The Corporate Escapee
You're not stuck in a bad job. You're stuck in an unhealthy reliance on corporate. And when it no longer works for you, that reliance becomes a trap. 70% of corporate workers are burned out. Not from the work itself, but from what comes with it: the politics, the layoff threats, the commute, the stress of playing games you don't believe in. Here's the truth: Corporate optimizes for one thing: Financial (your paycheck). But what about the other four areas of your life? Friends & Family (time with people who matter) Fitness (mental and physical health) Fulfillment (work that actually means something) ...
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Your Job Title Isn’t Your Identity: How to Tell a Bigger Story w/ Catherine Jelinek
<p>Corporate gives you an easy identity: your title, your company, your lane. But once you start building something outside corporate—consulting, fractional, content, a book, a business—that identity disappears fast. And that’s where most people get stuck.</p><p>In this episode, Brett sits down with Catherine Jelinek, founder of The Skinny Platform, to talk about the shift from being “defined by your role” to being known for your thinking, your story, and the outcomes you create.</p><p>Catherine shares why so many high-performing corporate pros struggle in the “formless” world outside corporate, how to create structure with...
Special Episode: What Happens After Corporate Breaks (w/ John Arms)
<p>Post Corporate Life with Brett Trainor & John Arms</p><p>I recently had the chance to join John Arms on his podcast: Fractional Unfiltered Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0z9pQOOMZEVI4T2NvoOiqP?si=uJoycF4LRGyZQNB4MofrtQ</p><p>John was kind enough to allow me to share this with my audience.</p><p>Corporate has done a number on people. A bad one. For 30 minutes we bitch about what is and was, and then we spend 30 minutes on how to thrive in the post corporate world.</p><p>This episode also includes real-time audience coaching around “job hu...
The Surprising Keys to Succeeding Outside of Corporate
<p>Most people believe the ones who succeed after escaping corporate are the smartest, most experienced, or most credentialed.</p><p>They’re not.</p><p>In this solo episode, Brett breaks down a pattern he’s seen across hundreds—if not thousands—of conversations with corporate escapees: success outside corporate has far less to do with talent and far more to do with action.</p><p>This episode is for anyone still in corporate, recently laid off, or quietly wondering if there’s another path—but feeling stuck, underqualified, or unsure where to start.</p><p>What You’ll Learn in This...
Sequence Over Strategy: How Escapees Actually Find Their Path w/ Michelle Warner
<p>Michelle Warner took the “escapee avoidance” route — she planned to do the traditional MBA-to-consulting path… then graduated straight into the Great Recession (the day Lehman fell). That curveball pushed her into entrepreneurship early: a founder-for-hire role turning a multi-billion-dollar foundation asset into a business, followed by a mission-driven tech startup, and eventually her current work helping small business owners design the next iteration of their business.</p><p>This is a tactical episode about what actually works when you’re leaving corporate: why you should “throw spaghetti at the wall” early, how to stop doing random coffee chats, and how to use rel...
The Zillow of Franchising: A Smarter Way to Leave Corporate w/ Alex Smereczniak
<p>If you’ve been thinking about leaving corporate but the risk feels too big, this episode gives you a smarter way to look at it.</p><p>Brett sits down with Alex Smereczniak, a former EY consultant who left corporate early, built a high-growth business in the laundry space, and later launched Franzy—a platform designed to make franchising easier to research and navigate.</p><p>This conversation covers the mindset shift that helps people stop overestimating the risk of leaving, plus why franchising can be an underrated “business with guardrails” path for escapees who want ownership without building from scr...
“What Am I Doing Here?” — How Tom Mirabella Escaped Corporate at 30
<p>Tom Mirabella left corporate at 30 and never looked back. Seventeen years later, he’s built Wingman into a 25-person business by doing what corporate rarely rewards: solving problems fast, betting on relationships, and staying obsessively close to customers.</p><p>In this conversation, Tom breaks down his escape story, why “local + in-person” is making a comeback, and how Wingman’s franchise model flips the typical franchise script — where the franchisee focuses on relationships and sales while the central team handles fulfillment and delivery.</p><p>If you’re stuck in corporate and can’t see a path out, this episode gives...
From $40K in Debt to $20K Months: The No-BS Path to Profit + Freedom w/Pia Silva
<p>What if scaling your business didn’t require hiring, hustling harder, or stacking endless clients?</p><p>In this episode, Brett sits down with Pia Silva (No BS Mastery) to break down a simple model for building a highly profitable solo (or two-person) business — built around intensives, clear boundaries, and pricing for outcomes (not hours).</p><p>Pia shares how she and her husband went from $40K in debt to $500K in revenue by shifting from long, drawn-out projects to a focused, high-value intensive model. Then she explains her signature framework — the 50-25-25 Rule — and how to reverse-engineer your pri...
Why Most Corporate Escapees Fail (And How to Avoid It)
<p>Why do so many people leave corporate… only to end up going back?</p><p>In this solo episode, Brett breaks down the two core reasons most corporate escapees fail—and more importantly, how to avoid them.</p><p>Failure here doesn’t mean experimenting and choosing corporate again. It means wanting out, trying to go solo, and giving up before momentum ever takes hold.</p><p>If you’re thinking about leaving corporate—or you’ve already made the leap—this episode will help you understand what really trips people up and how to build a path that actually stick...
Why Podcasting Might Be the Smartest Side Door Out of Corporate w/Mark Hayward
<p>What if podcasting wasn’t just content—but a bridge out of corporate?</p><p>In this episode, Brett sits down with Mark Hayward, former PwC and KPMG consultant turned podcast host and podcast guesting entrepreneur, to break down his escape from corporate—and how podcasting quietly became one of his most powerful tools.</p><p>Mark shares how he started a podcast while still in corporate, not to make money, but to build confidence, find his voice, and explore what life outside the corporate box could look like. That passion project eventually opened doors to consulting, coaching, real estate...
You Don’t Need to Quit to Escape: Build Your Exit on the Side w/ Sam Lee
<p>If you know corporate isn’t for you but you can’t see a clean exit, this episode is your roadmap. Brett sits down with Sam Lee (Indie Collective) to break down how experienced professionals can build a “portfolio career” — consulting, coaching, fractional work, and productized services — without quitting their full-time job first. Sam shares the simple frameworks that helped him build $1M+ in annual revenue through independent work for over a decade, and he explains why most people get stuck trading time for money. You’ll walk away with a practical way to tell your story, activate your network, and d...
