Career Reflection to Business Action: 2025 Success Starts Here | Ep #177

In this reflective and inspiring episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, host Shannon Russell wraps up 2024 with a heartfelt message of gratitude and encouragement. Whether you’ve already started your second act, are exploring new career options, or are taking the leap into building your own business, this episode is packed with motivation to celebrate your progress and plan for an even brighter 2025.

Shannon shares personal highlights from her journey over the past year, including selling her franchise business, completing her upcoming book Start Your Second Act: How to Change Careers, Launch a Business, and Create Your Best Life, and launching new projects. She reflects on the lessons learned in 2024 and how they can inspire you to take actionable steps toward achieving your business and career goals in the year ahead.

Grab a notebook as Shannon encourages you to reflect on your own wins from the past year—big or small—and map out your dreams for 2025. This episode is your reminder that you’re capable of creating a life and career that truly lights you up.

Tune in to celebrate, reset, and prepare to make 2025 your best year yet!

Connect with Shannon:

• Instagram: @secondactsuccess
• Show Notes: secondactsuccess.co/177

Let’s embrace 2025 together!

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Career Reflection to Business Action: 2025 Success Starts Here | Ep #177
Episode - #177
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Speaker: Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the Second Act Success Career Podcast I am your host, Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer turned business owner, career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

Hey there and welcome. This is a quick episode. I wanted to just wish you a very happy holiday and wish you the best going into 2025. 

I'm sure that the past couple of weeks with the kids being home and holidays and juggling family and events and festivities has been overwhelming. But I hope it's been fun and I hope you've had a chance. To really reflect on 2024 and [00:01:00] what you've been able to accomplish. Whether you've already achieved your second act. Whether you're figuring out what your second act is or whether you're in the process of really building it. I want you to know that you are seen and heard and appreciated for all of the work that you're doing. Just taking the time to. Better yourself and start over in life and start creating something in the second act that is going to fulfill you and let you up. Is what this is all about. 

Think about all of the steps you have taken up until this point. To get you here. And then really appreciate that because we've all taken steps, whether big or small to get us to where we are now and who we are now. And it's important to really reflect on that and appreciate it because you've come so far. 

The fact that you're listening to this show, the fact that you're trying to figure out what you're going to be doing and where you want your life and your work and your [00:02:00] career to go is really admirable. 

As I stepped back and I think about this past year, I have so much to be grateful for so much to be proud of. Although for a lot of my small business owner, friends, and I it's been a difficult year. 

The market has been changing and we've had to adjust in the ways that we market our businesses on social media and it's just been a really trying year for a lot of people. So I know. A lot of people in my circle are really looking forward to saying goodbye to this year and saying hello to a fresh start in 2025. If you're feeling that I'm with you, it definitely had its ups and downs. 

For me in 2024, there are a lot of aspects of my business. That took off and really grew, which was fantastic. But there are other areas of my business that maybe didn't really take off the way I thought they would. There were elements of my coaching business that I had to let go of. Or [00:03:00] change a little bit, but it was all part of the learning curve. 

It's all part of growing a business and figuring out what your clients want. Or your customers, if you're a product based business, but just that idea of learning and reinventing and knowing that not everything is going to take off the way you want it to. And that's okay. So for me. I look back at this year as really a learning year, a year of me saying, wow, I have accomplished a lot. And for those of you who don't know this year, I actually sold my franchise business. I had been in the process of trying to sell it for well over a year. It started to finally come to fruition last spring, but I actually didn't sign papers and sell it until the fall. 

It was a really long process for me, but I'm so, so proud. That I was able to really take that first business of mine. After I left my career in television, I opened this franchise. [00:04:00] Grew it ran it for over eight years and was able to sell it 

While it was hot while it was booming. I was able to sell the business in say, whew. I can walk away. I can focus on my clients and my coaching and my podcast and my book and all of the elements of second act success that. Really are aware. My heart was leading me. I talk about checking the boxes a lot here on the show. 

And I had checked that box in that franchise business. I had done it learned grown. Succeeded and then check the box and said, okay, let's really take the time to grow my coaching business that has already been around for several years, but take it to that next level. So that was a huge accomplishment for me in this past year. Also my other huge accomplishment is that I wrote a book and I've talked about that here on the show as well, but it was something that I had wanted to do for quite some [00:05:00] time. I was mulling over the idea. 



I took the plunge in March of last year, or maybe it was February. Started writing the book and here we are, it is finished. I'm working on the cover. I'm working on the audio book and getting it ready for release in early 20, 25. That is an accomplishment that I have been working on my entire life. If you think about it. So I'm really proud of start your second act. That is my book and it will be out in the coming months. 

I was also able to begin speaking on stages this year. And spreading my message about really taking that leap and leaving your career to start a business and take that leap in your second act. And so. This year really has been an incredible year for me in that sense, too, of really kind of getting out of my comfort zone. And being able to share my message on bigger stages for more women to, get to know me and my mission and see that they can [00:06:00] to start something new, no matter what age they are. And of course this podcast, I absolutely love the podcast. I love the feedback that I get from you all. It makes me so excited to see what's, to come with our amazing guests and what I can share. And I love your feedback so that I know exactly what kind of content you're looking for. And I can bring that to you. Also in this past year, I started a second podcast. 

I started the How To Quit Your Job and Start a Business Podcast. That's a limited series podcast. Of 20 episodes, 20 and done. That was a really hard project to take on because it was a lot of content, 20 episodes that I recorded all at once. And released all at once for you. 

And, um, again, the feedback has been really incredible. So another thing to be proud of in 2024,. However, the point of this episode is to reflect. So I hope in hearing me reflect a little bit about this past year, [00:07:00] we'll get you to reflect as well. You might think that you didn't accomplish much. 

There's not really much to write home about in this past year. But you're wrong. Take a pad out, write down what you are proud of. Maybe it's a vacation with your family. Maybe it's an accomplishment at work. Maybe you've started a business and you've. Jumped over that first hurdle, whatever it is, write it down. And reflect on it, be proud of yourself and say, okay, this is what I did. 

Let me check the box on 2024. And let's move into the new year with a fresh slate. It is wide open for you. And you control your future. So by writing down your wishes and goals for 2025, they can be tangible for you to look at. You can put them on the wall in your office, put them on a post-it note on your monitor or your laptop screen and just know that it is possible and that these are your goals that you are now working [00:08:00] towards. The next episode of the podcast is all about planning for 2025 and how you can pick those three goals. And really achieve them with actionable steps. So we'll get to that in the next episode. But for this one, I wanted to keep it short. I just wanted to pop in and say, I am proud of you for all that you have accomplished in this past year. 

And to keep going to know that you deserve to build the life that you want, the life that fits you in this stage. Of your life, where you are right now, you can build a business. You can build a future based on what it is that you want. Your priorities, your goals. Your life. Feel free to send me a message. 

You can DM me on Instagram at @secondactsuccess. Or write a review on Apple Podcast. I would absolutely love to hear how this past year has been for you, what you're working towards in the coming year and how I can serve you better. In 2025. Thank you for listening. 

My [00:09:00] friend. It means the world to me. And I'm wishing you a happy and healthy year ahead. Talk to you soon. 

[00:09:07] Speaker 2: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is Second Act Success.