Sophia Bera, owner of Gen Y Planning, explains how to build your financial runway to increase your work freedom.

Of the many lessons packed into this episode, here's a few to keep an ear out for:

• How Sophia has designed her work and life based on a vision exercise she did 5 years ago.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show099 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself?

Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Nicole Vasquez, founder of a co-working space, shares why deliberate planning came make your dreams come true.

This episode is jam packed with inspiration and some key lessons to:

• Why Nicole began saving money to start her business for a year before leaving her job.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show096 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself?

Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Kina McAllister, co-founder of mySTEMbox, shares how the prejudices of conventional employment drove her to create her own work.

Few lessons that pop out from our conversation include:

• Why she decided to build the product she did to solve the problem she wanted to solve and how she built her first prototype.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show091 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself?

Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Ann Sanderson, founder of Fotosnap.co, shares how she has built her professional life by repackaging old skills for new opportunities

Key lessons that pop up in our interview include:

• Her habit of constantly looking for opportunities and then to thinking about how they could be turned into a business.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show062 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Leigh Kellis, founder of Holy Donut in Portland, ME, shares how she started her company with no business or baking skills.

Leigh walks me through the process of how she started testing her recipe to making her first sales to opening her first store. She also highlights the key tipping points that enabled her to make $1 million in 3 years!

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show058 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Courtney Cormier, a social media manager and community activator for local businesses.

In our conversation, we discussed the first 3 actions she took to get her freelance business off the ground:

• Assessment of her work needs and her marketable skills.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show056 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Jennifer Rash shares how she balances raising kids with running her visual communications design business.

Jennifer's secret for managing work/life tension is making intentional choices.

Some great advice from this conversation:

• Make (and maintain) connections with the people you already work with.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show044 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Meredith Bell, the co-founder of Strongforperformance.com, shares how to sell, even if you think you could never do sales.

A few lessons we covered in our conversation include:

• How to repackage your skills. Identifying your most marketable skills and how you can use them as an advantage in a new industry.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show037 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Laura McClellan, host of the Productive Woman podcast, explains the true meaning of productivity and how to define it for yourself.

A few lessons we touched on in our conversation include:

• What it really means to be productive. And Laura realized long ago it’s not about getting more done in less time.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show024 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted

Textile designer Sarah Wolfe shares how her passion and curiosity have helped her thrive in her fast-changing industry.

In our conversation, we touch on some important lessons including:

• Turning your passion into a career. How Sarah found a way to generate income from her passion.

Full show notes at https://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/show022 from Life Skills That Matter

Ready to work for yourself? Learn the first 5 actions at http://lifeskillsthatmatter.com/getstarted