Solopreneur Stories

In this episode I speak with Jennifer Baron.

Jennifer is a solopreneur and strategic B2B SaaS marketer with decades of experience running successful marketing programs and teams.

After a long 20-year career in corporate marketing, she’s now founded her solopreneur operation, Willow and Bee, where she helps tech start-ups grow.

We cover topics including:

And other educational topics.

She was a great guest, and I love that even after two decades being a corporate professional she’s still embracing the “beginner’s mindset” and being open to learning and developing.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with - Jennifer Baron.

In this episode I speak with Ezekial Rochat.

Ezekiel is a solopreneur and website designer based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

He works with consultants, coaches, solopreneurs, and creators to help them get a website they are proud to share.

Ezekiel and I cover topics including:

And other topics.

I mentioned it during this episode, but this was one of those really valuable conversations for my own professional journey.

I’m working on this about myself, but too frequently I can allow some of the industry voices and popular LinkedIn posts get into my head. And while that advice tends to be well intentioned, at least I think it does, what it lacks is a long form examination of the nuance and an unraveling of the anatomy of some of this advice.

And Ezekiel and I cover a lot of that in our conversation.

So here it is. Please enjoy my talk with - Ezekiel Rochat.

In this episode I speak with Sherehan Ross.

Sherehan is a seasoned marketer, recognized for her innovative thinking and ability to challenge the status quo.

She has a proven track record of driving revenue, engaging customers, and establishing distinct brand identities in both B2B and B2C markets.

Sherhan and I cover topics including:

And other topics.

One of the reasons I wanted to speak with Sherehan is she has been an executive and a fractional leader and solopreneur, and is now open to working with companies as an employee again.

Her and I get into some of the specifics that have been influencing her decision.

But I want to reiterate as I have previously on this podcast, that a lot of the conversations and advice and lessons that get shared on here are as much for employees as they are for aspiring or seasoned solopreneurs.

Like Sherehan, I’ve been very open that, under the right conditions, I am more than willing to become an employee again. And while we see a lot of bad press in the headlines about how rough things can be out there, there are still a lot of really extraordinary companies out there doing great work that offer a ton of rewarding experiences as an employee.

So let’s dive into that. Here’s my conversation with - Sherehan Ross.

In this episode I speak with Kate Erwin.

Kate went from a B2B SaaS marketer to full-time freelancer and solopreneur in 2023.

She's been a copywriter and content marketer for nearly a dozen years.

Kate is sharing the raw truth about this transition to solopreneurship on TikTok and LinkedIn.

Her content is great. In fact that’s how I found her. Some of it hits spot on, so when I found her I immediately reached out and she was generous enough to come on the podcast.

We cover topics including:

And other topics.

Kate was a lot of fun to speak with, we had a lot of laughs and I learned a lot from her story.

Give it a listen, because I think you will too.

Here is - Kate Erwin.

In this episode I speak with Simon Mills.

Simon is a growth consultant and solopreneur at George St. Growth, where he works with B2C Seed to Series A startups as a fractional head of growth.

Outside of work, you can find him playing water polo or traveling somewhere warm to escape the cold.

Simon and I cover topics including:

And other topics.

Simon was a ton of fun to chat with.

He’s making a trip to the New York City area this year. There are a lot of folks in that area that I’m well overdue to link up with, so hopefully Simon and I will go from podcast friends to in real life friends when he’s visiting.

Until then, I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Here is - Simon Mills.

In this episode I speak with Ari Mason.

Ari is a Utah-based fractional CMO and business consultant who is on a mission to humanize the workplace. 

She’s a former journalist and a storyteller at heart. 

Ari builds disruptive brands that turn purpose into profit through authenticity and emotional connection.

Ari and I cover topics including:

And other topics.

It was another fun episode. I think San Diego and Utah are now competing for where most of my guests are based, so it’s really great to be having these conversations with today's solopreneurs and building these relationships with brilliant folks out there who I hope to one day meet in real life.

All of that aside, I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

Here is - Ari Mason.

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Are you a freelancer who wants to focus on the work that actually gets you paid?

Whelm handles all of the necessary but boring and time consuming administrative work so you can focus on the work that you love and makes you money.

You can create invoices, receive payments, generate client contracts, manage projects, and collect vital client feedback. All in one, simple platform.

Check it out with my link here.

In this episode I speak with Erin Simmons.

At the time we filmed, Erin was less than a month into their freelance and solopreneur journey as an events and community manager.

Erin is an old friend, and someone I wanted to speak with right at the beginning of their journey. 

After a collective decade worth of agency work and 4 years across various in-house brands, Erin is using the upcoming year to chase after connection and joy with every professional and personal opportunity they choose to work on.

Erin and I cover topics including:

And other great topics.

It was a ton of fun catching up with Erin, and their perspective on following their heart into this next season of life of theirs really resonated with me.

And I think it will with you too.

Here is - Erin Simmons.

In this episode I speak with Nancy Chu.

Nancy is a Product Management Leadership and Solopreneur Coach, whose mission is to develop the courage of product leaders to reach their goals faster, and tech employees to make their first $10k months outside of corporate.

Nancy has accumulated nearly 2 decades of experience in engineering and product management, building products for hundreds of millions of users generating tens of millions in revenue across her roles at companies like Meta/Facebook and Roku. 

We cover topics including:

And other topics. 

Nancy was such a pleasure to speak with and we hit some really deep topics.

What I love about conversations like these is that, as much as some of Nancy’s story and advice can be applied to solopreneurship, its application really finds itself squarely talking about life and our own psychology.

It was another great discussion where I learned a lot from her story, journey, solopreneurship, and life lessons. And I think you will too.

Here is - Nancy Chu.

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Are you a freelancer who wants to focus on the work that actually gets you paid?

Whelm handles all of the necessary but boring and time consuming administrative work so you can focus on the work that you love and makes you money.

You can create invoices, receive payments, generate client contracts, manage projects, and collect vital client feedback. All in one, simple platform.

Check it out with my link here.

In this episode I speak with Lala Cooper Carver.

Lala is a Content & Communications Consultant, with an extensive background in brand identity, communications, and content. She’s partnered with some of the biggest names in consumer tech, healthcare, energy and publishing over the past decade.

Lala launched her micro-business, Goldline Content, in September 2021. Since then, it's grown rapidly, and currently supports a wide range of businesses and organizations in the UK and around the world.

Lala and I cover topics including:

And other topics.

We talk about perspectives that are as much for employers as they are for solopreneurs. 

While the primary audience of this podcast is aspiring or seasoned solopreneurs, a lot of this advice is very actionable for employers out there looking to learn from those who have gone out on their own and why they’ve done so.

I’ve said on this podcast before that I am personally 100% open to being an employee, but that employer would have to meet certain criteria - and the bar seems to remain low for a lot of corporations out there, so I hope some of the perspectives discussed with my guests may get through to anyone willing to listen.

So I hope you enjoy my conversation with - Lala Cooper Carver.

In this episode I speak with Tim Hillison.

Tim is the Founder & CEO of Entry Point 1. 

He’s launched over $1B in products and campaigns for some of the world’s most recognized companies like Visa, Microsoft, and PayPal, and led global go-to-market strategy in the US, EMEA, and APAC for PwC and Cognizant. 

Currently, he helps scale B2B startups and transform scaleups into enterprises.

Tim was a ton of fun to speak with. We cover topics today's solopreneurs will find a lot of value from, including:

And other topics.

Tim is someone I’ve been in touch with a few times outside of the podcast, and he’s just a great example of how generous some folks are in the solopreneurship space who is out there working to make the pie bigger and support everyone winning. It’s really great.

I learned a lot, and I think you will too.

Here is - Tim Hillison.

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Are you a freelancer who wants to focus on the work that actually gets you paid?

Whelm handles all of the necessary but boring and time consuming administrative work so you can focus on the work that you love and makes you money.

You can create invoices, receive payments, generate client contracts, manage projects, and collect vital client feedback. All in one, simple platform.

Check it out with my link here.