For Independent Professionals Building Practice on Their Own Terms
Wisepreneurs Podcast
Wisepreneurs Podcast
The Wisepreneurs Podcast features conversations with experienced professionals, authors, academics, and consultants about building sustainable practice on their own terms. Hosted by Nigel Rawlins, the show explores how experienced independent professionals position accumulated expertise, work with AI tools, and use the cognitive advantages that come with decades of professional experience. Topics include positioning, professional transitions, cognitive vitality, relational branding, and the changing nature of knowledge work. New episodes fortnightly. 90+ episodes.
Choose your favorite podcast player

The Wisepreneurs Podcast: for independent professionals building practice on their own terms

Wisepreneurs is a podcast for experienced independent professionals building practice on their own terms.

Working lives now extend far beyond what anyone predicted. Organisations need people who can make sense of complexity and ambiguity, and increasingly, experienced professionals are choosing independent practice over employment.

Real conversations with experienced professionals about what that transition actually takes.

What we explore:
• Positioning accumulated expertise as visible ma…

Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

Recent Episodes

View all
Valentine Gatard Future of Work: Workplace Agency from 15 Years Self-Employed
94
July 2, 2026

Valentine Gatard Future of Work: Workplace Agency from 15 Years Self-Employed

The future of work and self-employment intersect in this conversation with Valentine Gitard, a Paris-based researcher who has spent nearly 15 years working independently while studying workplace transformation. For experienced independent professionals considering how agency and narrative shape their working lives, this episode maps the shift from prescribed work to self-directed practice. Valentine explains why French workers no longer want to be managers, how different definitions of the w
Listen to the Episode
Alisha Hook Career Coaching: Networks and Reputation in a Shifting Job Market
93
June 18, 2026

Alisha Hook Career Coaching: Networks and Reputation in a Shifting Job Market

Career coaching for experienced professionals requires understanding what happens on both sides of the hiring process. Alisha Hook spent 25 years in talent acquisition and HR across Australia and the UK before founding Your Career Edge, a consultancy offering fractional talent services and career coaching. For independent professionals and career changers, this episode maps the practical mechanics of navigating a job market that has shifted significantly since the pandemic.Alisha introduces
Listen to the Episode
Johanna Rothman Independent Consulting: Principles That Outlast Every Trend
92
June 4, 2026

Johanna Rothman Independent Consulting: Principles That Outlast Every Trend

Successful independent consulting depends on understanding your expertise and choosing the right consulting role for each engagement. Johanna Rothman, independent consultant since 1994 and author of 21 books including Successful Independent Consulting, uses the Consulting Role Grid from Champion, Kiel and McLendon (1990) to draw a sharp distinction between consultants and contractors: hands-on experts who take no responsibility for client growth are really contractors, not consultants. For exper
Listen to the Episode
Bex Thomas Intentional Career Breaks: Sabbaticals That Lead to Real Change
91
May 21, 2026

Bex Thomas Intentional Career Breaks: Sabbaticals That Lead to Real Change

Bex Thomas spent 20 years in recruitment, earned a director-level promotion at a global firm, and realised the achievement felt hollow. That moment of anti-climax led to an eight-month sabbatical that became the catalyst for designing a portfolio career as a career transition coach, sabbatical coach, and podcast host of Sabbatical Stories.Bex explains her five-question framework for planning intentional career breaks: why you are taking the break, when to take it, where to go, who to spend t
Listen to the Episode
Margareta Krizova Freelance Advice: Six Questions for Professional Reinvention
88
May 7, 2026

Margareta Krizova Freelance Advice: Six Questions for Professional Reinvention

Margareta Krizova offers freelance advice for professional reinvention, sharing six questions that replace the business plan.After almost 30 years in M&A dealmaking, she sold her equity stake at 53 to rebuild as an independent freelancer. The conversation covers her six questions framework, invisible work (where freelancers fail to count their own hours), and why side hustles work as a low-risk transition from corporate employment.Wisepreneurs explores how independent professionals turn
Listen to the Episode
Janine Garner Expertise Monetisation: How Women Build Independent Consulting Practices
87
April 23, 2026

Janine Garner Expertise Monetisation: How Women Build Independent Consulting Practices

Janine Garner helps women entrepreneurs over 50 turn accumulated expertise into independent consulting practices that charge what professional judgment is worth. After 20 years in corporate marketing, finishing as group marketing director for the Oroton Group overseeing Oroton and Ralph Lauren brands across Australia and Asia, Janine built a seven-figure mentoring business focused on expertise monetisation for experienced women leaving corporate careers. In this conversation, Janine explains why
Listen to the Episode
Ella Zhang Expertise Building: Micro Habits for Experienced Consultants
86
April 9, 2026

Ella Zhang Expertise Building: Micro Habits for Experienced Consultants

Ella Zhang helps experienced professionals monetise hard-won expertise through inner operating systems that rebuild leadership capability from the inside out. From her Sydney consulting practice, she draws on neuroscience and Chinese medicine to design micro habits that make capability stick where one-off training programs fail.Ella covers four inner operating systems for sustainable performance, diagnosing organisational issues by root cause, and why her book Upgrade maps the path from burn
Listen to the Episode
Ben Legg Portfolio Careers and Expertise Monetisation: From Google COO to Solopreneur
87
March 26, 2026

Ben Legg Portfolio Careers and Expertise Monetisation: From Google COO to Solopreneur

Ben Legg helps experienced professionals monetise expertise as co-founder of The Portfolio Collective, a 16,000-member community for portfolio careers. Before that he was COO of Google Europe, led Coca-Cola's India turnaround, worked at McKinsey, and served in the British Army's Royal Engineers. Ben explains why experienced professionals are leaving corporate careers for portfolio work, covering the practical mechanics of building advisory practices, keynote speaking, and consulting across multi
Listen to the Episode
Michael Zipursky Consulting Success: Why Conversations Beat Marketing for Independent Consultants
86
March 12, 2026

Michael Zipursky Consulting Success: Why Conversations Beat Marketing for Independent Consultants

Michael Zipursky studied 1,300 coaching engagements to show how experienced consultants build expertise-driven practices. Building 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
Listen to the Episode
Dante St James The Generalist Advantage: Building Systemised Independent Practices
85
Feb. 26, 2026

Dante St James The Generalist Advantage: Building Systemised Independent Practices

Experienced 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.
Listen to the Episode
View all Episodes

Sponsors

13th Beach Marketing Services Pty Ltd

Reviews

Hazelnut

"Hazel Edwards' ability as a mentor to inform, motivate and teach with honesty and impish humour is exceptional. The fact that she is also a prolific author over more than five decades and continues u…"

Joan Tehan | May 17, 2024

Meredith Fuller Episode on Career Change

"A very insightful podcast reminding us to think of our health first as we age but also simple strategies we can implement with a zero budget. Also great reminders to stay up to date with self-care an…"

Sue Ellson | Jan. 14, 2024

Most People at 78 Have Their Feet Up. I was Just Getting Started!

"To be honest, I was somewhat apprehensive to hear myself being interviewed by Nigel Rawlins on his renowned podcast Wisepreneurs - while up against a host of other people of note and accomplishment. …"

Laurie Smale | June 18, 2025

Empowering wisdom for professional women 50+

"I recently discovered The Wisepreneurs Project, and I must say it's a hidden gem for professional women aged 50 and above. This empowering platform is a beacon of support, offering invaluable advice …"

Pat (Panayiota) Karnis | Jan. 17, 2024

Hazel Edwards

"The podcast was excellent. Hazel really is an absolute treasure of the literary world!The interview was so through, mentioning so many aspects of Hazels extraordinary life. One thing it did not men…"

Tracee Spiby | May 17, 2024
See all reviews