June 24, 2025 • 20 mins
What if your best years are still ahead of you and your decades of experience are the very foundation for your next big move?
In this episode of The Scalable Expert Podcast, Tara sits down with Tabatha Jones, also known as The Corporate Escape Sherpa, to talk about the journey from loyal corporate leader to liberated entrepreneur.
Tabatha shares how she left a 30-year career at the age of 50, built a thriving coaching business, and now helps other high-achieving women do the same - before burnout or forced retirement hits. We talk about building your escape plan while still in corporate, carving out an hour a day, and designing a business around freedom, purpose, and clarity.
If you’re over 40 and wondering “what’s next?”, this episode is your permission slip to go for it.
⏱️ Chapters / Timestamps:
00:00 – Meet Tabatha Jones, The Corporate Escape Sherpa
01:06 – Leaving corporate at 50: Tabatha’s story
02:28 – Coaching career pivots: From promotions to freedom
04:33 – One client’s bold escape plan success story
06:19 – The identity shift and mindset work after corporate
08:00 – How Tabatha supports her clients (programs + offers)
10:00 – What scaling looks like for Tabatha’s business
11:31 – Certification, licensing, and future growth plans
13:01 – The “one hour a day” rule and escaping the “I’m too busy” trap
15:49 – The Candy Crush confession: Avoidance vs action
17:15 – Favorite resources: Gen X Remix podcast + 10X Is Easier Than 2X
18:39 – Final takeaway: It’s never too late
About Tabatha
Tabatha Jones, CEO of Empowered Leadership Coaching, is The Corporate Escape Sherpa guiding midlife women to career freedom. After leaving corporate at 50, she helped Gen-X women advance but saw a growing need to support those ready to exit. Now, she helps ambitious women build profitable, purpose-driven businesses—without risking financial security. Known for her relatable style and transformational results, Tabatha empowers women to take bold steps toward their next act.
About Me:
Hey, it’s your host, Tara Bryan. And I am on a mission to help more business owners learn to infinitely scale their businesses by leveraging the power of online without sacrificing the customer experience or results.
I like to geek out on all things business strategy, marketing, interactive digital and user experience. This podcast is all about what is working, lessons learned and actionable tips to create and grow a thriving online business.
Join us each week as we dive into different strategies, tactics and tips you can apply immediately to your business.
To learn more:
Find us at https://www.taralbryan.com
Here are two ways we can help you create, grow and scale your business:
1. Want to package your expertise or become a Scalable Expert? Take our free quick assessment to see how close you are to creating a scalable business.
The Scalable Expert Assessment
2. ALREADY HAVE AN ONLINE BUSINESS & READY TO INFINITELY SCALE?
Download our free 50 Ways to Engage Your Customers guide or Schedule a 30 minute call with Tara to talk about our offers that will help you master the game.
Thanks for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tara Bryan (00:00):
Welcome to the Scalable Expert, the podcast where we unlock
the secrets to building a businessthat grows with you, not around you.
I'm your host, Tara Bryan, businessstrategist, mentor, and creator
of the Infinite Scale Method.
If you're a coach, consultant,or service provider who's
maxed out with one-on-one work.
Overwhelmed by the grind andready to scale your expertise into
(00:20):
a business that works for you,then you are in the right place.
Each week I'll share actionabletips, inspiring success stories,
and proven strategies to help youreclaim your time, grow your income,
and create a business that deliversresults without sacrificing quality.
Let's dive in and make yourbusiness infinitely scalable.
(00:41):
Hey everybody welcometo this week's podcast.
I am thrilled to introduceyou to Tabatha Jones.
Tabatha, welcome to our podcast.
I am so thrilled that you are on todayto get us started tell us a little
bit about yourself, who you are, anda little bit about your business.
Tabatha Jones (00:57):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much, Tara.
I am Tabatha Jones, the CorporateEscape Sherpa and the owner of
Empowered Leadership Coaching and Ihelp women leverage their decades of
corporate leadership experience tobuild thriving businesses that they
love, AKA create their escape plan.
So let's see a little background.
(01:19):
I spent more than 30 years in corporate20 plus years of that, I was climbing
the ladder and, just loved my job.
I led technical teams and I hada lot of fun, did some amazing
things, big projects and such.
And like I said, I loved my job untilone day I realized I didn't, it was
having an impact on my health, I wasn'tsuper happy after a reorganization
(01:42):
that had happened and had beenbuilding my business on the side.
So coaching clients after hours on theweekends, really starting to build the
business and decided one day, if notnow, when, and I gave notice and took the
leap into this business at the age of 50.
Like I said, just really helpingother women do the same now.
Tara Bryan (02:04):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Okay.
So there's so many things.
I'm so excited to talk to you about this.
First of all, I wantto be called a Sherpa.
Like that's super cool.
Like, I love that you,I love that you do that.
So first of all, one of the thingsaround the scalable expert podcast is
my audience loves hearing stories aboutpeople who have an expertise have been
(02:27):
able to take that expertise, have theconfidence and turn it into a business.
And then stories about like how you'vebeen able to grow and scale it from,
creating something from scratch.
And so I love your story becauseI think it's something that's
similar to a lot of people, right?
You're in your J-O-B and then youdecide to put your shingle up,
(02:48):
whether it's a side hustle or becomesa full time gig at first, right?
Usually always becomes a full time gig,especially the people that I'm talking to.
And so tell us a little bit about,What was that shift like for you?
Because you're really helping your, like,your ideal customer is really you, right?
Like, when you left corporate is tobe able to go and do the same thing.
(03:09):
Like, how did you wrestle through that?
Tabatha Jones (03:12):
When I first left corporate, I was coaching on
career advancement strategies.
It was something I was reallypassionate about women.
We don't promote ourselves enoughand it causes us to fall behind.
And I actually had a bit of a shift justvery recently, actually a few months back.
And I thought, man, what am Ispending most of my time doing?
(03:33):
What's really giving meand feeding this fire?
What am I so happy to do every day?
And I realized I had been talkingmore and working more and more with
women who wanted to do what I did.
And one of the things that I'm seeingis these women were waiting until
they were given either an option foran early retirement package or not so
(03:57):
much of an option, a severance packagebecause their job was going away and
there was a lot of panic around it.
And as you know, as your listenersknow, building a business takes time.
And some of us learn the hard way.
It also takes a lot of money sometimes.
And when I realized that I was helpingwomen make the right decisions and
(04:18):
where they're spending their money,start getting themselves more visible
and advocating for themselves, reallyusing a lot of those career advancement
strategies, they were findingthemselves feeling very successful.
One of my favorite stories isa woman who wanted to leave.
She was offered an earlyretirement package three years ago.
(04:39):
And she was so upset withherself, she couldn't take it.
She said financiallyI have too many bills.
I've got all this stuff going.
And she said, you know, she toldme, she said, the next time this
happens, I'm going to be ready.
And we did started building her business.
She would come to me for advice.
She would build.
The package was offered againat the end of 2024, and she was
(05:01):
able to say, heck yes, I'm out.
And, interestingly enough, I'm helping herstill with, the building and the growing.
But it just, it feels so good to beable to take women on the same journey
and that's where the Sherpa came from.
It's a supportive journey.
I'm here to help guideyou and I'm catching you.
And.
If you stumble, I'm right hereto help pick you back up and
get you right back on that path.
(05:22):
So it's been great.
It's been so fun.
Tara Bryan (05:26):
I love that.
I love the heck yes.
Like that just gives me chills, right?
Make me happy.
Because I think that there are twodifferent things that are, that
you're bringing to the table, right?
One is obviously the skills to be ableto help somebody transition from, a
corporate career to, to something else.
But I think there's also like, Asa, as a woman over 50, that sense
(05:48):
of when you turn 50, you're like,wait, what have I been doing?
A lot of times, like in my case, right?
The kids are getting older.
Now there's like, okay,now it's my turn, right?
Like now let's go.
And you're 50 and thinking, okay, where Iam right now isn't where I want to stay.
So whether it's corporate, whetherit's, whatever it is that you're doing.
(06:09):
Talk a little bit about do you incorporatethat into your coaching that you're doing?
Because I don't think I'm unique.
Where it's you're getting tothat point in your life where
you're like, all right, let's go.
What are we going to do?
How do we take this 50 years of experienceand take it into the next chapter?
Tabatha Jones (06:28):
That is a big part of the journey.
And that was, in corporate, when I wascoming up to 50 years old, I'd been
building my business for four years or so.
And I said, if not now,when, and it comes down to.
A lot of us, as we're approaching50 to your point, we start looking
at things a little differently.
The kids are grown up and maybe outof the house and you have more time to
(06:50):
finally focus on yourself and figuringout who you are and what do you really
like to do and why are you not doing that?
And we have that really similar story.
I hear that a lot with women inthis 50 plus bracket and it's scary.
I don't want to downplay it.
It's not for everyone.
It is so rewarding in so many ways,there's a lot of unknowns, especially
(07:14):
when you're coming from 30 years incorporate, where things are very set a
certain way you have all these peoplesupporting you, you're supporting them.
It's different, but I say, you'vegot to pick your plan, pick
what's going to work for you.
And for me, I just couldn't face thatfeeling of regret when I'm older.
(07:36):
And I kept thinking, God, whatabout when I hit 70, am I going
to say, why didn't you do this?
What made you stay if you weren't happy oreven if you were, but you knew there was
something more calling you to the outside.
And I don't want to live with regrets.
Life's too short.
We see people around us all the timethat their lives are just taken too soon.
(07:56):
And I'm like, I don't want to get tothat end and say, why didn't you do this?
Tara Bryan (08:00):
Yeah, for sure.
If you're in my audience andyou're thinking that same
thing, you're not alone.
Just remember you're not alone, right?
Like it's very common in whateversection of your life you're in, right?
Like you don't want to not do something.
that you're going tolook back on with regret.
So, so very, very good advice.
(08:21):
Okay so let's shift here and talk alittle bit about your business model.
So how are you servingyour women as their Sherpa?
Tabatha Jones (08:30):
So a couple of different ways, I do have an upcoming two day
workshop, which I can share with you.
So you have the information wherewe're going to talk about gaining some
clarity and taking action from there.
I do offer a group program that'sfully supportive, as I sure put
you through this transition andgetting again, very clear because
you want to know, what is your why.
(08:53):
What is it you really want to do andhelping you through that discomfort
because it's going to be uncomfortable.
There is a lot of mindsetcoaching because we don't always
feel like we deserve something.
I don't deserve it.
We have identity things.
I've always identified withbeing a high achieving corporate
woman who brings on this greatsix, multiple six figure salary.
(09:16):
What if I can't replace that?
What if, right?
All the worries.
A lot of mindset coaching andthen strategy, really, where do
you want to invest your time,your money, and your energy?
I laugh a lot because we know socialmedia is a part of the game when
you're running an online business.
There are other options, and we want tomake sure that you're aware of those.
(09:38):
Making sure that you're investingmoney in the right places
and investing it in yourself.
So it is a fully guided 12 weekprogram, and then there are options
to continue in different ways.
And then I have the one on one coaching.
So there are women thatjust say, you know what?
I want to do this by myself.
I want you telling me everyday what I need to do.
And we offer that as well.
(09:58):
So there's multiple ways thatI can support women who are
ready to make this transition.
Tara Bryan (10:03):
Yeah.
I love that.
And what I love about yourbusiness model is you really have.
Created scalable offers.
You've created ways that people can workwith you one on one as your top tier,
but then you have additional ways wherepeople can get involved, either a workshop
or group coaching or whatever, so verysmart, very good, that's the way to go.
So when you think about, what scalinglooks like for you, as a scalable
(10:27):
expert, what does that look like for you?
How do you start to think aboutscaling beyond your time and
attention for your customer?
Tabatha Jones (10:37):
That's a really great question that I probably should
have put even more thought into.
I'm a goal setter.
So every January, I don't do thewishy washy resolution kind of things.
I sat down and I set my goals, life,career, health, finances, et cetera.
For me, scaling means having a largerimpact, impacting more lives, preferably
(10:59):
spending less time doing that, you know,so looking for ways that I can offer more,
maybe courses or getting into larger talksand conversations, there's just so much.
I guess I just paused as I laughedbecause there's just so many opportunities
for scaling and often we forget aboutthem, Growing the business, I will
have coaches who work for me at somepoint that will be taking on a lot
(11:24):
of the hands on coaching aspects.
They'll likely be women that I'vetrained who are ready to take the leap
and have walked the journey and canunderstand it because it takes a different
level of empathy and compassion tounderstand where this woman's journey
has come from and where it's going to.
. So when I think of that, there's so much Icould probably talk to you all day about.
(11:44):
Lots of ideas and planson whiteboards, right?
Tara Bryan (11:47):
Right, right.
Well, and I mean, one of the one ofthe best ways, just like what you
just mentioned, is to create yourown certification program where you
can certify coaches to be out there,actually helping people on your
behalf, because then that becomes thatscalable model where you can make an
impact when you're not even there.
(12:08):
Absolutely.
So that's cool.
Yeah.
Tabatha Jones (12:10):
Absolutely.
My financial advisor always asks, shesays, how much longer do you plan to work?
And I said, until I don't wantto . She said, is there a number?
I'm like, no.
It's until I don't want to
. Tara Bryan (12:20):
Yeah.
And I think for me, one of thethings that when we're helping
our customers, it's about choice.
It's if you have a scalable offer, ifyou have those things in place where,
you know, things are, are operatingwithout your time, then you still
have the choice to do one on one,you still have the choice to show
up as much as you want to, but yourbusiness is still growing and doing
(12:43):
things when you're not involved in it.
And that to me is the trick, right?
Like it's yes, until I don't want to,because I have other things that I want
to be doing, but the business is stillserving you as you're moving forward.
And that's the scalable part from myperspective is you take your expertise,
what you're really good at, and thenyou start to grow it beyond yourself.
So it's such an exciting.
(13:06):
place to be and to take thatfor me, it comes up where I
specialize in, scalable systems.
And I'm like, how do you turn yourSherpa concept into a scalable version
of you being the Sherpa, right?
Like how do you automate that?
How do you make that into kindof your, animated character or
whatever, as you're helping people.
So that's where my mind goes.
(13:27):
All right, tell us, what's one,big, tip or trick, or actionable
item that you would give to myaudience around, what you do?
Tabatha Jones (13:37):
You know, I would say that I'm just going to use the one
thing I hear all the time, which is Ijust don't have time to start building
a business before I leave corporate.
I'm too busy.
I work full time.
I've got kids, dogs,parents, whatever it is.
I'm too busy.
The reality is one hour a day.
(13:58):
You can find one hour a day thatgives you six full weeks a year.
I just did the math on thisfor a post the other day.
Six full weeks in a yearthat you could get ahead.
So think about that over a three to fiveyear period of time where you're building
it doesn't have to be huge.
It could be sitting down andgetting clear on your unique value.
It can be identifying who you want towork with or reaching out and talking
(14:22):
to someone like us, either one ofus who have been through this type
of journey and picking our brains.
It can be.
Anything you want, but just dosomething and use your calendar to
block that time and hold it sacred,
Tara Bryan (14:38):
just like working out, just like all the things.
Tabatha Jones (14:40):
That's why we get up at five in the morning.
Tara Bryan (14:42):
Exactly.
Tabatha Jones (14:43):
But we find ourselves doing so many things without even realizing it.
Full confession.
I had a candy crush.
Obsession.
Tara Bryan (14:51):
How much time I spending on that?
Tabatha Jones (14:53):
And I wasn't making progress on something
that was really important to me.
And I was like, what are you doing?
You know what you're doing?
You're spending time, not onehour a day, you could be spending
on something productive insteadof popping little candies.
And you know, so we're all doing things,scrolling, looking at funny animal
videos or calling it our downtime.
(15:15):
But why not just start making it youruptime and start building toward that
thing that you're really passionate about?
Tara Bryan (15:21):
Yeah, and I think two things about that, which
I think are very interesting.
One is when you're in corporate yourtime is dictated within a window, right?
Eight hours, 40 hours a week.
Like that's how that's howtime works when you're working.
When you go into business foryourself, you don't have to
be under that same construct.
So I love your point about an hour aday, you can actually build a lucrative
(15:45):
business one hour a day, you don't needto sit in a chair for eight hours, 40
hours a week, in order to be successfuland so I love that because I think
that's definitely a mindset shiftthat happens when you leave corporate
and go somewhere else and buildyour own thing is that time shifts.
And then the other thing is and I'msure you teach this too, but you know
(16:07):
that by doing Candy Crush, you'rejust avoiding something like, it's
just an avoidance tactic to the thingthat you're supposed to be doing.
And so if you just were to do thething that you were doing, you
probably could do it in an hour,get it done, and then you would have
some time for Candy Crush, right?
I'm sure you handle, yeah, I'msure you handle all of that.
Tabatha Jones (16:26):
Yeah, absolutely, and it comes down to, it's
hard, I'm not going to lie.
Finding an hour a day when you'reworking full time, just let's face it.
Most people in corporatedon't work eight hour days.
There are longer days.
There's a commute, there'straveling, there's whatever it is.
It's hard, but you got to pick your hard.
Is it going to be the hard whereyou take an hour and do something
(16:47):
that's going to move you forward?
Or is it the hard where youjust stay stuck and unhappy?
If you are in that space,you got to pick your hard.
And I'll tell you, the hard thatis building your future is the
one that I will choose every time.
Tara Bryan (17:02):
Yep, of course.
Yeah, I agree.
Okay, so tell us about a tool or abook or resource that you could not
live without as a business owner.
Tabatha Jones (17:13):
Oh my gosh, there's so many things.
Resources, I would saypodcasts, podcasts like yours.
I have a podcast called the Gen X Remix.
There are so many things thatyou can get just quick tips while
you're getting ready in the morning.
You don't even have to count that towardyour hour a day because you can multitask.
So that would be a resource.
I would say as far as a book,the 10X Is Easier Than 2X book.
(17:36):
I listened to it on audible alsobecause I could multitask while
I'm getting ready in the morning.
It just, makes you think about, andwhen you come into scaling, right,
it makes you think aboutwhat's holding me back?
Why am I trying to scale to 2 times whenI could scale to 10 times just by doing
a couple of things that make total sensewhen you hear someone else say them.
(17:57):
So I would say those are a couple ofthings that I would highly recommend.
Tara Bryan (18:01):
Yeah.
Awesome.
All right.
We will put those in the show note.
It's interesting.
I did Benjamin Hardy's, 10X.
He has a coaching program in this lastquarter, that was just fascinating
because every single week he'd be like,just remember, 10X is easier than 2X
and you're like, oh yeah, you're right.
Okay.
I'm gonna write it down again.
It is something that's hard.
I mean, it's hard to remember, that it'seasier to actually do something that seems
(18:24):
unattainable than it is to just do, oneor two-sy things as you're going forward.
So get the book.
It's amazing.
It'll change the way thatyou think about things.
So I, I agree with that for sure.
Um, all right.
So how are you said the GenX Remix,which I love because I'm a Gen Xer.
So people can check you out onthat podcast, but how else can
(18:44):
we get ahold of you if we wantto learn more about what you do?
Tabatha Jones (18:48):
Honestly, the two easiest ways.
One is connect with me on LinkedIn.
I share a lot of actionable insights.
You can grab my free resourcefrom LinkedIn, which is 10 Steps
to Map Your Bold Escape Plan.
And you can also hop onto mywebsite, it's empowered-leader.Com,
and we share all kinds of greatupdates out there as well.
Tara Bryan (19:10):
Awesome.
Very cool.
All right, Tabatha, give us the finalword that we can take with us as we
go forth from this podcast episode.
Tabatha Jones (19:20):
Oh my gosh.
It's never too late.
It is never too late to pivot.
It's never too late togo after your dream.
It's never too late tochange your direction.
So that's what I share.
It's a Gen X motto, I think at thispoint, because we worry about that.
So it's never too late.
Tara Bryan (19:36):
Amazing.
All right, Tabatha.
Thank you so much forbeing on the podcast.
We appreciate you for myaudience, have a great week and
we will talk to you next week.
Welcome to the Scalable Expert, the podcast where we unlock
the secrets to building a businessthat grows with you, not around you.
I'm your host, Tara Bryan, businessstrategist, mentor, and creator
of the Infinite Scale Method.
If you're a coach, consultant,or service provider who's
maxed out with one-on-one work.
Overwhelmed by the grind andready to scale your expertise into
(00:20):
a business that works for you,then you are in the right place.
Each week I'll share actionabletips, inspiring success stories,
and proven strategies to help youreclaim your time, grow your income,
and create a business that deliversresults without sacrificing quality.
Let's dive in and make yourbusiness infinitely scalable.
(00:41):
Hey everybody welcometo this week's podcast.
I am thrilled to introduceyou to Tabatha Jones.
Tabatha, welcome to our podcast.
I am so thrilled that you are on todayto get us started tell us a little
bit about yourself, who you are, anda little bit about your business.
Tabatha Jones (00:57):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much, Tara.
I am Tabatha Jones, the CorporateEscape Sherpa and the owner of
Empowered Leadership Coaching and Ihelp women leverage their decades of
corporate leadership experience tobuild thriving businesses that they
love, AKA create their escape plan.
So let's see a little background.
(01:19):
I spent more than 30 years in corporate20 plus years of that, I was climbing
the ladder and, just loved my job.
I led technical teams and I hada lot of fun, did some amazing
things, big projects and such.
And like I said, I loved my job untilone day I realized I didn't, it was
having an impact on my health, I wasn'tsuper happy after a reorganization
(01:42):
that had happened and had beenbuilding my business on the side.
So coaching clients after hours on theweekends, really starting to build the
business and decided one day, if notnow, when, and I gave notice and took the
leap into this business at the age of 50.
Like I said, just really helpingother women do the same now.
Tara Bryan (02:04):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Okay.
So there's so many things.
I'm so excited to talk to you about this.
First of all, I wantto be called a Sherpa.
Like that's super cool.
Like, I love that you,I love that you do that.
So first of all, one of the thingsaround the scalable expert podcast is
my audience loves hearing stories aboutpeople who have an expertise have been
(02:27):
able to take that expertise, have theconfidence and turn it into a business.
And then stories about like how you'vebeen able to grow and scale it from,
creating something from scratch.
And so I love your story becauseI think it's something that's
similar to a lot of people, right?
You're in your J-O-B and then youdecide to put your shingle up,
(02:48):
whether it's a side hustle or becomesa full time gig at first, right?
Usually always becomes a full time gig,especially the people that I'm talking to.
And so tell us a little bit about,What was that shift like for you?
Because you're really helping your, like,your ideal customer is really you, right?
Like, when you left corporate is tobe able to go and do the same thing.
(03:09):
Like, how did you wrestle through that?
Tabatha Jones (03:12):
When I first left corporate, I was coaching on
career advancement strategies.
It was something I was reallypassionate about women.
We don't promote ourselves enoughand it causes us to fall behind.
And I actually had a bit of a shift justvery recently, actually a few months back.
And I thought, man, what am Ispending most of my time doing?
(03:33):
What's really giving meand feeding this fire?
What am I so happy to do every day?
And I realized I had been talkingmore and working more and more with
women who wanted to do what I did.
And one of the things that I'm seeingis these women were waiting until
they were given either an option foran early retirement package or not so
(03:57):
much of an option, a severance packagebecause their job was going away and
there was a lot of panic around it.
And as you know, as your listenersknow, building a business takes time.
And some of us learn the hard way.
It also takes a lot of money sometimes.
And when I realized that I was helpingwomen make the right decisions and
(04:18):
where they're spending their money,start getting themselves more visible
and advocating for themselves, reallyusing a lot of those career advancement
strategies, they were findingthemselves feeling very successful.
One of my favorite stories isa woman who wanted to leave.
She was offered an earlyretirement package three years ago.
(04:39):
And she was so upset withherself, she couldn't take it.
She said financiallyI have too many bills.
I've got all this stuff going.
And she said, you know, she toldme, she said, the next time this
happens, I'm going to be ready.
And we did started building her business.
She would come to me for advice.
She would build.
The package was offered againat the end of 2024, and she was
(05:01):
able to say, heck yes, I'm out.
And, interestingly enough, I'm helping herstill with, the building and the growing.
But it just, it feels so good to beable to take women on the same journey
and that's where the Sherpa came from.
It's a supportive journey.
I'm here to help guideyou and I'm catching you.
And.
If you stumble, I'm right hereto help pick you back up and
get you right back on that path.
(05:22):
So it's been great.
It's been so fun.
Tara Bryan (05:26):
I love that.
I love the heck yes.
Like that just gives me chills, right?
Make me happy.
Because I think that there are twodifferent things that are, that
you're bringing to the table, right?
One is obviously the skills to be ableto help somebody transition from, a
corporate career to, to something else.
But I think there's also like, Asa, as a woman over 50, that sense
(05:48):
of when you turn 50, you're like,wait, what have I been doing?
A lot of times, like in my case, right?
The kids are getting older.
Now there's like, okay,now it's my turn, right?
Like now let's go.
And you're 50 and thinking, okay, where Iam right now isn't where I want to stay.
So whether it's corporate, whetherit's, whatever it is that you're doing.
(06:09):
Talk a little bit about do you incorporatethat into your coaching that you're doing?
Because I don't think I'm unique.
Where it's you're getting tothat point in your life where
you're like, all right, let's go.
What are we going to do?
How do we take this 50 years of experienceand take it into the next chapter?
Tabatha Jones (06:28):
That is a big part of the journey.
And that was, in corporate, when I wascoming up to 50 years old, I'd been
building my business for four years or so.
And I said, if not now,when, and it comes down to.
A lot of us, as we're approaching50 to your point, we start looking
at things a little differently.
The kids are grown up and maybe outof the house and you have more time to
(06:50):
finally focus on yourself and figuringout who you are and what do you really
like to do and why are you not doing that?
And we have that really similar story.
I hear that a lot with women inthis 50 plus bracket and it's scary.
I don't want to downplay it.
It's not for everyone.
It is so rewarding in so many ways,there's a lot of unknowns, especially
(07:14):
when you're coming from 30 years incorporate, where things are very set a
certain way you have all these peoplesupporting you, you're supporting them.
It's different, but I say, you'vegot to pick your plan, pick
what's going to work for you.
And for me, I just couldn't face thatfeeling of regret when I'm older.
(07:36):
And I kept thinking, God, whatabout when I hit 70, am I going
to say, why didn't you do this?
What made you stay if you weren't happy oreven if you were, but you knew there was
something more calling you to the outside.
And I don't want to live with regrets.
Life's too short.
We see people around us all the timethat their lives are just taken too soon.
(07:56):
And I'm like, I don't want to get tothat end and say, why didn't you do this?
Tara Bryan (08:00):
Yeah, for sure.
If you're in my audience andyou're thinking that same
thing, you're not alone.
Just remember you're not alone, right?
Like it's very common in whateversection of your life you're in, right?
Like you don't want to not do something.
that you're going tolook back on with regret.
So, so very, very good advice.
(08:21):
Okay so let's shift here and talk alittle bit about your business model.
So how are you servingyour women as their Sherpa?
Tabatha Jones (08:30):
So a couple of different ways, I do have an upcoming two day
workshop, which I can share with you.
So you have the information wherewe're going to talk about gaining some
clarity and taking action from there.
I do offer a group program that'sfully supportive, as I sure put
you through this transition andgetting again, very clear because
you want to know, what is your why.
(08:53):
What is it you really want to do andhelping you through that discomfort
because it's going to be uncomfortable.
There is a lot of mindsetcoaching because we don't always
feel like we deserve something.
I don't deserve it.
We have identity things.
I've always identified withbeing a high achieving corporate
woman who brings on this greatsix, multiple six figure salary.
(09:16):
What if I can't replace that?
What if, right?
All the worries.
A lot of mindset coaching andthen strategy, really, where do
you want to invest your time,your money, and your energy?
I laugh a lot because we know socialmedia is a part of the game when
you're running an online business.
There are other options, and we want tomake sure that you're aware of those.
(09:38):
Making sure that you're investingmoney in the right places
and investing it in yourself.
So it is a fully guided 12 weekprogram, and then there are options
to continue in different ways.
And then I have the one on one coaching.
So there are women thatjust say, you know what?
I want to do this by myself.
I want you telling me everyday what I need to do.
And we offer that as well.
(09:58):
So there's multiple ways thatI can support women who are
ready to make this transition.
Tara Bryan (10:03):
Yeah.
I love that.
And what I love about yourbusiness model is you really have.
Created scalable offers.
You've created ways that people can workwith you one on one as your top tier,
but then you have additional ways wherepeople can get involved, either a workshop
or group coaching or whatever, so verysmart, very good, that's the way to go.
So when you think about, what scalinglooks like for you, as a scalable
(10:27):
expert, what does that look like for you?
How do you start to think aboutscaling beyond your time and
attention for your customer?
Tabatha Jones (10:37):
That's a really great question that I probably should
have put even more thought into.
I'm a goal setter.
So every January, I don't do thewishy washy resolution kind of things.
I sat down and I set my goals, life,career, health, finances, et cetera.
For me, scaling means having a largerimpact, impacting more lives, preferably
(10:59):
spending less time doing that, you know,so looking for ways that I can offer more,
maybe courses or getting into larger talksand conversations, there's just so much.
I guess I just paused as I laughedbecause there's just so many opportunities
for scaling and often we forget aboutthem, Growing the business, I will
have coaches who work for me at somepoint that will be taking on a lot
(11:24):
of the hands on coaching aspects.
They'll likely be women that I'vetrained who are ready to take the leap
and have walked the journey and canunderstand it because it takes a different
level of empathy and compassion tounderstand where this woman's journey
has come from and where it's going to.
. So when I think of that, there's so much Icould probably talk to you all day about.
(11:44):
Lots of ideas and planson whiteboards, right?
Tara Bryan (11:47):
Right, right.
Well, and I mean, one of the one ofthe best ways, just like what you
just mentioned, is to create yourown certification program where you
can certify coaches to be out there,actually helping people on your
behalf, because then that becomes thatscalable model where you can make an
impact when you're not even there.
(12:08):
Absolutely.
So that's cool.
Yeah.
Tabatha Jones (12:10):
Absolutely.
My financial advisor always asks, shesays, how much longer do you plan to work?
And I said, until I don't wantto . She said, is there a number?
I'm like, no.
It's until I don't want to
. Tara Bryan (12:20):
Yeah.
And I think for me, one of thethings that when we're helping
our customers, it's about choice.
It's if you have a scalable offer, ifyou have those things in place where,
you know, things are, are operatingwithout your time, then you still
have the choice to do one on one,you still have the choice to show
up as much as you want to, but yourbusiness is still growing and doing
(12:43):
things when you're not involved in it.
And that to me is the trick, right?
Like it's yes, until I don't want to,because I have other things that I want
to be doing, but the business is stillserving you as you're moving forward.
And that's the scalable part from myperspective is you take your expertise,
what you're really good at, and thenyou start to grow it beyond yourself.
So it's such an exciting.
(13:06):
place to be and to take thatfor me, it comes up where I
specialize in, scalable systems.
And I'm like, how do you turn yourSherpa concept into a scalable version
of you being the Sherpa, right?
Like how do you automate that?
How do you make that into kindof your, animated character or
whatever, as you're helping people.
So that's where my mind goes.
(13:27):
All right, tell us, what's one,big, tip or trick, or actionable
item that you would give to myaudience around, what you do?
Tabatha Jones (13:37):
You know, I would say that I'm just going to use the one
thing I hear all the time, which is Ijust don't have time to start building
a business before I leave corporate.
I'm too busy.
I work full time.
I've got kids, dogs,parents, whatever it is.
I'm too busy.
The reality is one hour a day.
(13:58):
You can find one hour a day thatgives you six full weeks a year.
I just did the math on thisfor a post the other day.
Six full weeks in a yearthat you could get ahead.
So think about that over a three to fiveyear period of time where you're building
it doesn't have to be huge.
It could be sitting down andgetting clear on your unique value.
It can be identifying who you want towork with or reaching out and talking
(14:22):
to someone like us, either one ofus who have been through this type
of journey and picking our brains.
It can be.
Anything you want, but just dosomething and use your calendar to
block that time and hold it sacred,
Tara Bryan (14:38):
just like working out, just like all the things.
Tabatha Jones (14:40):
That's why we get up at five in the morning.
Tara Bryan (14:42):
Exactly.
Tabatha Jones (14:43):
But we find ourselves doing so many things without even realizing it.
Full confession.
I had a candy crush.
Obsession.
Tara Bryan (14:51):
How much time I spending on that?
Tabatha Jones (14:53):
And I wasn't making progress on something
that was really important to me.
And I was like, what are you doing?
You know what you're doing?
You're spending time, not onehour a day, you could be spending
on something productive insteadof popping little candies.
And you know, so we're all doing things,scrolling, looking at funny animal
videos or calling it our downtime.
(15:15):
But why not just start making it youruptime and start building toward that
thing that you're really passionate about?
Tara Bryan (15:21):
Yeah, and I think two things about that, which
I think are very interesting.
One is when you're in corporate yourtime is dictated within a window, right?
Eight hours, 40 hours a week.
Like that's how that's howtime works when you're working.
When you go into business foryourself, you don't have to
be under that same construct.
So I love your point about an hour aday, you can actually build a lucrative
(15:45):
business one hour a day, you don't needto sit in a chair for eight hours, 40
hours a week, in order to be successfuland so I love that because I think
that's definitely a mindset shiftthat happens when you leave corporate
and go somewhere else and buildyour own thing is that time shifts.
And then the other thing is and I'msure you teach this too, but you know
(16:07):
that by doing Candy Crush, you'rejust avoiding something like, it's
just an avoidance tactic to the thingthat you're supposed to be doing.
And so if you just were to do thething that you were doing, you
probably could do it in an hour,get it done, and then you would have
some time for Candy Crush, right?
I'm sure you handle, yeah, I'msure you handle all of that.
Tabatha Jones (16:26):
Yeah, absolutely, and it comes down to, it's
hard, I'm not going to lie.
Finding an hour a day when you'reworking full time, just let's face it.
Most people in corporatedon't work eight hour days.
There are longer days.
There's a commute, there'straveling, there's whatever it is.
It's hard, but you got to pick your hard.
Is it going to be the hard whereyou take an hour and do something
(16:47):
that's going to move you forward?
Or is it the hard where youjust stay stuck and unhappy?
If you are in that space,you got to pick your hard.
And I'll tell you, the hard thatis building your future is the
one that I will choose every time.
Tara Bryan (17:02):
Yep, of course.
Yeah, I agree.
Okay, so tell us about a tool or abook or resource that you could not
live without as a business owner.
Tabatha Jones (17:13):
Oh my gosh, there's so many things.
Resources, I would saypodcasts, podcasts like yours.
I have a podcast called the Gen X Remix.
There are so many things thatyou can get just quick tips while
you're getting ready in the morning.
You don't even have to count that towardyour hour a day because you can multitask.
So that would be a resource.
I would say as far as a book,the 10X Is Easier Than 2X book.
(17:36):
I listened to it on audible alsobecause I could multitask while
I'm getting ready in the morning.
It just, makes you think about, andwhen you come into scaling, right,
it makes you think aboutwhat's holding me back?
Why am I trying to scale to 2 times whenI could scale to 10 times just by doing
a couple of things that make total sensewhen you hear someone else say them.
(17:57):
So I would say those are a couple ofthings that I would highly recommend.
Tara Bryan (18:01):
Yeah.
Awesome.
All right.
We will put those in the show note.
It's interesting.
I did Benjamin Hardy's, 10X.
He has a coaching program in this lastquarter, that was just fascinating
because every single week he'd be like,just remember, 10X is easier than 2X
and you're like, oh yeah, you're right.
Okay.
I'm gonna write it down again.
It is something that's hard.
I mean, it's hard to remember, that it'seasier to actually do something that seems
(18:24):
unattainable than it is to just do, oneor two-sy things as you're going forward.
So get the book.
It's amazing.
It'll change the way thatyou think about things.
So I, I agree with that for sure.
Um, all right.
So how are you said the GenX Remix,which I love because I'm a Gen Xer.
So people can check you out onthat podcast, but how else can
(18:44):
we get ahold of you if we wantto learn more about what you do?
Tabatha Jones (18:48):
Honestly, the two easiest ways.
One is connect with me on LinkedIn.
I share a lot of actionable insights.
You can grab my free resourcefrom LinkedIn, which is 10 Steps
to Map Your Bold Escape Plan.
And you can also hop onto mywebsite, it's empowered-leader.Com,
and we share all kinds of greatupdates out there as well.
Tara Bryan (19:10):
Awesome.
Very cool.
All right, Tabatha, give us the finalword that we can take with us as we
go forth from this podcast episode.
Tabatha Jones (19:20):
Oh my gosh.
It's never too late.
It is never too late to pivot.
It's never too late togo after your dream.
It's never too late tochange your direction.
So that's what I share.
It's a Gen X motto, I think at thispoint, because we worry about that.
So it's never too late.
Tara Bryan (19:36):
Amazing.
All right, Tabatha.
Thank you so much forbeing on the podcast.
We appreciate you for myaudience, have a great week and
we will talk to you next week.
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