Business Tips & Career Change Advice for Women: Second Act Success Paralegal to Podcasting Pro: How Fran Stone Built “9 to 5 Mom with a Pod” While Raising a Toddler | #227
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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.
*Get the full show notes here!
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