With a doctorate in clinical psychology and extensive studies in life coaching and consultancy, Dr. Andy Garrett has created a revolutionary personal development protocol – with his Authentic Growth Blueprint signature course. Dr. Andy also has a successful private practice in Newport Beach, CA – where he lives with his wife and two children.

We discuss:

• The difference between having a choice and having an obligation [02:31]
• A narrative of self-efficacy [05:44]
• The type of motivation that is better than others [06:50]
• How to understand your unique character strengths [11:16]
• The number one regret people have [12:54]
• The clarity that makes everything flow in the same direction [18:07]
• Why saying no is a much more important decision than saying yes [22:57]

Learn more about Andy at www.therealyoumatters.com and www.Ag-thrive.com.

Robin Merle has been a senior executive for billion-dollar nonprofit organizations. She’s raised more than a half-billion dollars in philanthropy during her nearly forty years in the field.

We discuss:

• How to be resilient in the face of major career challenges [02:42]
• The path to adding meaning somewhere to somebody’s life [05:48]
• Why involuntary exit is more prevalent than many people think [08:16]
• The first 24 hours of being fired [10:06]
• The people who will not add drama to your trauma [12:58]
• Longer than you think: stages of grieving in children [15:48]
• The biggest killer of a new business [19:55]
• The thrill of not hearing from your clients anymore [21:17]

Robin has been Vice-Chair of National Philanthropy Day in New York 3 times, served on multiple nonprofit boards, and was named Woman of Achievement in 2017 by Women in Development, New York. She recently, voluntarily, left her last executive-level position at a major university to promote her new book, Involuntary Exit, and expand her nonprofit consulting business.

Learn more about Robin at https://theprofessionalguide.com and LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Doug C. Brown is the CEO of Business Success Factors, international best-selling author of the book Win-Win Selling: Unlocking Your Power for Profitability by Resolving Objections, and a nationally recognized sales revenue growth expert and consultant.

We discuss:

• Lessons from the nonlinearity of careers [02:02]
• The dots that make career transitioning easier [06:11]
• What the business of consulting is [not] about [07:38]
• Focus on acquisition of clients versus focus on delivery [08:48]
• The quickest and fastest way to cash for new consultants [13:10]
• The type of website that consultants need [19:20]

Learn more about Doug at LinkedIn.

Tamara Lashchyk is a Career & Business Coach who helps mid-late career professionals reinvent their careers.

We discuss:

• Struggling with the culture of HR [02:38]
• Why you can’t outsmart your boss [04:52]
• Reasons to quit a job even when you’re the top performer [09:08]
• The number one reason for job dissatisfaction [12:54]
• Life is a blank sheet of paper [14:07]
• The question that nobody, including yourself, asks you [20:26]
• What older generations can learn from millennials [24:10]

Before establishing her coaching business, Tamara had a successful career on Wall Street where she spent a total of 26 years at firms such as JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.

Tamara is the Author of the book Lose the Gum, A Survival Guide for Women on Wall Street, Main Street & Every Street in Between.

Learn more about Tamara at https://tamaralashchyk.com/ and https://nextlevellifeseries.com/.

Wayne has helped some of the world’s best brands with award-winning design and customer experiences. Unemployment found Wayne in October 2019 and by January 2020 his business was up and running.

We discuss:

• How to springboard into creating opportunities [02:23]
• A few push-ups away from what’s obvious [04:27]
• The opportunity behind offering a multichannel strategy [08:10]
• How to build out and own your priorities across projects and clients [11:09]
• The comfort level with what the 90-day forecast look like [14:43]
• From services to products: a story about expertise [17:19]
• Don’t ride the waves of emotions [19:04]

Learn more about Wayne at https://resonantpixel.co and Twitter.

Brad Flowers co-founded Bullhorn, an agency that builds impact brands with language and design. Brad leads naming and language generation at Bullhorn. He has a degree in literature, which he finds more useful than he expected. He co-founded the non-profit bike shop, Broke Spoke. Brad is also the author of The Naming Book. He lives with his wife and two kids in Lexington, KY.

We discuss:

• How a literature degree can make you unexpectedly successful [02:31]
• Cash is king or cash is queen [05:14]
• The seed of a naming book [07:14]
• How to pitch a name to your family [09:50]
• The biggest problem in naming your business [13:00]
• A pretty good name for a florist [15:33]
• Criteria for choosing the best name for your company [17:54]
• Some of the most interesting names for consulting businesses [20:33]
• The whole point of thinking more widely [22:07]

Learn more about Brad at https://www.thenamingbook.com/ and https://bullhorncreative.com/.

Rock Robinson is an accomplished Sales Executive with 40 years of achievement growing revenue with the likes of McGraw-Hill, Sallie Mae, Stericycle & the Univ. of Phoenix.

We discuss:

• The right time to apply for credit [03:24]
• The five questions you need to ask during networking [05:47]
• How to store and save good intelligence [12:22]
• Why even busy solopreneurs should not stop networking [14:52]
• Hamster wheel and burn out as qualifying skills [16:16]
• The need for people who want to coach [18:44]
• Characteristics of a company that wants to coach [20:24]
• Why a coach’s job is never to stay too long [21:58]

In 2015, after being severed for the 3rd time & experiencing a personal tragedy, he took a leap of faith & formed Rock SOLID Sales Consulting. For the last 7 years, he has provided services as a Fractional Sales Leader & Coach to Sales Leaders.

Born & Raised in the Detroit suburbs, Cincinnati has been his home for the last 30 years.

Learn more about Rock on LinkedIn.

Neil Thompson is a product development engineer who decided he didn’t want to be in the cubicle anymore, so he went solo. His company, Teach the Geek, works with STEM professionals who want to improve their speaking skills so they can communicative effectively with non-technical people. He also hosts a podcast, the Teach the Geek podcast, where he speaks with STEM professionals about public speaking.

We discuss:

• The moment when your services are no longer needed [02:12]
• Ask Uncle Neil why is my hair curly [05:30]
• How to identify a unique need [06:50]
• Communication lessons for scientists and engineers [09:17]
• How to get enough “yesses” for an idea you have [12:04]
• Why people are no longer afraid to move to greener pastures [15:50]
• The hardest part about starting something new [17:34]

Learn more about Neil at https://teachthegeek.com/ and YouTube.

Mark Monchek is the Founder and Chief Opportunity Officer of Opportunity Lab, a strategy consulting firm focused on conscious growth.

We discuss:

• Why everybody is going solo today [03:50]
• The going solo mindset: employer vs worker [07:15]
• Rockstar successes from Covid going forward [10:05]
• The keys to make companies responsive [11:30]
• Unexpected changes as a result of open communication [13:35]
• The hedgehog principle applied to knowledge workers [17:15]
• How to find the true greatness of people [19:15]

Mark has worked with leaders from Google, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Adorama, TerraCycle, Feltsberg, The New York Times, Wharton School of Business, New York University, Columbia University, NBC, Time Warner, and the United Nations. He’s the author of the Amazon nonfiction bestseller Culture of Opportunity: How to Grow Your Business in an Age of Disruption.

He’s been featured in Real Leaders, The Better Business Book, the Organization Development Review Journal, Lifetime Network, WPLJ, WCBS, Newsday, Working Women Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Learn more about Mark at https://opplab.com/.

Named “Top Startup Coach in the World” at the Thinkers50/Marshall Goldsmith Global Coaches Awards, Alisa Cohn has coached startup founders into world-class CEOs for twenty years. Rated the number one Global Guru of Startups in 2021, she’s worked with Venmo, Etsy, DraftKings, Mack Weldon, and Tory Burch.

We discuss:

• The music in your head [02:12]
• Zero clients, zero business [04:26]
• The second day of a new coaching career [06:11]
• The perspective of your younger self against your older self [11:08]
• The journey from founder to CEO [13:00]
• How to articulate between two niches [15:27]
• Executives who don’t know what their problem is [19:11]
• Keeping your North star in mind [21:50]

Learn more about Alisa at https://www.alisacohn.com/, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Following a 36-year career as a public-school teacher, Dena is continuing her love for education as a humanitarian educator, running a non-profit organization she founded 18 years ago. The Dream School foundation supports public education in Nigeria with infrastructure and resources to teach and learn.

We discuss:

• Opportunities are often unexpected [02:13]
• Taking a chance on a career transition [05:18]
• How to be efficient when working for your mom [08:20]
• How to do good work in a damaged system [10:46]
• Feeling like Ben Franklin in Nigeria [12:30]
• Depth before breadth [16:09]
• The perseverance to stay where you’re needed most [18:27]
• Walking off into the sunset [19:55]

Learn more about Dena at www.dreamschoolfoundation.org, Facebook and Instagram.

Gina Covarrubias is the founder of Deliberate Doing, an exclusive STEM coaching service dedicated to teaching engineers and other technical professionals how to defeat career despair.

We discuss:

• Engineers are famous for figuring things out [02:45]
• How to get out of the corporate bubble [06:33]
• How college teaches you to be an employee [11:10]
• A great solution for STEM professionals who want more of their career [13:00]
• Leaving versus staying in the engineering world [15:09]
• The first step to making the external world as great as you want it to be [16:17]
• What rocks the STEM world [18:42]
• Happy people make happy employees [21:02]

Her distinctive background blends life coaching expertise with 12+ years engineering/technology experience in the government, academic, and corporate environments, all within the aerospace sector.

As an Engineering Life Coach, Gina’s mission is simple: to help STEM professionals be happy.

Learn more about Gina at https://deliberatedoing.com.

Judy Schoenberg and Linda Lautenberg are the co-founders of EvolveMe.

We discuss:

• Paying it forward to women in their 50s [1:55]
• How to make a pivot after taking an 18-year-break from work [03:57]
• An opportunity to take ownership of your career [07:43]
• The key to putting one foot in front of the other when times get tough [10:25]
• Major challenges for women trying to make major pivots [13:47]
• The importance of clarity and confidence in job search [16:45]
• The power of having a story to tell [18:18]
• A step-by-step process to repack yourself [19:53]
• A future talent pipeline for companies [23:15]

Learn more about Judy and Linda at www.EvolveMe.work

Julie Erickson is an executive and career coach who started her own business 15 years ago after being fired from a job and realizing she needed to take another path.

We discuss:

• A Monday morning get going meeting [02:48]
• How to go where it’s warm [05:39]
• The dark hallway in-between they never tell you about [06:42]
• How to speed up your recovery from a job loss [13:25]
• Why family is not great in terms of helping someone in their job search [14:58]
• Why women are better storytellers [15:50]
• Promoting oneself while still being in the tunnel space [18:51]
• Why first-time entrepreneurs should aim to use their core value proposition [21:00]

She’s helped many job seekers start their own businesses when they realize they would rather be their own boss. Julie ran two non-profits, has an MBA in leadership and graduated from Smith College. She is co-author of the recent book Betrayed by Work: Women’s Stories of Trauma, Healing, and Hope After Being Fired.

Learn more about Julie at https://myrightfitjob.com.

Gail Robertson has a degree in Journalism and a Masters in Curiosity! After building a background working in Media, Fundraising, Advertising, Public Relations, and even as the owner of a Bed and Breakfast on Pelee Island, Gail uses her diverse skills to build and grow brands that last a lifetime and beyond.

As the owner of GailNow she is a powerhouse connector, strategic brand consultant and keynote speaker.

We discuss:

• Getting ahead of the curve by planning your exit strategy [02:44]
• Listen to the train in the distance [05:37]
• Why having a schedule is key for entrepreneurs [07:11]
• Embracing competition: the value of lifting other people up [09:14]
• How to prequalify prospects that align with your values [12:40]
• Be curious, not judgmental [18:11]
• How to keep the doors open when going to networking events [19:46]
• The tool that will help you move your sales in a virtual world [21:14]

She has developed a niche in Manufacturing Marketing – with a particular focus on moldmaking and automation. She is on the board of the Canadian Association of Mold Makers and works closely with its partner organization, Automate Canada.

She was also nominated in the Top 3 Professional of the Year of the Windsor Essex Chamber Business Excellence Awards.

Learn more about Gail at https://gailnow.com/, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Bob Goodwin is the founder of Career Club.

We discuss:

• Making job search your job [01:21]
• You can’t shoot a target you can’t see [03:02]
• How come the job candidate is unarmed [06:11]
• A back door entry into companies of interest [09:09]
• The best learning is the unexpected one [11:20]
• How people should manage their professional network [14:45]
• Trends in flexible work arrangements [19:07]

Learn more about Bob at www.career.club

Josepha started Strathos Coaching and Consulting in January 2021. It was a big leap after working for an employer for her entire 30-year career. Josepha is passionate about helping people and organizations see possibilities, leverage strengths, and achieve goals.

We discuss:

• There is more to life than the financial side [02:07]
• A very clear North star [05:54]
• The barriers we hit as employees [07:25]
• The push and pull of being an entrepreneur [08:52]
• Going between ways of being and learning [11:18]
• Braver than you thought [13:35]
• Caution: know when you should start charging [15:33]
• How to be strong in your values [16:27]
• A really good foundation for moving forward [18:03]
• Who do you want to be when you grow up [19:54]

Before starting Strathos, Josepha worked in public service holding various roles at all levels of government. She is a strategic planner, communications specialist, change leader and committed coach.

She lives, learns, and works in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ People.

Learn more about Josepha at https://strathos.ca/.

Sarah Baker Andrus is the founder and CEO of Avarah Careers, a career coaching business.

We discuss:

• What makes it really hard to plan the next move [02:23]
• An introspective experience that helps you do what you do [05:25]
• Why you should say “no” to temporary gigs and interim roles [06:55]
• What to call yourself during the period of self-reflection [09:54]
• The only career decision we will ever make [12:35]
• A massive gap between reality versus structure [14:53]
• Skills hidden in high point stories of achievement [15:47]
• A commitment is not just the hours [19:31]

She’s worked on all sides of the hiring equation. After twenty+ years in recruiting and PR with the same company, she got the itch and jumped to a shiny new dream job. Within weeks she knew she had made a huge mistake.

18 months later, she received a gift in the form of a layoff. She started Avarah Careers in 2014 and hasn’t looked back. Her favorite thing? Helping others figure out what kind of work will make them feel great about getting out of bed in the morning.

Learn more about Sarah at www.avarahcareers.com.

Recovering corporate HR executive turned activator for leaders who want to show up as the best versions of themselves and advisor for organizations focused on creating workplaces that people want to be part of.

We discuss:

• All of the things you [don’t] want to do [01:38]
• Not necessarily a money maker right up front [04:17]
• Strategy opposed to execution [06:00]
• Why we should be talking about performance day to day [07:51]
• The people who already know they have an opportunity to step up [11:34]
• Rather try it and fail, than not try it at all [12:40]
• What “ready” means for Melissa [14:14]
• Why not be the differentiating thing someone needs [15:28]
• How to deal with feeling insecure about sales [16:18]
• The trap of buying everybody’s course or strategy [17:45]

Learn more about Melissa at https://crimdellconsulting.com/ and LinkedIn.

Carl Landau has started 3 media companies and 5 magazines. He also has created hundreds of live conferences and trade shows.  Probably more importantly he has sold his 3 companies. His media companies were in the Software Development, Craft Brewing and Niche Media industry.

He sold his last business 2 years ago and has started Pickleball Media. Carl is the host of the “I Used to be Somebody” podcast. It targets 50+ year old former Entrepreneurs, Consultants and Corporate types who don’t want to retire but, want to do something new. More fun. More meaningful.

We discuss:

• The challenges about going solo even when you have figured out the money part [02:37]
• The disturbing feeling of your inbox being empty [05:18]
• The exciting discomfort of starting something new when you’re not 25 anymore [07:13]
• How to pick business areas in growth mode [08:44]
• The thing first-time solopreneurs worry about most [12:28]
• How to start planning growth without having a business yet [14:46]
• A real business or glorified hobby [17:02]

Learn more about Carl at https://pickleballmediahq.com/.

Charlotte Japp is the founder of CIRKEL, a company that connects older and younger professionals for mutual personal and professional growth.

We discuss:

• A mentorship that works both ways [01:58]
• A framework for intergenerational spaces [05:38]
• Splitting energy between a regular job and entrepreneurship [08:48]
• How the people who want to be helped will help you [10:35]
• A baseline of connecting with your audience [12:34]
• The challenges of systematic ageism in the job market [15:16]
• The right conversations to unlock the knowledge you need [19:05]
• How to bring up your best assets and make your experience shine [20:14]

After graduating from Georgetown University, Charlotte started her career in creative marketing and saw the consequences of age segregation in the workplace. Older and younger professionals needed to connect and learn from each other, but had no way to meet. CIRKEL makes networking across generations seamless, inspiring, and impactful – working with both individuals and corporations to bridge the gap. Charlotte was named one of Next Avenue’s 2020 Influencers in Aging and a 2020 Gen2Gen Innovation Fellow. She has been featured in publications like The New York Times and spoken internationally about the magic of connecting generations.

Learn more about Charlotte at www.cirkel.co.

Ingor is passionate about people. She’s known by many as a storyteller and power-connector. She uses storytelling to share her thoughts and helps others to connect with people and resources to help them flourish.

We discuss:

• The fear of the unknown as a trigger to get into entrepreneurship [01:30]
• How to transfer your corporate skills set into your new business [03:34]
• How to have your first client within two weeks after going solo [05:25]
• The freedom to work with those who align with your values [06:23]
• The benefit of the doubt for good and bad clients [08:42]
• Rolling with the punches in an imperfect world [12:50]
• Pitch-slapping: why most people are using LinkedIn the wrong way [17:16]

She worked in the corporate world for almost 20 years prior to establishing her own Executive Administrative Consulting and Coaching Business, ‘We got this! Admin’.

She strives to balance that and her family life, while still making time to network, be involved in non-profit work and share what she’s passionate about on various platforms.

Learn more about Ingor at www.wegotthisadmin.com and LinkedIn.

Ed Evarts is a leadership coach, team coach, strategist, podcast host, and author who helps successful leaders build their self-awareness so they can self-manage more effectively.

We discuss:

• The difference in people you hire versus those you inherit [01:20]
• How helping others succeed makes you successful as well [06:05]
• How to survive the 5-year critical period [07:39]
• Persistence in something you believe in [08:43]
• No one can help you more than somebody else who wants you to be successful [11:00]
• How to build a network in times of pandemic [13:20]
• Why you don’t need to be certified in every tool that’s out there [14:48]
• The characteristic that influences you most [16:28]
• Probably the biggest key to profitability as a coach [18:09]

Learn more about Ed at www.excellius.com.

Andy Levine is the creator and host of “Second Act Stories.” A fascination with storytelling and second acts, triggered the launch of this podcast. He lives in Ocean Grove, New Jersey about five blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. He is always on the lookout for a good story and has traveled across the country to face-to-face interviews with podcast guests.

We discuss:

• Find what feeds you [01:30]
• A complete change of two frustrated journalists [03:35]
• What you need to make the transition from working at Marriott to becoming a DJ [06:02]
• Second acts are rarely a straight line [08:10]
• Enjoyment as a measure for success [11:37]
• It’s not an obvious choice when you start out [14:27]

Learn more about Andy at www.aboutdci.com. 

Paula White is a globally recognized sales leader focused on shifting perspective through music. She is experienced in scaling Inside Sales Teams into multi-million stand-alone sales channels.

We discuss:

• The times we choose faster income rather than building a company [02:03]
• Why corporate work culture makes you want to sleep [03:40]
• How promotion takes away the creative part of you [06:01]
• Why we need positive emotional-based resumes [08:02]
• What it takes to develop the side B of your legacy [10:44]
• Your playlist of transformation [13:49]
• An accessible tool for getting unstuck [15:20]
• The perspective of what we [don’t] want to talk about [18:00]

Paula leverages her talent to bring new perspectives and a forward-thinking approach, while achieving 8% – 10% compounded yearly growth and leading from a foundation of heart and mind. Her passion for Inside Sales has gained her experience in a variety of industries including travel and tourism, investments, veterinary and healthcare distribution.

Learn more about Paula at www.paulaswhite.com, LinkedIn and YouTube.