Alison Grade helps experienced professionals build sustainable freelance practices as the author of The Freelance Bible, published by Penguin. Her path runs from film and TV production, where she spent years as a freelancer and producer, into writing, teaching, and running her own motorbike training company.

Alison covers the practical mechanics of starting and running a freelance business: pricing, finding clients, managing the feast-famine cycle, and the mindset shifts that separate freelancers who build lasting practices from those who drift between gigs. 

The conversation draws on her own working life across creative industries and small-business ownership.

The Freelance Bible is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetize expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Get in touch with Alison

https://alisongrade.com
https://www.mission.guru/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisongrade/
https://www.instagram.com/freelancebible/
https://www.facebook.com/freelancebible

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Productivity obsession is failing experienced professional women, and the future of work demands care, not more optimisation. 

Laetitia Vitaud is a French writer and expert on the future of work from a feminist perspective. 

• Drawing from her latest book, she explains why our obsession with productivity creates diminishing returns 
• How entrepreneurship among older professional women is reshaping work, and 
• Why care work belongs at the centre of any serious conversation about the future of work

Laetitia makes the case that humane approaches to work create better outcomes than acceleration and optimisation. 

Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Show Notes

Connect with Laetitia Vitaud

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/laetitia-vitaud-1058ba82/

Substack laetitiaatwork.substack.com

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Salina Yeung breaks down her three-level framework for expert positioning on LinkedIn, showing professionals how to turn their profile into a lead generation tool. 

A former LinkedIn employee, Salina left her corporate role during COVID, started blogging about the platform, and built The InAcademy after former clients asked her to train their sales teams.

The conversation covers why LinkedIn suits professionals selling high-value services, with more than 50 percent of users earning over $100,000 and 69 percent being business decision makers. 

Salina explains how to optimise your profile as a converting sales page rather than an online CV, why choosing the right content format matters more than chasing trends, and how strategic commenting grows your reach beyond first-degree connections.

She also discusses LinkedIn Premium features worth paying for, the Social Selling Index score most users overlook, and how 15 minutes of focused daily effort can build consistent visibility. The conversation touches on using AI tools for content creation and why mobile-optimised formatting changes how people engage with your posts.

Connect with Salina on LinkedIn

Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Mark Elliott coaches experienced professionals starting independent businesses after 50, helping them navigate the specific challenges of launching a venture later in life when the stakes, the skills gap, and the motivation are all different from doing it at 25.

Mark covers why lifestyle design matters more than revenue targets for older entrepreneurs, how to track spending as the foundation of financial independence, when to outsource rather than learn a new skill, and why self-care and energy management are business strategy, not indulgence.

He co-founded Startup School for Seniors with Suzanne Noble, a previous Wisepreneurs guest, to provide coaching and community for entrepreneurs over 50 who need practical support rather than generic startup advice. 

The conversation includes his encouragement to try new things, believe in what you already know, and find meaning in the work rather than just income from it.

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetize expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Startup School for Seniors https://www.startupschoolforseniors.com/self-directed

Mark's website arrestedart.com

Book a conversation with Mark https://www.arrestedart.com/bookme

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Lisa-Marie Cabrelli turned expertise from acting, eCommerce, and a PhD in Creative Writing into a location-independent coaching practice. She has written seven novels, built and sold a multi-million dollar eCommerce business, and returns to Wisepreneurs after her first appearance on episode 9.

Lisa-Marie shares how completing her PhD in Creative Writing and story structure now inform her Heroine's Adventure course, using the hero's journey to help women design their next life stage, and how ChatGPT became an essential thinking partner for developing course concepts.

The conversation covers how AI fluency is becoming essential for career independence, why the people who will thrive with AI are those who know how to ask the right questions, and what Lisa-Marie sees coming in the future of independent work.

Mentions and references: Heroine's Adventure course (heroinesadventure.com). Tana, Roam Research, Readwise, ChatGPT, Grammarly. AI Content Reactor course.

Connect with Lisa-Marie: heroinesadventure.com | Amazon author page: Lisa-Marie Cabrelli 

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetise expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Lisa Ross-Marcus helps experienced women professionals navigate career transitions and build leadership capability from her Amsterdam executive coaching practice. Her path from the performing arts in Paris to executive coaching shapes a distinctive approach that blends kinaesthetic awareness, artistic creativity, and structured coaching method.

Lisa specialises in career transitions for women leaders moving between sectors, into new roles, or out of corporate work into independent practice. She works with clients across industries, with a particular focus on women in STEM and women building their own solopreneur businesses.

The conversation covers discovering a niche market, the practicalities of becoming a professional coach after a performing arts career, and multicultural wedding ceremonies as an earlier entrepreneurial chapter. 

Lisa discusses what confidence actually means when the internal dialogue is not cooperating, how negative self-talk affects entrepreneurship, and why focusing on what gives energy rather than what drains it anchors sustainable independent practice.

She also shares her mentoring work supporting women entrepreneurs and why values alignment is the foundation for leadership that lasts.

Connect with Lisa:
LinkedIn: Lisa Ross-Marcus
Website: https://sway.cloud.microsoft/rEhOSwI44yWVN5HG

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetise expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Matt Dowling founded the Freelancer Club, a 60,000-member community that helps independent professionals build sustainable freelance careers, after an unpaid invoice nearly ended his own.

Early in his freelance photography career in London, a client went bankrupt owing him 11,000 pounds. With no contract, no legal protection, and months of debt, he discovered that thousands of other freelancers were going through the same thing with no resources to draw on. That experience became the foundation for the Freelancer Club and its #NoFreeWork campaign against exploitative unpaid work in the creative sector.

Matt covers the practical mechanics of freelancing: why contracts matter, how to protect yourself from non-payment, how to build a sustainable client base without relying on a single account, and what the Freelancer Club's masterclasses and resources actually teach. 

The conversation also explores Rise Freelancer, his initiative to prepare the next generation of freelancers before they make the same mistakes.

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetize expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Freelancer Club: freelancerclub.net

Rise Freelancer: Rise Freelancer

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Krisna Hanks helps women over 60 build metabolic health, strength, and nutrition practices grounded in 33 years as a professional dancer. She is a certified health coach and LCHF/keto nutrition advisor with an MSc in Kinesiology, an MBA, and is the author of Finding Lifestyle Sanity.

After three decades dancing professionally in the US and Europe, Krisna transitioned to health coaching at Canyon Ranch and her own practice Square 1 Wellness, bringing the discipline and body knowledge that performing arts demand. 

She explains why metabolic health is the foundation of self-care for experienced professional women, why protein intake matters more than most women realise, and why strength training is a necessary investment for ageing well.

Krisna makes the case that finite careers like dance teach you to acquire multiple skills, from teaching and choreography to personal training, that prepare you for professional reinvention. For independent professionals whose cognitive vitality depends on physical foundations, she delivers specific, actionable health strategies.

Mentions and references: Finding Lifestyle Sanity by Krisna Hanks. Benjamin Bickman, Why We Get Sick. Dr Georgia Ede. Dr Ted Naiman. Dr Donald Layman.

Connect with Krisna: square1wellness.com | Canyon Ranch expert profile | LinkedIn: Krisna Hanks

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetise expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Jon Younger helps experienced professionals understand the freelance economy through his Forbes column and his book Agile Talent: How to Source and Manage Outside Experts.

A management consultant for decades, Jon discovered at age 62 that a third of the workforce at pharmaceutical distributor McKesson were contractors and part-timers being managed as full-time employees. That discovery reshaped his career: he now advises freelance platforms globally and writes about how independent professionals build sustainable practices.

The conversation covers why freelancing is lumpy, how experienced professionals can future-proof their skills, why companies need to adapt to agile talent, and what freelancing looks like as you age.

Jon also discusses the history of freelancing and why the oldest person in the room still has something the youngest people want to hear.

Mentions: Agile Talent: How to Source and Manage Outside Experts by Jon Younger (Harvard Business Review Press). Forbes column: forbes.com/sites/jonyounger.

Jon's book: Agile Talent (Harvard Business Review Press)

Connect with Jon LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jon-younger-phd-57a41455

Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new

Suzanne Noble has reinvented her career more times than most experienced professionals manage in a lifetime: from singer with The Dirty Blondes, to Channel 4 TV producer, to co-founding a PR agency that grew to 1.4 million pounds in revenue with 12 staff, to global PR and marketing director for Lazy Town, to launching a baby sling company, to building a TikTok channel with 50,000 followers, to founding Startup School for Seniors helping people over 50 start businesses.

Suzanne covers what each reinvention taught her about finding a niche market, understanding your customer, and building a sustainable business without needing external funding. 

She discusses why confidence is the biggest barrier for older entrepreneurs, how ageism in the workplace is pushing experienced professionals toward independence, and why portfolio careers suit people who refuse to do just one thing.

The conversation also addresses practical questions: how much money you actually need to start, building a social media following after 50, and why positive representation of aging matters for the businesses older entrepreneurs build.

Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetize expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Connect with Suzanne

https://suzannenoble.co.uk/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannenoble/

https://suzannenoblesings.com/

https://www.startupschoolforseniors.com/

Support the show

Connect with Nigel Rawlins
Website: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/

Free assessments for independent professionals: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/field-guides/

The Wisepreneur newsletter, practical thinking for experienced independent professionals, every Tuesday: https://wisepreneurs.com.au/newsletter

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2311675/supporters/new