Thriving Through

In this episode of the Thriving Through Podcast, host Aj Riedel speaks with Jamie Troche about the realities of self-employment and what it truly takes to build a sustainable consulting business over time. Jamie shares her journey into consulting, discussing the importance of consistency, patience, and showing up even when growth feels slow. She reflects on breaking away from the “revenue roller c...

In this episode of the Thriving Through Podcast , host Aj Riedel speaks with Dr. Bryan Raya , founder of DBR Bookkeeping, about navigating a major career pivot and building a values-driven service business from the ground up. Dr. Raya shares how the uncertainty of the COVID era led him to reassess his path in academia and ultimately step into entrepreneurship. He walks through the mindset shifts r...

In this episode of the Thriving Through Podcast, host Aj Riedel speaks with Christi Balfour, an entrepreneur who successfully transitioned from her corporate career in the audio-visual space to owning a thriving business coaching and training Virtual Assistants (VAs). Christi shares her incredible journey, which started with a side-hustle during her corporate job and eventually led to her going fu...

In this episode of the Thriving for Podcast, I speak with operations management expert Kelsey Daingerfield about her winding "squiggly line" path to self-employment and the crucial processes that define true business success. Kelsey recounts her journey through corporate roles—from aerospace to Starbucks and finally as Director of Admission Systems, where she earned her MBA and PMP certification....

In this episode of the Thriving Through podcast, Anthony Calleo shares his journey from a corporate career to becoming a self-employed consultant. He discusses the challenges of overcoming fear and imposter syndrome, the importance of authenticity, and how to network with intention. Anthony also introduces the Reset It program, which helps individuals shed limiting beliefs and operate from a place...

Kyle Mlakar is the founder of HireCOS, a fractional Chief of Staff consulting company that helps organizations bridge the gap between leadership vision and execution. With extensive experience in logistics, transportation, and various corporate roles, Kyle specializes in creating synergy within organizations and helping leaders achieve their strategic goals. Self-employed consultant Kyle Mlakar sh...

Are you tired of the feast or famine cycle that plagues so many self-employed consultants? Marc Hyde, a digital marketing consultant and web designer, cracked the code on building consistent monthly recurring revenue that freed him from the revenue rollercoaster once and for all. What You'll Learn in This Episode How to overcome pricing fears and charge what you're worth. Marc shares his transform...

In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Tricia Keightley, founder of WebWorks and CEO of Portrayals XR. Tricia has successfully scaled her web design agency over 14 years while simultaneously launching an innovative AI-powered healing platform that's projected to become a multi-million dollar company. Why You Should Listen to This Episode If you're a self-employed consultant struggling with incon...

Strategic networking transforms random relationship building into a systematic marketing engine that generates consistent client opportunities for self-employed consultants. In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Julie Kirsch, marketing strategist and founder of The Friendship Strategist. Julie combines her corporate marketing expertise with networking mastery to help professionals build strateg...

Discover how a mental fitness program can transform your consulting practice from reactive chaos to calm, strategic leadership that attracts better clients and higher fees. In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Todd Bertsch, Owner of Birch Consulting Group and Evolve Marketing. Todd transformed his leadership style and business approach after discovering positive intelligence during COVID, buil...

How do you build a sustainable consulting business when your entire philosophy is to work yourself out of a job? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Laura Rudolph, founder of Square One Consulting. What distinguishes Laura is her counterintuitive approach to client relationships: instead of creating long-term dependency like most consultants, she deliberately builds up her clients' capabiliti...

How do you rebuild a consulting practice when you've lost everything and need to serve clients who can't afford high fees? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Edna Harding, Bible-Based Business Growth & Mindset Strategist for Creative Founders. What distinguishes Edna is her remarkable journey from being repeatedly betrayed by corporate employers and losing over $500,000 in a church inves...

Are you tired of working with clients who are too small to see real impact from your work, or struggling to command the rates you deserve for your expertise? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Mark Scrimenti, Fractional COO and Executive Coach. Mark distinguishes himself by specializing exclusively in the $5-50M B2B professional services space, where he helps founder-led companies transition...

In this episode of Thriving Through, AJ sits down with David Penny, a job search coach who transformed his consulting practice from inconsistent client flow to averaging 8-10 prospect calls per week using systematic LinkedIn prospecting strategies. David shares his journey from corporate HR professional to self-employed consultant, including his decision to invest in business coaching despite earl...

Struggling with overcoming consulting fears and building consistent consultant income? This episode reveals how Justine Lemanowicz transformed from a fearful employee into a thriving fractional CFO with a referral-based consulting business in just two years. What You'll Learn In this candid conversation, Justine shares the exact strategies that helped her overcome the fear of self-employed consult...

Is your consulting website failing to convert warm leads into paying clients? You're not alone. Most self-employed consultants struggle with websites that function like digital brochures instead of client-closing machines. In this episode, website copywriter and strategist Krista Walsh reveals why your website isn't working—and exactly how to fix it. What You'll Learn The 3 biggest website mistake...

Are you tired of the feast or famine cycle that plagues so many self-employed consultants? In this episode, AJ sits down with Ben Blankenship, a scaling-up business coach who has built a thriving 9-year consulting practice by mastering two critical elements: curiosity as a business development engine and strategic referral systems that create consistent revenue streams. Ben shares his journey from...

In this compelling episode of Thriving Through, Jason Mundy shares his transformation from a 30-year corporate marketing executive to a successful self-employed consultant running OnPoint Business Advisors. Jason opens up about the mental challenges of taking the leap, the reality of building a consulting practice versus expectations, and the specific strategies he used to overcome his biggest obs...

How do you transition from a comfortable corporate role to building a thriving consulting practice when you're competing against your former industry contacts? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Dr. Kasia Hein-Peters, MD, a healthcare innovation consultant specializing in pharmaceutical and medical device commercialization. What distinguishes Kasia is her evidence-based assessment methodolog...

Are you struggling to find your ideal target market while feeling pulled in too many directions by all the clients you could serve? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Laurie Cameron, a professional coach and trainer who has been self-employed since February 1998. What distinguishes Laurie is her evolution from traditional one-on-one coaching to a collaborative business model focused on creat...

Are you tired of the feast-or-famine cycle where your marketing stops every time you get busy with client work? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Daniel Sweet, a small business M&A consultant with 7 years of self-employment experience. What distinguishes Daniel is his recent transformation from purely manual, relationship-based marketing to building an automated system centered around h...

Are you struggling to find your niche as a consultant while juggling time management challenges and building a sustainable client pipeline? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Laura Palacios, founder of Lia Inspiration and systems thinking consultant specializing in program and project management. Laura's key success factor is her unique expertise in program "descaling" - helping organization...

How do you generate leads and find clients when your ideal prospects refuse to publicly admit they need your help? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Don Oehlert, a self-employed career coach who specializes in helping senior executives overcome ageism in their job searches. Key Success Factor: Don built his expertise through 15 years of volunteer work, helping over 875 people before launchi...

Ever wondered how some consultants seem to effortlessly attract clients through referrals while others struggle with business development? What if the secret isn't about becoming a master salesperson, but about building authentic relationships? In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Leah Garber, founder of Operational Excellence Consulting. What distinguishes Leah is her remarkable transformatio...