Episodes

Elina Jutelyte explains pricing for freelancers through a first-of-its-kind global study across 13 independent communities. Her survey of 400 freelancers found that 90 per cent find work through personal networks, while only 14 per cent rely on platforms. The conversation covers trending freelancer topics from LinkedIn strategy to AI, plus Elina's ambition to build an MBA-style programme for independent professionals. Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Aging, employment, and retirement research from a gerontology professor on what the 100-year life actually means for experienced professionals. Professor Martin Hyde from the University of Leicester studies how aging reshapes work, why ageism operates as the least addressed barrier to late-career employment, and what quality of life research reveals about professional longevity. He explains why the 100-year life concept requires fundamentally different planning than traditional three-stage car...

Gabrielle Sun explains how AI is reshaping expertise building in corporate learning, from instructional design principles to the tools every knowledge worker should explore. She covers what makes training effective, why alignment between learning goals and practice activities is the foundation of good course design, and four AI capabilities to explore: text generation, text to audio with voice cloning, text to image, and text to video. Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

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 freelance...

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 o...

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 turned business strategist, Salina covers profile optimisation as a sales page, choosing the right content format, strategic commenting to grow reach, and how 15 minutes of focused daily effort builds consistent visibility on the platform.

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...

Lisa-Marie Cabrelli turned expertise from acting, eCommerce, and a PhD in Creative Writing into a location-independent coaching practice spanning four countries. She shares how story structure informs her Heroine's Adventure course and how ChatGPT became an essential thinking partner for developing course concepts. The conversation covers how AI fluency is becoming essential for career independence and what Lisa-Marie sees coming in the future of independent work. Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetise expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Lisa Ross-Marcus helps experienced women professionals navigate career transitions and build leadership capability from her Amsterdam executive coaching practice. Her path from performing arts in Paris to executive coaching blends kinaesthetic awareness, artistic creativity, and structured method. Lisa covers discovering a niche market, the practicalities of becoming a coach after a performing arts career, what confidence means when internal dialogue is not cooperating, and why values alignment anchors sustainable independent practice.

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...

Krisna Hanks helps women over 60 build metabolic health, strength, and nutrition practices grounded in 33 years as a professional dancer. A certified health coach and LCHF/keto nutrition advisor with an MSc in Kinesiology and MBA, she explains why metabolic health is the foundation of self-care for experienced professional women, why protein intake matters more than most realise, and why strength training is a necessary investment for ageing well. Her career from dance to health coaching shows how finite careers prepare you for professional reinvention.

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

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 ...

Mary-Clare Switz explains why getting the financial foundations of an expert business right from day one can determine whether it succeeds or fails. A registered BAS Agent with more than 40 years of experience, she covers why Xero gives small business owners real-time financial visibility, common mistakes including miscoding expenses, and why she tells every new client to set up their business as if they are ready to sell it tomorrow. Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Lisa-Marie Cabrelli turned corporate expertise into a location-independent eCommerce company in 2006, starting with $500 and a book on building a Yahoo Store, then retiring young when she sold the multi-million dollar business. She built it through early Google SEO, identifying an underserved niche in American Girl doll accessories, drawing on her corporate background as a business systems analyst to develop a process engineering approach for solopreneurs. The conversation also covers her seven published novels, PhD in Literature, and coaching work helping women start location-independent businesses. Wisepreneurs explores how women over 50 monetise expertise and build sustainable solopreneur practice.

Mark Goulston turned 25 years of expertise with suicidal patients into surgical empathy, a listening method deeper than clinical protocol that became his book Just Listen, translated into 28 languages. Mark explains why most people listen to respond rather than to understand, and what changes when you listen for what someone is actually searching for beneath the words. He covers the difference between clinical empathy and surgical empathy, why building genuine trust is rare in professional sett...

Karen Wickre worked at Google and Twitter before writing Taking the Work out of Networking, her guide to building genuine connections without transactional pressure. Karen explains why networking does not have to feel like work. Drawing from her Silicon Valley career and her current life as a self-employed corporate editor and writer in her 70s, she shares practical approaches to maintaining loose-touch relationships that serve personal and professional needs alike. Her framework treats networ...

Laetitia Vitaud, French writer, speaker and Future of Work commentator, brings a feminist perspective to professional reinvention and the changing nature of careers. She explores the motherhood penalty across countries, COVID's "shecession" and its unequal impact on women, and why women over 50 often turn to self-employment. Her advice centres on financial literacy, diverse networks, identity transitions and developing your own career narrative.

Jane Hudson turned a career in Australian Broadway productions into expertise in learning and development, building an independent L&D practice from regional Victoria specialising in regulatory training. Jane shares how the discipline and communication skills from a performing arts career translated into corporate training work, and what prompted her move from organisational employment to running her own practice. She discusses how she sees the L&D field evolving, what self-employment look...

In this 4th Wisepreneurs Podcast episode, I talk with Meredith Fuller, psychologist, author, playwright and career counsellor with over 30 years of experience. We talk about work in light of COVID, careers, and why you might like to explore self-employment or stay where you are. You can learn more about Meredith at https://meredithfuller.com.au/ Support the show Connect with Nigel Rawlins website https://wisepreneurs.com.au/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelrawlins/ Twitter https://t...

Anthea Green navigated a career spanning Canberra public service, health sector CEO roles, hospital and aged care governance, and board leadership before founding Women Who Stand Up to help other women reach positions of responsibility. Her path started with studying Buddhism at ANU and accelerated when a Vice Chancellor told her: do not tell me what is wrong, tell me how to fix it. Anthea discusses self-doubt at senior levels, why experienced women still find themselves the only woman in the room, and how Women Who Stand Up helps women claim leadership roles they've earned.

Meredith Fuller practised as a career counselling psychologist for over 30 years and explains why understanding yourself is the first step toward career independence after 50. She covers the traits that predict whether someone can successfully work for themselves, why past behaviour is the best predictor of future career behaviour, and how to assess your health, stickability, and delayed gratification capacity. The conversation also covers practical questions for self-employment and why women's homemaking and family management skills transfer directly to consulting. Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn accumulated expertise into sustainable practice.

Gail Greatorex spent 35 years in the federal public service, including 25 years leading product safety at the ACCC, before launching Product Safety Solutions as an independent consultant. She shares how she built a solo practice through content marketing, value-based pricing, and professional networks — turning deep regulatory knowledge into training, expert witness work, and safety advocacy.