Invincible Solopreneurs - Make a living doing more of what you love

My guest for this episode is Sarah JanTausch, the Founder of SRJ Coaching and Consulting and creator of the Values-Based Career method. This method helps individuals unlock the hidden job market and ditch burnout while creating a career move rooted in their core values, ideal work style, and goals.

Before starting her own business, she worked in politics and government, serving Ohio’s Governor and lieutenant governor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.

About Sarah

“I’m a speaker, trainer, and coach who works with individuals to create values-based careers. I also partner with organizations serving both students and job-seekers for the job market of the future. My specialties include career-pivots and generosity-based networking that makes creating genuine connections and growing your network feel almost completely effortless.

Previously, I crafted my dream career working in politics and government. While serving Ohio’s Governor and Lt. Governor in various leadership roles and advocating for effective public policy, I ran multimillion dollar programs and I led a team while overseeing statewide outreach. I earned my Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University where I majored in Politics & Government. As a mid-career professional, I went back to school to earn my Master of Science in Management and Leadership at Western Governors University. I am a member of the National and Ohio Career Development Associations (OCDA) and I currently chair the OCDA’s government relations committee.

Our total vocational impact includes more than just our day-to-day work. I love exploring and helping my clients define the impact they want to make on the world. For me, this includes a variety of volunteer roles I’ve held in my community, from volunteer board positions to spending approximately 15 years on political campaign work. I’ve worked on key issues including healthcare, substance abuse, education, and recreation. When I’m not working or volunteering, you can find me hanging out with my husband and our two cats Peanut Butter and Blaze or hitting up a local coffee house.”

We talk about

* How and why she pivoted her career even though she thought she had landed her dream job.

* The surprising connection between a childhood passion and her solopreneur business.

* A common mistake that many job seekers make.

* How she works with her career coaching clients to uncover their values and find a job that is aligned with them.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Sarah

* Her website

* LinkedIn

My guest for this episode is Isabel Sterne, a writer, designer, and brand strategist who helps unconventional business owners build aligned brands. She offers LinkedIn visual design, content writing, marketing clarity calls, and monthly and project-based marketing and branding support.

Before starting her own business, she worked for 12+ years in marketing and communications for global brands like Condé Nast and Effie Awards. She also has a B.Sc. in Communication from Cornell University.

When I encountered Isabel on LinkedIn, I first noticed how funny her posts are. Then, I noticed how much engagement she was getting on those posts. She’s humble about this, but I like to say that she’s conquered LinkedIn. If you’re not following her there, you should be!

About Isabel

​Isabel Sterne helps founders and solopreneurs develop their reputations and attract more opportunities on LinkedIn and beyond.She provides design, ghostwriting, and strategy support for those looking to level up their LinkedIn presence and be seen as the experts they are.Late identified as neurodivergent, she's also passionate about neurodiversity advocacy and raising awareness about the challenges and advantages of thinking differently.

We talk about

* How she became more active on LinkedIn after being burned out by layoffs.

* Why she decided to start her consulting practice doing what she had always been doing for her employers (e.g., creating marketing content).

* How she would have told her younger self to put herself out there more.

* What she does to be so successful on LinkedIn by being more human and authentic.

* The role of AI in content creation and mistakes people make with it.

* How she helps her clients get more out of LinkedIn and social media.

* The challenges of being neurodivergent in the workplace.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Isabel

* LinkedIn

* Substack

* Her website

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Emily Schneider, a visual storyteller specializing in presentation design. She helps businesses and leaders confidently transform their messages into beautiful, effective presentations that truly resonate with their intended audiences.

I love that Emily took a chance to gamble on herself and focus on her business after a layoff. She went all in and is succeeding! Many of us require this “push out of the nest” to take a big risk, like launching your own business.

That’s how my first solopreneur business started, too. The startup I was working for as an employee was acquired, and we all got laid off a couple of months later. Rather than diving right into a job search, I decided to take a swing at running a solopreneur business. I had a family to support, so it was risky. But it worked out!

About Emily

“​My passion for simplifying complex content has become a bit of a magical knack — blending storytelling with a keen design eye. I'm not just a designer; I'm a strategic collaborator, dedicated to helping businesses confidently transform their messages into beautiful, effective presentations that truly resonate with their intended audiences.

​What started with pink pixelated swirls and a questionable font choice as the invitation for my sweet sixteen luncheon has morphed into a creative business venture. My nearly two decades spent in the marketing and branding space, combined with my passion to help simplify information for clients in a vibrant and compelling way, make me a perfect partner for your presentation needs.”

We talk about

* Her background as an art director, creative director, and director of brand strategy and marketing.

* Why she decided to start her consulting practice.

* How she helps companies with presentation design and storytelling consulting.

* What people struggle with the most with presentations.

* Where she focuses her business.

* How she finds new clients.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Emily

* Her consulting website

* Emily’s LinkedIn

During our conversation, I mentioned the book Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) (my Amazon affiliate link). Check it out!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Today, I sent a physical letter to my subscribers with some tips on making money from a paid newsletter (Finding Ways to Fund Your Freedom).

Yes, a physical letter. Imagine that!

Thanks to Stamp Fans, it’s pretty easy. You can also use it to generate another revenue stream for your business.

In this episode, I dive into the benefits of having an email list and why your solopreneur business needs a newsletter.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Note: In the podcast audio, I share more details and reveal something very personal about what’s happening to me right now. So, give it a listen!

My friend was dead before 60.

He’d put off retirement. He wanted to take a swing at becoming a multimillionaire again. But it didn’t work out.

So, he finally decided to retire. Unfortunately, he was dead about two weeks later.

Most people TRY to retire in their 60s. I say "try" because more people are now reporting they'll have to work into their 70s to augment their nest egg. Note: The average lifespan in the U.S. is 76.

So… maybe—if you're lucky—you get 10 years of the so-called "good life"? Let me tell you, at that age, 10 years go by in the blink of an eye.

I’m pushing 60. Ugh. Just typing that was a rude awakening. I still think of myself as in my 30s. I still feel like my career just started a few years ago at Apple.

I'm already experiencing a feeling of time compression. My parents tell me it only accelerates from here on. So, it’s important to live life large now! Don’t wait.

I left the 9-5 grind forever in my early 40s. I haven't had a boss since.

* I was tired of spending hours on the freeway commuting every day.

* I was tired of working on things that didn't matter.

* I was tired of corporate BS and working for someone else.

Then, I semi-retired at 50 and started living the life I'd always wanted. And, no, not because I struck it rich. It was because I restructured my business and how I live my life.

* Spending more time with my family.

* Working out every day.

* Traveling whenever we feel like it (we’re flying to Alaska today).

* Hiking in the forest every Wednesday.

* Skiing on the mountain every week in the winter.

I don't feel a need to fully retire. I love what I do! When you build your own business, you create your ideal work and life. You can do that, too.

Don't wait until your 60s or 70s to live the life you've always wanted.

Start planning your path to freedom now.

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

I always get excited about brainstorming new business ideas. It could be an idea for an entirely new business, product, or service.

In the past, I often erred on the side of executing quickly. But after many years of wasting time and money, I’ve learned to exercise a bit of caution and perform a sanity check first.

After all, success is as much about saying “No” to the wrong things as it is about saying “Yes” to the right opportunities. As solopreneurs, we don’t have infinite time and money, so we must place our bets more carefully.

In my Solopreneur workshop earlier this year, I shared a simple scoring system for narrowing down a choice between multiple business ideas (see image below).

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as what I could fit in one table on one slide in the presentation. So, I want to provide a more complete list of factors to explore when evaluating a new idea for your business.

Factors to consider (discussed in more detail in the podcast audio):

* Your unique twist on this business concept (e.g., why is the product or service unique or better than the competition?)

* The market timing and demand (e.g., are you solving a real, current need or pain?)

* Why you? (i.e., why can you do this better than others?)

* Your capabilities (e.g., talent, knowledge, skills, experience, reputation)

* Your resources (e.g., network, space, hardware, software)

* Speed of execution (e.g., how quickly could you spin this up?)

* The startup costs and ongoing expenses (e.g., rent, equipment, services, materials, ads, staff)

* Finances (e.g., financial cushion, investors, loans)

* The market (e.g., size of addressable market, local, global, online)

* The potential customers (e.g., do you want to interact with and help these people?)

* Your ability to reach these customers

* Excitement about the offer (e.g., does creating and offering this excite you?)

* Motivation to drive your business in this direction (e.g., is this the future you want?)

* Compatibility with your desired life experience (e.g., do you want to keep doing what it takes to sell this service or product?)

* What you could charge for the goods and/or services (e.g., fixed price, hourly, project-based, retainer, etc.)

* The potential sales volume (e.g., realistic demand, fulfillment bottlenecks, your 1-on-1 time)

* Scalability (e.g., can sales grow and be automated?)

* The demands on your time (e.g., can you support this volume?)

* Profitability (e.g., projected revenue - expected expenses)

* Potential risks (e.g., burnout, legal, reputation)

Would you like a confidential chat with me about your business ideas? Schedule a free coaching call!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

My guest for this episode is Diana Ashbaugh, a financial advisor with Thrivent. Thrivent is a Fortune 500 diversified financial services organization that provides advice, investments, insurance, banking, and generosity programs and solutions so people can make the most of what they’ve been given.

About Diana

“I love working alongside individuals and families to demystify the world of finances so that they have a clear path to meeting their financial goals. As a former track and field athlete, I had great coaches who helped me understand that you can't start every race by sprinting. You have to set a pace that is realistic but pushes you to achieve your goals. I see myself as a coach to you with your financial goals. Everyone is running a race that is different than the person next to them, and you need a plan, pace, and coach who can help you navigate all the factors that affect your ability to reach your financial goals.”

We talk about

* Why everyone should meet with a financial advisor

* Planning for your children’s college expenses

* Understanding your finances when starting a new business

* How to think about retirement and semi-retirement

* Considerations for retirement accounts, selling stock, etc.

Scroll up and hit play to listen to our full conversation.

Where to find Diana

* Diana Ashbaugh on the Thrivent website

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

Is solopreneurship for everyone?

Of course not.

But I really don’t want people avoiding it because of a bunch of silly myths being perpetuated by folks who have never even tried building a solopreneur lifestyle business.

For example, someone on social media recently posted that solopreneurship is bad because:

* Being the only person you can count on sucks.

* You can’t take vacations.

* You can’t be sick.

* You can’t bounce ideas off anyone.

Sigh… These concerns are so misguided that I promised myself I would make a podcast episode to debunk them. So, here we go! Hit play and listen.

The 8 Myths

1. You can’t take vacations

2. You can’t take sick days

3. You work alone

4. You have to do it all yourself

5. You have no one to talk to

6. You’re lonely

7. There’s no water cooler serendipity

8. Your income is limited

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

In this podcast episode, I share another peek at my Invincible Solopreneurs workshop (Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job), which I hosted on February 26th. I will offer this workshop again in August this year.

I talk about two really amazing things that are possible when you build your lifestyle business:

* Design your ideal life first, then build a business around it.

* Identify your ideal customers so you get to choose whom you spend time with every day/week.

Enjoy!

I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with you to optimize your career, business, and life. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more “Invincible You.” I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and our Great Dane.

In this podcast episode, I share a sneak peek at my recent Invincible Solopreneurs workshop (Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job) that I hosted on Feb 26th.

I describe the easiest business to start when you're an employee. It's what I did to launch my first business way back in 1998, and I was able to support my family in about a month.

There are ways to evolve your business from easier to a little more complex but better, which I also talk about. Enjoy!

I’m Larry Cornett, a business coach who can work with you 1-on-1 to design, launch, and optimize your business. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane while running my businesses 100% remotely.