Jacquie Doucette has undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Pharmacy and has worked for Canada’s Defence Department, both in uniform and as a civilian, for 40 years.

We discuss:

• There’s more to life than just a job and a desk [02:00]
• A podcast that’s beyond retirement [04:15]
• We can make more money but we can’t make more time [07:50]
• The challenges of creating your own structure [10:24]
• The thin line between freedom and responsibility [12:53]
• When you finally find out what you want to do with your time [15:20]
• What to do when income is not part of the equation [17:49]

She knows there’s more to life than a job… and more to retirement than just leaving a job. With Beyond Retirement, she’s hoping to shed some light on other paths people have taken in their journeys away from the corporate world, to share with her listeners and her clients a variety of ways to lead rewarding and fulfilling lives outside that 9-5 world.

Learn more about Jacquie at https://beyondretirement.ca.

David Henzel is the CEO of upcoach and a veteran entrepreneur who has been building in the saas and e-com space for over 20 years. He had multiple exits, including MaxCDN.

We discuss:

• Applying business principles to your personal life [03:14]
• A one-stop-shop for your coaching business [06:57]
• 80% of the problems in the coaching industry [08:03]
• How to avoid scaling too fast in the initial phase [11:24]
• What makes upcoach different from other similar platforms [14:11]
• The liberation of hiring people who are better than you [16:27]

His passion is to help individuals and their organizations reach their full potential.

Aside from upcoach (Coaching Delivery System), he has a small portfolio of companies including LTVplus, (Outsourcing for e-commerce & saas), TaskDrive (Sales Development), Shortlist.io (Digital Marketing Agency), and his passion project Managing Happiness (Peak Performance Group Coaching for entrepreneurs).

Learn more about David at www.davidhenzel.com/, www.upcoach.com, www.managinghappiness.com, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Tom Scarda is a Certified Franchise Expert. He was the number one franchisee of the year with his first franchise concept and failed miserably in his second franchise. The lessons learned from failure are what make him such an expert.

We discuss:

• A business with training wheels [02:09]
• If you can’t make a movie about it, then you don’t really have a life [05:51]
• A funny way of God humbling you after a great success [07:35]
• The pros and cons of the franchise business [10:34]
• The synergy of a franchise network [12:57]
• What makes a good franchise candidate [14:49]
• How to find a consulting franchise that supports your goals [17:36]
• Reasons not to buy a franchise [20:39]

Tom is the author of several books including the number one bestseller, Franchise Savvy. He hosts The Franchise Academy Podcast and has produced an online Master Class on investing in a franchise. He has helped more than 1600 people figure out if franchising is for them since 2005.

Learn more about Tom at www.thefranchiseacademy.com

Daniel A. Varroney is the author of the groundbreaking new book, Reimagining Industry Growth. He is also founder of Potomac Core, a strategic consulting firm that specializes in association transformation and industry-focused strategic partnerships. He has built a successful career as an association executive, leading organizations with diverse focus, from manufacturing to high tech to finance and advocacy.

We discuss:

• An unquenchable thirst for writing [02:10]
• The bottom of what gets you out of bed in the morning [05:19]
• A third place between work and home [12:24]
• Why you don’t want to be a one-year wonder [17:28]
• Bitten by the bug [21:00]

Learn more about Daniel at https://potomaccore.com

Kristi is a Dallas native and at 50 years young, she reinvented herself and transitioned from a job she needed to creating the career she always dreamed of. Kristi is a certified resume writer, job search strategist and LinkedIn pro. In 2018, she launched her business We Write It Now and has never looked back.

We discuss:

• When fear of success is stronger than fear of failure [02:00]
• The most important aspect of a resume [06:02]
• Transforming resumes while transforming personalities [10:43]
• How to better take the lows for what they are [13:12]
• Chipping away blocks bit by bit [15:50]
• You can’t be everything to everybody [17:28]
• Where to find your tribe in terms of colleagues [19:55]

Learn more about Kristi at www.WeWriteItNow.com and LinkedIn.

Tim Ash is an acknowledged authority on evolutionary psychology and digital marketing. He is a sought-after international keynote speaker, and the bestselling author of Unleash Your Primal Brain and Landing Page Optimization.

We discuss:

• Great traffic to awful websites [02:52]
• How to make your transition from corporate to solopreneuership easier [05:15]
• Why it’s important to not put all your eggs in one basket [07:57]
• Don’t underestimate what you can do in a day [09:27]
• How to make billions of stars accessible to people [11:18]
• Understanding the human brain without any scientific jargon [13:57]
• How to take advantage of the negativity bias [16:27]
• Universal applicability versus technical trends [20:05]

Tim has been mentioned by Forbes as a Top-10 Online Marketing Expert, and by Entrepreneur Magazine as an Online Marketing Influencer To Watch. For nineteen years he was the co-founder and CEO of SiteTuners – a digital optimization agency. Tim helped to create over 1.2 billion dollars in value for companies like Google, Expedia, eHarmony, Facebook, American Express, Canon, Nestle, Symantec, Intuit, Humana, Siemens, and Cisco. Please help me welcome Tim Ash!

Learn more about Tim at https://timash.com.

Jake Lang is an author, entrepreneur, and founder of over eight online businesses. Jake now helps new entrepreneurs start and scale their first online business at TheEntrepreneurRideAlong.com where he shares his experiences along the entrepreneurial journey of starting and growing new businesses.

We discuss:

• What keeps people stuck in their day job [02:09]
• How to know when it’s time to jump [03:43]
• Secrets to getting your online business work [08:04]
• Why it’s crucial to share content that shows your expertise [10:27]
• Reasons why people don’t share content before selling [12:58]
• How to get over the fear of talking to people you don’t know [14:20]
• How to know if you have a good process for starting a business [16:12]
• Use your job to quit your job [17:55]

It’s Jake’s mission to start a new online business every year and share everything behind the scenes through his books, Podcast, and Blog so that new entrepreneurs can learn from Jake’s mistakes, understand the struggles of starting a new business, and find the path to entrepreneurial success.

Learn more about Jake at https://theentrepreneurridealong.com/. 

Jane Wesman is an entrepreneur, marketing expert, and mentor. President of Jane Wesman Public Relations, based in New York City, Jane is one of the country’s top book publicists with an impressive record of creating national bestsellers, particularly in the areas of leadership, management, and personal growth. She has worked with such business thought-leaders as Charles Schwab, Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Marcus Buckingham, and Keith Ferazzi.

We discuss:

• Major challenges for consultants who want to publish a book [03:19]
• When is a good time for publishing a book [06:30]
• Why a book can be beneficial for you and your business [08:53]
• A process that will help ensure success of a book [10:19]
• Types of investment options for getting your book effectively marketed [13:58]
• How to find a good team when writing your first book [20:40]
• What makes book publishing a long journey [22:35]

Jane’s own book, Dive Right In – The Sharks Won’t Bite: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Guide to Success, was one of the first to offer concrete advice to help women launch and grow their businesses. She has lectured and written on the topics of leadership and business for many organizations and media outlets.

Jane served as president of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners for four years. She currently sits on the boards of two non-profit organizations: ArtSail and the Women’s Media Group, plus she provides funding for an internship program at Simmons University to help students kick-start their careers.

Learn more about Jane at www.wesmanpr.com and YouTube.

Mick Spiers is the Founder and Principal of The Leadership Project and the host of The Leadership Project podcast. His vision is to inspire all leaders to challenge status and to have people stop, reflect and rethink what it means to be a leader. His mission is to empower leaders with all of the tools and skills they need to create amazing teams and workspaces.

We discuss:

• Flipping the way leadership development is done [02:08]
• Starting your own business versus starting one for other people [06:30]
• Why your first client could be your last employer [09:18]
• A skillset to discover yourself as a leader [14:57]
• How to align your market’s needs with your vision [20:34]

Learn more about Mick at www.mickspiers.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Since 2006, JD Gershbein has been at the forefront of the social media conversation. One of the world’s first independent LinkedIn consultants, JD pioneered a model of authentic business communication that serves ambitious professionals striving to make their mark in the Digital Age.

We discuss:

• What to do with your LinkedIn profile once you’re unemployed [04:33]
• Why it’s important to disambiguate yourself early on [06:47]
• How to find your dominant aspect of value [10:50]
• You can’t do too much too soon [13:22]
• How to use LinkedIn to build your social network [15:24]
• Why automated sales pitches don’t work for consultants [18:27]

As a speaker, facilitator, writer, and media producer, he draws upon his diverse academic background—a fusion of psychology, neuroscience, and the humanities—and the improvisation skills he honed at Chicago’s famed Second City to bridge the knowledge gap that exists between professionals and the virtual world.

Learn more about JD at LinkedIn.

Following two decades in the humanitarian sector, Cornelia Walther quit to focus on POZE, a paradigm for social change that begins with individual transformation. Over the past years, she published a couple of books. Now Cornelia is expanding the network of like-minded thinkers and doers, whilst making the POZE perspective and related mythologies accessible around the world.

We discuss:

• A twiddling faith that makes you doubt yourself [02:05]
• Why a sabbatical rather than changing organizations as an employee [06:38]
• Four methodologies to bring social change [09:33]
• A training tailored to fit reality [11:15]
• How to support your lifestyle while going through a self-reflective process [15:48]
• Wash me but don’t use water [18:36]

Learn more about Cornelia at www.poze.cc and LinkedIn.

Elaine Pofeldt, journalist and author of Tiny Business, Big Money.

We discuss:

• Common strategies for one-person businesses [02:22]
• Automation is always a low-hanging fruit [07:06]
• How enthusiasm makes us hard on ourselves [10:53]
• What prompts employees to start their own business [14:03]
• How to dominate a very tiny niche and think as big as Jeff Bezos [17:07]
• A semi-scientific testing of a product [26:30]

Learn more about Elaine at https://www.elainepofeldt.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Jen Hamilton’s love of effective and efficient teams and processes started as a CPA with PwC. Now as a Fractional Integrator with Wolf’s Edge Consulting, she loves to work with burnt-out visionaries by managing the business’s day-to-day operations so they can focus on profit and impact growth, and do what they love to do most.

We discuss:

• No more jerks at work [02:22]
• How to run a really well-oiled machine as a business [06:36]
• A temporary CEO: from mess to maintenance [09:46]
• What helps when a client does not want to end a relationship [11:19]
• Not the best case of monkey see, monkey do [15:22]
• The dividing line between the consultative sale and consultative delivery [20:21]
• What to do in the sales process when you’re not getting paid [22:32]

Jen is a natural collaborator, problem-solver, strategic thinker, and leadership coach. She keeps the team laser-focused on what is best for the company and who they serve while developing the team.

Learn more about Jen at www.wolfsedgeconsulting.com and LinkedIn.

Desmond has over 5 million dollars in sales experience with personal enrollments in the thousands. He has worked in numerous industries and has brought his marketing and sales philosophy into a number of organizations.

We discuss:

• Getting through a chemical engineering degree when you want to be in sales [02:23]
• If you’re not failing, you’re not trying [06:13]
• The honesty recipe for sales success [08:59]
• When the role models don’t speak to you [12:12]
• How to keep the doors open without spending a dollar on marketing [14:48]
• The intersection of business psychology and clients’ interests [19:24]
• Giving a ton of value by the dancefloor [21:19]

He first began his sales career in a corporate company where he went from intern to one of the top sales professionals in the region. After realizing the power of empathy, he left the corporate space to train professional development in the workspace. Desmond is currently building a fast-growing sales team at an international start-up and a venture digital marketing agency. Now, he is also starting up his new pod, Campfire Capitalism with two great co-hosts.

Learn more about Desmond at https://campfirecapitalism.com/, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Rick Brandon, PhD, is founder and president of the globally respected Brandon Partners, offering workshops on interpersonal and political savvy. His courses are taught worldwide in scores of Fortune 500 corporations as well as in many government agencies, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions.

We discuss:

• Not a shrink but a stretch [02:36]
• Marketing a company versus marketing yourself [07:27]
• A roadmap for how consultants work with clients [11:46]
• LPGA questions to explore your clients’ needs [16:28]
• How to change your self-talk to overcome objections [18:48]
• A lesson from a Henry Ford’s neighbor [22:05]
• A world safe for straight talk skills [24:00]

Dr. Brandon wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success, which won book of the month for Fast Company, Forbes, CEO.com, and the Institute for Management Studies (IMS). He is a distinguished faculty member for the Institute and spent a year presenting in 20 cities around the world as its most requested speaker. With 35 years of performance improvement experience, Dr. Brandon has directly trained hundreds of thousands of people in workshops and speeches. He has consulted, trained, and presented at companies worldwide, from start-up e-commerce to blue-chip companies.

Learn more about Rick at www.BrandonPartners.com.

Lori Highby is a podcast host, speaker, educator, and founder of Keystone Click, a strategic digital marketing agency. Using her vast multi-industry knowledge – gained from experience and education, she has the ability to see the potential of greatness within the already established good of a business.

We discuss:

• The courage to ask “Who do you know” [02:40]
• Three golden rules of networking [05:31]
• The real problem with the follow-through [07:50]
• The least smartest person in the room [10:44]
• Why you aren’t getting found [14:33]
• How to make your website work for your referrals [19:10]
• The best way to prove your expertise [22:10]

Through strategic actionable moves, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as ABB and Syngenta to micro-business owners, to achieve their marketing goals. Lori carries her energy and drive into her professional engagements in order to empower and educate other fellow life-long learners.

Learn more about Lori at www.keystoneclick.com, www.lorihighby.com and LinkedIn.

Former Wall Street stock analyst who walked away to focus on her own health and helping others improve theirs.

We discuss:

• The moment you learn to take a nap on your desk [01:47]
• The signs of a toxic workplace culture [03:46]
• Why you shouldn’t piss off a Wall Street research analyst [07:39]
• Traveling as a means to get out of a freak-out mode [09:27]
• The importance of shifting your focus from earning money [13:37]
• Work smarter, not harder [16:16]
• Why game stoppers are worth the money [21:06]

Learn more about Kerstin at www.carefullyhealing.com and Instagram.

Kevin Perlmutter is Chief Strategist & Founder of Limbic Brand Evolution – a brand strategy & neuromarketing consultancy. Kevin helps brand leaders get even better at attracting and retaining customers, by turning emotional insight into a competitive advantage.

We discuss:

• It’s about focusing on what matters most [02:45]
• The evolution DNA as a key to achieving freedom [07:00]
• Disadvantages of nickel and dime conversations [08:34]
• What makes a great working relationship [12:40]
• Three steps to creating lead generation [16:00]
• Focus, connect and evolve [19:37]

Learn more about Kevin at https://www.limbicbrandevolution.com/ and LinkedIn.

Earl Breon is a former active-duty United States Marine with over 25 years of experience in coaching and leadership development. He is the CEO and Founder of The Leadership Phalanx where he combines his civilian and military experiences with his love of history to bring you what he calls, “The 11 Shields of The Leadership Phalanx”. These shields work together like the ancient Spartan formation to provide you a strong leadership foundation that values diversity and inclusion as fundamental to building strong, successful, and innovative teams.

We discuss:

• Know your team and take care of their welfare [02:20]
• How to keep the boat close enough [08:47]
• The two things that give you credibility [10:27]
• The first conversation to have before going solo [17:09]
• The best time to jump and go full time in your own business [19:17]
• How to integrate the eleven shields of the leadership Phalanx into your career journey [21:12]
• How [not] to set yourself up for failure [23:27]

Learn more about Earl at https://www.leadershipphalanx.com/ and LinkedIn.

Juliet Hahn is a storyteller, consultant, public speaker, and content creator. Her mission in life is to give Women and Men a stage to share their stories. She believes deeply that everyone has a story and we all can learn from each other. We just need to listen.

We discuss:

• Women can do it all [02:02]
• How to lower the financial pressure when starting your own business [06:58]
• Happy but not really happy [09:08]
• What the first clients will give that you haven’t thought of [13:38]
• That extra thing that will light you on fire [17:33]
• Quarantine stories that get you out of your world [19:05]
• Why it’s so important to find the time and space to daydream [21:45]

Learn more about Juliet at https://www.iamjuliethahn.com/, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Gayathri Shukla is the founder of Campfire Kinship, a social enterprise on a mission to unlock the power of empathy through story-based solutions. She practices human-centered design and is also certified in an innovative method of storytelling called guided autobiography.

We discuss:

• Entrepreneurship as a sense of calling [02:22]
• A journey to what unity means [04:56]
• What happens to teams that can’t deal with diversity [08:43]
• The results of having purpose aspiration [11:56]
• Threads of ways to deliver your offerings to an audience [13:40]
• How to make an analysis of what business model to follow [17:13]
• How to move yourself back into an objective lens [19:54]
• Clarity: the number one advice for anyone considering transition [21:29]

Gayathri empowers individuals to discover their authentic strengths while creating inclusive cultures via workshops, keynotes, and creative storytelling campaigns. Gayathri transitioned to entrepreneurship after a 17-year career in the energy sector. She has an electrical engineering and Executive MBA degree and volunteers on the Board of Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association.

Learn more about Gayathri at www.campfirekinship.com and Instagram.

With clients like Amazon, Dell, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, eBay, Facebook and Peloton, Adam specializes in Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Creating a “Winning Culture” and Career Transition. He works with industry leaders to strengthen leadership and communication skills.

We discuss:

• Opportunities find you when you are ready for them [02:26]
• How to get over the things that slow us down during a transition [04:22]
• How to build confidence when going on your own [07:24]
• Investing in yourself can come in many different ways [09:20]
• How to stay connected after leaving the corporate world [12:33]
• How to align your business life with your new destination [17:13]
• The key elements to having longevity without being burnt out [19:18]

Adam is especially skilled in working with leaders to understand and build their capabilities in the areas of emotional intelligence, team dynamics, and powerful communication. Adam has a style that resonates with leaders at all management levels, successfully helping them portray their leadership vision and improve their business results as well as their professional life.

Learn more about Adam at LinkedIn.

Since 2006, JD Gershbein has been at the forefront of the social media conversation. One of the world’s first independent LinkedIn consultants, JD pioneered a model of authentic business communication that serves ambitious professionals striving to make their mark in the Digital Age.

We discuss:

• The virtual equivalent of your best self [04:52]
• Why selling too soon is a horrible problem [05:53]
• How to be known as somebody who can be trusted [07:42]
• The relationships that truly serve you [11:12]
• The cream has risen to the top [13:48]
• It’s just people talking to people [17:36]
• How to feel good about yourself in the online world [20:31]

As a speaker, facilitator, writer, and media producer, he draws upon his diverse academic background—a fusion of psychology, neuroscience, and the humanities—and the improvisation skills he honed at Chicago’s famed Second City to bridge the knowledge gap that exists between professionals and the virtual world.

Learn more about JD at https://www.owlishcommunications.com and LinkedIn.

Jennifer J. Fondrevay is the Founder and Chief Humanity Officer of Day1 Ready™, an M&A consultancy that advises Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and small businesses on the people challenges of business transitions. An advisor to senior and frontline leaders, Fondrevay ensures a company’s human component, such as culture, engagement, and employee experience remains central to the transformation strategy.

We discuss:

• Mourning the future that won’t be [04:44]
• How to go from denial to acceptance [07:50]
• Bargaining: stuck in the middle with yourself [10:34]
• What makes the best credibility for a consultant [15:58]
• The reason why a large percent of M&A fail [19:00]
• How being on a quest can help you overcome grief [20:36]

A survivor of three multibillion-dollar acquisitions, Jennifer sheds light on navigating a rapidly changing work environment through her speaking, contributions to HBR, Inc, Fast Company, and Forbes, and book NOW WHAT? A Survivor’s Guide for Thriving Through Acquisition, published Nov. 2019.

Learn more about Jennifer at https://jenniferjfondrevay.com and LinkedIn.

Jim Roddy is the President and CEO of the Retail Solutions Providers Association. He has been active in the retail IT industry since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, six years as an RSPA board member, and several years as an industry business coach.

We discuss:

• The journey of a volunteer to becoming the CEO [02:41]
• Technology as a differentiator in retail [05:26]
• How to make competitors part of the same team [08:38]
• The core of leading a community or a membership [12:26]
• The consequences of lacking in-person events [15:44]
• Tips on what may foster engagement in an online format [18:27]
• A great resume versus high character [24:08]

Jim has been recognized as one of the world’s Top 100 Retail Influencers and is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences on SMB best practices. He is the author of two books – The Walk-On Method To Career & Business Success and Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer – and is host of the award-winning RSPA Trusted Advisor podcast.

Learn more about Jim at www.gorspa.org, www.jimroddycba.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.