From Invisible to Irresistible: The Power of Virtual Events with Katy Suik

From Overwhelmed to Booked Out: The Virtual Event Strategy Coaches Need Now

Norbert Orlewicz: Welcome to Between Two Coaches, a Digital Mentors podcast for coaches, consultants, authors, speakers, trainers, and experts. I'm your host, Norbert Orlewicz. In each episode, we have a conversation with successful and emerging thought leaders in the mentoring industry to share experiences, insights, and practical strategies to make a bigger impact with our work.

This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Mentors Compass Workshop. Most coaches struggle to enroll enough clients consistently, not because they're bad at coaching, but simply because they lack clarity and simplicity in their marketing strategy. Simply put, they don't know how to stand out in their market and attract their ideal, perfect clients.

That's why we created the Digital Mentors Compass Experience. It's a step-by-step workshop where you'll clarify your marketing message and receive an AI-powered 30+ page marketing report personalized for your specific business and goals. It's an interactive workshop where you will walk away with a personalized roadmap to finally achieve your goals with a simple plan you can actually follow. Register to attend the next workshop for free at compassworkshop.com.

Today's guest is Katy Suik. Really excited to have Katy here with us today. We're going to be talking about her journey as a coach and the specific strategies that she teaches, including virtual events and collaborations. Katy is a seasoned coach of 15+ years with a passion for supporting other coaches, consultants, and service-based online entrepreneurs through virtual events and collaborative experiences to increase their impact and income. Katy, welcome to the conversation. Great to have you.

Katy Suik: Thank you so much. What an honor it is to be here. Thank you, Norbert.

Norbert: Awesome. Well, I always like to start these conversations with kind of an open-ended, philosophical question. So I want to ask you, Katy—why do you think coaching, mentorship, and entrepreneurship are more important now than ever before, given everything going on in the world today?

Katy: How much time do we have, Norbert? Honestly, I'm probably a great person to ask because I did it on my own for over 12 years, and it ended up costing me. Let’s be real—probably over $80,000 by the time I had to reinvest in myself.

You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s impossible to understand the why behind doing something a certain way if you haven’t had the experience or the context. Having a mentor like you, Norbert, has been a game changer.

I remember a coach telling me, “What got you here won’t get you there.” And that quote always tripped me up, because I thought, "Well if I figured it out, why doesn’t it work anymore?" But business changes constantly. And I fell into the overwhelmed, deer-in-the-headlights trap, especially as an overthinker.

Having mentors helped me scale back, look at the big picture, simplify, and stop spinning stories in my head about why something wouldn't work. You need experts in the room with you to help navigate this—period.

Norbert: Yeah, and I resonate so much with that. I've been in this industry now for 18 years. We've had great success, and I'm entering a new stage in both life and business. I'm building new relationships, rekindling old ones, and realizing I need to up-level to reach my next stage. Coaching is all about transformation. What’s been one of your most impactful personal transformations?

Katy: In 2020, the world shut down—and so did I. My business was at a standstill. Confidence gone. Finances draining. That’s when I joined a leadership program and learned about self-leadership—taking responsibility, dropping victimhood, and recognizing that some lessons are sourced into our lives for growth.

The real transformation happened in the last couple of years when I worked with someone on mindset and subconscious programming. I had childhood trauma that made me feel like I was a burden if I tried to sell. That held me back from converting leads even when I had a good strategy.

Now, I’ve pivoted a lot, and honestly, it sometimes felt like starting over. But I now see it as leveling up. Working with you and Digital Mentors has helped me get grounded in a way I never have. Looking back, everything that didn’t work was necessary to get me here.

Norbert: I love that. And what you’re talking about really underscores the power of coaching and mentorship. Let’s pivot into strategy. You’ve done a lot of work with summits—that was your online breakthrough. What initially attracted you to summits, and why are you pivoting away from them now?

Katy: I loved the structure. I’m someone who thrives with a clear start-to-finish process, and summits gave me that. I ran seven over two and a half years. They grew my list and introduced me to incredible people, including you!

But I started to resent them. They’re a lot of work, and I noticed the ROI decreasing. Fewer people watched the recordings. Fewer upgraded to VIP. I realized I was craving more live interaction.

That led to my new model: pop-up events. One-day, live, 6-8 aligned speakers. High connection. High energy. Real collaboration. It still drives lead gen, but in a way that lights me up.

Norbert: Yes! We even ran a summit together, which was more of an experiment. And it taught us what not to do. That led us to focus on simpler, shorter, more connected events. Let’s talk about that next evolution: why are virtual events so powerful, especially for coaches?

Katy: Because they bridge the gap. Most coaches have decent attraction tactics—a website, some content. But then they jump straight to a discovery call. That doesn’t work for most people anymore.

A virtual event gives potential clients a way to experience you. They get to ask questions, see how you teach, and decide for themselves if they trust you. It builds the relationship before the sales conversation.

Also, we’re in an era of relationship marketing. People are tired of bro-marketing. They need to feel you first, not just read a PDF. Virtual events are the Costco sample before the full bag.

Norbert: That’s so true. We built our first company on weekly webinars. We had 2,000 people registering at one point. And with Digital Mentors, our entire funnel is one simple workshop. We’ve generated over $1 million in mentorship sales this way.

We just focus on one thing: fill the workshop. And we know our stats. For every four attendees, we get one client. That’s powerful.

But the biggest fear coaches have is: "What if no one shows up?"

Katy: It’s happened to me. Two people showed up. One left. I kept going. You have to.

Sometimes it’s timing. Sometimes it’s messaging. Sometimes it’s tech. That’s not a reason to stop. It’s data. Use it to adjust and improve.

Norbert: Exactly. We’ve iterated our workshop three times. It started as six hours! Now it’s 90 minutes and converts beautifully. Once you find a repeatable format, everything changes. But you’ve got to stick with it.

Katy: And the beautiful thing is, your workshop doesn’t feel like a pitch. It’s all service. People feel safe, respected, and inspired. That sells itself.

Norbert: Let’s clarify for coaches: you don’t need to do a traditional sales webinar. You don’t need Russell Brunson’s script. You can create something that reflects you and your values. Find your style.

Katy: Especially if you’re introverted. That’s been a huge shift for me—serving, not selling. Letting people opt in energetically.

Norbert: So how does someone actually get started? What do they need in place to host their first virtual event?

Katy: Start with your messaging. If that’s unclear, your event won’t land.

Then clarify the topic, title, and transformation. What problem does your event solve?

You’ll need a 2-week promo window, a registration page, email sequences, and a clear delivery plan. That’s where people get overwhelmed, and that’s where I come in—to help them simplify and execute.

Norbert: That’s why I hired you when I ran my summit—to plug into your system. And you have a great lead magnet to help coaches get started, right?

Katy: Yes! It’s called the Virtual Events Playbook. It starts with a quiz to assess your readiness, then walks you through the core decisions: title, audience, message, format. It helps you get all your ideas out of your head and onto paper.

Norbert: Amazing. Before we wrap up, one last question: What’s the hardest part of being a coach that most people don’t talk about?

Katy: Feeling like your business results reflect your personal worth. I used to think, "I suck," because my business wasn’t working.

But that’s not true. Your business is not you. It’s a separate entity. Learn to see the gaps without internalizing them. Then build from there.

It really comes down to three things:

1. Know your purpose.

2. Prioritize your mindset and well-being.

3. Get a simple strategy and implement it with focus.

Norbert: Beautifully said. Last thing—where can people find you online?

Katy: You can find me on Facebook at Katy Suik (with a Y!), on Instagram @katycoaches, and on LinkedIn. We’ll include all the links below.

Norbert: Amazing. Thank you again, Katy. This was such a great conversation.

To everyone listening, if you want to clarify your client acquisition strategy, join us for the Digital Mentors Compass Workshop at compassworkshop.com. And don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode, and keep showing up for the mission you’re here to lead.

Thanks for tuning in to Between Two Coaches.