Shows
Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMichael Zipursky Consulting Success: Why Conversations Beat Marketing Systems for ConsultantsBuilding a consulting practice through relationships and conversations rather than marketing systems requires a specific set of mindset shifts that corporate experience does not prepare you for. For experienced independent professionals navigating this transition, Michael Zipursky maps the precise patterns he has observed across 1,300 coaching engagements in 75 industries at Consulting Success.Michael Zipursky is the co-founder of Consulting Success and author of Consulting Success and The Elite Consulting Mind. Before building Consulting Success into a global coaching practice, he built and sold multiple businesses, including Kankei Culture and Relagy Marketing, drawing on relationships fo...
2026-03-1257 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseDante St James The Generalist Advantage: Building Systemised Independent PracticesExperienced independent professionals building portfolio practices will find a practical operating model in this conversation with Dante St James. For generalists juggling multiple ventures, this episode maps the daily discipline and systemisation that lets diverse expertise run without you at the centre.Dante traces how a failed startup, a pandemic-era cafe purchase, and a digital marketing exit became a self-running portfolio spanning hospitality, executive education, and AI-powered software. He explains his 20/20/60 daily structure for learning, self-marketing, and execution, his McDonald's-informed approach to systemising small operations, and why vibe coding lets solopreneurs build software...
2026-02-2656 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMiklós Pohl OAM Professional Longevity: Music, Medicine, and Sustained Practice Beyond 70At 78 Dr Miklós Pohl OAM is still practising medicine, performing chamber music internationally, and publishing books. His Wisepreneurs conversation explores how sustained creative engagement supports professional longevity and cognitive vitality for experienced professionals who have no intention of retiring.A Melbourne-based plastic surgeon, violinist, and founder of the Australian Doctors Orchestra, Miklós Pohl arrived in Australia as a nine-year-old refugee from Hungary during the 1956 Revolution. Music has been a constant thread through seven decades of professional life, from childhood violin lessons to performing across the globe.During COVID, he wrote Music Is Medicine, fe...
2026-02-1245 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseDarren Waldron AI Automation: How a Carpenter Built a Technology Practice from ScratchDarren Waldron taught himself AI automation with no coding background and built a technology practice from a standing start. A carpenter by trade, now based in Zurich, he developed AI-powered lead management systems after experiencing firsthand how slowly businesses follow up with potential customers.His company DS Walden specialises in two services that independent professionals and small businesses can learn from. Database reactivation uses custom AI trained on a business's products, services, and brand voice, deployed via SMS or WhatsApp to reengage leads from previous marketing campaigns. Speed to lead addresses the gap between when s...
2026-01-2949 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMelisa Liberman Business Development: Building a Sustainable Consulting Practice Without EmployeesSystematic business development for independent consultants who want predictable revenue without employees or feast-famine cycles. Melisa Liberman coaches experienced professionals to build consulting practices generating $500,000+ using quantifiable metrics rather than hope-based pipeline management.A consultant for 13 years and now a coach for independent professionals, Melisa explains why consultants who think like CEOs rather than subject matter experts scale faster. Her Business Development Formula creates predictable pipeline through diagnostic conversations that eliminate adversarial selling.The conversation covers six pathways for generating leads without cold outreach, how AI amplifies consulting capability while human judgment justifies premium rates...
2026-01-0152 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMeredith Fuller OAM Invisible Expertise: How Introverted Professionals Articulate What They KnowExperienced professionals who think deeply often feel invisible in workplaces that reward rapid responses over considered insight. Psychologist Meredith Fuller OAM, returning for her fourth Wisepreneurs conversation, draws on over 45 years counselling professionals who don't quite fit to explain why this happens and what to do about it.Meredith introduces the concept of liminal space, the uncomfortable transition between who you were and who you are becoming, and reframes it as productive territory rather than professional limbo. For independent professionals navigating career transitions, this distinction changes how you understand the discomfort of building something new....
2025-12-121h 03Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMark Trinham Sustainable Creative Practice: 30 Years of Independent Work Without Business TrainingThirty years of full-time independent practice, booked 18 months ahead, with no formal business training. Artist Mark Trinham offers one of the most practical case studies on the Wisepreneurs Podcast for how accumulated expertise becomes sustainable revenue when you learn to position it as premium capability.Mark moved from illustration and graphic design into public art and large-scale sculpture, developing a business model through trial and decades of learning when to say yes and when to say no. His collaboration company amplifies rather than dilutes his creative voice, and his positioning around environmental connection and place-based s...
2025-11-2854 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseJon Younger Professional Relevance: Positioning Expertise When AI Does the Routine WorkPositioning accumulated professional judgment when younger consultants cost less and AI handles routine knowledge work. Jon Younger has spent five decades understanding how talent evolves — from HR executive to independent advisor on the future of work and AI. At 73, he addresses the challenge experienced professionals rarely voice: how do you justify premium rates in an era of automation? Jon explains why diagnostic capabilities built over decades remain valuable despite AIHow the traditional four-stage career model breaks down, and What business architecture independent practitioners actually needYou'll hear specific frameworks for using AI as cognitive amplification rathe...
2025-11-141h 07Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMayumi Kataoka Forest Therapy: Why Cognitive Restoration Beats Another Productivity SystemForest therapy as cognitive restoration for over-connected professionals who keep optimising when they need to stop. Mayumi Kataoka is a certified forest therapy guide in Sydney who takes professionals on three-hour walks covering barely 1.2 kilometres. Participants consistently report losing track of time and finding clarity they didn't know they were missing. Mayumi's path from IT professional and martial arts instructor to nature photographer to forest therapy guide built the observational capacity she now brings to her practice. She explains the science behind shinrin-yoku, why our genes expect natural environments, and how systematic sensory eng...
2025-10-3037 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseAnna Burgess Yang on Business Resilience and Smart AutomationWhen Anna Burgess Yang was diagnosed with a brain tumour just weeks before surgery, her three years of systematic business building became the difference between collapse and continuity. In this conversation, Anna shares how strategic financial planning, smart automation systems, and operational frameworks allowed her FinTech writing business to run for two months without her active involvement. She reveals the specific tools, workflows, and thinking that transformed her independent practice from vulnerable to resilient, from Zapier automations that generated social media content to the financial buffers that eliminated money stress during recovery. This epi...
2025-10-1738 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMichael Best Career Reinvention at 80: Complex Research and AI Tools After Five Decades in MedicineCareer reinvention at 80, mastering AI tools, Obsidian, and Zotero to write a scientific book he never planned. Dr Michael Best practised medicine for 50 years before a routine phone call during COVID introduced him to the endocannabinoid system — a biological network in every human body that he'd never learned about in medical school. Now he's deep into original research, proving that intellectual challenge sustains cognitive vitality rather than diminishing it. Michael reveals why mainstream medicine ignores what patients experience How accumulated expertise transforms technology from threat to strategic advantage, and Why serendipity combined with professional curiosi...
2025-10-0344 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseRobert Vlach Professional Reputation: Why Your Good Name Beats Personal BrandingProfessional reputation built through decades of relationships beats personal branding built through content marketing. Robert Vlach leads Europe's largest freelance community, supporting over 250,000 professionals. In this three-hour conversation, our longest episode, he explains why experienced independent professionals should stop competing with younger workers on their terms. Robert covers why pattern recognition from 20+ years of practice creates unbeatable market advantages, How career capital converts to client relationshipsWhy experience commands premium rates, and How critical thinking separates seasoned professionals from AI-assisted competitorsHe wrote The Freelance Way and has spent two decades working with freelance commu...
2025-08-282h 58Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseAmy Alkon Menopause and Cognitive Performance: Protecting Your Professional Edge Through ScienceMenopause and cognitive performance for professional women: when brain fog, fatigue, and memory loss threaten your career edge, the problem is medical science, not you. Amy Alkon is an award-winning investigative science writer and author of Going Menopostal. She exposes the gap between what medical research knows about menopausal care and what most doctors actually provide, leaving accomplished women to mistake a solvable physiological issue for burnout or professional decline. Amy explains why self-advocacy matters when the medical system fails to connect menopause with cognitive symptoms, and what the science actually supports for protecting your mi...
2025-08-011h 22Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseSönke Ahrens Turning Professional Experience Into Lasting InsightIf you have ever underlined a passage, bookmarked an idea, or highlighted something brilliant only to forget it, this episode speaks directly to how experienced independent professionals can turn a lifetime of learning into real, shareable value. Sönke Ahrens joins host Nigel Rawlins to explore how accumulated expertise becomes more useful when it is externalised into structured knowledge systems.Sönke, best known for his book How to Take Smart Notes, shares how digital tools like Obsidian and Readwise help professionals clarify their thinking, develop a distinctive voice, and build the foundation for thought lea...
2025-07-1857 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseSue Ellson Starting a Business After 60: LinkedIn, Financial Security, and Career ReinventionStarting a business after 60 using LinkedIn, relationships, and minimal cost strategies for financial security during career transition. Sue Ellson has been an independent consultant since 1994 and joined LinkedIn in 2003. She's authored five books including Gigsters and is recognised internationally as a leading expert on the platform. In this conversation, Sue offers a practical roadmap for professional women considering entrepreneurship after 60. She explains her 'job for now' concept for maintaining financial security during transition, why your professional relationships are more powerful than any marketing tactic for combating ageism, and how to launch with minimal cos...
2025-07-0452 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseLaetitia Vitaud Career Reinvention After 60: Why Your 150 Relationships Beat Startup CapitalEpisode OverviewCareer reinvention after 60 using your professional relationships as startup capital rather than cash, savings, or business loans. Laetitia Vitaud is a feminist and work-revolution thinker returning for her third Wisepreneurs appearance. She explains why the 150 trusted connections you've nurtured across your career are the most valuable business asset you ownHow seasonal work rhythms create sustainable practice rather than burnout, and Why older professionals have a genuine cognitive edge with AI because decades of critical thinking outperform younger workers' technical fluencyLaetitia offers practical frameworks for women over 60 considering solo ven...
2025-06-2055 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseLaurie Smale Digital Storytelling at 79: From School Dropout to YouTube Creator Through MentorshipDigital storytelling at 79 after leaving school at 13 — proof that reinvention has no expiry date when mentorship meets courage. Laurie Smale walked away from school after brutal treatment by a maths teacher and began working in a junkyard under the guidance of Old Bill, his first mentor. Decades later he returned to education, graduating with honours at 37. Most recently, he launched his Magic Minutes YouTube series at 78 with the support of digital mentor Sue Ellson. Laurie's journey from sleeping beside a furnace to building a personal brand online illustrates how lived experience become...
2025-06-0645 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseTomáš Baránek Deep Reading as Professional Edge: Why Books Still Build Expertise in the AI EraDeep reading as cognitive investment for independent professionals building expertise when AI floods the world with shallow content. Tomáš Baránek runs Melvil Publishing in Czechia, selecting nonfiction titles with long-term value from authors like Yuval Noah Harari and David Grann, deliberately limiting annual titles to focus on quality over volume. He explains why over-relying on AI for writing, thinking, and decision-making erodes the cognitive depth that experienced professionals depend on for their livelihood. Now studying machine learning at 53, Tomáš brings a practitioner's perspective on critical thinking, resisting digital overwhelm, and why slow intentio...
2025-05-2359 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseThe Main Act: Empowering Women's Next ChapterRetirement planning for professional women that addresses identity, purpose, and community rather than finances alone. Kim Watty spent three decades in Australian academia as an accounting professor before co-founding The Main Act with her daughter Prue. Their Retirement by Design program uses Stanford Business School methodology where women create three odyssey plans for different possible futures across an eight-week guided process. Kim explains why 62% of women wish they had planned better for retirementWhat experienced professional women specifically lose when they leave organisational identity without a framework for what comes next, and Why the emotional and...
2025-05-0942 min
Behind the Mic With Kirkus ReviewsTHE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË by Elizabeth Gaskell, read by Lucy Scott, Penelope Rawlins, Georgina Sutton, Sarah Lambie, David Timson, Nigel PilkingtonraftLiterary skill ensured Charlotte Brontë's place in the "classics" category, and this audiobook delves deeply into her life and times. AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how Lucy Scott is the consummate British narrator, with a brisk pace and animated tone that remain consistent through an extensive audio performance. Supporting cast members are used well to voice various primary sources; these moments highlight the quotations and break up considerable blocks of research and explanation. The transitions among the supporting voices are seamless. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
2025-02-1807 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseThriving as an Independent Professional: Filip Drimalka on Career Independence in the Age of AIEpisode SummaryIn this episode of Thriving in the Age of AI, host Nigel Rawlins explores career independence and the future of work with digital innovation expert Filip Drimalka. They discuss how independent professionals can leverage their accumulated expertise to thrive in an AI-driven world. Filip, author of The Future of No Work, shares insights on AI-enhanced workflows, the transition from traditional employment to working independently, and the evolving role of expertise in this changing landscape. The conversation covers practical strategies for embracing AI tools, boosting productivity, and sustaining career independence...
2025-02-1432 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseMichal Novotný Preventive Wellness: Physical Foundations for Sustained Independent PracticePreventive wellness strategies for independent professionals whose practice needs to last another 10 or 20 years beyond traditional retirement. Michal Novotný is a physiotherapist and fitness coach who has worked with elite athletes and public figures, authored bestselling health books, and developed practical approaches to sustainable physical wellbeing. He explains why prevention outperforms treatmentHow small consistent habits compound over decades, and What experienced professionals can learn from elite athletic preparationMichal covers how integrating regular movement, diet awareness, and mindfulness supports the cognitive vitality that sustained independent practice demands. For professionals building practices on accumulated exper...
2024-12-1348 min
WeirdiesThe Woman in Black (1989)on this Ghost Weirdies for Christmas episode I am looking at The Woman in Black from 1989, starring Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, David Daker and Pauline Moran. It was written by Nigel Kneale, based upon Susan Hill's 1983 novella. It was directed by Herbert Wise.
Blue Sky weirdies.bsky.social
email weirdiespod@gmail.com
begging bowl ko-fi.com/weirdies
2024-12-1135 minWeirdiesThe Woman in Black (1989)on this Ghost Weirdies for Christmas episode I am looking at The Woman in Black from 1989, starring Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, David Daker and Pauline Moran. It was written by Nigel Kneale, based upon Susan Hill's 1983 novella. It was directed by Herbert Wise.
Blue Sky weirdies.bsky.social
email weirdiespod@gmail.com
begging bowl ko-fi.com/weirdies
2024-12-1135 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseAnna Burgess Yang Solopreneur Workflow: Automation, Lean Thinking, and AI for Independent PracticeSolopreneur workflow using Airtable, Zapier, and generative AI to run a freelance content business with lean thinking principles. Anna Burgess Yang left a FinTech executive career to build an independent content writing practice while raising three children. She explains how automation tools eliminate repetitive tasksHow lean principles help her prioritise what actually matters, and How generative AI repurposes and expands creative output without replacing her voiceAnna shares specific habits that make solo practice sustainable, including starting her day at 4am and building a personal brand through authentic LinkedIn updates rather than marketing tactics. He...
2024-11-2949 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseKrisna Hanks Metabolic Sparks: Why Movement Breaks Beat Exercise for Sedentary ProfessionalsMovement breaks throughout the day matter more than a morning workout if you sit for hours as an independent professional over 50. Krisna Hanks is a metabolic health expert and Director of Employee Wellness Programs at Ovadia Heart Health. She introduces the concept of the active couch potato — people who exercise regularly yet still sit for long hours, undermining their own health habits. Krisna explains how small frequent metabolic sparks boost resilience and mental clarityWhy core metabolic markers like blood pressure, glucose, and triglycerides reveal the real cost of prolonged sitting, and How proactive wellness outper...
2024-11-0847 min
Begin Your Ears To A Edge-Of-Your-Seat Full Audiobook.The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth GaskellPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/6676to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Life of Charlotte Brontë
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrator: Penelope Rawlins, Lucy Scott, Sarah Lambie, Nigel Pilkington, Georgina Sutton, David Timson
Format: mp3
Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 10-08-24
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars, 7 ratings
Genres: Women
Publisher's Summary:
Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography of her friend Charlotte Brontë—the first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist—is a true classic. It transports us with a deft hand straight into 19th-century Haworth, Yorkshire and crafts an extensive account of Brontë’s life, quoting throughout from lette...
2024-10-087h 31Step Inside A Must-Listen Full Audiobook On Your Commute.The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth GaskellPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/2449to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Life of Charlotte Brontë
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrator: Penelope Rawlins, Lucy Scott, Sarah Lambie, Nigel Pilkington, Georgina Sutton, David Timson
Format: mp3
Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
Release date: 10-08-24
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars, 7 ratings
Genres: Art & Literature
Publisher's Summary:
Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography of her friend Charlotte Brontë—the first full-length biography of a woman novelist by a woman novelist—is a true classic. It transports us with a deft hand straight into 19th-century Haworth, Yorkshire and crafts an extensive account of Brontë’s life, quoting throughout...
2024-10-087h 31Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseTonianne DeMaria Personal Kanban for Independent Professional PracticeIIn this episode, host Nigel Rawlins speaks with Tonianne DeMaria, co-author of Personal Kanban, about how visual workflow systems help independent professionals manage the complexity of working without organisational structure. Tonianne draws on her journey from fashion to productivity practice to explain why conventional task management fails experienced professionals juggling multiple clients, projects, and competing priorities.The conversation explores how Personal Kanban makes work visible in ways that support better decision-making and sustained energy over long independent careers. Tonianne explains the neuroscience behind why independent professionals struggle with overcommitment and cognitive overload, and ho...
2024-09-271h 05Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertisePeter Compo Emergent Strategy: A Design Framework for Independent Professionals Managing UncertaintyEmergent strategy as a design framework for independent professionals and consultants managing business uncertainty without organisational support. Peter Compo is author of The Emergent Approach to Strategy, drawing on 25 years of experience at DuPont. He explains how identifying key obstacles, eliminating bottlenecks, and creating strategic rules for decision-making help independent practitioners maintain progress when direction needs to shift. Peter's methodology connects concepts from music and science to business strategy, offering a structured approach to uncertainty that replaces rigid planning with disciplined adaptability. For experienced professionals whose accumulated expertise needs a framework for...
2024-09-2051 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseSolo, Skilled, and Essential: Gail Greatorex’s Influence on Product SafetyIn this episode, my guest, Gail Greatorex, is a leading expert in product safety with over 25 years of experience. Gail shares her journey from working with the Australian government to becoming a self-employed consultant, where she helps businesses navigate consumer protection laws, compliance, and product recalls. She reflects on the freedom and flexibility of working for herself, allowing her to choose projects that align with her values and passions.We explore the rising challenges of e-commerce safety, particularly with third-party sellers, and the risks posed by everyday items like button batteries and toppling furniture.
2024-09-1348 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseEliška Šestáková Building Smarter Knowledge Systems for Independent Professional PracticeIn this episode, host Nigel Rawlins speaks with Eliška Šestáková, an academic and personal knowledge management specialist from the Czech Republic, about how structured note-taking systems support sustained independent professional work. Eliška's approach connects directly to the cognitive tools that experienced professionals need to manage complex, long-running projects without organisational infrastructure.Drawing from her background in computer science, Eliška explains how systems like Zettelkasten and tools like Roam Research help independent professionals organise accumulated expertise into usable, searchable knowledge. The conversation covers how deliberate note-taking practices strengthen pattern recognition, support...
2024-09-0654 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseLeanne Shelton AI and Content: From Copywriter to AI Trainer on Keeping the Human EdgeAI integration for content businesses without losing the human element that makes creative work valuable. Leanne Shelton spent ten years as a copywriter and content marketer before founding Human Edge AI Training in Sydney, helping businesses adopt AI while preserving human-centric values in their output. She explains the growing impact of AI on the creative industry, why prompt engineering matters for content professionals, and how to overcome the fear of AI replacing creative work. Leanne shares how her copywriting experience gives her a practical perspective on where AI amplifies human capability and where it...
2024-08-3047 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseCedric Chin Testing Business Ideas Against Real World EvidenceIn this episode, host Nigel Rawlins speaks with Cedric Chin, founder of Commoncog, about how independent professionals can accelerate their business expertise by testing ideas against real-world evidence rather than relying on theory alone. Cedric shares his journey from leading a startup in Vietnam to building a platform dedicated to rigorous, practice-based business thinking.The conversation explores how experienced professionals develop pattern recognition and strategic judgment through deliberate practice. Cedric draws on his background in competitive Judo and entrepreneurship to explain why accumulated expertise becomes more valuable when it is continuously tested and refined against c...
2024-08-231h 11Wisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseKaren Wickre Freelance Editing After Big Tech: Building Confidence and Connections in Your 70sKaren Wickre left senior roles at Google and Twitter to build a freelance editing practice grounded in the authentic relationships she'd cultivated across decades in Silicon Valley.In this second conversation, Karen shares how continuous professional growth and adaptability sustain an independent career well into your 70s. She explains why genuine, mutually beneficial connections matter more than transactional networking, and how the confidence that comes from accumulated experience makes freelance work both viable and fulfilling. Her approach treats every professional relationship as a two-way exchange rather than a career transaction.Wisepreneurs...
2024-08-1655 minWisepreneurs Podcast: Independent Professionals Building ExpertiseBreaking the Invisibility Barrier: Danielle Joworski’s Tips for Women in BusinessIn this episode of the Wisepreneurs Podcast, host Nigel Rawlins interviews Danielle Joworski, a visibility expert and entrepreneur, about the challenges and strategies for breaking the invisibility barrier in business. Danielle shares her journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship, addressing women's fears and obstacles in becoming more visible and successful in their businesses. She offers practical tips and insights on building confidence, leveraging community support, and strategically managing business activities to enhance visibility and achieve success.Key ThemesOvercoming visibility fears and boosting confidenceThe impact of ageism and sexism on wo...
2024-08-0951 min