June 23, 2025 • 35 mins
What happens when your dream career no longer fits your life? Shannon Russell faced this question after a successful run as a television producer at MTV and in Hollywood. When motherhood shifted her priorities, Shannon made the bold decision to walk away from the entertainment industry and forge a new entrepreneurial path.
Shannon's story breaks the conventional wisdom that we must stay in our lane. Coming from a blue-collar family where her parents worked the same jobs their entire lives, she was the first to attend college and leave her hometown. Her journey took her from broadcast communications student to television producer in New York and Los Angeles, living what many would consider a glamorous dream job.
The birth of her first child changed everything. Suddenly, the demanding schedule, constant travel, and intense pressure of television production conflicted with her desire to be present for her family. Rather than seeing this as the end of her ambitions, Shannon viewed it as an opportunity to write a new chapter. Despite well-meaning interventions from industry friends and her husband, she trusted her instincts and began exploring entrepreneurial options.
Shannon found her next act in purchasing a children's STEM education franchise—what she calls a "business in a box" that provided structure and support for a first-time business owner. Within two years, she ranked among the top three franchisees in the organization. As her business flourished, she discovered a passion for helping other women, particularly mothers, navigate similar career transitions.
Today, Shannon runs Second Act Success, coaching women to leverage their professional experience to build businesses that provide both fulfillment and flexibility. Her new book "Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Build a Business and Create Your Best Life" launches May 7th, and her podcast features inspiring stories of women who've successfully reinvented themselves professionally.
Shannon's message is powerful in its simplicity: "Keep going, give yourself grace, and it will all work out." She encourages listeners to stop being sheep, pursue their unique paths, and believe in their ability to create multiple successful chapters in life. Ready to break out of your lane and start your own second act? Shannon's journey shows it's never too late to reinvent yourself.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe.
We all about that mindset.
Gotta stay focused.
Now go settle for the last.
It's all in your head how youthink you manifest.
So get ready to rise, cause weabout to be the best.
Gotta switch it up.
Gotta break the old habits.
Get your mind right.
Turn your dreams into habits.
No negative vibes, onlypositive vibes.
What is up, guys?
(00:21):
Welcome to another episode ofthe Mindset Cafe podcast.
It's your boy, devin, and todayI'm honored to have this guest
on the show.
I'm bringing on Shannon Russell.
She is an amazing businessowner, she is a coach and she is
honestly just anotherpowerhouse that is really taking
(00:42):
over everything by storm.
So I want to make sure that shegives her story, because she's
going to be able to really talkabout it way better than I am.
But, shannon, thank you so muchfor taking on the time to drop
some knowledge for the MindsetCafe, and one thing that's so
cool is we just talkedbeforehand that I'm in the
franchise space, just got intoit and you are a franchisee and
you grew it and actually soldyour location.
(01:04):
So I'm really excited to diveinto that as well.
But thank you so much fortaking the time to come on the
show today.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Oh, I'm excited.
Thanks so much for having meDevin.
This is going to be great.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So I know you're a business and transition coach
and everything like that, but Ilike to rewind and let's start
with your childhood, right?
What was your childhood like?
What did your parents do?
What was that backstory?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh, good question.
My parents were very bluecollar.
My dad.
They both got married around 18, didn't go to college.
My dad started working for theelectric company and did that
until retirement one job hisentire life.
And my mom was a stay at homemom and then a secretary for the
rest of her career.
Yeah, so that was.
(01:49):
That was that I was the firstin my family to go to college.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay, do you have any siblings?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I do.
I have one sister who's youngerand she works at a bank.
So yeah, very nine to five.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Okay.
So I mean, what, what was thatlike then?
I mean you becoming anentrepreneur, you go in that
route, so did you go to college?
I mean, so you said you werethe first to go to college,
right?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So you went to college.
What was your major in?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Communications, broadcast communications and
film.
So yeah, I was the black sheepof the family the first to even
leave our town, and I left thestate and went eight hours away
and, yeah, just always wanted towork in television.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Okay, so I mean, what was that driver that I guess
desire?
Why did you want to work intelevision?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know what?
I was a TV kid growing up inthe 80s, 90s.
It was just, I watched TV allthe time.
I wanted to be in the TV screen.
If I wasn't on, I wanted to bebehind the scenes, and I don't
know.
I just always felt like I was alittle eccentric compared to
the rest of my family.
That, like I said, was verystay home, do this.
(02:55):
You just stay in your town, andI just wanted to get out.
I was obsessed with Californiaand I had grown up on the East
Coast in New Jersey and justwanted to move over there and
check out everything Hollywoodhad to offer.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You had that desire of seeing what Hollywood looks
like from afar.
What was your take once youactually saw Hollywood up close?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know what?
I loved it.
It was my dream come true.
And, yeah, my parents actuallybrought me as my senior year in
high school graduation gift tovacation out there.
So that was my first time and Iloved it.
And then, when I moved outthere, it was just surreal, it
was incredible, and I livedthere for 10 years.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Oh, wow, nice.
I mean I'm in Los Angeles.
So the funny thing is, peoplelove.
You know, whenever I talk tosomeone that's not from
California or even from LosAngeles, they're like you know,
whenever I talk to someonethat's not from California or
even from Los Angeles, you knowI want to come out to Hollywood
and see, you know, santa Monicaand Venice Beach and I'm like
it's not like, don't set yourhopes too high.
Like it's, it's fun, it'samazing and there's so many
(03:55):
beautiful sites, but also, likeit's there's it's a little bit
down and dirty.
You know there is a homelessepidemic that's happening on the
streets too.
So just be be fair andforewarned of that, uh, that
kind of thing.
But I mean, you got into TV andinto, you know, producing, I
believe, right.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
And so that's exciting, cause I mean, that's
something.
It's a tough industry and youknow what was your career like.
Why did you, or how was thatyou, excelling in that industry,
and then why did you leave theindustry?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, I started my career at MTV in New York City.
I was very into music and itwas just a perfect fit.
And then I ended up in LosAngeles and worked in
entertainment, reality, all ofthat so kind of got my taste of
every kind of television andabsolutely loved it.
It was amazing, my dream job.
But as you know from being inLos Angeles, it's a hard city
(04:54):
and there's especially inentertainment.
You're working really longhours, you're traveling, your
life is not your own.
I missed so many friends'weddings and family obligations
and loving it all.
But it was just a fast-pacedcareer.
And so when I had my first son,I was in Los Angeles and we
were the first of our friends tohave kids and that just shifted
(05:16):
everything and everyone justkind of it felt like to me
disappeared because they werestill going out seven nights a
week and we couldn't go outseven nights a week.
So everything just startedshifting and we ended up back on
the East Coast working inManhattan and I was about to
have my second son and I justhad this epiphany of like I'm
over the celebrity, over thefast pace.
(05:37):
I need to figure out what'snext for my life and start a
second act so I can at least bearound my kids and be a little
bit more present for my life andstart a second act so I can at
least be around my kids and be alittle bit more present.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
No, I love that and I've never been to Manhattan,
but is it?
From what I understand, it'sstill a fast paced area, correct
?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It is.
But so I lived in Manhattanwhen I was right out of college.
So fast paced, living in thecity, but going back, you know,
in my thirties with two littlekids, I was living in the
suburbs in New Jersey.
So if you are kind of like anadult, you know a lot of people
live in the suburbs.
So you go in, you do your workand then you get on a bus or
train to go back.
So it was a much differentexperience than in my early
(06:16):
twenties.
But, yeah, definitely fastpaced.
I'm a LA girl, way more than aNew York girl.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, I got it.
I mean, I mean that's so.
What was the?
I mean it's so interestingbecause this, before getting
into the entrepreneurship andeverything like that, like you
have, you have your son, and sonow there's this mindset shift.
That kind of happens too.
I mean I have a three-year-olddaughter right now and we
actually have one on the way,and being an entrepreneur or
(06:44):
being a working professional,right, you all of a sudden start
to view things a little bitdifferently.
Or you know, you have adifferent kind of drive.
So what was that mindset shift?
Going from going out, you know,and being in the TV industry to
all of a sudden, hey, I'm a mom.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, it was a big, big shift and being in LA
especially, it was not good forme.
It was like I definitelysuffered from some postpartum
depression there and justrealizing like, wow, my life is
not my own and it just hit mereally hard.
So we ended up back on the EastCoast, closer to my family, for
that extra support and, yeah,it just shifted where,
(07:24):
especially when I was about tohave my second son, I was around
eight months pregnant with himand so I had a three-year-old
and a newborn on the way, or alittle one on the way, and I
just had this moment where I waslike you know what?
I can check the box on thatfirst act, because I
accomplished what I wanted toaccomplish since I was five
years old and I did it.
So I'm going to look at it likeI'm not grieving that career.
(07:48):
I want a new adventure and Iwant to be present for the kids
and I want to still work becauseI'm a creative and I want to
figure out what else I can do.
And I shifted my mindset andkind of ignored my husband and
my friends who were like soshocked I was making this change
because they were all in theindustry and kind of had
interventions with me and I waslike no, I've got this, I'm
(08:09):
going to figure it out and I'mexcited for what's next.
So it was just that shift ofI'm more than just this title
and I'm going to take thatexperience with me.
And also, I'm always a producer.
I can go produce again tomorrowand I think that made me feel a
little bit less pressure andstress too, as I was trying to
figure out what my next leapwould be.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
No, yeah.
So you said your friends andyour husband are in the industry
.
Is your husband still in theindustry?
He is Yep, and a lot of myfriends still are too.
Yeah, the day, what was thatconversation with your husband?
Because obviously you guys haveyour family income and so forth
, but being an entrepreneur, aswe transition to this next step,
(08:53):
I already noticed me and mywife have had similar talks, but
what was that transition foryou guys?
You mentioned that there's someinterventions and stuff, but
when you really let them knowthat, hey, I want to do this and
you started to go that route,what was that?
That like?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
what was that like?
Yeah, so what I did was I knewthat we couldn't afford to be a
one income household.
We had a new house and therewas just a lot going on, and so
I did what I thought I needed todo.
I got a nine to five job at alocal ad agency, thinking, oh,
production advertising it'ssimilar, and it was creative and
toxic and the most horribleowner of the company.
(09:36):
So I was like this is not forme.
But I sucked it up and I did itfor maybe six months or more,
just to bring that income in.
I was going through differentthings.
I was going for my master's atnight because that's the
responsible thing to do.
I'll become a teacher.
I was grasping at straws untilone day I was sitting in my car
at lunch, depressed because Ihated this job, and I listened
(09:59):
to a podcast and I was like youknow what?
I'm going to go theentrepreneur route.
I'm going to produce my ownlife.
I know I can do it.
And that's where everythingshifted and I started saying the
skills I did in my first act inproduction I can do to build a
business.
I can take this idea and buildit and make it a success, and
that's when I decided to buy myfirst franchise and go into that
(10:21):
as an entrepreneur and go intothat as an entrepreneur, so
let's dive into that.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
So why did you decide to go into a franchise?
And this is almost like aselfish question of me, because
being a franchisor and bringingon franchisees everyone has
different reasons, but it alwaysinterests me too, because
before we launched our franchise, before we opened our gym, I
was actually gonna buy into afranchise.
Before we opened our gym, likeI was actually going to buy into
(10:46):
a franchise, right and?
And?
So I don't think that there's aright way to do it.
Whether you start your ownbusiness or you do a franchise,
there's pros and cons to both.
But what was your reasoning forwanting to go into a franchise
versus just do something on yourown?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Well, I had an idea for a business.
I was watching mythree-year-old and you might be
able to relate just playing andbuilding and taking blocks and
taking Legos, and he was just inthe zone and I was like there's
something to this.
So I started researching what Icould do with children's kind
of STEM education and in myresearch of building my own
(11:22):
business, I found a franchisethat was doing exactly what I
wanted to do and as a first-timebusiness owner, I was like a
franchise to me is kind of abusiness in a box right, you get
the direction, you get thementorship, you get other
franchisees, you get themarketing materials.
Whatever it is, it's all therefor you, and so it was a
no-brainer.
I just felt like that was theway to get my foot in and it was
(11:45):
the best decision I ever made.
I'm very pro franchise when youfind one that's really for you.
And, yeah, it was fantastic.
I learned so much.
Within two years, I was in thetop three of the, you know, most
achieving franchisees in theorganization and I felt good
about myself.
I felt like I did it.
(12:06):
I actually started somethingnew and then I wanted to start
more businesses because I sawthat success happening.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
No, that's so awesome .
And I think the reason I askedwhat interested you because a
lot of people that I talked tothey're worried about paying a
royalty or paying, you know, toessentially get that business in
the box Right, and I don't knowhow you feel about it, but I
let them know.
I was like it's almost likeyou're getting a team along with
(12:35):
the business model, you'regetting coaches along with the
business model.
I was like I've paid more inour advisors, our mentors and
stuff along the lifetime of ourbusiness launching the franchise
.
I was like I've spent sixfigures with our team just to
learn essentially how to dothings.
And I was like you get all ofthat knowledge essentially that
(12:59):
was was learned and paid foressentially in small increments,
you know, and so I think I meanthat's just one of the reasons,
I think.
But you already are livingproof that you can take it, you
can scale it, and I mean you didamazing Right.
So why did you end up wantingto sell the business?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, about five years, maybe four or five years
into my franchise.
It was bigger than me, I had ateam, I had a director and I was
trying to step back because Istill wanted to be that present
mom.
And a lot of my customersstarted asking me well, how did
you get into this If you were atelevision producer?
And it sparked thatconversation and I said you know
what?
There's a need, especially forwomen who now have young kids
and don't feel like their workaligns with them and they need
(13:43):
help getting unstuck andfiguring out their next step and
building a business of theirown.
So I started my coachingbusiness, maybe four or five
years into my franchise, and Iwas trying to do both.
Even though I had a big team, Iwas very close to my team and
my director became one of mybest friends.
So, as much as I tried to stepout of it, I kept getting pulled
back into the franchise andfinally I was like you know what
(14:05):
I think my heart again.
I feel like I served thatserved children and families in
my community and I wantedsomething else.
So I started looking to sell itbecause it was so successful I
didn't want to close it and so Istarted looking, working with a
broker, found buyers and nowit's.
I sold just this last year andit's booming and doing amazing
(14:27):
with new owners.
So my baby lives just withsomeone else now and I can
concentrate on my career andbusiness coaching clients.
That is my new love.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
No, I mean, that's so amazing and sometimes you know
you have that.
This now essentially kind oflike a third act, right and?
And sometimes they're similar,right.
So they're both entrepreneurial, but sometimes they're
different TV producer toentrepreneur.
But there's no right way to dothings and I think that you made
a courageous step and a stepthat also a lot of business
owners can almost put achokehold on their business
(15:05):
because they don't want to letgo when they found, essentially,
a new love or a new passion,and so it starts to make the
business die because they're notwilling to give the effort and
attention it needs, like theteam, whatever it may be, and
they're really focused on thenew thing, like you said, your
business coaching.
So sometimes taking that stepin selling isn't a loss or isn't
(15:31):
a negative.
That's actually a brave thingto do because the business is
being a positive impact on thecommunity.
And if you could only give halfyour attention or if you would
have closed it, then againthat's not why you opened in the
first place.
So you still kind of fed thereason why you opened in the
first place and did the bravething.
(15:53):
So I do commend you for that.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Thank you, yeah, and I started realizing with the
franchise, as you know, if youget to the end of your contract
and you don't renew, it's kindof like a car lease right, you
just close shop.
And I didn't want to do thatand I also, like you said, I
realized my heart wasn't in itand that I could be making so
much more money if I had theenergy.
But I didn't.
So I'm like, let me give thisto someone new who wants to be a
(16:15):
first time entrepreneur as well, and they can grow this, and
then I can take the money I soldit for and build my coaching
business even more.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
No, definitely, and what's funny about that is like
being on the franchisor side ofthings.
I learned a lot about what Iwould have bought into and how
they're running it, and I'm gladI didn't buy into it the one
I'm not going to mention namesthat I was going to buy into but
I know all the small fine printnow and I see why their numbers
(16:49):
fluctuate the way they do.
But, like you said, the carlease thing, that's actually
pretty much a handshake deal.
You can charge to renew or youcan just be like, look, you
you're a top three, like you'regood, but you know and and so
that there's all these littleweird caveats of franchising
that you I didn't know beforegetting into having the right.
(17:11):
You know with the attorneys andwriting FDD and build out all
the manuals and all that kind ofstuff, so it's it's crazy.
But you know with the attorneysand write an FDD and build out
all the manuals and all thatkind of stuff, so it's crazy.
But you know, I want to diveinto your, your coaching and
stuff.
So now, with you coaching,who's your clients?
Who are you trying to target?
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Women in I don't want to say midlife, but, you know,
in 30s, 40s, who are, have afamily and just realize that
their hours of their job justdoesn't really fit them anymore
and they want to start abusiness.
And so I work with them to say,okay, I have this experience
from my first act.
I'm not going to let it go, I'mgoing to take it and create a
business that is fulfilling andflexible and financially
(17:51):
lucrative, using my experienceso are you helping them start a
business from scratch or are youhelping them find a franchise
that works on that?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
What is your process for them going from employee to
a business owner?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I really work with that.
I work with some clients tohelp them with their exit
strategy to leave that nine tofive job without burning a
bridge and make sure they'refinancially stable and then
launch their business.
And then there's other clientswho come to me with a business
idea that they've already kindof started and I help them scale
.
And then I'm waiting for theclients who want to come to me
and open a franchise because Iam so pro franchise.
(18:28):
So if I get anyone I will passthem along to you because I
think it really is such a greatstart.
But I've yet to.
Actually I shouldn't say that.
I've been helping a lot of mypast franchise franchisees who
want to get out of thatfranchise.
I'm helping them figure outtheir exit plan.
But I would love other peoplewho are interested in
(18:49):
franchising to come to me too,because I think it's a great
option.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
No, I mean there's so many different ways and again
like there's no right way to doit.
But the reason I was asking,you know, is because with the
industry that you're in being acoach and stuff I know some
coaches become almost likefranchise brokers in a sense.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I was just wondering if that's what you were kind of
doing or if you were helpingthem start and scale, because I
mean, even though you're afrench, you're a franchisee like
you, like, you're still abusiness owner, like you built a
team, you did all those things,like you could have the
blueprint.
This is, this is what I like totell people when they're coming
onto our franchises.
My goal is not to give youevery answer, right.
(19:30):
My goal is to give you theinformation, and enough
information, where you come upwith the answer and then me give
you yes, there you go, you gotit right, right, and so I want
you to be a business owner,right, and so you make those
decisions.
And that's exactly what you did.
And so all the things thatyou're talking about scaling,
growing teams, building aculture that's all something
(19:51):
that you can't necessarily writean informational thing about
and someone just follow it.
Someone actually has to be inthere and adapt to the culture,
the community that is in frontof them and I agree.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And when you start a franchise or any business, you
want to be in there working, inmy opinion, day to day to learn
that business inside and out, sothen you can expand and hire
your teams.
But I think when some peoplecome into a business and they
just want it to be turnkey andthey're really hands off, they
end up hurting themselvesbecause they don't understand
all those aspects Definitely.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, I mean, even for us, that's one of the
caveats is that our businesstechnically is turnkey, but for
our first franchisees, we wantthem to have some kind of
involvement, like not just becomplete hands-off, right, and
especially being in the fitnessindustry, just like with
snapology, like you're with, youknow, stem with kids and and
everything like that.
(20:46):
Like there's a different kind ofculture than running a subway
right, and so there has to befor us, like are one of our core
values is to have a positiveimpact on as many lives as we
can while we can.
And if that's not why you'regetting into the business, then
I'm sorry, like that's you.
You're just not gonna be one ofour first franchisees.
(21:07):
Like there's plenty of otherbusiness models, right, and so
that's just how we view things,and it sounds like that's one of
the cool things you're doingwith your coaching is you're
helping women that are trying totake that next step, and you're
doing it because you have gonealong that path and you've seen
the fulfillment, you've seen thesuccess, you've seen what it
can do for your family life andyou want to impact others and do
(21:29):
so as well.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Exactly, yeah, that's exactly it.
And give them the wings andshow them that there's not just
one revenue stream, like for me.
I speak on stages that's arevenue stream.
I have a book coming out that'sa revenue stream.
There's just other ways in yourbusiness that you can scale and
do so while you're facing yourpriorities and your
non-negotiables.
Right, if you want to be homewith the kids more, build a
(21:52):
business around that and it ispossible.
So yeah, I just want to be thataccountability partner and you
know person that's taking themfrom where they are to where
they want to be.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
No, that's awesome.
So you said you're writing abook.
I actually just launched one inJanuary.
So what's your, what's yourbook about?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Congratulations Mine comes out.
May 7th, it's called start yoursecond act how to change
careers, build a business andcreate your best life.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Okay, you said May 2nd.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
May 7th seven.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Okay, yeah, I'll make a note of it.
You know I'm definitelyinterested.
Yeah, so that's so.
You, you speak on stages andyou do everything.
So what is the?
Is the book going to act as a,like a lead magnet for your
coaching?
Is the?
You know, what does the book dofor you?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah, the book is just an extension of my coaching
.
Yeah, it's really.
It's a little bit of mytransition story examples from
other women and then how you canmake that transition really
successfully.
So it will be reaching peoplethat don't necessarily work with
me one-on-one and then also besomething that I can sell from
the stage and talk about on mypodcast.
(22:53):
And yeah, just get me out theremore to impact more lives, kind
of like you, like your mottoright, it's just impacting
people, giving them the toolsand inspiration to get unstuck,
make that leap and and feel morefulfilled in life.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
No, that's, that's amazing.
After this I'll I'll tell yousome little things that I threw
into my book that maybe you know, might give you some ideas.
But we'll keep it a secret, asecret between us.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So you said you have a podcast as well.
On your podcast, you know it's,I'm assuming, an extension as
well as from your coaching.
You know what, what kind ofthings do you teach on there to
get?
I mean, obviously I'm assumingit's with business and so forth,
but is it more how to run thebusiness?
Is it more how to exit?
Like, what is your podcast?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It's actually it started, as it's called, second
act success, like my business.
So it's really just inspiringstories of women who have made
that transition, because Iwanted listeners to hear if she
can do it, I can do it Not justme, but all of these other women
.
So that's where it started, andnow in the last year or so,
I've incorporated more soloepisodes where I'm talking on
different topics branding,career assessments, how to give
(24:05):
your notice and not burn abridge, things like that.
But the heart of the podcast isreally these inspiring stories
of all these other women whohave made the change, just to
show you like if a teacher canbecome a jewelry maker, like you
can do it too.
You know, just these reallycrazy different changes.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
No, and and I love I mean I always love that like the
symbolism or like the analogies, and I did just click for me
the second acting between the TVproducing and I was like that
was clever, you know.
So I mean it's cool thoughbecause, like you just said, you
can start anywhere and goanywhere, like, for example, my
(24:47):
aunt.
I didn't even know she was anentrepreneur, you know, for most
of my life until I became anentrepreneur, and all of a
sudden she was asking mequestions and I was like wait,
what do you do again?
You know, and and cause.
I remember when, growing up,she worked for like the gap I
don't even know if that's astore anymore, but you know the
gap.
She was like a manager andstuff, but then all of a sudden
she wasn't working for the gapanymore and what I didn't know
(25:09):
was she started a you knowwriting a blog and and it grew
pretty big and she actuallylaunched that and it became a
influencer social media agencyand now it's an eight figure
company and she's actuallyexiting that.
And so it was like I was like,oh my goodness.
I was like you're like anentrepreneur, entrepreneur.
I was like that's so crazy.
(25:30):
And now she has a summer campand all these other things.
So it's like you can do.
You can start anywhere andpivot anywhere, and that's what
I love about this is, in themindset cafe is getting to know
and understand, like the mindsetbehind things, like you had
that mindset shift.
You know in realization, thatyou didn't just have to do TV,
you wanted to have, you know, doentrepreneur and be home a
(25:53):
little bit more, have more timeto spend with your family.
Then you became an entrepreneurand be home a little bit more,
have more time to spend withyour family.
Then you became an entrepreneurand you're like well, I want to
help other people do this too.
And so there's these littlemental shifts that we have and
that living proof that as longas you take action on them, they
can be a reality for you too.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I have a motto that I say check all the boxes
in life.
We get one life to live.
So if you can check the box onone thing that you're doing and
start something else, how fun isthat to have this kind of goal
list instead of a bucket list,right?
Just this goal list of thingsyou want to do and you can check
it off and go to the nextadventure.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
No, definitely so.
Actually I want to ask a randomtangent question.
You working in the movie, theTV industry and stuff, who was
your favorite or did you meet?
I'm assuming you metcelebrities and so forth.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
So who is your favorite celebrity after meeting
them in person?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
That's a good question, and there there's so
many.
I have some that were not asexciting after I met them, but
the one I would say honestly Ialways think was one of the
nicest people is Henry Winkler.
From happy days like way backwhen, uh, you know, like he just
came in and everyone was inlove with him on my set, like it
was just he was one of thenicest guys, shook everyone's
(27:17):
hand and, um, yeah, and thatwasn't someone I aspired to meet
, but when you did, he justreally took my breath away about
how lovely he was no, that'sawesome.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I actually I know.
I know that happy days likethat that's awesome so who is?
Who is one celebrity that youwish you would have got to meet?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
oh, come on, oprah.
She was like I mean I, she'slike everything.
I always say like if I wentback into production it would be
.
If she called like I just feellike she's my epitome of
everything.
So yeah, she's the one that Iwas very close to getting a
second interview to work withher in Chicago and then it
didn't, didn't go through, andI'll never forget that I was
(27:53):
very upset through and I'llnever forget that I was very
upset.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
No, that's awesome.
So one last question I'd liketo ask is and I will preface
this by saying it is not atombstone, as many times I tell
it to people I still gettombstone answers this is the
Shannon legacy wall, right andon this legacy wall it could be
any message you know, short orlong, that you've learned along
(28:17):
your life's journey that youwould leave for the up and
coming generations.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Keep going, give yourself grace and it will all
work out.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Okay, explain it a little bit.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Just that I think you grow up and you have all these
doubts and people tell you, oh,you can't do that, You're
dreaming too big.
Oh, just stay in your lane.
All of that and I think,thinking out of the box and just
keeping going on your path andgiving yourself grace along the
way, because there's going to bea lot of hard times and it's
easier to stay in your lane andstay kind of stuck where you are
(28:49):
, even if you're not happy.
But give yourself that grace,keep going and you're going to
accomplish your goal at the endif you just keep going.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
That's awesome.
I like to tell people you can'tfail if you never give up,
right.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yes, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
So with that, did you have a lot of people telling
you to stay in your lane beforeyou became a TV producer, when
you went to launch the franchiseand then when you went to
launch the coaching?
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Yeah, definitely in the beginning.
I mean just the fact that I wasin my town, that no one seemed
to ever leave, my ideas werejust way out of the box for my
family.
But I had the most supportivefamily.
So my parents were like, allright, we're going to follow you
.
Whatever you want to do, we'lllet you do.
And they just were soincredible so it's all thanks to
(29:35):
them that I even left my town.
But there were so many naysayers, friends in school, friends in
college, just you know, I alwayswas just thinking a little too
far out of reach and some peoplejust thought that was like, why
not just go down this nice,safe path?
And then the franchisedefinitely, because that was,
(29:56):
you know, leaving a really bigincome and kind of high profile
job to start a business in mytown, you know.
And then the coaching business.
I think by that point everyoneknew that I just had a different
wired brain and had these bigaspirations and that I could
accomplish them.
So everyone was just like, allright, what's she up to next?
So it was, yeah, a littleeasier with the coaching.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
No, I mean that's awesome.
So I know, I mean typically Idon't go questions after the
other, the legacy wall, but nowI'm kind of interested.
So on this little side tangent.
So I apologize for continuingthis, but I got to know were you
one of, are you one of thepeople that used those naysayers
as motivation, or did you justkind of, you know, put it aside
(30:43):
and like, ah, it doesn't matterto me?
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, I kind of just put them to the side.
I've never been someone who'slike super cares what other
people think, like I kind of,and I tell my kids the same
thing, like, don't be a sheep,do your own thing, don't listen
to anyone else.
So I think I kind of just putit out and just said no, I'm
going to put my head down andmake it happen.
(31:07):
And then I think there'ssomething too every time you do,
your mindset is just explodingbecause you're like it worked,
let me keep going, let me try itagain for the next challenge or
adventure.
So, yeah, I feel like I justkind of put it aside and been
like okay, well, you do, you andI'm going to go for this.
And then it's funny, when I lefttelevision and became a career
(31:27):
coach many years later now I getso many especially with
everything that's happening inLA between the fires and strikes
and the industry changing somany people reach out to me now
and they're like can you help me?
I'm ready to get out.
And like it's, it's great to beable to help them.
And it's like oh, I was justlike one of the first ones that
left and actually did it.
And now everyone's years laterare like okay, I need to get out
(31:50):
too, can you help?
Which is nice.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, and honestly, that's the crazy thing too, like
the strikes and all.
Like I have friends in theindustry.
I have, you know, friends thatare in the stunt industry.
I have friends in the propmaking industry and in the
strikes, like I, I was almostlike blown away.
I was like I didn't realizethat, you know, watching them go
in, their livelihoods change, Iwas like this is this is
(32:13):
surreal and yeah uh, anyway, Icould help, Let me know.
Like you know, I don't.
I don't know what to tell you.
So no, the reason I asked thatquestion if you use that as
motivation, cause there's twosides to the fence on that one,
it's like some people put it tothe side and they're, you know
it doesn't really do anythinggood or negative for them, and
(32:33):
then you have other people thatit shuts them down, and then you
have that other crowd, likemyself, that it's like okay,
like you know, I don't use itnecessarily as motivation, but
it's like I love when peopletell me something that's not
going to work because it's likemy.
My mentality is always likeit's not a matter of if, it's
just a matter of when.
Right, so I promise that it'sgoing to happen.
(32:56):
If you don't have no way oftelling yourself it's not going
to happen, if you believe thatyou can achieve it, then you can
.
The moment you tell yourselfyou can't achieve it is the
moment it becomes impossible.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
A thousand percent.
That's great.
And now you're taking names ofthose people so you can come
back and be like okay, look whatI did.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Oh yeah, and that's, but that's the one.
So so some people do do that,and that's that's where I think
it can have a weird negativeeffect on you too, because now
you're doing it to prove tosomeone else that you did it.
For me, I just love the, youknow, people saying that you
can't do it and then achievingit and then them seeing it.
Maybe they don't see it, butthat part doesn't do anything
(33:36):
for me personally.
It's just you know, um.
But so where can people followyou and connect with you?
You know, I know you got youmentioned your podcast, social
media.
Where can people find you?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Second act successco is my website and that's got my
book, my podcast, ways to workwith me at lots of freebies
about career transition.
So everything's there and I'msecond act success on all social
as well.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Okay, awesome, make sure you guys go follow her, and
then the book comes out May 7th.
Um so when that does come out,make sure you send me that link
and I'll re put it back into uh,the, the links and everything
like that.
But, guys, all of those linkswill be in the show notes as
well.
If you're watching on YouTube,then everything will be in the
video description.
Make sure you guys share thiswith a friend, someone that's
(34:20):
working that you know nine tofive or wanting to transition,
and they just you keep hearingthem talk about it and talk
about it, and talk about it, andthey're too scared to take that
step.
Send them this episode.
But, shannon, thank you so muchagain for taking the time out
of your day and dropping so muchknowledge for the Mindset Cafe.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Thanks for having me.
This was such a funconversation.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Of course, we'll definitely stay in touch soon.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Yes, got my mind on the prize.
I can't be distracted.
I stay on my grind.
No time to be flackin'.
I hustle harder, I go againstthe curve Cause I know my mind
is rich to be collected.
Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe.
We all about that mindset.
Gotta stay focused.
Now go settle for the last.
It's all in your head how youthink you manifest.
So get ready to rise, cause weabout to be the best.
Gotta switch it up.
Gotta break the old habits.
Get your mind right.
Turn your dreams into habits.
No negative vibes, onlypositive vibes.
What is up, guys?
(00:21):
Welcome to another episode ofthe Mindset Cafe podcast.
It's your boy, devin, and todayI'm honored to have this guest
on the show.
I'm bringing on Shannon Russell.
She is an amazing businessowner, she is a coach and she is
honestly just anotherpowerhouse that is really taking
(00:42):
over everything by storm.
So I want to make sure that shegives her story, because she's
going to be able to really talkabout it way better than I am.
But, shannon, thank you so muchfor taking on the time to drop
some knowledge for the MindsetCafe, and one thing that's so
cool is we just talkedbeforehand that I'm in the
franchise space, just got intoit and you are a franchisee and
you grew it and actually soldyour location.
(01:04):
So I'm really excited to diveinto that as well.
But thank you so much fortaking the time to come on the
show today.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Oh, I'm excited.
Thanks so much for having meDevin.
This is going to be great.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So I know you're a business and transition coach
and everything like that, but Ilike to rewind and let's start
with your childhood, right?
What was your childhood like?
What did your parents do?
What was that backstory?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh, good question.
My parents were very bluecollar.
My dad.
They both got married around 18, didn't go to college.
My dad started working for theelectric company and did that
until retirement one job hisentire life.
And my mom was a stay at homemom and then a secretary for the
rest of her career.
Yeah, so that was.
(01:49):
That was that I was the firstin my family to go to college.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay, do you have any siblings?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I do.
I have one sister who's youngerand she works at a bank.
So yeah, very nine to five.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Okay.
So I mean, what, what was thatlike then?
I mean you becoming anentrepreneur, you go in that
route, so did you go to college?
I mean, so you said you werethe first to go to college,
right?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So you went to college.
What was your major in?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Communications, broadcast communications and
film.
So yeah, I was the black sheepof the family the first to even
leave our town, and I left thestate and went eight hours away
and, yeah, just always wanted towork in television.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Okay, so I mean, what was that driver that I guess
desire?
Why did you want to work intelevision?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
You know what?
I was a TV kid growing up inthe 80s, 90s.
It was just, I watched TV allthe time.
I wanted to be in the TV screen.
If I wasn't on, I wanted to bebehind the scenes, and I don't
know.
I just always felt like I was alittle eccentric compared to
the rest of my family.
That, like I said, was verystay home, do this.
(02:55):
You just stay in your town, andI just wanted to get out.
I was obsessed with Californiaand I had grown up on the East
Coast in New Jersey and justwanted to move over there and
check out everything Hollywoodhad to offer.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
You had that desire of seeing what Hollywood looks
like from afar.
What was your take once youactually saw Hollywood up close?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
You know what?
I loved it.
It was my dream come true.
And, yeah, my parents actuallybrought me as my senior year in
high school graduation gift tovacation out there.
So that was my first time and Iloved it.
And then, when I moved outthere, it was just surreal, it
was incredible, and I livedthere for 10 years.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Oh, wow, nice.
I mean I'm in Los Angeles.
So the funny thing is, peoplelove.
You know, whenever I talk tosomeone that's not from
California or even from LosAngeles, they're like you know,
whenever I talk to someonethat's not from California or
even from Los Angeles, you knowI want to come out to Hollywood
and see, you know, santa Monicaand Venice Beach and I'm like
it's not like, don't set yourhopes too high.
Like it's, it's fun, it'samazing and there's so many
(03:55):
beautiful sites, but also, likeit's there's it's a little bit
down and dirty.
You know there is a homelessepidemic that's happening on the
streets too.
So just be be fair andforewarned of that, uh, that
kind of thing.
But I mean, you got into TV andinto, you know, producing, I
believe, right.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
And so that's exciting, cause I mean, that's
something.
It's a tough industry and youknow what was your career like.
Why did you, or how was thatyou, excelling in that industry,
and then why did you leave theindustry?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, I started my career at MTV in New York City.
I was very into music and itwas just a perfect fit.
And then I ended up in LosAngeles and worked in
entertainment, reality, all ofthat so kind of got my taste of
every kind of television andabsolutely loved it.
It was amazing, my dream job.
But as you know from being inLos Angeles, it's a hard city
(04:54):
and there's especially inentertainment.
You're working really longhours, you're traveling, your
life is not your own.
I missed so many friends'weddings and family obligations
and loving it all.
But it was just a fast-pacedcareer.
And so when I had my first son,I was in Los Angeles and we
were the first of our friends tohave kids and that just shifted
(05:16):
everything and everyone justkind of it felt like to me
disappeared because they werestill going out seven nights a
week and we couldn't go outseven nights a week.
So everything just startedshifting and we ended up back on
the East Coast working inManhattan and I was about to
have my second son and I justhad this epiphany of like I'm
over the celebrity, over thefast pace.
(05:37):
I need to figure out what'snext for my life and start a
second act so I can at least bearound my kids and be a little
bit more present for my life andstart a second act so I can at
least be around my kids and be alittle bit more present.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
No, I love that and I've never been to Manhattan,
but is it?
From what I understand, it'sstill a fast paced area, correct
?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It is.
But so I lived in Manhattanwhen I was right out of college.
So fast paced, living in thecity, but going back, you know,
in my thirties with two littlekids, I was living in the
suburbs in New Jersey.
So if you are kind of like anadult, you know a lot of people
live in the suburbs.
So you go in, you do your workand then you get on a bus or
train to go back.
So it was a much differentexperience than in my early
(06:16):
twenties.
But, yeah, definitely fastpaced.
I'm a LA girl, way more than aNew York girl.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, I got it.
I mean, I mean that's so.
What was the?
I mean it's so interestingbecause this, before getting
into the entrepreneurship andeverything like that, like you
have, you have your son, and sonow there's this mindset shift.
That kind of happens too.
I mean I have a three-year-olddaughter right now and we
actually have one on the way,and being an entrepreneur or
(06:44):
being a working professional,right, you all of a sudden start
to view things a little bitdifferently.
Or you know, you have adifferent kind of drive.
So what was that mindset shift?
Going from going out, you know,and being in the TV industry to
all of a sudden, hey, I'm a mom.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, it was a big, big shift and being in LA
especially, it was not good forme.
It was like I definitelysuffered from some postpartum
depression there and justrealizing like, wow, my life is
not my own and it just hit mereally hard.
So we ended up back on the EastCoast, closer to my family, for
that extra support and, yeah,it just shifted where,
(07:24):
especially when I was about tohave my second son, I was around
eight months pregnant with himand so I had a three-year-old
and a newborn on the way, or alittle one on the way, and I
just had this moment where I waslike you know what?
I can check the box on thatfirst act, because I
accomplished what I wanted toaccomplish since I was five
years old and I did it.
So I'm going to look at it likeI'm not grieving that career.
(07:48):
I want a new adventure and Iwant to be present for the kids
and I want to still work becauseI'm a creative and I want to
figure out what else I can do.
And I shifted my mindset andkind of ignored my husband and
my friends who were like soshocked I was making this change
because they were all in theindustry and kind of had
interventions with me and I waslike no, I've got this, I'm
(08:09):
going to figure it out and I'mexcited for what's next.
So it was just that shift ofI'm more than just this title
and I'm going to take thatexperience with me.
And also, I'm always a producer.
I can go produce again tomorrowand I think that made me feel a
little bit less pressure andstress too, as I was trying to
figure out what my next leapwould be.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
No, yeah.
So you said your friends andyour husband are in the industry
.
Is your husband still in theindustry?
He is Yep, and a lot of myfriends still are too.
Yeah, the day, what was thatconversation with your husband?
Because obviously you guys haveyour family income and so forth
, but being an entrepreneur, aswe transition to this next step,
(08:53):
I already noticed me and mywife have had similar talks, but
what was that transition foryou guys?
You mentioned that there's someinterventions and stuff, but
when you really let them knowthat, hey, I want to do this and
you started to go that route,what was that?
That like?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
what was that like?
Yeah, so what I did was I knewthat we couldn't afford to be a
one income household.
We had a new house and therewas just a lot going on, and so
I did what I thought I needed todo.
I got a nine to five job at alocal ad agency, thinking, oh,
production advertising it'ssimilar, and it was creative and
toxic and the most horribleowner of the company.
(09:36):
So I was like this is not forme.
But I sucked it up and I did itfor maybe six months or more,
just to bring that income in.
I was going through differentthings.
I was going for my master's atnight because that's the
responsible thing to do.
I'll become a teacher.
I was grasping at straws untilone day I was sitting in my car
at lunch, depressed because Ihated this job, and I listened
(09:59):
to a podcast and I was like youknow what?
I'm going to go theentrepreneur route.
I'm going to produce my ownlife.
I know I can do it.
And that's where everythingshifted and I started saying the
skills I did in my first act inproduction I can do to build a
business.
I can take this idea and buildit and make it a success, and
that's when I decided to buy myfirst franchise and go into that
(10:21):
as an entrepreneur and go intothat as an entrepreneur, so
let's dive into that.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
So why did you decide to go into a franchise?
And this is almost like aselfish question of me, because
being a franchisor and bringingon franchisees everyone has
different reasons, but it alwaysinterests me too, because
before we launched our franchise, before we opened our gym, I
was actually gonna buy into afranchise.
Before we opened our gym, likeI was actually going to buy into
(10:46):
a franchise, right and?
And?
So I don't think that there's aright way to do it.
Whether you start your ownbusiness or you do a franchise,
there's pros and cons to both.
But what was your reasoning forwanting to go into a franchise
versus just do something on yourown?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Well, I had an idea for a business.
I was watching mythree-year-old and you might be
able to relate just playing andbuilding and taking blocks and
taking Legos, and he was just inthe zone and I was like there's
something to this.
So I started researching what Icould do with children's kind
of STEM education and in myresearch of building my own
(11:22):
business, I found a franchisethat was doing exactly what I
wanted to do and as a first-timebusiness owner, I was like a
franchise to me is kind of abusiness in a box right, you get
the direction, you get thementorship, you get other
franchisees, you get themarketing materials.
Whatever it is, it's all therefor you, and so it was a
no-brainer.
I just felt like that was theway to get my foot in and it was
(11:45):
the best decision I ever made.
I'm very pro franchise when youfind one that's really for you.
And, yeah, it was fantastic.
I learned so much.
Within two years, I was in thetop three of the, you know, most
achieving franchisees in theorganization and I felt good
about myself.
I felt like I did it.
(12:06):
I actually started somethingnew and then I wanted to start
more businesses because I sawthat success happening.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
No, that's so awesome .
And I think the reason I askedwhat interested you because a
lot of people that I talked tothey're worried about paying a
royalty or paying, you know, toessentially get that business in
the box Right, and I don't knowhow you feel about it, but I
let them know.
I was like it's almost likeyou're getting a team along with
(12:35):
the business model, you'regetting coaches along with the
business model.
I was like I've paid more inour advisors, our mentors and
stuff along the lifetime of ourbusiness launching the franchise
.
I was like I've spent sixfigures with our team just to
learn essentially how to dothings.
And I was like you get all ofthat knowledge essentially that
(12:59):
was was learned and paid foressentially in small increments,
you know, and so I think I meanthat's just one of the reasons,
I think.
But you already are livingproof that you can take it, you
can scale it, and I mean you didamazing Right.
So why did you end up wantingto sell the business?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, about five years, maybe four or five years
into my franchise.
It was bigger than me, I had ateam, I had a director and I was
trying to step back because Istill wanted to be that present
mom.
And a lot of my customersstarted asking me well, how did
you get into this If you were atelevision producer?
And it sparked thatconversation and I said you know
what?
There's a need, especially forwomen who now have young kids
and don't feel like their workaligns with them and they need
(13:43):
help getting unstuck andfiguring out their next step and
building a business of theirown.
So I started my coachingbusiness, maybe four or five
years into my franchise, and Iwas trying to do both.
Even though I had a big team, Iwas very close to my team and
my director became one of mybest friends.
So, as much as I tried to stepout of it, I kept getting pulled
back into the franchise andfinally I was like you know what
(14:05):
I think my heart again.
I feel like I served thatserved children and families in
my community and I wantedsomething else.
So I started looking to sell itbecause it was so successful I
didn't want to close it and so Istarted looking, working with a
broker, found buyers and nowit's.
I sold just this last year andit's booming and doing amazing
(14:27):
with new owners.
So my baby lives just withsomeone else now and I can
concentrate on my career andbusiness coaching clients.
That is my new love.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
No, I mean, that's so amazing and sometimes you know
you have that.
This now essentially kind oflike a third act, right and?
And sometimes they're similar,right.
So they're both entrepreneurial, but sometimes they're
different TV producer toentrepreneur.
But there's no right way to dothings and I think that you made
a courageous step and a stepthat also a lot of business
owners can almost put achokehold on their business
(15:05):
because they don't want to letgo when they found, essentially,
a new love or a new passion,and so it starts to make the
business die because they're notwilling to give the effort and
attention it needs, like theteam, whatever it may be, and
they're really focused on thenew thing, like you said, your
business coaching.
So sometimes taking that stepin selling isn't a loss or isn't
(15:31):
a negative.
That's actually a brave thingto do because the business is
being a positive impact on thecommunity.
And if you could only give halfyour attention or if you would
have closed it, then againthat's not why you opened in the
first place.
So you still kind of fed thereason why you opened in the
first place and did the bravething.
(15:53):
So I do commend you for that.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Thank you, yeah, and I started realizing with the
franchise, as you know, if youget to the end of your contract
and you don't renew, it's kindof like a car lease right, you
just close shop.
And I didn't want to do thatand I also, like you said, I
realized my heart wasn't in itand that I could be making so
much more money if I had theenergy.
But I didn't.
So I'm like, let me give thisto someone new who wants to be a
(16:15):
first time entrepreneur as well, and they can grow this, and
then I can take the money I soldit for and build my coaching
business even more.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
No, definitely, and what's funny about that is like
being on the franchisor side ofthings.
I learned a lot about what Iwould have bought into and how
they're running it, and I'm gladI didn't buy into it the one
I'm not going to mention namesthat I was going to buy into but
I know all the small fine printnow and I see why their numbers
(16:49):
fluctuate the way they do.
But, like you said, the carlease thing, that's actually
pretty much a handshake deal.
You can charge to renew or youcan just be like, look, you
you're a top three, like you'regood, but you know and and so
that there's all these littleweird caveats of franchising
that you I didn't know beforegetting into having the right.
(17:11):
You know with the attorneys andwriting FDD and build out all
the manuals and all that kind ofstuff, so it's it's crazy.
But you know with the attorneysand write an FDD and build out
all the manuals and all thatkind of stuff, so it's crazy.
But you know, I want to diveinto your, your coaching and
stuff.
So now, with you coaching,who's your clients?
Who are you trying to target?
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Women in I don't want to say midlife, but, you know,
in 30s, 40s, who are, have afamily and just realize that
their hours of their job justdoesn't really fit them anymore
and they want to start abusiness.
And so I work with them to say,okay, I have this experience
from my first act.
I'm not going to let it go, I'mgoing to take it and create a
business that is fulfilling andflexible and financially
(17:51):
lucrative, using my experienceso are you helping them start a
business from scratch or are youhelping them find a franchise
that works on that?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
What is your process for them going from employee to
a business owner?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I really work with that.
I work with some clients tohelp them with their exit
strategy to leave that nine tofive job without burning a
bridge and make sure they'refinancially stable and then
launch their business.
And then there's other clientswho come to me with a business
idea that they've already kindof started and I help them scale
.
And then I'm waiting for theclients who want to come to me
and open a franchise because Iam so pro franchise.
(18:28):
So if I get anyone I will passthem along to you because I
think it really is such a greatstart.
But I've yet to.
Actually I shouldn't say that.
I've been helping a lot of mypast franchise franchisees who
want to get out of thatfranchise.
I'm helping them figure outtheir exit plan.
But I would love other peoplewho are interested in
(18:49):
franchising to come to me too,because I think it's a great
option.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
No, I mean there's so many different ways and again
like there's no right way to doit.
But the reason I was asking,you know, is because with the
industry that you're in being acoach and stuff I know some
coaches become almost likefranchise brokers in a sense.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I was just wondering if that's what you were kind of
doing or if you were helpingthem start and scale, because I
mean, even though you're afrench, you're a franchisee like
you, like, you're still abusiness owner, like you built a
team, you did all those things,like you could have the
blueprint.
This is, this is what I like totell people when they're coming
onto our franchises.
My goal is not to give youevery answer, right.
(19:30):
My goal is to give you theinformation, and enough
information, where you come upwith the answer and then me give
you yes, there you go, you gotit right, right, and so I want
you to be a business owner,right, and so you make those
decisions.
And that's exactly what you did.
And so all the things thatyou're talking about scaling,
growing teams, building aculture that's all something
(19:51):
that you can't necessarily writean informational thing about
and someone just follow it.
Someone actually has to be inthere and adapt to the culture,
the community that is in frontof them and I agree.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And when you start a franchise or any business, you
want to be in there working, inmy opinion, day to day to learn
that business inside and out, sothen you can expand and hire
your teams.
But I think when some peoplecome into a business and they
just want it to be turnkey andthey're really hands off, they
end up hurting themselvesbecause they don't understand
all those aspects Definitely.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, I mean, even for us, that's one of the
caveats is that our businesstechnically is turnkey, but for
our first franchisees, we wantthem to have some kind of
involvement, like not just becomplete hands-off, right, and
especially being in the fitnessindustry, just like with
snapology, like you're with, youknow, stem with kids and and
everything like that.
(20:46):
Like there's a different kind ofculture than running a subway
right, and so there has to befor us, like are one of our core
values is to have a positiveimpact on as many lives as we
can while we can.
And if that's not why you'regetting into the business, then
I'm sorry, like that's you.
You're just not gonna be one ofour first franchisees.
(21:07):
Like there's plenty of otherbusiness models, right, and so
that's just how we view things,and it sounds like that's one of
the cool things you're doingwith your coaching is you're
helping women that are trying totake that next step, and you're
doing it because you have gonealong that path and you've seen
the fulfillment, you've seen thesuccess, you've seen what it
can do for your family life andyou want to impact others and do
(21:29):
so as well.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Exactly, yeah, that's exactly it.
And give them the wings andshow them that there's not just
one revenue stream, like for me.
I speak on stages that's arevenue stream.
I have a book coming out that'sa revenue stream.
There's just other ways in yourbusiness that you can scale and
do so while you're facing yourpriorities and your
non-negotiables.
Right, if you want to be homewith the kids more, build a
(21:52):
business around that and it ispossible.
So yeah, I just want to be thataccountability partner and you
know person that's taking themfrom where they are to where
they want to be.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
No, that's awesome.
So you said you're writing abook.
I actually just launched one inJanuary.
So what's your, what's yourbook about?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Congratulations Mine comes out.
May 7th, it's called start yoursecond act how to change
careers, build a business andcreate your best life.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Okay, you said May 2nd.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
May 7th seven.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Okay, yeah, I'll make a note of it.
You know I'm definitelyinterested.
Yeah, so that's so.
You, you speak on stages andyou do everything.
So what is the?
Is the book going to act as a,like a lead magnet for your
coaching?
Is the?
You know, what does the book dofor you?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah, the book is just an extension of my coaching
.
Yeah, it's really.
It's a little bit of mytransition story examples from
other women and then how you canmake that transition really
successfully.
So it will be reaching peoplethat don't necessarily work with
me one-on-one and then also besomething that I can sell from
the stage and talk about on mypodcast.
(22:53):
And yeah, just get me out theremore to impact more lives, kind
of like you, like your mottoright, it's just impacting
people, giving them the toolsand inspiration to get unstuck,
make that leap and and feel morefulfilled in life.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
No, that's, that's amazing.
After this I'll I'll tell yousome little things that I threw
into my book that maybe you know, might give you some ideas.
But we'll keep it a secret, asecret between us.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So you said you have a podcast as well.
On your podcast, you know it's,I'm assuming, an extension as
well as from your coaching.
You know what, what kind ofthings do you teach on there to
get?
I mean, obviously I'm assumingit's with business and so forth,
but is it more how to run thebusiness?
Is it more how to exit?
Like, what is your podcast?
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It's actually it started, as it's called, second
act success, like my business.
So it's really just inspiringstories of women who have made
that transition, because Iwanted listeners to hear if she
can do it, I can do it Not justme, but all of these other women
.
So that's where it started, andnow in the last year or so,
I've incorporated more soloepisodes where I'm talking on
different topics branding,career assessments, how to give
(24:05):
your notice and not burn abridge, things like that.
But the heart of the podcast isreally these inspiring stories
of all these other women whohave made the change, just to
show you like if a teacher canbecome a jewelry maker, like you
can do it too.
You know, just these reallycrazy different changes.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
No, and and I love I mean I always love that like the
symbolism or like the analogies, and I did just click for me
the second acting between the TVproducing and I was like that
was clever, you know.
So I mean it's cool thoughbecause, like you just said, you
can start anywhere and goanywhere, like, for example, my
(24:47):
aunt.
I didn't even know she was anentrepreneur, you know, for most
of my life until I became anentrepreneur, and all of a
sudden she was asking mequestions and I was like wait,
what do you do again?
You know, and and cause.
I remember when, growing up,she worked for like the gap I
don't even know if that's astore anymore, but you know the
gap.
She was like a manager andstuff, but then all of a sudden
she wasn't working for the gapanymore and what I didn't know
(25:09):
was she started a you knowwriting a blog and and it grew
pretty big and she actuallylaunched that and it became a
influencer social media agencyand now it's an eight figure
company and she's actuallyexiting that.
And so it was like I was like,oh my goodness.
I was like you're like anentrepreneur, entrepreneur.
I was like that's so crazy.
(25:30):
And now she has a summer campand all these other things.
So it's like you can do.
You can start anywhere andpivot anywhere, and that's what
I love about this is, in themindset cafe is getting to know
and understand, like the mindsetbehind things, like you had
that mindset shift.
You know in realization, thatyou didn't just have to do TV,
you wanted to have, you know, doentrepreneur and be home a
(25:53):
little bit more, have more timeto spend with your family.
Then you became an entrepreneurand be home a little bit more,
have more time to spend withyour family.
Then you became an entrepreneurand you're like well, I want to
help other people do this too.
And so there's these littlemental shifts that we have and
that living proof that as longas you take action on them, they
can be a reality for you too.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I have a motto that I say check all the boxes
in life.
We get one life to live.
So if you can check the box onone thing that you're doing and
start something else, how fun isthat to have this kind of goal
list instead of a bucket list,right?
Just this goal list of thingsyou want to do and you can check
it off and go to the nextadventure.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
No, definitely so.
Actually I want to ask a randomtangent question.
You working in the movie, theTV industry and stuff, who was
your favorite or did you meet?
I'm assuming you metcelebrities and so forth.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
So who is your favorite celebrity after meeting
them in person?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
That's a good question, and there there's so
many.
I have some that were not asexciting after I met them, but
the one I would say honestly Ialways think was one of the
nicest people is Henry Winkler.
From happy days like way backwhen, uh, you know, like he just
came in and everyone was inlove with him on my set, like it
was just he was one of thenicest guys, shook everyone's
(27:17):
hand and, um, yeah, and thatwasn't someone I aspired to meet
, but when you did, he justreally took my breath away about
how lovely he was no, that'sawesome.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
I actually I know.
I know that happy days likethat that's awesome so who is?
Who is one celebrity that youwish you would have got to meet?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
oh, come on, oprah.
She was like I mean I, she'slike everything.
I always say like if I wentback into production it would be
.
If she called like I just feellike she's my epitome of
everything.
So yeah, she's the one that Iwas very close to getting a
second interview to work withher in Chicago and then it
didn't, didn't go through, andI'll never forget that I was
(27:53):
very upset through and I'llnever forget that I was very
upset.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
No, that's awesome.
So one last question I'd liketo ask is and I will preface
this by saying it is not atombstone, as many times I tell
it to people I still gettombstone answers this is the
Shannon legacy wall, right andon this legacy wall it could be
any message you know, short orlong, that you've learned along
(28:17):
your life's journey that youwould leave for the up and
coming generations.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Keep going, give yourself grace and it will all
work out.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Okay, explain it a little bit.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Just that I think you grow up and you have all these
doubts and people tell you, oh,you can't do that, You're
dreaming too big.
Oh, just stay in your lane.
All of that and I think,thinking out of the box and just
keeping going on your path andgiving yourself grace along the
way, because there's going to bea lot of hard times and it's
easier to stay in your lane andstay kind of stuck where you are
(28:49):
, even if you're not happy.
But give yourself that grace,keep going and you're going to
accomplish your goal at the endif you just keep going.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
That's awesome.
I like to tell people you can'tfail if you never give up,
right.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yes, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
So with that, did you have a lot of people telling
you to stay in your lane beforeyou became a TV producer, when
you went to launch the franchiseand then when you went to
launch the coaching?
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Yeah, definitely in the beginning.
I mean just the fact that I wasin my town, that no one seemed
to ever leave, my ideas werejust way out of the box for my
family.
But I had the most supportivefamily.
So my parents were like, allright, we're going to follow you
.
Whatever you want to do, we'lllet you do.
And they just were soincredible so it's all thanks to
(29:35):
them that I even left my town.
But there were so many naysayers, friends in school, friends in
college, just you know, I alwayswas just thinking a little too
far out of reach and some peoplejust thought that was like, why
not just go down this nice,safe path?
And then the franchisedefinitely, because that was,
(29:56):
you know, leaving a really bigincome and kind of high profile
job to start a business in mytown, you know.
And then the coaching business.
I think by that point everyoneknew that I just had a different
wired brain and had these bigaspirations and that I could
accomplish them.
So everyone was just like, allright, what's she up to next?
So it was, yeah, a littleeasier with the coaching.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
No, I mean that's awesome.
So I know, I mean typically Idon't go questions after the
other, the legacy wall, but nowI'm kind of interested.
So on this little side tangent.
So I apologize for continuingthis, but I got to know were you
one of, are you one of thepeople that used those naysayers
as motivation, or did you justkind of, you know, put it aside
(30:43):
and like, ah, it doesn't matterto me?
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Yeah, I kind of just put them to the side.
I've never been someone who'slike super cares what other
people think, like I kind of,and I tell my kids the same
thing, like, don't be a sheep,do your own thing, don't listen
to anyone else.
So I think I kind of just putit out and just said no, I'm
going to put my head down andmake it happen.
(31:07):
And then I think there'ssomething too every time you do,
your mindset is just explodingbecause you're like it worked,
let me keep going, let me try itagain for the next challenge or
adventure.
So, yeah, I feel like I justkind of put it aside and been
like okay, well, you do, you andI'm going to go for this.
And then it's funny, when I lefttelevision and became a career
(31:27):
coach many years later now I getso many especially with
everything that's happening inLA between the fires and strikes
and the industry changing somany people reach out to me now
and they're like can you help me?
I'm ready to get out.
And like it's, it's great to beable to help them.
And it's like oh, I was justlike one of the first ones that
left and actually did it.
And now everyone's years laterare like okay, I need to get out
(31:50):
too, can you help?
Which is nice.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, and honestly, that's the crazy thing too, like
the strikes and all.
Like I have friends in theindustry.
I have, you know, friends thatare in the stunt industry.
I have friends in the propmaking industry and in the
strikes, like I, I was almostlike blown away.
I was like I didn't realizethat, you know, watching them go
in, their livelihoods change, Iwas like this is this is
(32:13):
surreal and yeah uh, anyway, Icould help, Let me know.
Like you know, I don't.
I don't know what to tell you.
So no, the reason I asked thatquestion if you use that as
motivation, cause there's twosides to the fence on that one,
it's like some people put it tothe side and they're, you know
it doesn't really do anythinggood or negative for them, and
(32:33):
then you have other people thatit shuts them down, and then you
have that other crowd, likemyself, that it's like okay,
like you know, I don't use itnecessarily as motivation, but
it's like I love when peopletell me something that's not
going to work because it's likemy.
My mentality is always likeit's not a matter of if, it's
just a matter of when.
Right, so I promise that it'sgoing to happen.
(32:56):
If you don't have no way oftelling yourself it's not going
to happen, if you believe thatyou can achieve it, then you can
.
The moment you tell yourselfyou can't achieve it is the
moment it becomes impossible.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
A thousand percent.
That's great.
And now you're taking names ofthose people so you can come
back and be like okay, look whatI did.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Oh yeah, and that's, but that's the one.
So so some people do do that,and that's that's where I think
it can have a weird negativeeffect on you too, because now
you're doing it to prove tosomeone else that you did it.
For me, I just love the, youknow, people saying that you
can't do it and then achievingit and then them seeing it.
Maybe they don't see it, butthat part doesn't do anything
(33:36):
for me personally.
It's just you know, um.
But so where can people followyou and connect with you?
You know, I know you got youmentioned your podcast, social
media.
Where can people find you?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Second act successco is my website and that's got my
book, my podcast, ways to workwith me at lots of freebies
about career transition.
So everything's there and I'msecond act success on all social
as well.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Okay, awesome, make sure you guys go follow her, and
then the book comes out May 7th.
Um so when that does come out,make sure you send me that link
and I'll re put it back into uh,the, the links and everything
like that.
But, guys, all of those linkswill be in the show notes as
well.
If you're watching on YouTube,then everything will be in the
video description.
Make sure you guys share thiswith a friend, someone that's
(34:20):
working that you know nine tofive or wanting to transition,
and they just you keep hearingthem talk about it and talk
about it, and talk about it, andthey're too scared to take that
step.
Send them this episode.
But, shannon, thank you so muchagain for taking the time out
of your day and dropping so muchknowledge for the Mindset Cafe.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Thanks for having me.
This was such a funconversation.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Of course, we'll definitely stay in touch soon.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Yes, got my mind on the prize.
I can't be distracted.
I stay on my grind.
No time to be flackin'.
I hustle harder, I go againstthe curve Cause I know my mind
is rich to be collected.
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