Ina Coveney: Hi! Everybody! Today I have the amazing pleasure of introducing you to my friend Dallas Travers. Hi! Thank you for having me. I'm excited.

Dallas Travers: It is so good to be here. Thank you! Before we get started, why don’t you tell everybody what it is that you do right now and who you help right now?

Ina Coveney: Yes, thank you. So my name is Dallas Travers. I am a podcaster and also the founder of a mentorship program called The Hive. Inside The Hive, we teach values-driven coaches the Ripple Effect System, which helps them attract paying clients, become more visible, and scale really wisely. And this is all rooted in business strategies built on habits designed to really fortify their values.

Ina Coveney: But okay, I need to go back. I like to go way back because we're going to get into how you came up with The Hive and how you got there. But first, can you just share with everybody: Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Dallas Travers: Oh, we’re going that far back? This is your startup story! We gotta start from the beginning. So, it was a cold winter night. I was born in a small town in Quesnel, British Columbia. Actually, it’s kind of an interesting story. When I was born, my name was Brandy for like 45 seconds or something. My mom met me and thought, "This is not a Brandy. I’m going to name her Dallas." And that was on January 6th. By the end of that month, there were 4 or 6—can’t remember exactly—other babies named Dallas. So I started this trend in this very remote part of British Columbia. There are women walking around named Dallas now in Canada.

Ina Coveney: Where did your mom get the idea for Dallas?

Dallas Travers: Oh, I think it was the soap opera. She denies it, but the original soap opera premiered the fall before I was born. So it was in her subconscious, right? But it’s totally the show.

Ina Coveney: I was named after a soap opera too, so we have that in common. I was born in 1981, and there was a very popular Venezuelan soap opera on TV called Andreina. And that is actually my full name. Everybody’s getting first-time information here—I’ve never actually shared this before!

Dallas Travers: Breaking news!

Ina Coveney: Breaking news! So in my class at school, there were always like five other Andreinas. Soap operas really influence us. Can you tell us what it was like growing up for you? What kind of kid were you?

Dallas Travers: Yeah, so I’m number three of four kids. And I was definitely the person who had the plan. Here’s a great example. You don’t need to learn anything else about me after I tell you this story. I was young, probably second grade. At night, I’d take a bath, get dressed for school, climb in bed, and make the bed with myself in it. I would sleep on my back all night long so I could wake up, slide out of bed, and already be dressed with my bed made for school.

Ina Coveney: Are you serious?

Dallas Travers: Some people might call that uptight. I prefer to call it efficient! That was the kind of kid I was—always thinking ahead and looking for ways to make the most of my time.

Ina Coveney: I really want to know where the show business part of your life came into play. Because in my research, I see you being in the show business arena, but I had a really hard time finding where that pivotal point was. Were you always an artsy kid? Tell me your show business story.

Dallas Travers: Yeah, so my show business story... A lot of people think, because of my history, that I was a performer. But that’s not actually how I got involved in the entertainment industry. I was living in Washington State, and a coworker I had worked with in college in Seattle had moved down to Los Angeles. We’d lost touch, but out of the blue, I got a call from him saying, “I work at a talent agency. We have a job for you here. You’re the perfect person. Come to Los Angeles and work at this talent agency.”

Ina Coveney: Oh wow.

Dallas Travers: So within a week, I packed up a U-Haul and moved to Los Angeles. I worked at this company for maybe six or eight weeks—less than 90 days—before I realized it was not a real talent agency. It was a scam operation designed to take advantage of people with dreams of making it in Hollywood. They’d tell people they were perfect for a commercial but needed professional photos, conveniently offered by “their” photographer. It was a complete rip-off.

Ina Coveney: Oh my goodness!

Dallas Travers: I was just 21, so I didn’t realize at first. But within a couple of months, I had this big idea: “What if I became a placement service? Instead of pretending to be your agent, I could partner with you to help you find a legitimate talent agency.” That became the first company I started. I learned everything about talent agencies and management companies, what their expertise was, their personalities, and preferences. I created a marketing service where actors could get consultations and press kits to send to legitimate agents. That’s how I started.

Ina Coveney: That’s incredible. Tell me about your book, The Tao of Show Business. Why did you decide to write it?

Dallas Travers: The book came out in 2012, and it was really about helping actors work smarter, not harder. A lot of actors work so hard but burn out before they get their breakthrough. The book became a guide to doing the hard work strategically so that actors could move forward faster and feel better in the process. Writing the book felt like putting my stake in the ground and claiming my space as an expert, even though I’d never been on a television set. It was also about serving actors—helping them stop suffering so much and live out their purpose.

Ina Coveney: That’s amazing. At some point, you shifted from working with actors to working with coaches. How did that transition happen?

Dallas Travers: It started when coaches began reaching out to me, asking for mentorship because they saw what I had built. At first, I mentored them on the side while still running my actor business. But when my daughter was born, everything shifted. We decided to raise her in a media-free household, which made it hard for me to stay connected to the entertainment industry. I also started seeing the ripple effect my coaching had on other coaches and their clients. By the time my daughter was two, I officially transitioned to mentoring coaches.

Ina Coveney: Wow. I love pausing at these pivotal moments because so many people listening are scared to take a leap. They're afraid to commit to something, thinking, "What if this isn't what I want to do forever? What if I grow this thing so big that I’m trapped in it?" You were there. You had a membership with 500 actors in it. What was that decision like for you? How do you go about closing down a business that had taken on a life of its own?

Dallas Travers: That’s such a great question. One of my core values is agency—this deep awareness of choice and ownership of the results of your choices. Looking back, I can say I had agency even before my daughter was born. I knew I was ready to make a move, but it took me two and a half years to do it. What held me back were two things:
First, my business serving actors was making close to seven figures a year. It felt unwise to just shut that down. Second, I felt deeply connected to the community. I fell into a little bit of over-responsibility and maybe some ego, thinking, "What will they do without me?" Spoiler alert: They’re fine! But at the time, it felt like I was letting them down.
What ultimately gave me permission to make the shift was knowing two things. One, I knew how to build a business because I had done it before and was teaching other coaches how to do it. Two, it became misaligned with my values to stay in a business just because it was profitable. I wanted to feel creative and light in my work, and my actor business no longer gave me that.

Ina Coveney: I love how aligned you were with your values. But you said something earlier that struck me—you mentioned you waited too long to make the move and could have sold the business if you’d started the process earlier. Can you share more about that?

Dallas Travers: Yes, I waited until I was so done with the business that I just didn’t care anymore. By that point, I was like, "Let’s slash the prices on all my courses and move on." I could have sold the business, but I didn’t have the energy to explore that option. If I had it to do over again, I’d have made the decision earlier, when I still had the energy to transition thoughtfully.

Ina Coveney: That’s such a valuable insight. So, when you started your new business helping coaches, what were your first steps? What did you do to make it successful?

Dallas Travers: The first thing I did was close the actor chapter gracefully. At the time, I had a few private coaching clients who were coaches, as well as a small group program. Those came from referrals, so I already had some momentum. Then, when I officially shifted to coaching, I focused on private clients first. That allowed me to create a stable foundation and do market research through my work with them.
In my first official year of serving coaches, I made $500,000. That happened because I knew what I was doing. I focused on referral marketing, which has always been my strength. I reached out to my current clients and asked them to refer people to me. From there, I filled another small group and brought on more private clients. It was all about leveraging what was already working.

Ina Coveney: Can you explain what you mean by referral marketing? What does that process look like for you?

Dallas Travers: Absolutely. Referral marketing, combined with what I call experiential marketing, is about engaging the people who already know the value of working with you. For example, when I shifted to coaching, I had nine people who’d worked with me in some capacity. I reached out to them and said, "I’m filling another small group and taking on two more private clients. Who can you think of that could benefit from an hour with me?" Those nine people sent referrals, and just like that, my roster was full.
It’s really about being brave enough to ask directly and clearly. People who love and appreciate your work want to help, but they need to know how. When you give them that clarity, it’s a win-win.

Ina Coveney: That’s so simple, yet so effective. Do you think affiliate commissions come into play in referral marketing, or is it just about that personal connection?

Dallas Travers: In my experience, for businesses under $250,000 a year, affiliate commissions aren’t a big motivator. People refer because they adore you and appreciate your work, not because of a $250 commission. In fact, introducing an affiliate structure can sometimes complicate things unnecessarily. If you’re filling a small group or building your client base, it’s better to keep it simple. Send a thank-you gift or show appreciation in other ways, but don’t overcomplicate it.

Ina Coveney: I love that perspective. Now, let’s pivot a bit. Can you tell us more about The Hive? How did you come up with it, and what was your vision for the program?

Dallas Travers: The Hive is a year-long mentorship program for values-driven coaches. It’s designed to help coaches build solid foundations in their business while staying true to their values. The shared experience among Hive members is what defines the community. These are people whose life experiences brought them to coaching, whether it’s overcoming illness, navigating divorce, or excelling in their careers. They’re driven to help others create transformation.
The Hive also attracts coaches who’ve been burned by the online space—programs that didn’t deliver, guarantees that weren’t met, and tactics that didn’t meet them where they were. What they need are boring, reliable foundations they can build on, and that’s exactly what we provide.

Ina Coveney: Do you cap membership or run it on a rolling basis?

Dallas Travers: Yes, we cap membership at 75 people a year. That allows us to provide the level of care that’s missing in many larger group programs. Enrollment is rolling, so people can join when the timing is right for them, rather than rushing because of a closing cart deadline. We also launch the program a couple of times a year to invite new members in. It’s a lot of fun because I get to be hands-on with everyone in the program, which is something I love.

Ina Coveney: That sounds incredible. If you had one piece of advice for everyone listening, something they have to do in the next 24 hours, what would it be?

Dallas Travers: Set a timer for 90 seconds and just do the thing you’ve been putting off. Thinking about doing it is far more painful than actually doing it. Even if it flops, you’ll have the satisfaction of being someone who took action instead of preparing to get ready to begin. So just set the timer and go for it.

Ina Coveney: That’s such great advice. Dallas, this has been an amazing conversation. Can you tell everyone where they can find you and follow your work?

Dallas Travers: Thank you so much! You can find me on my podcast, Coaches on a Mission, where I coach people live on the show. And feel free to connect with me on Instagram at @DallasTravers.

Ina Coveney: Perfect. We’ll include all those links in the show notes, including your application link. Thank you again, Dallas. This has been so inspiring!

Dallas Travers: Thank you, Ina! This was such a fun conversation. I loved every minute of it.