308: CRANK THE 3RD / From fear to freedom: Making the midlife leap from security to possibility - with Karen Ansen
- S11E308
- 48:12
- November 25th 2025
This episode's featured track is CRANK THE 3RD - featuring conversations with inspiring midlife founders, solopreneurs and professionals who are turning decades of know-how into opportunity building meaningful ventures, shaping ideas and designing work that matters.
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Today's guest is Karen Ansen - founder of Ignite HR and Employment Law, and Ignite Your Purpose.
Join us for a raw, inspiring conversation on weaving compliance, compassion, and personal purpose into a business (and life) you love.
Karen shares her remarkable journey: from two decades in government, to studying law in her 40s while juggling work and motherhood, to boldly launching her own boutique firm at 52.
She gets candid about the fear and tears, the setbacks and breakthroughs, and why sometimes you just have to get out of your own way.
You’ll discover:
- Why Karen left a “safe” government job and took a nine-year journey to become a lawyer
- How she bootstrapped her first business, without a single client lined up
- Why Karen believes you should start with what you have (and worry about the website later)
- The power of niching down, and why complexity can be your business superpower
- How Karen melds legal expertise with leadership coaching and trauma-informed retreats in her Ignite Your Purpose passion project
- Lessons learned scaling up to seven employees, then intentionally downsizing for freedom, balance, and impact
- The impact of AI and remote work in reshaping Karen’s business model for a new era
Plus: Karen’s honest take on motherhood guilt, building a values-led workplace, and crafting a “retirement” of meaning, travel, and giving back.
Are you a multi-skilled professional with passions that don’t fit the usual box?
This episode is packed with practical wisdom for blending your talents, overcoming your doubts, and earning the right to build a fulfilling, purpose-driven business.
Connect with Karen Ansen:
Like what you heard? Please rate and subscribe to EARN THE RIGHT for more inspiring conversations.
EARN THE RIGHT with Trevor Young
EARN THE RIGHT is your audio platform for reputation-based authority building — turning credibility into recognition, and recognition into opportunity.
Hosted by Trevor Young, it’s for credible founders, experts, and solo practitioners who’ve earned their stripes and are ready to amplify their voice with integrity.
Across four distinct (but inter-related) tracks —
- Crank The 3rd
- Pocket PR Essentials
- In The Arena
- From The Trenches
— you’ll get the ideas, stories, and strategies that help you cut through the noise and build lasting authority.
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1️⃣ CRANK THE 3RD
CRANK THE 3RD celebrates the Wisdom Economy — a world where depth, perspective, and lived experience fuel what’s next. It features conversations with inspiring midlife founders and professionals who are turning decades of know-how into opportunity: building meaningful ventures, shaping ideas, and designing work that matters.
2️⃣ POCKET PR ESSENTIALS
POCKET PR ESSENTIALS delivers short, sharp coaching sessions on building visibility and recognition — without the hype. Presented by Trevor Young, this audio playbook helps credible founders and solo professionals master PR, content, and digital communication to raise their profile and grow authority in a way that’s strategic, sustainable, and respectful.
3️⃣ IN THE ARENA
IN THE ARENA is Trevor Young’s unfiltered take on earning authority in real time — sharp, strategic riffs on content, credibility, connection, and the courage to keep showing up. Essential listening for entrepreneurs and professionals navigating the intersection of creativity, communication, and personal brand authority.
4️⃣ FROM THE TRENCHES
FROM THE TRENCHES presents deep-dive interviews with PR practitioners, content strategists, and digital communications experts that explore how reputation and influence are built today. Hosted by Trevor Young, this track shares grounded insights, hard-won lessons, and practical wisdom from those shaping credible marketing communications in the modern reputation economy.
You've put in the hard yards, now it's time to capitalise!
Earn attention. Build authority. Stay human.
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