Her Big Leap is the podcast for high-achieving women, leaders and executives thinking about leaving the corporate executive track to build their own business. Each episode, host Sarah Janzen interviews female founders who walked away from climbing the corporate ladder to build successful businesses of their own — and pulls out the honest story behind the leap.
Every conversation goes past the LinkedIn-version of a founder story. We get into the moments of doubt, the missteps in year one, the belief shifts that actually made the difference. The version of the story they don't tell on stage.
In between guest interviews, Sarah shares lived experience and coaching wisdom from her own exit and from her work as a Master Coach helping senior corporate women navigate this same transition through Her Big Leap.
If you've climbed the ladder and you're thinking "there must be more than this" and wondering what else is possible, this is the show that proves the leap can be made, by women who've already made it.
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Stop Feeling Undervalued at Work: How to Start a Consulting Business, Earn More as an Independent Consultant, and Own Your Time with Emilie Wilcox [Ep 20]
Season 1 · Episode 20
Monday, October 26, 2026 • Duration 55:56
What if the promotion they promised you in the interview was never the plan, and they just needed someone to fill a seat?
In this episode, I’m joined by Emilie Wilcox, a former Big Four audit and risk consultant who co-founded a consulting firm, grew it to 15 people over 10 years, and now coaches professionals through burnout.
Emilie spotted the signs of feeling undervalued at work within two weeks of starting. Emilie and I talk about how to find a business partner you’d trust with your name, and the one clause in her business partnership agreement that kept two very different partners equal for a decade. Ten years and 15 employees later, she’s stepping away from the firm, and the reason has everything to do with what she brought with her from corporate.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
How to start a consulting business with a partner before either of you incorporates
How to find a business partner whose strengths cover your blind spots
Why Emilie walked away from good interviews for a company that didn’t exist yet
How to hire your first employee with almost no risk, and the unusual hire Emilie made to do it
What business partners are forced to talk about that married couples can avoid
Why their lawyer said to keep the money side of their business partnership agreement simple
How long it took Emilie to triple her corporate salary
What Emilie tells women who are feeling undervalued at work and thinking about leaving
If you’ve been reading every story about leaving corporate America or asking yourself “How do I become an independent consultant?”, Emilie’s story will make you count how long you’ve been waiting for your company to notice what you already know about yourself.
Here’s to backing what you already know you’re worth,
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Every Monday I sit down with a woman who’s already built what you’re thinking about, so follow the show and the next conversation will be waiting for you. If Emilie’s year-long partnership test gave you something to think about, leave a review so the next woman who feels invisible at work can find this episode.
Abundance Vs Scarcity Mindset: You Can Invest in Yourself and Create a Lifestyle Business Where There’s No Cap on What You Earn [Ep 19]
Season 1 · Episode 19
Thursday, October 22, 2026 • Duration 12:26
You’ve already proven you can earn six figures for someone else. The women in this episode proved it for themselves, and time freedom is what they got back.
Shantae’s first highlight after leaving corporate america had nothing to do with revenue. It sent me looking for a money isn’t everything quote, and the one I found comes with a condition most people leave off.
One client doubled her income while solo parenting most weeks. What she talks about first is how her mornings feel now.
For you, it might start with a money mindset from childhood, turn into asking how to leave corporate job and still make money, and end with knowing money isn’t everything once you have enough. If any of that fits, this episode is for you.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Why corporate builds a scarcity mindset the higher you climb
What a financial abundance mindset knows that a fixed salary never taught you
How to have an abundance mindset with money when earning has no ceiling
When to invest in yourself before your bank balance agrees
What a lifestyle business looks like at 3:30 on a school day
Where a wealth mindset pays you back once the income is covered
You’ve run every number on leaving. This episode runs the one on staying, and shows what an abundance mindset gives back.
Here’s to enough, and everything it makes room for.
Starting a Business While Working Full Time? How to Land Your First Consulting Client Before Your Last Day with Shantay Brothers [Ep 18]
Episode 18
Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 40:01
Have you ever done your job so well that the promotion you were promised disappeared?
That’s what happened to my guest, Shantay Brothers, a former operations leader who loved her company and hit a career plateau anyway. She’d sworn she’d never run a business again, but her past businesses taught her exactly what to look for in low risk business ideas.
If you’ve been passed over for promotion or you’re feeling underappreciated at work, you’ll see yourself in her story. And if corporate burnout has you wondering what else you could build, this episode is for you.
Our conversation touches on:
Why being underappreciated at work can point to a skill you take for granted
What her two past businesses taught her before starting a consulting business
What starting a business while working full time did for her confidence
How she decided how much notice to give when quitting a company she still cared about
What having no work life balance cost her at home
How faith guides her as a Christian business owner, and where it led her next
What she wishes she’d known sooner about her worth and her work
You’ve probably typed quitting corporate job into a search bar more than once and talked yourself out of it every time. Shantay’s story covers what staying was costing her son, her marriage, and her peace of mind.
Leaving Corporate America but Hate Sales? How to Identify Your Strengths, Use Your Corporate Experience, and Sell in a Way That Fits You [Ep 17]
Season 1 · Episode 17
Thursday, October 15, 2026 • Duration 13:00
Have you ever stayed in a job you've outgrown because you're sure you'd be terrible at selling your own work?
I hear "I could never run a business because I hate sales and marketing" all the time. Jen Thompson had zero sales or marketing experience, and she matched, then passed, her corporate income.
For you, it might start with thinking about leaving corporate america and end with wondering whether introverts in sales ever do well. If any of that fits, this episode is for you.
Here's what you'll learn:
How sales for introverts works when networking events make you want to stay home
How to identify your strengths with the questions I walk every client through
Why a business for introverts needs a different business model than a networker's
Why so many women running six- and seven-figure businesses never post about it
You've probably decided selling is the reason you can't leave. Staying means more years doing the work of three people without the credit, and selling is a skill you can learn.
Career Change at 50? How a Voluntary Severance Package Funded Starting a Consulting Business That Out-Earned Her Salary with Jen Thompson [Ep 16]
Season 1 · Episode 16
Monday, October 12, 2026 • Duration 38:38
Have you ever built something so good inside your company that everyone came to you for it, and wondered why you couldn't build it for yourself?
In this episode, I'm joined by Jen Thompson, a former project management leader who created her company's M&A Center of Excellence and now runs her own M&A integration consulting business.
After she was passed over for promotion, Jen stopped waiting on her company. She raised her hand for a voluntary severance package with her next step already planned, and her first year of starting a consulting business looked nothing like her second. Jen and I also talk about what finally brought her husband on board, and what corporate burnout had been costing her long before she left.
Jen came into this with no sales experience, which is exactly why her approach to finding clients is worth hearing.
Here's what you'll learn:
How to start a consulting business while you're still employed, the way Jen did it in one summer
How to become a consultant in the exact work you already do for your employer
Where most of Jen's clients come from, and why she's never needed to be an online influencer
How long it took Jen to match her corporate income after a career change at 50
What Jen tells a friend in her late 50s about what to do after being laid off
Why Jen doesn't start work until 9:30, and what she does before then
You've probably spent years listing the reasons a career change after 50 is too risky. Jen's story puts the other list in front of you, the sleep, the health, and the friendships that staying was costing her, and what leaving corporate America gave back.
Here's to building for yourself what you've built for everyone else,
Career Pivot for Women in Corporate: From the Go-To Problem Solver to Starting Your Own Business [Ep 15]
Season 1 · Episode 15
Thursday, October 8, 2026 • Duration 10:36
Has your history of career hopping convinced you that you're not qualified to start a business?
Women from operations, marketing, sales, and HR tell me, "I'm a Jill of all trades," and can't see how a nonlinear career path turns into a business.
For you, it might look like a career change that never felt right, and now you’re waiting for more career clarity to avoid being disappointed again. Meanwhile, you keep asking, "Should I start a business?" You've probably read up on how to be your own boss and how to work for yourself, and kept waiting for a sign. I’m about to give you many.
Here's what you'll learn:
Why being a multipotentialite is no reason to put off starting your own business
Why waiting for career direction can cost you years
Why deciding to be your own boss comes before figuring out how to become an entrepreneur
What an entrepreneur mindset looks like before you have a business idea
How a pastry chef turned marketer ended up making marshmallows, and what it means for your next career pivot
Remember, your “detour” could lead to your most fulfilling career yet.
Leaving Corporate America: From a Marketing Job to Selling Marshmallows and Matching Her Corporate Salary in Year One with Alexx Shuman [Ep 14]
Season 1 · Episode 14
Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 01:02:30
Is your next promotion one you'd be excited to take?
In this episode, I'm joined by Alexandra Shuman, a former corporate marketer who built Vermont Marshmallow Company without ever planning to. Her non linear career path used to feel like a string of detours, until it gave her everything she needed to figure out how to start a food business at home.
For you, it might start with feeling flat about a promotion you worked hard for, turn into asking yourself "Should I quit my job?" and end with wondering whether to start a business of your own. If any of that fits, this episode is for you.
Here's what you'll learn:
How to start a small business when your first-year goal is your old salary plus $1
Why Alexx ignored the advice every mentor gave her for a product based business
Why selling at farmers markets came before any wholesale account
How to start a food business with pans stacked to the ceiling and labels written by hand
How to delegate whole areas of the business, and what that freed up for Alexx
What a former CEO taught her about how to stop micromanaging
What Alexx wants women entrepreneurs to know about how stress changes when the company is yours
What made leaving corporate America an easier call for Alexx than taking the director job
What she'd tell anyone thinking "I want to quit my job, but I'm scared to get it wrong"
Alexx says she could have taken the director job and had a fine life. Hearing what fine would have kept from her is the reason to press play.
How Can You Invest in Yourself As a Woman? What a Role Model for Women with Two Seven-Figure Businesses Taught This Working Mom That Corporate Never Did [Ep 13]
Episode 13
Thursday, October 1, 2026 • Duration 11:16
How does a woman running a business and raising kids actually fit it all into her calendar?
When I left corporate, I wasn't married and didn't have kids. By the time I had a toddler, a newborn, and a business to build, I was a working mom looking for women role models who were already living the life I wanted.
I found Kristin Binford, who'd already done it, and asked her everything, including how to balance work and family when both want all of you. Her answers changed how I ran my business. Then a trip with three other mom entrepreneurs showed me how differently women a few steps ahead of me thought about their time.
Here's what you'll learn:
How to invest in yourself once your company stops paying for your growth
Ways to invest in yourself Kristin used, including hiring help for work she could do herself
Why finding a mentor meant asking the questions nobody answers on a panel
What a record from track history taught me about female role models
If you've been looking for women entrepreneurs raising kids, or asking how can you invest in yourself without a company paying for it, this episode is for you.
Find the woman who's already living your version of it, and invest in yourself like you're next.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: How To Use Your Transferable Skills to Leave a Toxic Work Environment and Build Two Seven-Figure Businesses with Kristin Binford [Ep 12]
Season 1 · Episode 12
Monday, September 28, 2026 • Duration 45:12
What if the skills you stopped trusting in a toxic work environment are the ones clients would pay you for?
In this episode, I'm joined by Kristin Binford, who spent over 10 years in corporate marketing, before leaving corporate America to run Haue Valley Weddings, her wedding venue business near St. Louis, full time.
Kristin was one of the women I learned from when I started my business. We talk about returning to work after maternity leave to a toxic boss and how within a year, she'd lost confidence at work. To start a business while working full time, she ran the venue from two hours away on a four-day workweek.
You'll learn:
How to know when to quit your job, and why 45 bookings were enough in a market with more couples than venues
How to start a wedding venue business on family land when none of you have ever run one
How to start a coaching business from what you already know, and hiring the right people for what you don’t
How to leave corporate America on your own timeline, and the conversation that let Kristin choose her end date
When to quit corporate job hunting and bet on yourself
How a bad boss teaches you one of your most useful transferable skills
How an entrepreneurial mindset helped Kristin cover payroll without letting anyone go
How a mom entrepreneur runs a business with her kids in childcare from day one
If you've ever dealt with corporate burnout in a job you worked years to get, searched "leaving corporate job" or "should I quit my corporate job", or wondered whether what you know could be a business, this episode covers the numbers Kristin used to decide.
Stuck with Golden Handcuffs? Here's How to Know When to Quit Your Job Based on What Staying Costs Your Health and Integrity [Ep 11]
Season 1
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 09:24
Have you ever loved your work and your team but stopped believing in the company you do it for?
That was me in my pharma, and my corporate burnout was only half of why I left. The other half was about my values at work no longer matching the company I worked for.
For you, it might start with feeling unhappy at work, turn into asking yourself "Should I quit my job?" and end with wondering whether leaving corporate is the right call. If any of that fits, this episode is for you.
Here's what you'll learn:
How to know when to quit your job, even if it means leaving a job you love
What the signs you should quit your job look like when your role feels secure
What clients tell me when their personal values at work clash with their company's
Why values alignment made me consider quitting a high paying job
When to quit your job if it comes with golden handcuffs
Why I encourage women in your position to look at entrepreneurship
You've probably thought through every reason you shouldn't leave. This episode covers the other side of that list, what staying is costing your health, your integrity, and your family.
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Enjoyed this episode?
If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.
If thinking you can't sell is the last thing keeping you in your job, start with my free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch. It's where I show women like you what a business built on your own strengths can look like.
Enjoyed this episode?
Follow the show so Jen's full interview and every Monday conversation with a woman who's already left show up in your feed. If this episode changed how you think about selling, leave a review and tell me which strength you're building on. Your review helps the next woman who hates sales find this show.
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Once you've decided you want your own business, the next question is what that business should be. My free masterclass walks you through it, starting with what you already know how to do: https://herbigleap.live/watch
Follow the show so every Monday interview and Thursday coaching episode lands in your feed, with a new woman who's already made the exit and a new step for yours. If this episode got you to answer the first question, leave a review so the next woman sitting on the same question can find it.
Good at your job but done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Enjoyed this episode?
If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.
Kristin had 45 weddings booked before she gave up her paycheck. If you want paying clients lined up before you give notice, watch my free masterclass at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Write down the number that would tell you it's time to leave, whether that's bookings, clients, or signed contracts. Then follow The Her Big Leap Podcast, and every Monday you'll hear the number another woman used, so you can check yours against someone who's already left. If this episode helped you set yours, leave a review so the next woman still in her job can find it.
Still good at your job and done doing it for a company you don't believe in? My free masterclass walks you through how to package what you already know into paid work, so you can plan your exit on your own timeline. Watch it at https://herbigleap.live/watch.
Enjoyed this episode?
If this episode has you counting what staying is costing you, follow the show. Each week, you'll hear how women who left six-figure jobs turned what they already knew into paying work, how long it took them to replace their salary, and how they picked their last day. Leave a review too, so the next woman weighing the same decision can find those answers.
