Her Big Leap with Sarah Janzen

Burnt out at work, so you’re going to leave. Good. Now hear the part of leaving corporate america nobody tells you, because the corporate burnout you’re running from has a habit of packing itself in your bag. When I left corporate in 2015, I took the same hustle and grind that got me promoted and ran my business on it, because the hustle culture I walked into said more hours meant more money, and for a while it did. Emilie Wilcox did the same after Big Four consulting. Her business passed her old salary fast, and ten years in she told me what running it the corporate way cost her, which is the version of entrepreneur burnout nobody warns you about while you’re still inside the job. There’s one question I ask every client before we touch a lifestyle business model, and most women argue with me when they hear it. I’ll tell you what it is and why they push back. For you, it might start with feeling burnt out at work, turn into typing leaving corporate job for simpler life into your phone at midnight, and end with wondering how to live a simpler life without giving up the income you spent twenty years building. If any of that fits, this episode is for you. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why corporate burnout doesn’t stay behind when you leave, and the one decision I make clients take before anything else that most of them argue with first What the hustle and grind that earned you every promotion does to a business in year one, and the exact point where it turns on you Where hustle culture told me the money was in 2015, and what I found when I went past it What is a lifestyle business, and the question I ask that decides whether you get the slow mornings or just a new boss who looks like you How entrepreneur burnout found two women who’d already replaced their salaries, and the single thing both of them had kept from corporate You’ve probably counted every reason you shouldn’t leave. This episode is about what the long hours have already cost you at home, and how a lifestyle business gets built so you don’t pay that price a second time. Here’s to deciding the life first. Sarah Connect with Sarah: Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzenHBL Work with Sarah: If you want to build the business after you’ve decided on the life, the free masterclass walks you through how I do that with clients. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Resources mentioned: Emilie Wilcox Coaching: https://www.emiliewilcox.ca/ Emilie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emiliefwilcox/

What if the promotion they promised you in the interview was never the plan, and they just needed someone to fill a seat? In this episode, I’m joined by Emilie Wilcox, a former Big Four audit and risk consultant who co-founded a consulting firm, grew it to 15 people over 10 years, and now coaches professionals through burnout. Emilie spotted the signs of feeling undervalued at work within two weeks of starting. Emilie and I talk about how to find a business partner you’d trust with your name, and the one clause in her business partnership agreement that kept two very different partners equal for a decade. Ten years and 15 employees later, she’s stepping away from the firm, and the reason has everything to do with what she brought with her from corporate. Here’s what you’ll learn: How to start a consulting business with a partner before either of you incorporates How to find a business partner whose strengths cover your blind spots Why Emilie walked away from good interviews for a company that didn’t exist yet How to hire your first employee with almost no risk, and the unusual hire Emilie made to do it What business partners are forced to talk about that married couples can avoid Why their lawyer said to keep the money side of their business partnership agreement simple How long it took Emilie to triple her corporate salary What Emilie tells women who are feeling undervalued at work and thinking about leaving If you’ve been reading every story about leaving corporate America or asking yourself “How do I become an independent consultant?”, Emilie’s story will make you count how long you’ve been waiting for your company to notice what you already know about yourself. Here’s to backing what you already know you’re worth, Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Connect with Emilie Website: https://www.emiliewilcox.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emiliewilcoxcoaching/ Enjoyed this episode? Every Monday I sit down with a woman who’s already built what you’re thinking about, so follow the show and the next conversation will be waiting for you. If Emilie’s year-long partnership test gave you something to think about, leave a review so the next woman who feels invisible at work can find this episode.

You’ve already proven you can earn six figures for someone else. The women in this episode proved it for themselves, and time freedom is what they got back. Shantae’s first highlight after leaving corporate america had nothing to do with revenue. It sent me looking for a money isn’t everything quote, and the one I found comes with a condition most people leave off. One client doubled her income while solo parenting most weeks. What she talks about first is how her mornings feel now. For you, it might start with a money mindset from childhood, turn into asking how to leave corporate job and still make money, and end with knowing money isn’t everything once you have enough. If any of that fits, this episode is for you. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why corporate builds a scarcity mindset the higher you climb What a financial abundance mindset knows that a fixed salary never taught you How to have an abundance mindset with money when earning has no ceiling When to invest in yourself before your bank balance agrees What a lifestyle business looks like at 3:30 on a school day Where a wealth mindset pays you back once the income is covered You’ve run every number on leaving. This episode runs the one on staying, and shows what an abundance mindset gives back. Here’s to enough, and everything it makes room for. Sarah Resources mentioned: My interview with Shantay Brothers on The Her Big Leap Podcast Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Enjoyed this episode? If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.

Have you ever done your job so well that the promotion you were promised disappeared? That’s what happened to my guest, Shantay Brothers, a former operations leader who loved her company and hit a career plateau anyway. She’d sworn she’d never run a business again, but her past businesses taught her exactly what to look for in low risk business ideas. If you’ve been passed over for promotion or you’re feeling underappreciated at work, you’ll see yourself in her story. And if corporate burnout has you wondering what else you could build, this episode is for you. Our conversation touches on: Why being underappreciated at work can point to a skill you take for granted What her two past businesses taught her before starting a consulting business What starting a business while working full time did for her confidence How she decided how much notice to give when quitting a company she still cared about What having no work life balance cost her at home How faith guides her as a Christian business owner, and where it led her next What she wishes she’d known sooner about her worth and her work You’ve probably typed quitting corporate job into a search bar more than once and talked yourself out of it every time. Shantay’s story covers what staying was costing her son, her marriage, and her peace of mind. Here’s to getting your afternoons back. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Connect with Shantay Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shantay-brothers Website: https://liminaljourney.com Enjoyed this episode? If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.

Have you ever stayed in a job you've outgrown because you're sure you'd be terrible at selling your own work? I hear "I could never run a business because I hate sales and marketing" all the time. Jen Thompson had zero sales or marketing experience, and she matched, then passed, her corporate income. For you, it might start with thinking about leaving corporate america and end with wondering whether introverts in sales ever do well. If any of that fits, this episode is for you. Here's what you'll learn: How sales for introverts works when networking events make you want to stay home How to identify your strengths with the questions I walk every client through Why a business for introverts needs a different business model than a networker's Why so many women running six- and seven-figure businesses never post about it You've probably decided selling is the reason you can't leave. Staying means more years doing the work of three people without the credit, and selling is a skill you can learn. Here's to selling in a way that sounds like you. Sarah Resources mentioned: My interview with Jen Thompson on The Her Big Leap Podcast Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzenHBL Work with Sarah If thinking you can't sell is the last thing keeping you in your job, start with my free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch . It's where I show women like you what a business built on your own strengths can look like. Enjoyed this episode? Follow the show so Jen's full interview and every Monday conversation with a woman who's already left show up in your feed. If this episode changed how you think about selling, leave a review and tell me which strength you're building on. Your review helps the next woman who hates sales find this show.

Have you ever built something so good inside your company that everyone came to you for it, and wondered why you couldn't build it for yourself? In this episode, I'm joined by Jen Thompson, a former project management leader who created her company's M&A Center of Excellence and now runs her own M&A integration consulting business. After she was passed over for promotion, Jen stopped waiting on her company. She raised her hand for a voluntary severance package with her next step already planned, and her first year of starting a consulting business looked nothing like her second. Jen and I also talk about what finally brought her husband on board, and what corporate burnout had been costing her long before she left. Jen came into this with no sales experience, which is exactly why her approach to finding clients is worth hearing. Here's what you'll learn: How to start a consulting business while you're still employed, the way Jen did it in one summer How to become a consultant in the exact work you already do for your employer Where most of Jen's clients come from, and why she's never needed to be an online influencer How long it took Jen to match her corporate income after a career change at 50 What Jen tells a friend in her late 50s about what to do after being laid off Why Jen doesn't start work until 9:30, and what she does before then You've probably spent years listing the reasons a career change after 50 is too risky. Jen's story puts the other list in front of you, the sleep, the health, and the friendships that staying was costing her, and what leaving corporate America gave back. Here's to building for yourself what you've built for everyone else, Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Connect with Jen Website: https://jtconsultinginnovations.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jendepietrothompson/

Has your history of career hopping convinced you that you're not qualified to start a business? Women from operations, marketing, sales, and HR tell me, "I'm a Jill of all trades," and can't see how a nonlinear career path turns into a business. For you, it might look like a career change that never felt right, and now you’re waiting for more career clarity to avoid being disappointed again. Meanwhile, you keep asking, "Should I start a business?" You've probably read up on how to be your own boss and how to work for yourself, and kept waiting for a sign. I’m about to give you many. Here's what you'll learn: Why being a multipotentialite is no reason to put off starting your own business Why waiting for career direction can cost you years Why deciding to be your own boss comes before figuring out how to become an entrepreneur What an entrepreneur mindset looks like before you have a business idea How a pastry chef turned marketer ended up making marshmallows, and what it means for your next career pivot Remember, your “detour” could lead to your most fulfilling career yet. Here's to deciding first. Sarah Resources mentioned: My interview with Alexx Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzenHBL Once you've decided you want your own business, the next question is what that business should be. My free masterclass walks you through it, starting with what you already know how to do: https://herbigleap.live/watch Follow the show so every Monday interview and Thursday coaching episode lands in your feed, with a new woman who's already made the exit and a new step for yours. If this episode got you to answer the first question, leave a review so the next woman sitting on the same question can find it.

Is your next promotion one you'd be excited to take? In this episode, I'm joined by Alexandra Shuman, a former corporate marketer who built Vermont Marshmallow Company without ever planning to. Her non linear career path used to feel like a string of detours, until it gave her everything she needed to figure out how to start a food business at home. For you, it might start with feeling flat about a promotion you worked hard for, turn into asking yourself "Should I quit my job?" and end with wondering whether to start a business of your own. If any of that fits, this episode is for you. Here's what you'll learn: How to start a small business when your first-year goal is your old salary plus $1 Why Alexx ignored the advice every mentor gave her for a product based business Why selling at farmers markets came before any wholesale account How to start a food business with pans stacked to the ceiling and labels written by hand How to delegate whole areas of the business, and what that freed up for Alexx What a former CEO taught her about how to stop micromanaging What Alexx wants women entrepreneurs to know about how stress changes when the company is yours What made leaving corporate America an easier call for Alexx than taking the director job What she'd tell anyone thinking "I want to quit my job, but I'm scared to get it wrong" Alexx says she could have taken the director job and had a fine life. Hearing what fine would have kept from her is the reason to press play. Here's to wanting more than fine. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Good at your job but done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Connect with Alexx Website: https://vermontmarshmallow.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vermontmarshmallow?stkn=MWV1MjNzOGVtOHZyZA== Enjoyed this episode? If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.

How does a woman running a business and raising kids actually fit it all into her calendar? When I left corporate, I wasn't married and didn't have kids. By the time I had a toddler, a newborn, and a business to build, I was a working mom looking for women role models who were already living the life I wanted. I found Kristin Binford, who'd already done it, and asked her everything, including how to balance work and family when both want all of you. Her answers changed how I ran my business. Then a trip with three other mom entrepreneurs showed me how differently women a few steps ahead of me thought about their time. Here's what you'll learn: How to invest in yourself once your company stops paying for your growth Ways to invest in yourself Kristin used, including hiring help for work she could do herself Why finding a mentor meant asking the questions nobody answers on a panel What a record from track history taught me about female role models If you've been looking for women entrepreneurs raising kids, or asking how can you invest in yourself without a company paying for it, this episode is for you. Find the woman who's already living your version of it, and invest in yourself like you're next. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Enjoyed this episode? If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.

What if the skills you stopped trusting in a toxic work environment are the ones clients would pay you for? In this episode, I'm joined by Kristin Binford, who spent over 10 years in corporate marketing, before leaving corporate America to run Haue Valley Weddings, her wedding venue business near St. Louis, full time. Kristin was one of the women I learned from when I started my business. We talk about returning to work after maternity leave to a toxic boss and how within a year, she'd lost confidence at work. To start a business while working full time, she ran the venue from two hours away on a four-day workweek. You'll learn: How to know when to quit your job, and why 45 bookings were enough in a market with more couples than venues How to start a wedding venue business on family land when none of you have ever run one How to start a coaching business from what you already know, and hiring the right people for what you don’t How to leave corporate America on your own timeline, and the conversation that let Kristin choose her end date When to quit corporate job hunting and bet on yourself How a bad boss teaches you one of your most useful transferable skills How an entrepreneurial mindset helped Kristin cover payroll without letting anyone go How a mom entrepreneur runs a business with her kids in childcare from day one If you've ever dealt with corporate burnout in a job you worked years to get, searched "leaving corporate job" or "should I quit my corporate job", or wondered whether what you know could be a business, this episode covers the numbers Kristin used to decide. You can do hard things for yourself, too. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Kristin had 45 weddings booked before she gave up her paycheck. If you want paying clients lined up before you give notice, watch my free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Connect with Kristin Website: https://kristinbinford.com Haue Valley Weddings: https://hauevalleyweddings.com Subscribe and review Write down the number that would tell you it's time to leave, whether that's bookings, clients, or signed contracts. Then follow The Her Big Leap Podcast, and every Monday you'll hear the number another woman used, so you can check yours against someone who's already left. If this episode helped you set yours, leave a review so the next woman still in her job can find it.

Have you ever loved your work and your team but stopped believing in the company you do it for? That was me in my pharma, and my corporate burnout was only half of why I left. The other half was about my values at work no longer matching the company I worked for. For you, it might start with feeling unhappy at work, turn into asking yourself "Should I quit my job?" and end with wondering whether leaving corporate is the right call. If any of that fits, this episode is for you. Here's what you'll learn: How to know when to quit your job, even if it means leaving a job you love What the signs you should quit your job look like when your role feels secure What clients tell me when their personal values at work clash with their company's Why values alignment made me consider quitting a high paying job When to quit your job if it comes with golden handcuffs Why I encourage women in your position to look at entrepreneurship You've probably thought through every reason you shouldn't leave. This episode covers the other side of that list, what staying is costing your health, your integrity, and your family. Here's to doing work you believe in. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleappodcast/ Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.janzen Work with Sarah Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Enjoyed this episode? If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.

Have you ever given so much to your job that there was nothing left for you or your family at the end of the day? In this episode, I'm joined by Jackie Keller, who spent 13 years at the sports and entertainment agency Wasserman and rose to VP before leaving corporate America to start Élan Arc Hospitality Group. Jackie and I talk about the eight-to-eight workdays that led to corporate burnout while she built Wasserman's hospitality practice. After she had two kids 17 months apart, she was dealing with working mom burnout too, and that's when she reached out to me. You'll learn: How to know when to quit your job, from the warning signs Jackie ignored for years Why leaving a job you love gets harder when you're loyal to the team you built When to quit your job without another job lined up, and what Jackie had in place before her last day How to get consulting clients through people you already know, and the unlikely industry Jackie's first lead came from How Jackie doubled her corporate salary within a year of starting a consulting business How to leave corporate America on good terms, and why Jackie credits her old relationships for so much of her business How to prioritize yourself when your team, your clients, and your kids all want your time If you've ever felt burnt out at work but couldn't picture doing anything else, searched “should I quit my job” more than once, or wondered how to start a consulting business with the skills you already have, this episode walks you through each step Jackie took, from giving notice to landing her first client. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzen Work with Sarah If Jackie's story sounds like yours and you're wondering whether the work you already do could become your own business, my free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch is the place to start. Connect with Jackie Website: https://www.elanarc.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_j.e.keller_/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieekeller

Is your side hustle a strategy, or is it a security blanket? If you're like the women I work with, you're good at your job and still want something of your own. So today, I cover the four situations where a side hustle while working full time makes more sense than quitting, and the one reason for waiting that usually turns out to be a confidence gap. In this episode, you'll learn: How to know when to quit your job, and when staying longer is the smarter call How a steady paycheck buys patience when you're starting a business while working full time When to quit your job without another job lined up Why quitting your job without a plan is different from an exit you planned How to keep two jobs at once from ending in corporate burnout When quitting a toxic job follows a completely different set of rules How to decide what you're building before you build it, and why that changes your pricing. If you've been wondering when to quit your job, thinking about leaving Corporate America, or telling yourself you'll go once you've got proof, this episode will help you get honest about which one is true for you and build toward the exit on purpose. Let's build the bridge and keep it short. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzen My full conversation with Natalie Burrel: https://rss.com/podcasts/her-big-leap-with-sarah-janzen/3148572/ Work with Sarah If you're building on the side and you want that overlap to be short, the free masterclass is where I walk through how to sequence it so the business is ready when you are. You can watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch . Enjoyed this episode? If this episode helped you figure out whether your side hustle is a strategy or a security blanket, follow the show so you stop working this decision out alone and start working it out with proof, until your exit has a date. Then leave a review and tell me what you're going to do differently this week because of it.

Have you ever looked at your pay and known exactly what it'll be five years from now? In this episode, I'm joined by Natalie Borrell, a former public high school psychologist who spent 17 years in schools and now works as an academic life coach with a team of 15 coaches behind her. Natalie and I talk about the piece of mail that showed up one summer and told her what she'd be earning for the rest of her career. She tells me what she typed into Google that week and where it took her. We also get into the nine years she spent starting a business while working full time, the number she waited to see before she'd hand in her notice, and why when to quit your job without another job was never going to be her answer. Hers is the story I point to when women ask me about career change for a psychologist. You'll learn: What was printed on that pay notice, and why it became the clearest of the signs it's time to quit your job What she found the day she searched what can I do with a psychology degree How she answered how to know when to quit your job with a number instead of a feeling Why when to quit your job without another job was never going to be her answer How she worked out how to become a life coach with no business background and nobody to ask What she did between getting certified and her first paying client, which is most of how to start a coaching business How imposter syndrome at work followed her out of the school building, and what finally settled it What a normal Tuesday looks like now, and why work life balance for working moms isn't the same thing as having summers off If you've ever read a pay notice and known there was nothing above it, wondered whether a career change at 40 comes too late, or asked yourself when to quit your job and come up with no honest answer, Natalie gives you her exact sequence in this one. She took nine years and she'd tell you every one of them was hers to take. Listen for what she needed to see first. Sarah Connect with Sarah Free Masterclass: https://herbigleap.live/watch Website: https://herbigleap.com Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbigleap.podcast Sarah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjanzen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbigleap Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahJanzen Work with Sarah Natalie needed proof before she'd go, and she built that proof out of a skill she already had. The free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch walks through how to package what you already know how to do. Connect with Natalie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LifeSuccessforTeens Free parent webinar: lifesuccessforteenswebinar.com

Someone told you, or you told yourself, that your idea isn't a real business. That your industry doesn't pay. That people don't make money doing what you love. And that belief is probably doing more damage than any skill gap ever could. In this episode, Sarah Janzen breaks down three key takeaways from her conversation with Jemma Chapman, the architect turned artist who built Toonie Stamps in six months and matched her corporate income doing it. Jemma moved to a new country knowing no one, had no network, and was trying to make money in art in a space everyone said couldn't scale. She proved them wrong by rejecting the conventional model entirely. No galleries. No fine art prints. A $2 stamp, sold through vending machines, that turned into a community movement. Sarah walks through what actually made it work: launching with low enough overhead that failure was survivable, letting go of the corporate instinct to launch perfectly, and finally using the one thing Jemma avoided for months (social media), which changed everything with a single post. If you've ever talked yourself out of an idea because "nobody makes money doing that," this episode is your reframe. Listen to the full conversation with Jemma in EP 6. Connect with Jemma Chapman:Instagram: @ToonieStampsWebsite: tooniestamps.com

Jemma Chapman didn't plan to start a business. She moved to Toronto from the UK with two suitcases, spent months sending out hundreds of job applications in architecture and hearing almost nothing back, and eventually bought a $150 vending machine just to have something to do. That machine, stocked with $2 miniature prints of Toronto landmarks, snacks, and everyday moments, is now part of a movement. In this Her Big Leap conversation, Sarah Janzen talks to Jemma about what it actually looks like to build something from nothing in a city where you know almost no one. They cover the moment Jemma knew Toonie Stamps had become a business (hint: the TTC emailed her), why she resisted social media for six months before it changed everything, how she's navigating the tension between building a business and staying true to her values around community and accessibility, and what it felt like to surpass her architect salary six months in selling $2 stamps. Connect with Jemma Chapman: Instagram: @ToonieStamps Website: tooniestamps.com

You didn't leave corporate burnout to rebuild it somewhere you own. But that's exactly what most women do. In this solo episode, Sarah Janzen draws on 10 years of coaching women through the corporate-to-entrepreneur transition to name the pattern nobody talks about: the high-achieving woman who builds a financially successful business and burns out inside it two or three years in; just like she did in corporate. Sometimes sooner. The problem isn't the business. It's that most women skip the one question that should come before every business decision: What is the life I actually want? Not the revenue goal. Not the offer. Not the marketing plan. The life. Sarah shares what happens when women don't ask that question first… they either build a thriving business they come to resent, or one that never takes off because it was never built around what they actually needed. And she walks through what it looks like to design the non-negotiables first (the sacred hours, the school pickups, the slow mornings) and build the business around that life, not the other way around. This episode is for the woman who's escaping burnout and doesn't want to rebuild it somewhere new.

Lynda Williams has made two leaps, and she is the first to tell you the difference between jumping without a plan and jumping with one. She spent 15 years in luxury hospitality, moving to Singapore in her late twenties and working her way up to head of marketing and head of PR for hotel groups that sent her around the world. Then she spotted a gap. Nobody in the Asian market was servicing brands the way an in-house team would. So she spent six to eight months on competitor analysis, financial projections and one blunt question, which was how long she could actually live with no money coming in. Then she resigned. With 18 months of PR experience to her name. People had opinions. One told her she had only been doing PR for 18 months, and Lynda later found out that woman was envious. Another said there were too many agencies in Asia for her to carve out a niche, and then started her own agency eight years later. She also fielded straightforwardly racist comments about being a white woman selling into an Asian market. She went anyway. She talked her last employer into becoming her first client, and the floodgates opened. Then six months into year one, she left her marriage. That meant no spousal income, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, in the first year of a business. She started on just under half her old corporate salary and lived frugally. Within three years she was earning considerably more than she ever had in corporate. What she credits is not hustle. It is the thing she built before she needed it. Lynda had already come through hard years by the time she resigned, and she treats resilience as something you bank in advance: proof to yourself that you have survived difficult things before, so you trust you will survive the next one. Her line for it is that failure is feedback, feedback is knowledge, and knowledge is power. She also protected her health while she built, with therapy, exercise, walking, yoga and sleep. As she puts it, if you don't work, the dream doesn't work. She ran that agency for more than 10 years across Singapore and Hong Kong, launching Michelin-starred restaurants, representing conservation brands in Africa, and travelling on safaris and superyachts. She was the go-to name in her market. Then burnout arrived, because the money was there and the purpose was not. An unsolicited offer to buy the business came in, and she turned it down because the terms would have made her an employee for three years and her gut said the buyer was wrong. Then COVID hit and she was representing hotels and restaurants. So she wound it down, moved back to the UK after nearly two decades abroad, and rebuilt. Six years into coaching, she helps single female entrepreneurs and high achievers build the relationship they have with themselves first. The second half of this conversation is the part Sarah didn't expect. Lynda explains why high-achieving women can have towering self-esteem and low self-worth at the same time, and why that same gap shows up when a woman sits down to set her prices. If you have ever undercharged, over-given, or failed to set a boundary you knew you needed, this is the mechanism underneath it. Connect with Lynda Williams Website: https://www.lyndawilliamscoaching.com/evolved-woman-program Instagram: @lyndawilliamscoach

You've had the signs. Maybe more than one. And you're still there. In this solo episode, Sarah Janzen unpacks the three moments that finally pushed Melissa Lanz out of a multiple-six-figure VP role — and why none of them, on their own, were enough. Her husband told her he didn't like her anymore. A boss who'd worked with her for two years didn't know she had kids. A business trip crossed a line she couldn't ignore. And when she finally gave her notice, the company offered her $75,000 more a year to stay. She took it. Then walked it back two weeks later. Sarah uses Melissa's story as a mirror for anyone still waiting for the right moment, the right sign, or enough certainty about what's on the other side. Because for most women, it's not one thing. It's a slow accumulation that eventually tips the scale past the point of no return. When the cost of staying is greater than the fear of the unknown, that's when it's time to make the leap. This episode is for the woman who's had the signs and keeps explaining them away.

Melissa Lanz walked into her owner's office, told him she was done, and gave herself $2,500 and six months to figure out what came next. No business plan. No safety net. Just a commitment to her husband that if she was leaving, she wasn't going back. That decision came after three moments hit in quick succession — a boss who didn't know she had kids after two years of working together, a husband who looked her in the eye and said "I don't like you anymore," and a final trip where she called the owner from the road and said she was done. He offered her a $75,000 raise to stay. She took it. Two weeks later, she walked back in and told him it wasn't enough. What she built with that $2,500 was The Fresh 20 — a meal planning subscription that started at $5 a month, grew to 120,000 active subscribers, landed a HarperCollins cookbook deal, and became an eight-figure business. Her only goal at the start was to keep paying her nanny. In this episode, Melissa takes Sarah through all of it: the three wake-up calls that forced her hand, the early years where she had no bookkeeping and no P&L but was making seven figures anyway, the hack that wiped out half a million dollars and 75% of her subscribers overnight, and why she never once considered going back to corporate — not even then. Connect with Melissa Lanz Website: https://www.melissalanz.com Instagram: @MelissaBakerLanz.