Description

Tonya Cassidy has been a middle school teacher near Piedmont, North Carolina, for her whole career — and she loves her students. But on the side? She’s been running Appaloosa Artisans, her furniture restoration business, creating seriously gorgeous pieces for her clients. And now, with retirement on the horizon, Tonya’s getting ready to take her furniture business full-time — which is kind of wild considering how unexpected this whole path was. But if you’ve seen her work on Instagram, you’d swear this was always the plan.

👉 What you'll get from this episode:

• How Tonya went from teaching to furniture flipping (and why that first orbital sander moment was life-changing).
• What it’s like being a woman in a male-dominated industry — and how Tonya navigates it with confidence.
• Why setting phone boundaries and building genuine connections with clients and fellow flippers is at the heart of her success.

Tonya was actually one of the first flippers I followed after getting laid off, and honestly, she gave me so much hope when I was trying to figure out my next step. I think you’re going to love this one. Hit play and let’s dive in! ❤️

Connect with Tonya

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/appaloosa___artisans/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/appaloosaartisans/

Thanks for tuning in to The Career Flipper!

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Let’s stay connected:

📲 Instagram: @thecareerflipperpod for all things podcast

💼 LinkedIn: The Career Flipper Podcast

🪑 And if you want to see my career flip furniture flips in real life, follow me at @sandiegofurnitureflipper

Submit your story:

Have a career flip story? Whether you’re in the messy middle or celebrating the other side, I’d love to hear it and maybe even feature you on the show. Submit your story here: thecareerflipper.com.

Want to support the show or work together?

Book me to speak about career change at your next event, collaborate through sponsorships or affiliates or got another idea? Drop me a note at hello@thecareerflipper.com

Bonus: If you’re in customer experience or building your own business, check out my online courses. Before I started flipping my life and furniture, I led CX teams and created training that’s helped over 12,000 students worldwide. Learn more at thecareerflipper.com/courses.

🎵 Music Credits

Season 1: Intro & outro music by Audionautix.com

Season 2: Original music by yours truly, Jenny Dempsey, recorded in my home studio

And hey, remember my favorite question: What’s the best that could happen? 💫