For Independent Professionals Building Practice on Their Own Terms
Wisepreneurs Podcast
Wisepreneurs Podcast
The Wisepreneurs Podcast features conversations with independent professionals, authors, academics, and consultants about building sustainable practice on your own terms. Hosted by Nigel Rawlins, with 80+ episodes exploring how accumulated expertise, AI tools, and collaborative partnerships create advantage—and how small networks can now achieve what once required large organisations. Topics include positioning, professional transitions, cognitive vitality, relational branding, and the changing nature of knowledge work. New episodes fortnightly
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For Independent Professionals Building Practice on Their Own Terms

Working lives have extended far beyond what anyone predicted. Experienced professionals want to work independently — and the market needs people who can navigate complexity that AI and junior practitioners cannot.

Hosted by Nigel Rawlins, Wisepreneurs features conversations with experienced professionals about what it actually takes to build a sustainable independent practice after 50.

What we explore:

• Turning decades of expertise into a visible, sustainable practice
• Marketing and positioning for professionals who'd rather focus on client work
• AI tools that support your work without replacing your judgement
• The transition from employment to independent practice
• Business development, pricing, and finding the right clients
• Staying sharp, productive, and energised as you work longer
• 84+ episodes. Real conversations. No motivational fluff.

Your expertise is your advantage. This podcast explores how to build a practice around it.

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Recent Episodes

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Miklós Pohl OAM Music Is Medicine
Feb. 11, 2026

Miklós Pohl OAM Music Is Medicine

Dr Miklós Pohl OAM is a 78-year-old plastic surgeon, violinist, violist, and founder of the Australian Doctor’s Orchestra. In this episode, he shares how music became his passport to connection across continents, from fleeing Hungary as a nine-year-old refugee to performing chamber music in New…
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The Tradie Who Built an AI Business: Darren Waldron's Journey
Jan. 29, 2026

The Tradie Who Built an AI Business: Darren Waldron's Journey

What happens to the 95% of leads that never convert? Australian carpenter turned AI specialist Darren Waldron built systems to find out. In this episode, Darren reveals how database reactivation and speed to lead automation are helping businesses recover revenue from contacts they'd written off as …
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Building a Sustainable Consulting Practice with Melisa Liberman
Jan. 1, 2026

Building a Sustainable Consulting Practice with Melisa Liberman

Melisa Liberman built a thriving consulting practice through an accidental start 13 years ago when her CEO asked her to stay on as a management consultant after she resigned. Now a coach for consultants, she reveals the systematic approach that helped her—and hundreds of clients—build sustainable b…
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Making Space for Deep thinkers with Meredith Fuller OAM
Dec. 11, 2025

Making Space for Deep thinkers with Meredith Fuller OAM

In her fourth appearance on Wisepreneurs, psychologist Meredith Fuller addresses a problem many experienced professionals face: contributing significant value while feeling completely invisible. Drawing from over 45 years counseling individuals who "don't quite fit," Meredith explains why refle…
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Mark Trinham: Building Sustainable Art Practice Through Environmental Values and Collaboration
Nov. 27, 2025

Mark Trinham: Building Sustainable Art Practice Through Environmental Values and Collaboration

Mark Trinham has spent over 30 years building a thriving full-time art practice without formal business training—creating large-scale public artworks, running a successful collaboration company, and maintaining creative independence. In this conversation, Mark reveals how he moved from illustration…
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Jon Younger Why Keep Working at 73? On Talent, Wisdom, and Interesting Questions
Nov. 13, 2025

Jon Younger Why Keep Working at 73? On Talent, Wisdom, and Interesting Questions

At 73, Jon Younger has navigated from Exxon executive to business builder to independent advisor. In this conversation, he explores what makes professional wisdom valuable when AI handles routine knowledge work, why traditional career stages no longer apply, and most importantly—what makes intellec…
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Mayumi Kataoka: When Your Brain Needs Trees, Not More Productivity Hacks
Oct. 30, 2025

Mayumi Kataoka: When Your Brain Needs Trees, Not More Productivity Hacks

In this conversation, Nigel Rawlins speaks with Mayumi Kataoka, a certified forest therapy guide based in Sydney, about her journey from IT professional and martial arts instructor to nature photographer and finally to her calling as a practitioner of Shinrin-yoku (Japanese forest bathing). Mayumi …
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Anna Burgess Yang on Business Resilience and Smart Automation
Oct. 16, 2025

Anna Burgess Yang on Business Resilience and Smart Automation

When Anna Burgess Yang discovered she had a brain tumour just weeks before scheduled surgery, her three years of systematic business building became her lifeline. In this candid conversation, Anna reveals how strategic financial planning, automation systems, and operational frameworks allowed her b…
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Michael Best on Career Reinvention, Cannabis Research, and Learning at 80
Oct. 2, 2025

Michael Best on Career Reinvention, Cannabis Research, and Learning at 80

What happens when a 74-year-old doctor with 50 years of experience discovers a biological system he never learned about in medical school? Dr. Michael Best's accidental entry into medicinal cannabis research during COVID led to an extraordinary late-career transformation. Now 80, he's writing a…
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Robert Vlach Why Your Good Name Beats Personal Branding
Aug. 27, 2025

Robert Vlach Why Your Good Name Beats Personal Branding

The Core Revelation In this three-hour conversation, Robert Vlach, author of "The Freelance Way" and leader of Europe's largest freelance community, challenges conventional career advice for experienced professionals. Rather than competing through personal branding and social media, Vlach reveals …
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Reviews

Hazelnut

"Hazel Edwards' ability as a mentor to inform, motivate and teach with honesty and impish humour is exceptional. The fact that she is also a prolific author over more than five decades and continues u…"

Joan Tehan | May 17, 2024

Meredith Fuller Episode on Career Change

"A very insightful podcast reminding us to think of our health first as we age but also simple strategies we can implement with a zero budget. Also great reminders to stay up to date with self-care an…"

Sue Ellson | Jan. 14, 2024

Most People at 78 Have Their Feet Up. I was Just Getting Started!

"To be honest, I was somewhat apprehensive to hear myself being interviewed by Nigel Rawlins on his renowned podcast Wisepreneurs - while up against a host of other people of note and accomplishment. …"

Laurie Smale | June 18, 2025

Empowering wisdom for professional women 50+

"I recently discovered The Wisepreneurs Project, and I must say it's a hidden gem for professional women aged 50 and above. This empowering platform is a beacon of support, offering invaluable advice …"

Pat (Panayiota) Karnis | Jan. 17, 2024

Hazel Edwards

"The podcast was excellent. Hazel really is an absolute treasure of the literary world! The interview was so through, mentioning so many aspects of Hazels extraordinary life. One thing it did not men…"

Tracee Spiby | May 16, 2024
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