The 9–5 Exit Plan

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Laurent Cohen, Founder and CTO of GetOblic and a serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience across technology, e-commerce, marketing, and business growth. Laurent and I discuss the rise of voice-first AI and how small businesses can use artificial intelligence to answer calls, capture leads, book appointments, and reduce the revenue...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with author, explorer, sailor, entrepreneur, and Thailand Adventure Network founder Bill Mullen, better known to thousands of travelers as “Bangkok Bill.” After building a career in corporate leadership and training, Bill made the decision to leave the predictable path behind and build a life centered around adventure, exploration, and discovery. Today,...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Veronica L. Nabizadeh, author, attorney, divorce mediator, relationship coach, and known as The Battle-Weary Wife Whisperer. After nearly losing her own 25-year marriage, Veronica turned her experience into a mission to help women navigate painful marriages without losing themselves in the process. We discuss emotional regulation, conflict, self-ab...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Zack James, founder and CEO of StarScript, a self-publishing and entertainment platform built for independent creators. Zack is working to change the traditional publisher, label, and studio model by giving creators more control over publishing, monetization, collaboration, and relationships with their audiences. We discuss the creator economy, sel...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with former banking and finance professional turned performance coach Matt Davies. After more than two decades climbing the corporate ladder, Matt reached a point where his career, health, and lifestyle no longer felt aligned with the person he wanted to become. Then he made an unlikely decision: he signed up for an IRONMAN. With no previous experience,...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Clementine Moss — founding drummer of Zepparella, singer-songwriter, author, spiritual counselor, and lifelong meditator. Clementine has spent more than two decades performing the music of Led Zeppelin while simultaneously exploring meditation, spirituality, consciousness, creativity, and inner transformation. Her memoir, From Bonham to Buddha and...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with executive leadership expert, keynote speaker, and coach Rachel Bolton. Rachel has spent more than 15 years helping Fortune 500 and Fortune 200 organizations develop stronger leaders and build leadership systems that drive business results. But behind the titles and accomplishments is a deeper conversation about what happens when high achievement co...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Jon Wolheim, a veteran people and talent executive whose career includes leadership experience at Apple, Amazon, SoundHound AI, and AI startups. Jon has spent two decades working with the people and organizations behind some of the technology industry’s most ambitious companies. His perspective on AI is different from the typical hype-or-doom conve...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with award-winning author Marcia McFarland, author of Perfect Glory: 21 Spiritual Insights for the 21st Century . Marcia shares her extraordinary experiences with the Divine, including a profound “mountaintop” encounter that changed the way she understood God’s presence and purpose in her life. We discuss spiritual awakening, religious dogma, Biblical w...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with transformational speaker, catalyst, and Journey to Purpose founder Anna Quigley, also known as the “Intuitive Yoda.” Anna has spent more than four decades exploring psychology, intuition, mind-body practices, spirituality, and personal transformation. We discuss why major life transitions can be more than crises—they can be calls toward something n...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with marketing and public relations consultant and author Leslie A.M. Smith. Since founding McCormick L.A. in 1994, Leslie has worked with businesses and nonprofit organizations across more than 30 industries, helping them develop practical marketing and public relations strategies. ( McCormickLA ⁠) We discuss why marketing has become unnecessarily comp...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with SEO strategist, entrepreneur, and property investor Alistair Knight. With more than seven years of experience helping businesses grow through organic search, Alistair shares practical insights into SEO, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to build sustainable business growth. We also explore the bigger entrepreneurial question: h...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with entrepreneur, author, and business strategist Brad Aman to explore how artificial intelligence is changing the American Dream. Brad has spent decades building businesses and creating wealth, and now he’s focused on helping everyday Americans understand the opportunities emerging from the AI revolution. We discuss the future of work, entrepreneurshi...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with retired attorney, Vietnam veteran, author, and recovering alcoholic Rand Timmerman. At 72 years old, Rand and his younger brother Ron, 71, took on an extraordinary challenge: hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. But this wasn’t simply a physical adventure. Behind the 2,000-plus miles were stories of grief, addiction, recovery, aging,...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with CPA and Early Retirement Access founder Rob Townend to explore one of the lesser-known strategies for funding an early retirement. Rob explains how Section 72(t) and substantially equal periodic payments can, when properly structured and when IRS requirements are met, provide an exception to the 10% additional tax that generally applies to certain...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Swedish data and AI entrepreneur Haseeb Asif. Haseeb helps companies transform scattered data into practical systems that deliver clear insights and better decisions. We discuss entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, cloud migration, IoT, data platforms, leadership, hiring, mentoring, public speaking, and the risks involved in building a techno...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Jake Tlapek, better known as The Wizard of Marketing. Jake spent 13 years in the trenches of marketing, building a Chicago agency from an audience he grew from zero on TikTok, eventually reaching more than 110,000 followers. He went on to sell the agency and generate more than $100 million for his clients. But Jake discovered that many businesses d...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with author, poet, and speaker Jeff Dalton for a deeply honest conversation about faith, healing, mental health, church hurt, and what it means to have a genuine relationship with Jesus. Jeff shares his journey from depression and low self-esteem to finding Jesus as a teenager, followed by years of ministry, rejection, personal struggles, mental health...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with entrepreneur Jordan Robinson, founder of Anxin, a technology platform designed to help families stay ahead of food-safety risks. We discuss the frustrating gap between when a food recall is issued and when consumers actually find out about it. Jordan explains how Anxin brings together grocery receipt scanning, household inventory, FDA recall inform...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with LinkedIn strategist and author Daniel Alfon, who has been using LinkedIn since February 2004. Daniel has trained thousands of people on LinkedIn and believes the platform is one of the most powerful business tools available—yet one of the most misunderstood. We discuss how entrepreneurs can use LinkedIn to generate leads, referrals, relationships,...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with former Army officer, combat veteran, West Point graduate, diplomat, corporate strategist, and author Christopher Rivers. Chris’s extraordinary journey has taken him from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to West Point, Georgetown, U.S. diplomacy, corporate strategy, and eventually into politics, where he knocked on more than 9,000 doors listening dir...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with therapist, trauma recovery expert, transformational coach, and Heal Thrive Dream founder Karen Robinson, LCSW. With more than two decades of clinical experience, Karen has dedicated her career to helping trauma survivors heal, rebuild their confidence, and create lives filled with greater hope, purpose, and possibility. We discuss the difference be...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with health and lifestyle coach Brian Parana, who has spent more than two decades helping busy, high-performing men over 40 improve their fitness, nutrition, energy, and overall health. Brian has coached thousands of clients, owned two CrossFit gyms, and worked with elite athletes, but today his focus is helping successful men build sustainable health s...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with business coach and Marine Corps veteran Brad Koch (Cook). With more than 32 years of business experience, Brad has learned through successes, setbacks, education, training, and personal mentorship what it takes to build a business that actually works for its owner. We discuss business growth, profitability, leadership, compounding incremental chang...

In this episode of 9-5 Exit Plan, I sit down with writer, father, EHS professional, and author Eli Brackenbury. After years marked by divorce, grief, striving, and spiritual dryness, Eli experienced an unexpected spiritual awakening at fifty that changed how he understood faith, identity, purpose, and his own life. We discuss his journey through healing and renewed faith, the challenges many men f...