What if getting laid off was actually the best thing that ever happened to your career? That’s exactly the mindset shift that drove today’s guest, Cara Gibson-Gallop, from being a laid-off corporate marketer to a thriving entrepreneur—and now the founder of Autonomy, a company that helps others do the same. In this episode, Cara shares how she turned a vulnerable career moment into a purpose-driven business, how she empowers laid-off professionals and recent grads to build freelance businesses, and why every 9-to-5er should have a side hustle.

Cara’s story is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and creating systems that scale. Whether you're still in a job or running a business, this episode will change how you think about income, opportunity, and your ability to take control.

💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business

• 🚀 Why your side hustle is more than just extra income—it’s your freedom plan
• 🔁 How to transform career setbacks (like layoffs) into business springboards
• 💡 The exact framework Cara uses to help people build consulting/freelance offers
• 🛠️ Why your business should start with a strong offer—not a logo or website
• 🧠 The mindset shift that separates wantrepreneurs from entrepreneurs
• 📣 How to confidently "sell" your skills—even if you're new to business
• 🏗️ Why companies are paying her to help their former employees become entrepreneurs

📝 About the Guest
Cara Gibson Gallop is a former New York ad agency exec turned startup founder. After being laid off multiple times early in her career, she decided to never rely on a single income stream again. Her side hustle soon eclipsed her corporate salary, and she took the leap to become a full-time entrepreneur. Today, she's the founder and CEO of Autonomi.Systems, a platform that helps laid-off professionals and recent graduates turn their skills into consulting or freelance businesses. Cara's mission is to revolutionize how we experience layoffs by turning them into launchpads.

🎯 Cara’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
“Keep coming back to your why. That’s your fuel. Revisit it quarterly or even more often—it keeps you aligned, energized, and unstoppable.”

3 Takeaways from Cara's Advice:
✔ Revisit your goals and motivations often—they evolve as you grow
✔ Your why is your greatest defense against burnout
✔ A strong personal reason gives your business purpose and power

📢 Memorable Quotes

💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Audit your LinkedIn—start nurturing your network now before you need it
✅ Don’t wait until your side hustle replaces your salary—jump sooner
✅ Build your offer before worrying about a website or branding
✅ Reframe layoffs as opportunities to build something better
✅ Write out your why and revisit it quarterly—it’ll steer your direction

🔗 Links & Resources

• Visit Autonomi’s Website
• Follow Cara on Instagram
• Connect with Cara on LinkedIn

Nicholas Cook has worn many hats—financial advisor, teacher, blogger, real estate investor, and founder of Money 101 Academy—but what ties them all together is his passion for helping others understand and use money intentionally. In this conversation, Nicholas shares why he believes business is just a series of meaningful projects, and how he's created a life around blending education with entrepreneurship.

From the power of masterminds to the importance of cash flow, Nicholas gets real about the nuances of entrepreneurship versus freelancing and why a slower, more intentional approach might be the most sustainable path. Whether you're just starting out or already building your empire, this episode is packed with gems about mindset, monetization, and meaningful work.

💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business

• 💸 Why “cash is king” is more than a cliché—and how cash flow really affects your freedom
• 🎯 How to create a brand that’s bigger than yourself (even if you're a solopreneur)
• 🔁 The difference between freelancing, solopreneurship, and entrepreneurship—and how to know which one you’re actually building
• 🤝 How masterminds and networking groups like BNI can 10x your revenue
• 🧠 Why business is just a series of “projects”—and how to fall in love with creating
• 🧩 How to balance a secure income while growing your business on the side
• 🔍 Why vision clarity beats rigid business plans when building something sustainable

📝 About the Guest
Nicholas Cook likes to find meaningful projects and communities to collaborate with. He is a blogger, teacher, real estate investor, and Founder of Money 101 Academy.

After graduating from college, Nicholas began working as a financial advisor and paraplanner for several years, during which time he helped manage client assets by investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. He mostly worked with a smaller firm where he helped manage over $40 million in clients’ assets.

Around 2012, Nicholas got into working in schools, and the classes he has taught include Personal Finance, English, Literature, Theology, Investing, and Algebra. Nicholas has experience making money online and developing businesses in various ways, including through web design, YouTube, e-commerce, affiliate marketing, and email marketing.

🎯 Nicholas’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Start by creating a vision—not just for your business, but for your life."

📢 Memorable Quotes

💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Reframe your entrepreneurial journey as a series of meaningful, creative projects
✅ Join a local networking group like BNI to get real business referrals
✅ Define what financial freedom looks like for you—then reverse-engineer your cash flow to get there
✅ Start building your brand today, even if it’s just you—make it bigger than yourself
✅ Balance your income with part-time work if needed—it’s better than building a business out of desperation

🔗 Links & Resources

• Visit Nicholas’ Blog
• Visit Money 101 Academy’s Website
• Subscribe to Money 101 Academy’s YouTube Channel
• Connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn

What if building a high-performing newsletter didn’t require hours of content creation or expensive software? Evan Kozliner, co-founder of Potions, shares how he scaled his AI-powered newsletter to 50,000 subscribers in just 3 months—and how you can do it too. With a deep background in AI and experience working with brands like Amazon, Sephora, and Fashion Nova, Evan breaks down exactly how entrepreneurs can use AI and email marketing to drive real results. This episode is packed with practical insights on audience building, content creation, and how to finally get your newsletter strategy off the ground.

💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business

• 🚀 How Evan grew a personalized newsletter to 50,000 subscribers in 90 days (and how you can apply his playbook)
• 🤖 The two-tier internet strategy—and why your email list is 10x more valuable than your social followers
• 💌 Why consistent, high-value newsletters drive sales, retention, and referrals (even with a tiny list)
• 🎯 How to turn just 15 minutes of your time into a full week of newsletter + LinkedIn content
• 🧲 What makes Potions different from generic AI tools and why their hybrid approach drives better engagement
• 📥 Actionable ideas for agencies, consultants, and service-based businesses to stay top of mind with prospects

📝 About the Guest
Evan is the co-founder and CEO of Potions. Before starting Potions, Evan helped big brands like Sephora and Fashion Nova automate their email and SMS marketing at Attentive Mobile, where he was the first AI hire 5 years ago.

Evan has been passionate about AI's power to make people's lives better since he was in college. He went to Ohio State where he specialized in AI for his undergraduate degree and conducted cancer research for the Bioinformatics department.

After school, he worked for Amazon's cloud org, AWS, for a couple of years. Then left Amazon to join Attentive Mobile where he got his hands dirty doing AI powered marketing.

When he saw how effective the email and SMS he was producing for large brands was, he became excited about how many of the same techniques could be applied to help smaller businesses automate their content marketing.

Having recently blitz-scaled his own AI-powered newsletter to 50,000 subscribers in just 3 months, he knew a thing or two about newsletter marketing, and decided to start there.

🎯 Guest’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
🗣️ “Marketing IS product—if your content isn’t solving a problem, it’s not valuable.”

💥 Key Takeaways from Evan’s Advice:

• ✔ Good marketing provides real value, not just promotions—focus on solving a customer’s problem
• ✔ Content should feel like a product in itself, not an afterthought
• ✔ Consistency and relevance are key—make people want to open your emails

📢 Memorable Quotes

💡 Actionable Takeaways

• ✅ Start building your list NOW—even if you're just getting started
• ✅ Invest in high-value, personalized content—not just copy-paste AI fluff
• ✅ Use email to stay top of mind and nurture relationships—not just make sales
• ✅ Let tech and experts like Potions help you scale without losing your voice

🔗 Links & Resources

• Visit Potion’s Website
• Connect with Evan on LinkedIn