What if you could start a profitable podcast and personal brand before you ever quit your 9–5?

In this inspiring episode of the Second Act Success podcast, Shannon Russell talks with Francesca (Fran) Stone, founder of 9 to 5 Mom with a Pod—a podcast and consulting platform that helps mom content creators launch personal brands and grow with purpose.

Fran shares how her winding career path—from talent agent to paralegal—gave her the business, sales, and people skills she now uses as a full-time entrepreneur. After becoming a mom, she realized her demanding legal career no longer fit the life she wanted, so she started her podcast as a side hustle, monetized it through consulting and affiliates (not sponsorships!), and eventually quit her job to work for herself… all while caring for her toddler at home.

If you’re a mom who dreams of starting a podcast, growing a brand, or leaving your 9–5 to work online, this conversation will show you what’s possible—without a massive audience or going viral.

Key Takeaways:

• Every job prepares you for entrepreneurship
  How Fran’s past roles in admin, accounts receivable, talent representation, and law all gave her skills she now uses in branding, sales, and running her business.
• Building a business while still in your 9–5
  How she tested her idea, validated demand, and stacked part-time income before quitting her job, plus what she put in place financially to make the leap.
• Running a business with a toddler at home
  Real talk on routines, support from her husband, working in focused 20-minute pockets, and swapping scroll time for CEO time.
• You don’t need to go viral to make money
  Fran proves you can monetize with around 2,000 followers if you have a strong brand, clear offers, and a nurtured audience.

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/227

Connect with Francheska Stone:

https://9to5momwithapod.com/

https://9to5momwithapod.com/podcast-episodes/

Tell us what you think and what you want to hear on the podcast!

You are listening to the Top 2% globally ranked podcast Second Act Success!

CONTACT Shannon and share your feedback about what you'd like to hear on the podcast! https://secondactsuccess.co/contact

Book a FREE Strategy Call with host and business coach Shannon Russell - https://www.calendly.com/second-act-success/coaching-strategy

Work with Shannon
https://secondactsuccess.co/coaching

FREE Resources
https://secondactsuccess.co/resources

READ Shannon's Book - Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life https://startyoursecondact.com.

LISTEN to the How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business Podcast!
https://secondactsuccess.co/listen

LET’S CONNECT!
Instagram - https://instagram.com/secondactsuccess
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonrussellcoach

*Want to be a guest on Second Act Success Podcast? Send Shannon Russell a message on PodMatch,...

In this special episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, business coach, author, and host Shannon Russell celebrates an incredible wave of second act authors who published books in 2025—right alongside her own book, Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life.

Shannon spotlights powerful new releases from friends and former guests including Lisa Morton (Aligned at Home), Heike Yates (Pursue Your Spark), Gregory Andrus (A Walk Along the Jersey Shore), Sara Conklin (Fundamentally Frugal), Gina Riley (Qualified Isn’t Enough), Liz Alterman (You Shouldn't Have Done That, Clare Casey's Had Enough, A Different Type of Poison), Cindy Bertram (California Fork & Spoon), Maude McDonald (Retro Quilts), and Liz Mugavero (Claws Out). You’ll hear how each author used their second act, career change, or creative pivot to turn lived experience into pages that inspire, heal, and empower others.

Whether you’ve secretly dreamed of writing a book, starting a business, or launching your own creative project, this episode is your loving nudge that it’s absolutely possible—especially in midlife.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How ordinary women (and one Jersey Shore storyteller!) turned their second act into published books
• Why sharing your story, expertise, or creativity can open new doors in career, business, and life
• The mindset shifts and courage it takes to say a big, bold “YES” to authorship
• Book recommendations in home alignment, wellness, money, career transitions, mystery fiction, quilting, food, and photography
• How your own second act might be the next book, podcast, or business the world is waiting for

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe I could write a book someday…” let this episode be your sign. Press play, grab the book list in the show notes, and get inspired to start your own second act story.

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/226

Tell us what you think and what you want to hear on the podcast!

You are listening to the Top 2% globally ranked podcast Second Act Success!

CONTACT Shannon and share your feedback about what you'd like to hear on the podcast! https://secondactsuccess.co/contact

Book a FREE Strategy Call with host and business coach Shannon Russell - https://www.calendly.com/second-act-success/coaching-strategy

Work with Shannon
https://secondactsuccess.co/coaching

FREE Resources
https://secondactsuccess.co/resources

READ Shannon's Book - Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life https://startyoursecondact.com.

LISTEN to the How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business Podcast!
https://secondactsuccess.co/listen

LET’S CONNECT!
Instagram - https://instagram.com/secondactsuccess
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonrussellcoach

*Want to be a guest on Second Act Success Podcast? Send Shannon Russell a message on PodMatch,...

If you’re a mom who feels like you’ve lost yourself in motherhood, this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast is for you.

Host Shannon Russell, business coach for women and author of Start Your Second Act, sits down with former teacher turned stay-at-home mom and community builder Michelle DeKeyser, founder of Mama Genius and the Mama Genius Hub.

Michelle shares her honest journey from teaching to being a stay-at-home mom to searching for community with other women, and creating her own Mama Genius community.

If you’ve ever thought, “I checked all the boxes—marriage, kids, house—so why do I still feel empty?”, Michelle’s story will help you feel seen, less alone, and inspired to create your own second act.

We talk about motherhood, identity, mom burnout, community, and starting a business as a mom, and how to find the courage to listen to that quiet now-what voice inside.

Key Takeaways:

• Losing Yourself in Motherhood: Why so many moms feel stuck, burned out, and out of alignment after years of putting everyone else first.
• From Stay-at-Home Mom to Mom Entrepreneur: The moment she realized she needed “something more” and how she slowly transitioned into launching a second-act business for moms.
• Why Moms Need Community & Belonging: How Michelle created Mama Genius, a safe community for moms to be vulnerable, share ideas, and rebuild their identity beyond “just mom.”

This episode is perfect for:

• Stay-at-home moms wondering what’s next
• Working moms who feel misaligned in their careers
• Women craving community, purpose, and a second-act business
• Anyone interested in personal growth, mom entrepreneurship, and identity after kids
• 
  

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/225

Connect with Michelle DeKeyser:

https://connectingmamas.com/

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/mama-genius-hub/episodes/

https://mamageniushub.com/

-------

Tell us what you think and what you want to hear on the podcast!

You are listening to the Top 2% globally ranked podcast Second Act Success!

CONTACT Shannon and share your feedback about what you'd like to hear on the podcast! https://secondactsuccess.co/contact

Book a FREE Strategy Call with host and business coach Shannon Russell - https://www.calendly.com/second-act-success/coaching-strategy

Work with Shannon
https://secondactsuccess.co/coaching

FREE Resources
https://secondactsuccess.co/resources

READ Shannon's Book - Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life https://startyoursecondact.com.

LISTEN to the How To Quit Your Job and Start A Business Podcast!
https://secondactsuccess.co/listen

LET’S CONNECT!
Instagram - https://instagram.com/secondactsuccess
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonrussellcoach

*Want to be a guest on Second Act Success Podcast? Send Shannon Russell a message on PodMatch,...