, positioning, visibility, and authority
– The accountability and scaffolding that keep you steady
– 1:1 support to reduce friction instead of adding pressure
– A 2nd brain to guide the work between calls (Persona™)

By the time the conversations start, people already understand who you are, what you bring, and where you fit.

And once you lock in?

Momentum becomes the norm.

📩 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲 "𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺" 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱.

David Hannan

I keep coming back to this photo.

I almost didn't take it.

— Last summer
— Olivia's first day of kindergarten
— I was just focused on getting her through the door

I was 48 when I became a dad.

— Older than expected
— Less apologetic than I imagined
— Already more at peace with it than I realized

People didn't say it outright.

They rarely do, but the message was there:

— It's selfish
— You won't keep up
— She'll graduate before you retire

I didn't debate it.
I just carried on.

Last year, at 53, I walked my daughter Olivia into her first day of kindergarten.

— Her hand in mine
— Purple backpack bouncing
— That half-skip kids do when they're excited

That's when it landed: if I'd listened to them, this moment wouldn't exist.

And while that decision was playing out at home, I was watching the same pattern play out at work.

I've spent years watching people edged out after 50.

— Resumes stop getting traction
— "Too experienced" turns into a liability
— "Not a fit" says everything without saying anything

Translation: ageism in disguise.

Here's the part that's stayed with me since.

That same stretch of life is often when things click.

That was true for me.

In my early 50s, I was diagnosed with ADHD.

— A clearer view of my patterns
— A new way of working with my brain
— A reframing of everything that came before

It forced me to strip away the noise.

— Better systems
— Cleaner decision-making
— Fewer obligations I never agreed to

I grew more in my early 50s than I had in decades before.

We're sold a neat timeline:

— Career first
— Family on schedule
— Progress in orderly stages

Real life doesn't follow that script.

Some of the most important things arrive once you stop racing the clock.

I turn 54 next month.

I don't feel late.
I feel settled.

And when someone quietly decides I've missed my window, I don't feel the need to correct them.

I know what opened once I stopped believing in that clock.

P.S. A lot of people already have a "late" moment behind them.
They just haven't given it credit yet.

Helping high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence | Founder of Momentum | Former $4M full-desk recruiter

My client, a Head of Marketing in EdTech, recently received a $265K offer because of this:

We'd been working 1:1 to get clear on her next step after feeling stuck for months—riddled with overwhelm and imposter syndrome.

Before then, she had no clarity on what role she wanted next.

Her resume and LinkedIn profile told two different stories.

Every rejection felt personal, feeding her imposter syndrome and making it hard to keep going.

Networking felt overwhelming and random (which is fine, but not effective).

So what changed?

4 things:

1. Clearer, more specific career direction
2. Cohesive resume and LinkedIn branding
3. Targeted engagement/networking strategy

But #4 has been the wildest unlock of them all ↓

4. Consistently posting authority-building content

Once her approach changed, she not only landed conversations with key decision-makers…

But she built real momentum and started drawing the right roles without overthinking every step.

Before, her job search efforts looked like this:

— Applying to roles without tailoring outreach
— Sending connection requests with no purpose
— Hesitating to engage out of fear of being judged
— Never sharing her insights or perspective publicly

Now, her strategy looks like this:

— Clear direction on the role she wanted
— Cohesive resume and LinkedIn throughline
— An engagement strategy that built real visibility
— Posting original content weekly to build authority

See the difference?

❌ Less guesswork
✅ More intentionality

But that's not all.

We got crazy specific about her LinkedIn content:

— The exact topics she wanted to align with
— The companies that should be paying attention
— The decision-makers she wanted reading her posts
— The exact message she wanted to communicate
— The clear value her expertise demonstrated

This works because your content shapes who pays attention and what happens next.

It's like a magnet.

Attract the right people and the right conversations, and it's just a matter of time before you get that offer.

Get it wrong though?

You're left wheel-spinning.

P.S. If you're feeling stuck and:

➝ struggle with focus challenges or overthinking
➝ have zero clarity on what you want to do next
➝ have a confusing resume and LinkedIn profile
➝ want a strategy that plays to your strengths

I'm opening up 4 more spots to work 1:1 with US-based senior leaders to help them do just that.

DM "Momentum" if you want to see how this works.

2025 David: What I got wrong (and what actually worked):

1. Every tough year means something is broken.
↳ Last year stretched me.
- It also sharpened the business.
- Some things worked. Others needed rebuilding.
- Both were true at the same time.

2. Growth required grinding harder each year.
↳ That belief aged poorly.
- Revenue stabilized when systems replaced urgency.
- Fewer calls, better containers, clearer expectations.
- Momentum came from consistency, not exhaustion.

3. More availability meant better service.
↳ Wrong math.
- Being always on blurred boundaries fast.
- The work improved when I protected my time.
- Clients got a calmer version of me. Family did too.

4. Recruiting expertise alone would be enough.
↳ Half true. Half naïve.
- I knew hiring systems inside out. 
- I underestimated the impact of identity loss.
- Execution followed once people felt steady again.

5. Transparency would land the same for everyone.
↳ That was projection.
- My ADHD diagnosis reshaped how I work and talk.
- I assumed everyone shared the same openness.
- Meeting people where they are built trust.

6. One unified workspace would solve everything.
↳ Spoiler: it didn’t.
- Persona worked for strategy and layered thinking.
- Content suffered when context got too crowded.
- Custom GPTs restored clients' voices fast.

7. More structure always equals more progress.
↳ I learned this one the uncomfortable way.
- Granular milestones worked for me.
- Clients experienced the same system as overload.
- Fewer steps created more follow-through.

Here’s what I know for sure:

☑ Clarity compounds faster than effort.
☑ Systems fail quietly before people do.
☑ Protecting your energy is part of the work.

Grateful for the clients who trusted me through the experiments and the resets.

2026 gets a cleaner version of everything.

P.S. What’s one shift from last year that stuck?

——
Hi, I’m David. I help high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence.

If time off didn’t shift the direction question, it probably wasn’t ever about energy.

I keep noticing this in the first week back. 

People get a bit of distance over the holidays. 

Quieter mornings. Fewer meetings. 

Just enough space to breathe and think that once the noise drops, things will probably feel clearer.

And then you make it to Friday.

You’ve been back in it long enough to tell what actually changed and what didn’t. 

The same career question’s still there. 
The same next role that isn’t quite defined. 
The same sense that the story still isn’t clear.

Even though you really hoped it might be by now.

Nothing really shifted. 

It’s not heavier, but it’s not lighter either.

From the hiring side, this is usually the part people don’t clock straight away.

It’s rarely about motivation, or effort, or a reset.

What lingers tends to be quieter than that. 

It’s the part where what’s next still feels fuzzy, where every option can still be justified. 

Where the story sounds fine in your head but wouldn’t quite land in a real conversation yet.

That’s the stuff a few days off doesn’t touch.

I don’t think that moment gets talked about much. 

That realization in the first week, when the calendar’s filling back up but the direction still hasn’t locked.

You’re left sitting with the same unanswered question you parked a couple of weeks ago.

It tends to just sit there for a bit, whether you’re ready to deal with it or not.

Some questions just take longer than a break.

The hardest roles to leave are the ones you're stuck explaining why you stayed.

I was sixteen years into a recruiting career. 

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't right anymore.

I remember this one Friday night, dinner done, sitting on the sofa half-watching Dexter, phone in my hand.

And there it was again, that question, the one I'd been carrying around for months but kept putting off because there was never a good time to deal with it.

I wasn't stressed or spinning, and to be honest, my week had been fine, which was the weird part.

When things are bad, you have a reason to move.

But when deals are closing, and big commission checks are rolling in, you start wondering why you're still thinking about leaving at all.

I sat there for a bit, finished my tea, and went to bed.

Woke up the next morning, same commute, same desk, same pipeline to work, and that question was right there with me like it had been the whole time.

I didn't do anything about it that week. 

Or the week after.

But it didn't go anywhere either.

P.S. Ever had one of those moments?

——
Hi, I'm David. I help high-performing leaders get clear on their next move and show up with confidence.

You don't need a perfect story to start a job search.

But most senior leaders act like they do.

That usually means:

- Waiting until the story feels "tight"
- Believing every chat has to go somewhere
- Pressure to sound confident before you feel clear

At senior levels, you're carrying identity, reputation, and expectations into every single conversation. 

That's a lot of weight. 

No wonder it feels exhausting.

Here's the reframe most leaders need:

A search is a private, low-pressure exploration phase.

The goal is just to gather information:

- What energizes you now
- What you don't want anymore
- What trade-offs you're willing to make

Clarity doesn't come 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 you start.

It comes 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 you start.

taplio

The Battle

Ryan Musselman

David Hannan

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Performance ScoreRyan Musselman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid Hannan's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Ryan Musselman

David Hannan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ryan Musselman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid Hannan's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRyan Musselman's LinkedIn Performance