Professional Life Crisis

Link to SaaSfluencer newsletter & podcast

Listen to the trailer

In this episode, Amanda announces the hiatus of Professional Life Crisis and announces her new podcast, SaaSfluencer.

What can I expect from the SaaSfluencer 🗞 newsletter and 🎙 podcast?

In general, I’m sharing tips, tricks, and examples of stellar partnerships between startups and influencers.

Episodes with content creators will cover topics like:

Episodes with brands will cover topics like:

Subscribe here: https://saasfluencer.beehiiv.com/subscribe

This episode of Professional Life Crisis features my friend and fellow podcaster, ⁠Jenna Masi⁠. Jenna is an ex-KPMG consultant, ex-Chief of Staff and currently exploring themes around creativity in her career, and the career journeys of others. In this episode:

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Martinez to discuss her journey from corporate consulting to finding fulfillment in her bridge jobs, and as a career coach. We cover important topics like recognizing when to leave a corporate job, that a bridge job is nothing to be ashamed of if it helps you get where you want to go, and how to listen to your gut while navigating career and personal life changes. In the episode we cover:

* What is a bridge job (it’s not just being a barista or bartender!) and why it’s actually a strong move to take a bridge job over rolling into another full time, high stress position.

* How to get clear when to leave your corporate job? Hint: if the option is a mental health facility or quitting- it’s time to quit.

* How to handle pressure from friends and family when you and your partner have different career trajectories, and they question their caliber just for having different career values.

* Practicing listening to your OWN gut more than you listen to other people’s opinions of what you should or shouldn’t do. After all, it’s you, not them who has to show up in your career for the next 40 years.

* We play my new game: “What’s your dirty little work secret?” where Lindsay shares a frankly hilarious and embarrassing thing she should have known as a consultant but…didn’t.

Brave and willing to share your embarrassing work story so we can all feel a bit better about the dumb sh*t we do at work? Don’t worry, all stories remain anonymous- neither of us wants to get a call from your boss.

If you’ve enjoyed these career chats: tell a friend about Professional Life Crisis, and even better, subscribe on Youtube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

In this episode, I sit down with Ruka Osoba, a seasoned marketer and entrepreneur, to delve into her expansive career in marketing, her journey into the startup world, and advice for moonlighting a startup. In this episode:

* We delve into what it means to be a “full-stack marketer,” and Ruka clears up a common misconception about content marketing.

* Ruka talks about the challenges of juggling a full-time job while running a startup, and her insights on the importance of time management and the power of learning to say “no.”

* Ruka opens up about imposter syndrome and recounts a personal story of missing an important deadline at work, which taught her the valuable lesson of not self-sabotaging her work.

* We play my new game: “What’s your dirty little work secret?” where Ruka talks about the embarrassing thing she should know as a marketer, but apparently still needs a little cheat sheet for 🤫

If you’ve enjoyed these career chats: tell a friend about Professional Life Crisis, and even better, subscribe on Youtube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

Welcome back to Professional Life Crisis! This week we’re going on a rollercoaster with our guest, Bo Abrahams. Ex-Hedge Fund Analyst, Co-Founder of Kommu, an app to swap homes with people in your network. We discuss:

* Bo opened up about his personal health experiences that heavily influenced his career choices at various points in his life, including a debilitating illness during college and the story of his HS friend Mallory, who unfortunately passed as a result of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). These experiences led him toward business school to pursue a career in Venture Health.

* Getting to business school and realizing that Venture Health wasn’t actually his strong suit, and he wasn’t going to be one of the top contributors to the space, and that he should instead focus on a problem that he feels well equipped to solve.

* Bo talks about the financial pressures of business school, including spending heavily on GMAT tutors and application fees, which led to accumulating credit card debt just to keep up with his peers and the expenses related to traveling.

* So… Bo and his co-founder started Kommu, a platform for finding short-term places to stay based on your network, rather than paying for Airbnb or a hotel.

* To wrap it up, Bo gave some advice for your early career- rip the bandaid off if you’re going for a goal (like studying for the GMAT to get into business school)- commit to it for a set period of time, and give it 100%. Don’t prolong the suffering, spread it out too much or half ass it.

Spending too much for hotels or rentals when you're traveling? Try kommu. With tons of homes listed for anything but a profit, you're sure to find a lot of incredible options. Don't want your home to sit empty while you're on the road for business or pleasure? List with kommu and avoid paying double rent.

Download kommu today

If you feel so compelled to share this week’s episode with a friend, and subscribe on Youtube, I would love that.

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

I am SO excited for this week’s new episode with the incredibly Katy Culver, AND *the new branding*!

* This week, Katy and I both reflected on our journeys in consulting- the good, the bad and the, well necessary experiences we had to go through in order to be able to offer any halfway decent career advice and help the next generation of professionals.

* Katy discusses how revisiting her old journals helped uncover some long-held dreams and get better aligned in her business.

* The absolutely crucial role that mindset plays in navigating career changes, starting something new, and fulfilling your full potential in your life & career.

* The strategy Katy’s used for growing her personal brand between Twitter & LinkedIn, highlighting how consistent writing and engagement have been key to her success.

* Our thoughts on manifestation, the importance of a clear vision, and saying those difficult “no’s” to things that don’t align with your goals can be a game-changer in your personal and professional life.

Brave and willing to share your embarrassing work story so we can all feel a bit better about the dumb sh*t we do at work? Don’t worry, all stories remain anonymous- neither of us wants to get a call from your boss.

If you feel so compelled to share this week’s episode with a friend, and subscribe on Youtube, I would love that.

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

This week on the podcast, I was honored to speak with a woman with such a light and positivity about her, Brittany Martin. In this episode:

- Brittany shares her journey from HR business partner (HRBP) at household name companies like Target and Anheuser Busch, to starting her own business where she is a Chief People and Culture Advisor for teams looking to improve their dynamic.

- We discuss the importance of being comfortable with being multifaceted in your personal and professional life, and how Brittany embraces her role's complexities, proving that one title doesn't define you.

- Brittany offers insights into what an HR Business Partner (HRBP)/People Business Partner (PBP) does and why the role is crucial for bridging the gap between the business and the people & why HR is not the enemy!

- She opens up about her struggles and the enlightening moment that prompted her to make her dream of moving back to New York a reality.

- Brittany provides valuable advice on finding joy in your career, being compassionate toward others, and the importance of having patience with yourself when making significant changes.

It’s a great listen if you’re going through & growing through career changes right now and feeling frustrated if it’s not all coming together as quickly as you thought.

If you enjoy these career chats share Professional Life Crisis with a friend, and subscribe on YouTube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing a friend and colleague, Nina Chichelo, a full-time marketing manager and the founder of her own marketing agency, Allorable. We talked about her winding career journey from aspiring to work on the Tonight Show, to launching her career in marketing and eventually her own agency.

* Nina shared her personal experience of going through 2 layoffs and how those difficult moments pushed her to start her agency, while starting a new, full time role (crazy right? when does she sleep!)

* What the film industry’s structure of pre-production, production and post-production taught Nina about her career likes and dislikes, and how she developed a work ethic that helped her outshine the competition later in her career.

* How she pivoted from the TV industry into digital marketing during Covid when she needed to transfer her skills to something she could do working from home.

* Some of our fav past career blunders; special shout out to: crying at work in the open floor plan & how to deal with terrible managers.

* We ended the conversation with her valuable advice on digesting your failures to learn from them, learning to delegate, and the importance of leaning on your network for support when you need it.

Listen now on: Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

If you enjoy these career chats share Professional Life Crisis with a friend, and subscribe on YouTube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

Welcome back to part 2 with Lindsey Fine, (ex- Salesforce, Meta, Dropbox, and Amazon) where we talk all about detaching from our work identities, burning out and finding fulfillment through self employment.

* Lindsey reflects on her career, transitioning from leading sales teams at big tech companies to working for herself and helping startups with implementing sales strategies and sales tech stacks.

* A flexible approach to her offering and allowing potential clients to guide the conversation during discovery calls based on the needs of their business.

* Lindsey’s honest reflections about her skewed prioritization of work vs family life, missing out on irreplaceable time with her growing children, and how she’s readjusted that balance during her self-employment.

* Some of the most important career lessons Lindsey wishes she would have known early in her career, including the significance of failures for growth, and the need to always advocate for yourself in the workplace.

Listen now on: Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

If you enjoy these career chats share Professional Life Crisis with a friend, and subscribe on YouTube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda

In this week’s episode, I had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with my former colleague and friend, Elizabeth Manuntag- customer marketer, TikToker and UGC content creator with over 25k followers. We related about our experiences with getting laid off, transitioning careers, and the emotional rollercoaster that is self employment. In this episode we cover:

- Liz shared her journey, from working in a corporate setting to embracing the freedom and challenges of being a digital nomad and content creator.

-What being a customer-focused marketer taught her about great content creation.

-Liz’s work and travel routine now that she’s given up her apartment, sold most of her belongings and taken content creation on the road 🚗 throughout Asia

- The importance of not taking feedback or failures at work too personally and how to detach emotionally from work when it feels all encompassing.

- We wrapped by playing my new game where we react to your embarrassing work stories, which was both hilarious and loaded with second hand embarrassment. Want to submit your funny work stories? (anonymously of course- neither of us wants to get a call from your boss 😳)

If you enjoy these career chats share Professional Life Crisis with a friend, and subscribe on YouTube!

Thanks for being here 🫶🏼

-Amanda