She Built 40 Locations. Then Lost It All Overnight.

“The difference between community and audience is simple: audience is unilateral; community is collaborative. When people have skin in the game, when they feel something that brings them closer back home to themselves, you have a community member for life.” — Carla Catherwood

Carla Catherwood started teaching dance at 13 years old. By her mid-twenties she’d created the world’s first heels dance syllabus. By 2015, she’d built Army of Sass into a licensed network of 40+ locations across Canada and parts of the US, with thousands of members.

Then COVID hit. The business died overnight.

In this episode, Carla and Nathalie dig into the full arc: building community from scratch, the difference between franchising and licensing (you can’t franchise creativity), what burnout actually looks like when you’re deep in it, and the moment she knew she needed coaching skills to lead the leaders she was mentoring.

They talk about the real difference between community and audience, why work-life balance is a myth (harmony is the goal), and what the body knows about connection that most of us overlook.

Carla leaves us with two experiments: learn to receive (especially if you’re a coach or facilitator who gives constantly), and put on your favorite song and dance. No right or wrong way to do it.

This one is for anyone starting over, building something, or wondering what their niche is supposed to be. Carla’s answer: forget the niche. Follow the calling.

Connect with Carla Catherwood: LinkedIn · Instagram

Connect with Coach Academy: canadacoachacademy.com