From Career Rut to Business Ready: How the Second Act Accelerator Helps You Quit Your Job and Launch a Business in 90 Days | #203

Tired of the Sunday Scaries and dreaming of quitting your 9-5 to start a business that lights you up? You’re not alone—and you don’t have to do it alone either. In this episode, Shannon Russell shares the behind-the-scenes details of her signature coaching program, the Second Act Accelerator, a 90-day proven framework that helps women leave their careers and build the freedom-filled business they’ve always wanted.

You’ll learn exactly what’s inside the program, including step-by-step lessons, business planning templates, 1:1 coaching, biweekly group calls, and a community of like-minded women ready to support your leap from employee to entrepreneur. If you're craving flexibility, fulfillment, and financial freedom, this episode will show you how to make your second act your best one yet.

Learn more or enroll now: https://secondactsuccess.co/course

Episode Takeaways:

• Why your first career isn’t your final act—and how to pivot with purpose
• What’s included in the Second Act Accelerator (and why it’s priced for accessibility)
• How this blended learning model combines coaching, courses, and community
• Real results and reviews from past clients who made the leap successfully
• A mindset reminder that your experience is your superpower

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/203

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast

Season 1 - From Career Rut to Business Ready: How the Second Act Accelerator Helps You Quit Your Job and Launch a Business in 90 Days | #203

Episode - #203

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate) 

[00:00:00] 

 we've all watched TV shows where season one looks nothing like the series finale. Am I right? Plot twist, new characters shocking reveals. Well, real life is like that too. Yet many of us treat our first career like a lifelong contract. We think that once we pick that career at age 20, that we are going to continue that until retirement.

And I'm here to tell you that is not the case.

Your script is rewriteable, so if you're feeling stuck, undervalued, or just plain bored, it's not a flaw in your storyline. It's actually time for you to pivot.

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 [00:01:00] 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 to the second Act Success Career podcast. I'm your host Shannon Russell. I'm a former television producer, turned entrepreneur, author, and business coach.

 After 16 years of working in television, I decided to leave it all behind and create a second act of my own. I decided to produce my own life, and by doing that, I entered the world of entrepreneurship.

I opened a franchise business, ran it for over eight years, sold it successfully in 2024, and in the meantime, while running that business, I opened a second business where I could help other women leave their careers and start a business of their own.

Because you're not starting from scratch, you starting from experience. And that's exactly what I teach my clients every day, that they're taking their experience skills and [00:02:00] their talents and they're creating a business using all of that, and they are now building a life with freedom, flexibility, and creativity.

By building this online coaching business, I decided to package everything that I went through in my career, transition into entrepreneurship and everything. I teach my clients into my signature program.

This program is called the Second Act Accelerator and inside it I teach you my Second Act Strategy. It's a three part framework that helps you go from where you are now to where you want to be

When you join the Second Act Accelerator, you are on a three month guided sprint designed to transform you from someday I'll start a business to putting that launch day on your calendar.

Inside the Second Act Accelerator. You will get a self-paced course with over 14 modules full of lessons that you can watch at your own pace. Each lesson will walk you through [00:03:00] what it will be like to leave your current job or your current situation, and take this business idea and make it a reality

within each lesson, you will also get resources. So there's an entire library of resources, tools, guides, planners, anything you need for any aspect of building a business that you need. It's all there to help you and reinforce that, yes, this is the idea that you want to create and this is the direction you want to go.

Because the more you learn about what it is you want to build and what you want to do for your second act, the more confident you'll become not only do you have the course, you will also have a chance to meet with me for a one-on-one coaching session

we will dive into your specific needs, your specific business, your specific goals, and how we can get your business from something that's in your head to a business that is out there serving. Others.

You will also be invited to biweekly group coaching sessions where you and other clients will meet with me twice a month to [00:04:00] talk about your individual questions, what you're learning in the course, any roadblocks or problems that you're coming up with, and how we can tackle them.

It's a time to come together and work to figure out what is working, what is not working. Go over any stumbling blocks that you might be having any roadblocks, ask questions to me and really work on what you're currently focusing on in building your business.

In addition to all of this, you'll also have access to my private Facebook community. Inside you will be surrounded by other clients and you can ask questions, help support each other network, use it to your fullest advantage.

The idea for the Second Act Accelerator is that you have continued lifelong access to the course.

You will have access to anything new that gets added. Anytime I make an update or add a new resource or module, you will have that access. You will also have three months of group coaching and access to the community.

My goal with this program is to help you create a [00:05:00] crystal clear plan that allows you to leave your job and launch a business within 90 days.

For some people it takes longer. For some people it takes less, but the idea is that you will have the guidance, resources, accountability and support to get your idea off the ground and out into the world.

Blended learning in this course is key, so that's why I've created self-paced videos and lessons that you can watch whenever your time allows. But then you can also join for live group coaching sessions and live one-on-one coaching with me.

This way you have the best of both worlds,

You will also have a library of tools at your disposal to grab what you need. Anything from working on branding to business contracts, to setting up your financials and working on a marketing plan, you will have vision board templates, goal trackers, LinkedIn and branding guides, contract samples, business plan blueprints. All of this is here and ready for you to download and use when [00:06:00] needed. Now, let's talk about price. I have priced this program incredibly low so that it's accessible to as many women who want it and need it Right now, the all access pass for the Second Act Accelerator is $597, and payment plans are available. Hiring these resources piecemeal would run you about $3,000 or more. So yes, your wallet can take an exhale and you can feel confident investing in yourself and your future for a really reasonable price.

I had love to give you a quick overview of some of the modules Inside the program. There is a Find Your Why and your non-negotiables, where we really talk about the clarity exercises that you need to make sure your vision is concrete. There are also lessons on idea validation and doing your market research so you can test drive your concepts of what your business will be like before you invest and start actually building it. We will also talk about exit strategies and how you can build a [00:07:00] blueprint so that you can figure out your timeline, make sure that your finances are in the right place, and make sure that you resign in a really professional way.

Of course, we also talk about different types of business models, whether it's an online business, a service-based business, brick and mortar businesses, franchises. We talk about all of the options so that you can decide the right one for you. we also dive into the legal and financial foundations of building a business so that you can make sure that you are set up properly from the get go.

 Building a brand identity and making sure that your messaging is on point is very important right from the start. We dive into choosing your name, the colors for your branding, your logo, your voice, and how to know that you have the correct it factor for building this business. I draw a lot on the idea of your career story of really taking where you've come from and leading it into your messaging for your new business to show why you are the perfect person to lead and launch this business.

[00:08:00] There are modules on marketing and lead generation because it's important to know how to grow your business and get clients and customers organically, but also how to use paid ads and other ways to bring people into your world.

I also give you systems and strategies on how you can be productive while building your business. We are busy women, we are running a family, a household, doing all of the things.

So building this business, we need to have the hacks that we need and get systems in place right away so that this business builds with us and allows us that freedom and flexibility that we ultimately want.

We also dive into launching the business, actually putting all of the pieces in place to get that business live and out into the world in front of people who want to pay and work with you for your services and products.

You will have access to step-by-step checklists, guides, and business plans so that you can go from a soft launch to officially launching that you're [00:09:00] open for business.

By the way, you'll also have all of the videos, all of the resources at your fingertips when you sign up for the Second Act Accelerator, it's all there for you so that you can truly go through it at your own pace.

Depending on where you are in the process, you might be able to jump around a bit and really go to where you want to focus right now. Remember, you have lifetime access to this course, to these modules and lessons to these resources, so you can take them and use them to your advantage whenever you want.

What I really love about this program is that I brought everything together and blended both the online learning with the in-person live coaching. You will get one-on-one time with me to really focus on your goals, focus on your business, and ask all the questions.

Plus communication with me through email, our community, and through our group coaching sessions. Our group coaching sessions are biweekly, so they're the first and third week of every month where you can come together with other students and clients and really [00:10:00] dive into what they're doing, what you're doing, ask the questions, network, help each other and get the advice and guidance you need from me.

I will be at all of these coaching sessions Our private community is also a place for students to come together, ask their questions, promote what they're building, lean on each other and get the extra support that they need.

These are the ways that you are going to scale your business sooner than later you'll be surrounded by other women who get the juggle of school pickups, building a business, creating sales funnels, and all of the things.

We're all in this together.

now. These are the bones of the Second Act Accelerator program, but don't take my word for it.

This is my signature program and I want to share some thoughts from other clients who have gone through the program. Allison Kay says, the Second Act Accelerator helped me focus on my skills and gave me the confidence to start my own business.

Jessica h says, this course covers everything from how-tos to mindset. [00:11:00] Shannon's coaching was exactly what I needed. I.

You might be thinking, is this program for me? Is it worth the investment? I will tell you that you will thrive in the accelerator.

If the phrase Sunday scaries feels all too relatable to you. If on Sundays you are dreading Monday morning or maybe every day you're dreading the next morning, if you crave flexibility to be able to chaperone those field trips, be the class parent, be there for school pickup,

you might be a caregiver and need to spend time with your parents or other family members, whatever obligations or hobbies or needs that you have, you wanna be able to create a business that has flexibility and freedom plus you wanna be able to have more creativity and hit your revenue goals on your own terms.

Maybe you're done Googling freebies and want a proven step-by-step plan with real time live support. If you're shaking your head yes to any of these, then the Second Act Accelerator is for you.

Okay, that is my spiel. That [00:12:00] is all the information on the Second Act Accelerator, and if you want to learn more, doors are open. Now. Head over to Second Act, success.co/course.

There you can find more information on the program and if you're more of a talk it out in person type of girl, you can book a call with me right there where we can talk about your individual goals and see if this program is right for you.

Remember my friend, your first career was just your pilot episode. It was just the beginning. It was there to teach you everything that you need to be at this point in your life right now. So let's produce a series that you can't stop binge watching.

Let's produce your life. You are the director of this next chapter. Until next time, keep rooting for yourself and your own success and I'll see you inside the Second Act Accelerator.

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, [00:13:00] success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.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.