A year ago, I relaunched Sauder Strategy.
Not a rebrand. A rebuild.
I walked away from two decades in policy, politics, and public affairs—work I’d mastered, relationships I’d invested in, a reputation I’d earned—and pivoted to purpose-driven B2B service startups, scale-ups, and turnarounds.
Here’s what nobody tells you about that kind of move: you don’t leave because the old work stopped working. You leave because you hit a ceiling you can’t break through.
In policy and politics, there’s an earnings cap. Your value isn’t determined by what you can do or what you deliver—it’s who you know and what you’re willing to tolerate. At 35, with a family depending on me, I needed a path forward. I needed a good reason to get up every day and do hard things. And I wanted to build something instead of managing failure and decline.
So I made the call.
The Long Build
This wasn’t impulsive. I spent 18 months thinking about it. Then another 18 months working toward it after an 89-day sabbatical at the end of 2022 when I decided it was time to materially change the direction of my life.
I’d already put in my apprenticeship—three fractional COO/CRO engagements over three years. I knew I could deliver real value. But walking away from two decades of work? That’s not strategy—that’s faith.
The hardest part wasn’t external. It was internal. Transforming myself to embody the core values I built Sauder Strategy on: Tackle Turmoil, Inspire Insight, Forge Good Faith, Distill Strategy, Champion Change. Then meeting the market where it actually was, speaking to real client needs instead of the work I thought I should be doing.
I’ve turned down business quarterly for years now because “I don’t do that kind of work anymore.” Including a political strategy engagement that would have been a perfect fit five years ago. Saying no to your past is how you make room for your future.
The Work
Year one delivered more than I expected and taught me faster than I was ready for.
I ran a 1/3/5 model: 1 top-tier fractional client for revenue, go-to-market, and operations. 3 strategy consulting clients. Up to 5 coaching clients.
This year I worked with 7 coaching clients, 3 consulting clients, and 2 major fractional engagements.
The work I love most? Mid-sized team turnarounds—big enough to have a C-suite, team leads, and frontline specialists. The kind of engagement where you can stabilize chaos, install operating rhythm, and watch a team remember what it feels like to win.
But I also maintain 3 hours of pro bono time every week, coaching women and diverse individuals to advance their careers and launch entrepreneurial journeys. That work fills my cup in ways the paid work never could.
The Wins
My biggest coaching win: supporting Ashley Evans, who got laid off, underwent reconstructive heart surgery, and pivoted careers in under 100 days to land her dream job as a development officer for the American Heart Association in her early thirties.
My biggest client win: Noelle Woodhead, founder and Chief Solutions Architect of 21b Consulting, who went from year zero to year two of her first-ever startup with me as her fractional partner.
And the quieter win that might matter most: watching coaching clients—paid and pro bono—genuinely promote and sell themselves when they were afraid to. That’s not strategy. That’s transformation.
What I Learned
I thought I knew what running Sauder Strategy would require. I was wrong about almost all of it.
The skill I had to build that I didn’t expect? Emotional modulation, compartmentalization, and fast-switching between clients and contexts. Solopreneur life means you’re a fractional COO at 9am, a strategy consultant at 11am, and an executive coach at 2pm. No team to hand off to. Just you and the discipline to show up fully every time.
What I learned about clients? The problem that surprises me most is how many leaders don’t develop the soft skills to identify, recruit, and develop talent in their people. They’re brilliant operators who can’t build teams. That gap is expensive.
What I learned about myself? Being your own boss is the hardest thing you can do. And the most rewarding. The strictest regimen, time blocking, and prioritizing personal and family values over business values—Faith, Family, Fortitude, Diligence, Charity—is what keeps me from burning out.
And I learned to run Sauder Strategy like a solopreneur founder building and scaling a business, not a contract consultant doing this instead of a “real job.” That shift in identity changed everything.
What Changed
This year transformed me.
I shed the employee mindset. I shed the austerity mindset. I started believing in abundance, opportunity, and the fact that we all get by on the kindness of strangers.
“Keep Your Head Up When You Go Into Contact” used to be a rugby lesson. Then it became a political discipline. Now it’s praxis—how I show up in my business and consulting practice every single day.
I’m saying yes to things that terrified me a year ago: commission-only work, calibrated uncertainty, connection over competition.
And I’m saying no to things I used to tolerate: doing work that delivers real value for “less than it’s worth.” I can always do free. I can always deliver a smaller scope. But I will never sell myself short again.
What’s Next
Year two starts with clarity I didn’t have in year one.
I’m taking on pure-play commission revenue operations. Advising on mergers and acquisitions with percentage-of-deal compensation. Expanding pro bono coaching because I have enough abundance to share broadly, widely, and deeply.
And I’m showing up more personally and authentically on LinkedIn—less filter, more truth—writing for the audience I needed 5-7 years ago when I was just starting to figure this out.
If I could tell myself something on relaunch day a year ago, it would be this: it’s going to be harder than you expect and better than you can imagine. And the fastest path to freedom is saying “yes, thank you” to the universe as quickly and as frequently as possible.
The Truth About Betting On Yourself
A year ago I walked away from two decades of mastery to build something new.
It cost me opportunities I’ll never get back. It required faith I didn’t know I had. It demanded I become someone I wasn’t sure I could be.
And it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
To everyone who hired me, referred me, challenged me, and trusted me this year: thank you. You didn’t just support a business—you made a bet on a person trying to build something worth building.
Year one is done. Year two starts now.
Keep your head up when you go into contact.