Career Change & Business Advice for Women | Second Act Success Podcast

*Book a free strategy call to discuss your business or second act idea with Shannon here.

Whose advice have you been listening to lately? If you’re planning a career change, starting a second act, or trying to quit your 9 to 5 to start a business, the wrong advice can quietly derail you before you even get momentum.

In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, business coach and bestselling author Shannon Russell shares a simple rule to help you filter advice with confidence: only take advice from people who have your goals, or who have already done what you’re trying to do. Because when you ask people who haven’t made bold moves, their guidance often comes from fear, not experience.

You’ll learn how to spot fear-based advice, protect your dream in the early stages, and find the right support through mentors, coaches, communities, and other women who have truly reinvented themselves.

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

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Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

*Book a free strategy call to discuss your business or second act idea with Shannon here.

What do you do when your life shatters on a park bench in Central Park?

In this powerful episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, host Shannon Russell sits down with Vanessa Cardenas, a C-suite healthcare executive, relationship reset expert, and founder of Understanding Ear, to talk about how one devastating betrayal became the catalyst for her second act.

After her husband of over two decades said the words, “I’ve met someone,” Vanessa’s world collapsed. In this raw and inspiring conversation, she shares how she navigated betrayal trauma, confronted the “nasty chick” inner critic in her head, rebuilt her marriage, and turned her pain into purpose by launching a business helping others heal.

If you’ve ever felt lost in your relationship, stuck in fear, or unsure how to reclaim your power after a life-altering event, this episode will remind you that your story isn’t over — you get to write the next chapter.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Vanessa went from devastated wife to betrayal recovery specialist and business owner
• Why betrayal can impact generations—and how she chose to break the cycle
• How she manages being a C-suite executive and running a purpose-driven business on the side
• The turning point that helped her decide to rebuild her marriage instead of walking away

Whether you’re healing from betrayal, navigating a relationship reset, or standing at the crossroads of your own second act, Vanessa’s story is a masterclass in resilience, self-trust, and choosing your destiny instead of letting fear choose it for you.

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

*Book a free strategy call with Shannon here.

https://secondactsuccess.co/230

Ready to finally start a business in 2026 instead of just talking about it? 

In this first episode of the year, business coach and host Shannon Russell walks you through a simple, realistic 90-day Q1 plan to launch your business by March 31, 2026. If you’ve been sitting on a business idea, dreaming about quitting your 9–5, or wanting to add a new offer to your existing business, this pep-talk-meets-strategy session is your green light.

You’ll learn how to turn your idea into a clear business concept, validate it with real people, and set up the core foundations of your business in the first quarter of the year, without burning out or trying to do everything at once. Shannon breaks Q1 into three focused months so you can move from “someday” to “it’s happening” with a step-by-step roadmap.

This episode of the Second Act Success Podcast is a must-listen! 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to use Q1 2026 as your launch season (and why the first 90 days matter so much)
• The three questions that define your business idea and ideal client
• A simple validation strategy so you know people will pay for your offer
• How to break your giant to-do list into micro action steps you can actually finish
• A 90-day goal-setting framework to keep you on track through January, February, and March

If you’re a woman in a 9–5 job, a busy mom, or an early-stage entrepreneur who wants to start an online business in 2026, this episode will give you the clarity, confidence, and practical steps to get moving in Q1—so by the end of the year, you’re running the business you’ve been dreaming about.

Download my free 90-Day Sprint Planner 

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

*Book a free strategy call with Shannon here.

Ready to start (or scale) your business, but want to do it without running on caffeine and chaos? In this episode 229 of the Second Act Success Podcast, Shannon Russell sits down with registered dietitian Lindsay Martens to talk about how to fuel your CEO brain, create sustainable healthy habits, and protect your energy while you build your second act.

Lindsay shares why your brain needs consistent fuel (hello, focus and creativity), how to stop the mid-afternoon crash that turns into “why am I like this?” spirals, and how to ditch all-or-nothing wellness rules. If you’re a busy woman juggling work, kids, and a business dream, this conversation will help you build a health routine that’s actually realistic and “good enough” to stick.

Key Takeaways:

• Your brain is your #1 business asset—fueling it supports focus, creativity, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
• Sustainable health starts with basic needs first (food, sleep, hydration)
• “Done is better than perfect” applies to wellness too: desk lunch counts if it helps you stay consistent.
• A quick self-check that helps you reconnect with hunger, thirst, and stress signals.
• You don’t need to change your body to start your second act—care for your body for the life you want now.
• Simple, repeatable meals that can prevent energy crashes and keep you steady through busy days.

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

It’s holiday season and we are talking Hallmark Christmas movies on the Second Act Success Podcast. We are officially fan-girling because film critic and host of the Hallmarkies Podcast Rachel Wagner joins us to talk about hosting this popular podcast with Hallmark and movies at its core. 

Rachel shares how a love of movie criticism led her to start creating online reviews, launch a podcast, and eventually build a thriving platform that’s now deep into its 9th holiday season (with thousands of episodes!). Along the way, she’s interviewed Hallmark writers, actors, and directors, yet she’s also honest about what actually grows a show: consistency, relationships, and being ready when opportunity knocks.

If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, rom-coms, podcasting, content creation, or you’re dreaming about starting a creative second act in the new year, this one is pure holiday gold.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How Rachel’s love of film criticism turned into a real podcasting career path
• What it really takes to run a successful podcast 
• Why you don’t need celebrity interviews to build a profitable, loyal audience
• How to “be ready when luck finds you” (and why creative success can be unpredictable)
• The truth about consistency, repetition, and making content that people actually want
• Why Hallmark is keeping rom-coms alive—and how Rachel built a niche brand around it
• Rachel’s best advice for anyone starting a second act (or launching a podcast in 2026)

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

*Book a free strategy call with Shannon here.

What if you could start a profitable podcast and personal brand before you ever quit your 9–5?

In this inspiring episode of the Second Act Success podcast, Shannon Russell talks with Francesca (Fran) Stone, founder of 9 to 5 Mom with a Pod—a podcast and consulting platform that helps mom content creators launch personal brands and grow with purpose.

Fran shares how her winding career path—from talent agent to paralegal—gave her the business, sales, and people skills she now uses as a full-time entrepreneur. After becoming a mom, she realized her demanding legal career no longer fit the life she wanted, so she started her podcast as a side hustle, monetized it through consulting and affiliates (not sponsorships!), and eventually quit her job to work for herself… all while caring for her toddler at home.

If you’re a mom who dreams of starting a podcast, growing a brand, or leaving your 9–5 to work online, this conversation will show you what’s possible—without a massive audience or going viral.

Key Takeaways:

• Every job prepares you for entrepreneurship
  How Fran’s past roles in admin, accounts receivable, talent representation, and law all gave her skills she now uses in branding, sales, and running her business.
• Building a business while still in your 9–5
  How she tested her idea, validated demand, and stacked part-time income before quitting her job, plus what she put in place financially to make the leap.
• Running a business with a toddler at home
  Real talk on routines, support from her husband, working in focused 20-minute pockets, and swapping scroll time for CEO time.
• You don’t need to go viral to make money
  Fran proves you can monetize with around 2,000 followers if you have a strong brand, clear offers, and a nurtured audience.

*Get the full show notes here!

Leave a review for the Second Act Success Podcast here.

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

In this special episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, business coach, author, and host Shannon Russell celebrates an incredible wave of second act authors who published books in 2025—right alongside her own book, Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life.

Shannon spotlights powerful new releases from friends and former guests including Lisa Morton (Aligned at Home), Heike Yates (Pursue Your Spark), Gregory Andrus (A Walk Along the Jersey Shore), Sara Conklin (Fundamentally Frugal), Gina Riley (Qualified Isn’t Enough), Liz Alterman (You Shouldn't Have Done That, Clare Casey's Had Enough, A Different Type of Poison), Cindy Bertram (California Fork & Spoon), Maude McDonald (Retro Quilts), and Liz Mugavero (Claws Out). You’ll hear how each author used their second act, career change, or creative pivot to turn lived experience into pages that inspire, heal, and empower others.

Whether you’ve secretly dreamed of writing a book, starting a business, or launching your own creative project, this episode is your loving nudge that it’s absolutely possible—especially in midlife.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How ordinary women (and one Jersey Shore storyteller!) turned their second act into published books
• Why sharing your story, expertise, or creativity can open new doors in career, business, and life
• The mindset shifts and courage it takes to say a big, bold “YES” to authorship
• Book recommendations in home alignment, wellness, money, career transitions, mystery fiction, quilting, food, and photography
• How your own second act might be the next book, podcast, or business the world is waiting for

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe I could write a book someday…” let this episode be your sign. Press play, grab the book list in the show notes, and get inspired to start your own second act story.

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/226

Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

If you’re a mom who feels like you’ve lost yourself in motherhood, this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast is for you.

Host Shannon Russell, business coach for women and author of Start Your Second Act, sits down with former teacher turned stay-at-home mom and community builder Michelle DeKeyser, founder of Mama Genius and the Mama Genius Hub.

Michelle shares her honest journey from teaching to being a stay-at-home mom to searching for community with other women, and creating her own Mama Genius community. 

If you’ve ever thought, “I checked all the boxes—marriage, kids, house—so why do I still feel empty?”, Michelle’s story will help you feel seen, less alone, and inspired to create your own second act.

We talk about motherhood, identity, mom burnout, community, and starting a business as a mom, and how to find the courage to listen to that quiet now-what voice inside.

Key Takeaways:

• Losing Yourself in Motherhood: Why so many moms feel stuck, burned out, and out of alignment after years of putting everyone else first.
• From Stay-at-Home Mom to Mom Entrepreneur: The moment she realized she needed “something more” and how she slowly transitioned into launching a second-act business for moms.
• Why Moms Need Community & Belonging: How Michelle created Mama Genius, a safe community for moms to be vulnerable, share ideas, and rebuild their identity beyond “just mom.”

This episode is perfect for:

• Stay-at-home moms wondering what’s next
• Working moms who feel misaligned in their careers
• Women craving community, purpose, and a second-act business
• Anyone interested in personal growth, mom entrepreneurship, and identity after kids
• 
  

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/225

Connect with Michelle DeKeyser:

https://connectingmamas.com/

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/mama-genius-hub/episodes/

https://mamageniushub.com/

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Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

In this special Thanksgiving episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, host Shannon Russell, business coach, author, and mom of two, reflects on the incredible milestones, personal growth, and business breakthroughs that made 2025 a transformational year.

From publishing her book Start Your Second Act, to speaking on stages across the country, to running global LEGO® Serious Play® workshops, to celebrating precious family moments…Shannon shares the moments she’s most grateful for and the lessons that shaped her second act as an entrepreneur.

This episode will inspire you to slow down, reflect with gratitude, acknowledge your growth, and step confidently into 2026 with clarity and intention. Whether you're planning your own second act, building a business, or craving a fresh start, this warm and honest year-end reflection will help you recognize just how far you've already come.

Grab your journal, settle in, and let’s celebrate gratitude—one meaningful moment at a time.

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/224

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Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn

Ready to trade burnout for a life that actually fits? In this empowering episode, Shannon Russell talks with Dani Cee, a former Chief Marketing Officer who walked away from a 20-year corporate career to launch the Happy Life Agenda and work as an empowerment consultant. Dani shares the moment she knew the 9–5 was costing her everything, how journaling, faith, and clarity guided her exit, and the simple pillars she now uses to help women design a happier second-act career. If you’re a working mom craving work–life balance, purpose, and flexibility, this conversation is your roadmap to a smart, values-aligned career change.

Key Takeaways:

• Career Change After Burnout: Why Dani left a high-pressure marketing leadership/CMO role to become an entrepreneur.
• Happy Life Agenda Framework: The four pillars—openness, clarity, connection, purpose—for designing a life and business you love.
• Practical Exit Steps: How journaling, devotion/meditation, and networking coffee chats created clarity before resigning.
• Working Mom Priorities: Building a business that supports family time, presence, and flexibility (without losing income goals).
• Avoid the Shiny-Object Trap: Validate ideas so you don’t recreate the same misery in a new job or business.
• Faith & Mindset: Using stillness to make bold decisions—and allowing space for the grief that can follow a big career pivot.
• What’s Next: Local workshops and events with built-in childcare so moms can learn, connect, and grow.

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/223

Connect with Dani Cee:

https://happylifeagenda.com/

https://happylifeagenda.com/podcasts/

https://www.instagram.com/happylifeagenda/

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Ready to Start Your Second Act?
Thinking about changing careers or starting a business? Let's map out your next steps.

→ Book Your Free Second Act Strategy Call

More From Shannon:

📖 Grab Shannon's Book, Start Your Second Act
🎤 Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk
📥 Download Free Resources
➡️ Connect: Instagram | LinkedIn