The 9–5 Exit Plan

What if building a successful business didn’t have to mean sacrificing your peace, personal life, or sense of purpose? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, we sit down with Joanna Zhang, award-winning founder of The Operations Genius and creator of what she describes as the world’s first Fractional VA Service. Joanna helps entrepreneurs access flexible, accountable operational support so they can sca...

Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace, reshaping industries, and opening new possibilities for entrepreneurs. But how can we take advantage of these changes without losing sight of security, privacy, and the human side of business? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, we sit down with Nishanth Sirikonda, a Cloud and Enterprise Solutions Architect, AI strategist, and technology leader...

Are you living a life that genuinely reflects who you are, or are you following expectations you’ve never stopped to question? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Samantha Kane, founder of Roots Wings Wellness, a certified holistic life coach and conscious guide with a decade of coaching experience. Samantha helps people explore self-mastery, shadow work, spiritual embodiment, and pr...

What happens when a military officer says he was injured during an intelligence mission, but decades later he is still fighting for official recognition? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I speak with Jack Daly, a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and former Naval Intelligence officer who spent 15 years focused on the Soviet Union and Russia. Jack discusses his account of an April 4, 1997, in...

Why do some capable professionals continue to be overlooked while others gain recognition, influence, and opportunities to lead? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Aletta Rochat, Executive Presence Coach, international speaker, author, and former International President of Toastmasters International. Aletta has helped professionals across more than 20 countries develop the credibili...

What happens when you refuse to let go of a childhood dream? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Christopher Kaufman, a creative artist, storyteller, and composer who has spent years developing Tales of the Ocean City , an expansive fantasy series that combines vivid storytelling with cinematic music, narration, and sound design. Christopher shares his journey from writing illustrate...

What happens when you look successful on the outside but feel exhausted on the inside? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Liz Coleman, certified transformational life coach, NLP and Mind Shifting practitioner, and creator of the MindLife Reset™. Liz shares how her own experience with corporate pressure, health challenges, and years of searching for answers led her to develop a whole...

What if real change begins when you stop fighting yourself? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Moshe Klein, coach, speaker, and founder of Safe in Yourself, to explore Radical Acceptance and the deeper emotional patterns that shape how we live. Drawing on 15 years of working closely with people, Moshe shares his perspective on shame, anxiety, self-criticism, relationships, boundarie...

Are you truly showing up in your life, or are you simply going through the motions? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Marcy Axelrod, bestselling and award-winning author, television contributor, two-time TEDx speaker, and author of How We Choose to Show Up . Drawing on more than 20 years of research across psychology, neuroscience, behavioural economics, and evolutionary biology, M...

What happens when the business you’ve spent decades building faces a major economic crisis, and just as recovery begins, life presents an even more personal challenge? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Bill Derrick, President of Derrick Companies, author, and speaker with more than 50 years of construction industry experience. Bill shares his experience helping lead his family busi...

What if the biggest barrier to your next chapter is the identity you’ve carried from your last one? In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Leo Dulay, transformational coach, hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, and author of You Are Not Your Past . After spending 22 years at AT&T, Leo’s unexpected layoff forced him to question an identity he had built around his career. That experience led...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with former U.S. intelligence analyst and national security expert Nadeem Iqbal, who brings more than 15 years of experience across intelligence, military operations, and U.S. defence policy. Having worked with the Defense Intelligence Agency, supported CIA and Pentagon assignments, and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Nadeem offers a professional pers...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with relationship expert, Marriage and Family Therapist, former U.S. Army paratrooper, author, and creator of Origin Code and Done Carrying It Alone, Eric Williams. Eric brings a unique perspective shaped by military service, more than 20 years of marriage, fatherhood, and his work helping people understand the deeper patterns behind relationship confli...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Dr. Oluwole Babatunde, a physician-scientist, psychiatrist, epidemiologist, author, and servant-leader whose life story is a powerful example of resilience, faith, and purpose. Born and raised in Nigeria, Wole lost both of his parents before the age of 14. Yet those devastating experiences did not become the end of his story. He went on to become a...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Erik Oliver, Director of Client Solutions at Maven Cost Segregation and a nationally recognised cost segregation expert with more than a decade of experience. Erik explains how cost segregation works, how accelerated depreciation can potentially affect real estate investors’ cash flow, and why commercial property owners may want to evaluate whether...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with author, artist, entrepreneur, performer, and storyteller Dave Letterfly Knoderer. Dave’s extraordinary 50-plus-year creative journey has taken him from performing in the circus and mastering classical horsemanship to becoming an award-winning artist, prolific RV mural painter, author, speaker, and travelling entrepreneur. But behind the creativity...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with entrepreneur, motivational speaker, staffing executive, and longtime martial artist Mike Barefoot. Mike has spent 37 years studying martial arts and more than 27 years in the staffing industry. During his career, he placed more than 1,000 professionals, generated over $50 million in revenue, and built a boutique IT staffing firm that remained profi...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with filmmaker and content creator Brittany Lewis, who has built an audience of more than 18,000 followers by breaking down classic television from a filmmaker’s perspective. Brittany shares how her lifelong obsession with understanding the “why” behind television eventually became a platform that connected her with thousands of people who see stories t...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Andrew Brümmer — operator, entrepreneur, executive coach, author, and founder of Ardunan, known as The Business Polygraph. Andrew shares the story of a major professional inflection point in 2024 and how choosing to respond with intention rather than urgency led to one of the most purposeful periods of his career. We discuss leadership, reinvention...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Tony Tenaglier — aerospace Quality Manager, PhD researcher in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, author, and podcast host. Tony brings together psychology, engineering, leadership, flow science, and yoga philosophy to explore one important question: How can we create meaningful work without losing ourselves in t...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with author JL Coronado, whose book The Art of Courage preserves the work of Arthur H. Sloggatt, a World War II tank commander who later became a political cartoonist for the New York Daily Mirror. We explore Sloggatt’s journey, the role of political cartoons in mid-century America, the power of visual storytelling, and what historical media can teach u...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with author, poet, storyteller, and podcast host Branch Isole. With 22 books and a background spanning teaching, corporate sales and marketing, entrepreneurship, and spiritual study, Branch has spent decades exploring the choices and consequences that shape our lives. We discuss personal responsibility, relationships, communication, spiritual growth, tr...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with business systems expert, bestselling author, and speaker Marianne Page. Marianne spent nearly 30 years as a senior manager with McDonald’s, where she learned firsthand how clear systems, simple standards, strong culture, and consistent leadership can create reliable business performance. Today, she applies those lessons to help growing businesses b...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with Emmy Award-winning motion picture sound editor and author Solange Schwalbe. Solange spent more than three decades working in Hollywood, contributing to major productions including The Goonies , Gremlins , Die Hard , Pirates of the Caribbean , Black Hawk Down , Moneyball , and HBO’s John Adams . Her work on John Adams earned her team an Emmy for sou...

In this episode of 9–5 Exit Plan, I sit down with CPA, tax strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of Sarah Jones CPA, Sarah Jones. Sarah shares how entrepreneurs can think differently about taxes, profitability, cash flow, and wealth-building. We discuss the difference between traditional tax preparation and proactive tax planning, entity optimisation, financial systems, business profitability, and...