Free Agent with Meg Schmitz
Inspiring conversations with real people who took the leap into business ownership, franchising, and freedom. Hosted by franchise guru, consultant and trusted small business advisor, Meg Schmitz. If you're looking to make the next phase of your life the best phase, this podcast is for you. From corporate refugees and executives tired of the desk job life, to entrepreneurs and investors looking for more support in their business journey, you'll hear from real people who stepped into the unknown, took control of their destiny and became their own boss.
Episodes
For years, people were taught that success meant pushing harder, carrying more, and never letting anything drop. But in this conversation, Gary Nelson offers something different: permission to rethink what a meaningful life and career can actually look like. Together, Gary and I explore reinvention, freedom, and why so many high performers are finally choosing peace, flexibility, and al...
Most business owners don't realize they're building a job they can never leave. Jane Tereba explains why planning your exit starts long before you're ready to sell—and how creating a business that can thrive without you is the ultimate measure of success. If freedom is the goal, this conversation will change how you think about ownership.
Stacy Harris did everything she was supposed to do. She built a career in education, followed the responsible path, and checked all the right boxes—until life forced her to start over.
In this conversation, Stacy shares how divorce, health challenges, and unexpected opportunities led her from the classroom into entrepreneurship, where she discovered that the relationships she built—not the credentials she earned—b...
Owning a business can create opportunity, freedom, and wealth—but it can also expose every weakness in your thinking. Zac Jennings shares what he's learned about leadership, ownership, and the realities that don't show up in the sales brochure. If you're considering entrepreneurship, this conversation may save you from chasing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
Most people wait until they have certainty before making a move. Bob Dalton's story is a reminder that the biggest opportunities often appear long before the rest of the world recognizes them—and the people who benefit most are those willing to act before the outcome is guaranteed. If you're questioning what's next in your career, your investments, or your future, this conversation will challenge how you think about risk, tim...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMay 21, 2026 • 50 minsListenWatchMark as PlayedMay 14, 2026 • 47 minsFor years, Kate Lewis did everything right on paper—career, responsibility, success. But beneath the surface, the pressure of holding everything together led to a deeper realization: burnout wasn't the problem... it was the warning sign. In this episode of the Free Agent Podcast, Kate shares the honest conversation more high-achieving women are starting to have about identity, exhaustion, reinvention, and what it means to fin...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMay 7, 2026 • 45 minsMoney is changing—and women are at the center of it. In this episode, Barbara Provost joins Meg to unpack the Great Wealth Transfer and what it means for how women think about income, control, and long-term security in today's economy. If you're reconsidering how your current path fits into that shift, this conversation will help you see your options more clearly.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedApril 30, 2026 • 48 minsMike DeJong did everything the traditional path told him to do—work hard, stay loyal, keep climbing. But when the payoff no longer matched the effort, he started asking a better question: what if ownership is the smarter move? In this episode, Mike shares what pushed him to rethink security, how he researched franchising, and what professionals need to see before making their next move.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedApril 23, 2026 • 16 minsMost businesses spend years chasing customers. Catherine Wilson built one where demand kept rising, forcing her to solve a rarer problem—how to grow capacity without breaking the business. In this episode of Free Agent Podcast, she shares what made her company attractive to buyers, why she chose to work with a business broker instead of handling the sale alone, and what owners o...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedApril 16, 2026 • 46 minsA lot of smart people are quietly wondering if the version of security they trusted still works. In this conversation, Camille Hamilton reflects on leaving corporate life, building something of her own, and how freedom often comes with stress, responsibility, and rewards no paycheck can replicate. If you've been feeling the tension between staying where you are and becoming who you're meant to be, this one will feel familiar.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedApril 9, 2026 • 42 minsYou don't get the luxury of guessing when the stakes are this high. My conversation with Leah Rosen pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like to reinvent yourself mid-career, when income, identity, and responsibility are all on the line. If you've been waiting for certainty before making a move, this will challenge you to rethink what "safe" actually means.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedApril 2, 2026 • 22 minsYou're not stuck—you're standing on the edge, waiting to feel certain before you step in. In this conversation with Chad Coe, Meg exposes the quiet habit high performers fall into: trying to think their way into clarity instead of getting close enough to see what's real. If you've been circling the decision but not moving, this will show you what's actually holding you back and why the next move isn't more research; it's enga...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMarch 26, 2026 • 40 minsYou don't need more experience. You need a smarter way to move. This episode breaks down why seasoned professionals still struggle when they ignore the system and how franchising removes the guesswork. If you're weighing your next move, this will challenge what you think you need before you start.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMarch 19, 2026 • 39 minsKendall made the leap to freedom 2 years ago, not knowing exactly how it would unfold. At the time, her career was getting in the way of the life she wanted at home, and something had to change. Kendall updates us on what it really takes to build a life that feels like your own.
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMarch 12, 2026 • 39 minsSome people chase entrepreneurship. Others arrive there after seeing how the system really works. Jonathan Chizever spent years in commission sales watching rules change, income swing, and control stay in someone else's hands until the risk of staying put finally stopped making sense. In this conversation, he shares the moment the math flipped, why franchising became the smarter path, and how he and his partner are building a busin...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedMarch 5, 2026 • 45 minsIf "safe" has started to feel risky, you are not imagining things. In this episode, Meg talks with Shahayra Majumder, a first-time franchise owner bringing Hydrate IV Bar to Madison, WI, about what it looks like to leave a paycheck because it no longer buys peace. They get real about the shift from high performer to owner, the imposter thoughts nobody admits, and why a proven system can be the smartest way to bet on yourself. This ...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedFebruary 26, 2026 • 54 minsSomething feels off in leadership right now, and most people can sense it even if they can't name it. Leadership is being quietly redefined. In this episode, Meg sits down with Tim Spiker to unpack why trust begins with who you are not what you do, how insecure leadership creates real damage, and why inwardly sound, others-focused leaders consistently outperform. If you're questioning whom to follow, how to lead, or what kind of fu...
ListenWatchMark as PlayedFebruary 19, 2026 • 41 minsMost career wake-up calls don't come from failure. They come when everything still looks good on paper, but your body, values, or sense of control start asking harder questions. In this episode of the Free Agent Podcast, Meg Schmitz and Dawn Mullarney talk about the moment experienced executives and fractional professionals reach when staying put feels riskier than moving, yet the next ...
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