Mama, What’s Next? Authentic Visibility & Marketing for Women over 40 Starting a Service-Based Business

Melanie Elsbeth │ Authentic Marketing for Therapists, Coaches, Women in Business
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So.. you've decided to take the leap, you're building, creating and ready for take-off but no idea how to start telling your story? How to communicate what you do clearly. How to become visible and get found online. Then this podcast helps. Each week I sit down with women in business who turned their next chapter into visible, meaningful work - and found a way to be seen without losing themselves in the process. I’m Mel, a visibility and brand strategist helping heart-led women entrepreneurs tell the story of their next chapter - in a way that makes the right people say yes. I spent 20 years in brand marketing and CSR - working with the likes of Breitling, Davidoff, Baileys. Yet - when it came to promoting myself - I froze. I did the work, I believed in the work, and then at the last moment I hid the author. The microphone was my cure. And I can help you get there too. I'm a mama with a little girl in primary school. I've built a portfolio career across brand consulting and helping people with self-marketing, in order to get a job and promote their business. I run Sunny Chapter - a digital studio where we help heart-led experts become visible through conversation-led marketing - turning their stories into content that attracts the right clients. I'm also an introvert who had to teach myself video because hiding in the background isn't an option anymore. Join us as I talk to women transitioning from employee to female entrepreneurs about building a holistic health, somatic or therapist business. Learn how to market yourself, build business visibility and grow a holistic practice that respects your capacity as a mother. PS. Stop asking for permission, write your own playbook. Your Way Works (Even if it doesn’t look like everyone else’s). Bilingual podcast: Ein Teil der Episoden ist in Deutsch und auch hier spreche ich mit Frauen zu diesen Themen: Holistic Health Business, Sichtbarkeit und Selbstmarketing. What's Next: Subscribe and follow the podcast! Start with the Sunday Shift - https://mamawhatsnext.com/subscribe Contact Us: hey@sunnychapter.com

  1. hace 3 d

    Building a business over 40 after leaving corporate? Get found, become visible and second act success with Samantha Flores Part 2

    If you got value from this episode - please review it and share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Join the support crew and learn how to build authentic visibility together Ready to be found online? work with me and start your Sunny Chapter Edit In this episode, we chat about Samantha Flores ran a $2 billion business across EMEA at Nike for 19 years. And when she left to build her own business, the hardest part was not the strategy. It was learning how to sell herself with no brand name to hide behind. If you have left corporate to build your own business and you are finding visibility ten times harder than you expected, this is exactly why. Inside corporate you were never selling yourself. You were selling the brand. The brand was the safety net. The brand was the credibility. And now you are all three. What Samantha did before she left is what gave her the space to actually build. For years she put 30 to 40% of her salary straight into an investment account. Before she had a business idea. Before she had a plan. That buffer meant she could build without the pressure of needing it to work immediately destroying her at every turn. A year and a half into building her business she has reached 1200 people through Facebook ads, run monthly masterclasses, and gone back to the beginning to build a personalised diagnostic because she realised most women she works with do not actually need more information. They need clarity on exactly what is blocking them first. She is not pretending it has been clean. She is sharing what worked, what she rebuilt, and the one thing that separates the women who get momentum from the ones who stay stuck wondering what they are doing wrong. You cannot score without a goal. The women she works with can describe in painful detail everything they walked away from. The manager who did not see them. The work that stopped meaning something. But when she asks what they actually want to build instead, there is silence. And that silence is where the business stalls before it ever gets started. If you are building a business after 40 and you left a senior corporate career to do it, this conversation is going to feel like someone finally said the quiet part out loud. Connect with my guest: Samantha Flores https://thepowerhousecode.com/ Instagram LinkedIN If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk. Mentioned in this episode: Support Offer Brand Story Sessions

    28 min

  2. 25 jun

    Sometimes Presents Come Wrapped in Shitty Paper: I Didn't Get the Job and It Was the Best Thing

    If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Apply for our free August visibility initiative HAPPILY VISIBLE and get featured Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to grow authentic visibility In this solo episode: So today I want to share one of my all time favourite episodes again, one I recorded a while back that still feels so relevant. This is the one where I talk about what happens when we don't quite get what we want, and why I really believe that happens for a reason. I tell the story of interviewing for a position at this big international fashion house. Old school, beautiful building, the kind of place you imagine in Paris, even though this one was in Switzerland. And my ego absolutely loved it. The job title, the brand, all of it. But from the very first meeting, I had this icky feeling in my stomach. People clocking in and out on this old machine on the wall. And I just thought, oh, is this what they do here. I kept going anyway because my ego wanted it so badly. And then I didn't get the job. And looking back, I know exactly why. It just wasn't right for me. Me and a close friend used to say, sometimes presents come wrapped in shitty paper. And that was one of them. This episode is really about trusting that voice and that feeling in your body, even when your ego is busy telling you something else. I talk about being multi passionate, having worked in over 30 jobs across about 20 different categories, and how I've stopped fighting that part of myself and instead built a business and a life around it. I also go deep into faith. My belief that there is a higher power supporting us, whatever you want to call it, God, the universe, Mother Gaia, and that whatever happens, happens for us, not to us. The hardships, the doors that close, the jobs that don't work out, I believe all of it is preparing us for exactly where we're meant to go. If you're in a pivotal moment right now, feeling unsure or a little lost, or wondering why something you wanted so badly didn't work out, I hope this is the episode that reminds you. Not every closed door is a loss. Sometimes it's protection. Topics covered in this episode: Why a job and career that looks perfect on paper can still feel completely wrong in your body. The difference between what my ego wanted and what was actually aligned for me. Why being multi passionate isn't something I needed to fix, it's something I built my business around. How to find a corporate role or company that actually fits who you are, because not every corporate path is the wrong path. Trusting that everything happening is happening for you, even when it doesn't feel that way yet. The question I always ask myself when I'm stuck: what's the actual worst thing that could happen. Topics: career change for moms, trusting your intuition career, signs a job isn't right for you, faith and career change, finding purpose in your career, corporate career fit, women changing careers in their 40s, listening to your body career decisions, everything happens for a reason career, multi passionate career path If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk. Mentioned in this episode: Newsletter promo before episode Support Offer Brand Story Sessions

    27 min

  3. 16 jun

    Building visibility without social media - Why one bad networking event nearly cost me years of missed connections and visibility

    If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Apply for our free August visibility initiative HAPPILY VISIBLE and get featured Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to build authentic visibility Ready to be found online? check out the Sunny Chapter Edit In this solo episode: I almost deleted the email. The word "viral" in the subject line nearly made me close the tab. But something called me in, and what I found on the other side changed everything about how I think about building my business visibility. In this episode I share why I quietly resisted networking for over a year, what finally made me say yes, and what happened when I walked into the right room. This coming from someone who has previously thought building visibility without social media does not really work. Key insights from this episode: Why one bad networking event wrote a rule in my mind that cost me a year of connection, and why that rule deserved to be questioned What I found in a room of women at the same stage, grappling with the same questions, feeling the same loneliness of building something new after corporate, and business after 40 How hearing my ideal clients speak in their own words changed how I understand the people I want to help Why my energy shifted the moment I walked in, even though I had almost talked myself out of going What Mallorca specifically attracts, and why the people in that room were exactly my kind of people Why the social media workshop became far more than a classroom, and what that taught me about authentic visibility marketing and connection Subscribe, share, and leave a review. It is the most generous thing you can do for the show. If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk. Mentioned in this episode: Newsletter promo before episode

    12 min

  4. 10 jun

    Visibility and business after corporate: what happens when the logo is gone and you discover the brand was YOU all along - PART 1

    Interview Part 1 with Samantha Flores. If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Join the free community and learn how to build authentic visibility Ready to promote your story? work with me 1:1 and start your Sunny Chapter Edit In today's interview episode, we chat about: Leaving corporate and feeling invisible: why high-performing women lose their voice the moment they start building Samantha Flores spent 19 years climbing the corporate ladder, most recently as Senior Director of Digital Commerce at Nike Europe, leading a $2 billion business across the Middle East and Africa. She left in January 2026, not from burnout, not from bitterness, but full of clarity, conviction, and a vision for what comes next. In this first conversation with Samantha, we go deep into what actually made her corporate career so successful and why so many high-performing women stay stuck, even with the best performance reviews. We talk about the internal narrative that runs the show in meetings, the belief that you need the title before you earn the right to be visible, and the very real weight of showing up in rooms where the loudest voice has always belonged to someone else. Samantha shares what changed when she stopped asking what she needed to do and started asking what the goal actually required from her. That shift is what unlocked everything. We also get into what nobody warns you about when you leave a big brand behind. In corporate, visibility felt natural. You were representing Nike. The logo carried weight. Then suddenly it's just you, your name, your business, and that brings up a whole different kind of work. Samantha is building the Powerhouse Code, a platform helping high-performing women in senior corporate roles land that next level leadership position. And even as someone who teaches strategic visibility, she talks honestly about the voices that still show up when she hits publish. This episode is Part 1. In Part 2, Samantha shares the actual strategies she used to build visibility, her playbook for positioning, and what building her business looks like now. Topics covered in this episode: Why great performance reviews keep women stuck rather than moving them forward. The internal script running in the background for most women in senior meetings. What strategic visibility actually means and how Samantha learned to use it. The difference between marketing a brand and marketing yourself. Why leaving corporate with excitement instead of exhaustion changes everything about how you build what comes next. Keywords: women leaving corporate, second act after 40, strategic visibility for women, high performing women stuck, women in leadership, solopreneur journey, building a personal brand, imposter syndrome women, Nike executive career, women over 40 entrepreneurship, Powerhouse Code, career transition women Connect with my guest: Samantha Flores on LinkedIn Samantha Flores on IG The Powerhouse Code - https://thepowerhousecode.com If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk.

    28 min

  5. 4 jun

    Tired of Creating Content That Feels Performative? How Real Human Content Builds Real Visibility

    Apply to be featured here If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to build authentic visibility In this solo episode: This is a quick re-introduction of how I work and support women in business and what I belief in. Mel shares what she noticed happening in the online space and what she decided to do about it. Transformational coaches she once admired. Episodes generated in minutes. No original thinking. She unfollowed. And she felt sad about some of them. What she landed on, for her own content and for the women she supports building businesses after 40 around transformational work, is rooted in one belief. Lived experience, pain, and emotion cannot be replicated by AI. Real human conversation, real stories, and real thinking are what build visibility and trust. That is authentic marketing. In this episode Mel walks through her full content creation process, from long form journaling and downloads, to interviews and conversations that keep a founder's energy natural and alive, to how AI enters only after the human ideas already exist. Why lived experience creates content that builds real connection How her content production process works from interview to newsletter to social Why conversation keeps a founder's energy natural and alive Why becoming understood builds visibility for women doing transformational work Becoming understood is what builds trust. And trust is what builds a business. This week's episode is about exactly that. Thanks for checking in! Keywords: visibility for women, increasing visibility, authentic marketing, building a business after 40, women over 40, transformational work, women entrepreneurs, business after 40, second career women, service-based business If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk.

    8 min

  6. 1 jun

    My Own Struggle With Positioning and Building Visibility as a Multi-Passionate Woman Entrepreneur Over 40

    Apply to be featured here If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to build authentic visibility In this solo episode: So I want to share with you a little bit about my very own struggle as a multi-passionate entrepreneur, as a mom who has run several business projects. It's something that I keep running into over and over again. So I thought I had landed on something so fantastic for me. But somehow in my body I felt that something was holding me back, that some of my ideal clients will not see themselves into that particular type of work that I wanted to focus on. So when I now talk about my very own positioning struggle, I can tell you I want something memorable, recognizable, and where it makes click for people. Something where the name already carries what I do. And after two years and close to 100 episodes, that name Mama What's Next may have to evolve. And that's okay. 00:00 Navigating the Struggles of Solopreneurship 03:07 Evolving Personal and Professional Identity 08:23 Finding Clarity and Positioning 13:49 Visibility and Communication in Transformational Work If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk.

    15 min

  7. 25 may

    Anna Built a Six-Figure Transformational Service-based Holistic Business After 40 - Here Is the Real Timeline

    If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to build authentic visibility Ready to be found online? work with me 1:1 and grow your visibility with the Sunny Chapter Edit In this solo episode: Anna left corporate in 2013 with no plan. She traveled through South America, discovered coaching, and spent years in what she calls her hippie phase — earning very little, figuring it out slowly, living on her own terms. In this episode we look at what the real timeline for building a somatic or holistic business actually looks like — and why the wandering years are exactly where the work happens. What we cover: The three phases every somatic practitioner, holistic coach, and healing business goes through - exploration, focusing, and building — and what each one actually requires from you. Why most marketing advice for therapists and holistic practitioners skips the messy middle entirely and what to do instead. How women over 40 who left corporate are building service businesses and somatic practices on their own terms. Resources mentioned: The Sunday Shift -a free weekly newsletter for women over 40 who are done being invisible and ready to be found online. One woman's story. One framework. One question. Every Sunday. Get The Sunday Shift One to one support for women in career transition / career reinvention who are building somatic and holistic businesses and want to get visible, get found, and get clients without losing themselves in the process. Sunny Chapter Edit Listen if you are: A purpose-driven women entrepreneur, a somatic therapist or holistic business founder wondering why building visibility takes so long. A woman over 40 who left corporate and is in the messy middle of reinvention. A solo entrepreneur trying to market yourself authentically. If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk.

    14 min

  8. 18 may

    How These 5 Micro‑Visibility Hacks Helped Me Overcome My Fear of Being Seen - Holistic Business Marketing

    If you got value from this episode - share it with a friend who needs to hear it! Get The Sunday Shift - Learn how to build authentic visibility Ready to be found online? start your Sunny Chapter In this solo episode: For women entrepreneurs over 40 who feel called to be visible online but are held back by the fear of being seen or judged. This episode shares 5 tiny habits that helped me move from self‑doubt, push through fear to being seen, trusted, and actually found online. What you’ll hear: Why scrolling through other women’s bold posts makes us say “I could never do that.”Habit 1: Reframe self‑promotion as service storytelling—who are you really helping with this message?Habit 2: Remind yourself that nobody cares (in the best way)—and how that frees you to be imperfect.Habit 3: Daily micro‑visibility practice on LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram—showing messy, in‑progress work instead of only the highlight reel.Habit 4: Shift from “expert” to “guide”—using your lived experience, not perfection, to lead others.Habit 5: Become a professional like Steven Pressfield teaches—asking, “What would the professional do now?” and doing it anyway, fear and all. You’ll also hear how I went from being too scared to ask a waiter for ketchup to running a podcast, being filmed, and attracting clients through my visibility work, plus how my Sunny Chapter offer turns interviews into real marketing assets for women who aren’t yet comfortable being seen. Follow up: Subscribe to the THE SUNDAY SHIFT weekly newsletter for one woman’s story, one visibility framework, and one question a week to help you be seen and booked.Learn more about Sunny Chapter interview‑based 1:1 visibility support in the show notes. If you have a question or need advice, DM me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Loved this episode? Then it would be the greatest gift for me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this with another amazing woman who’s ready for her next sunny chapter. This podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Any information shared here, or through linked materials, is meant to provide general guidance and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional, such as a physician, therapist, or coach, for personalized support, diagnoses, or treatment. Use this information at your own discretion and risk. Mentioned in this episode: The Sunday Shift Newsletter

    22 min
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So.. you've decided to take the leap, you're building, creating and ready for take-off but no idea how to start telling your story? How to communicate what you do clearly. How to become visible and get found online. Then this podcast helps. Each week I sit down with women in business who turned their next chapter into visible, meaningful work - and found a way to be seen without losing themselves in the process. I’m Mel, a visibility and brand strategist helping heart-led women entrepreneurs tell the story of their next chapter - in a way that makes the right people say yes. I spent 20 years in brand marketing and CSR - working with the likes of Breitling, Davidoff, Baileys. Yet - when it came to promoting myself - I froze. I did the work, I believed in the work, and then at the last moment I hid the author. The microphone was my cure. And I can help you get there too. I'm a mama with a little girl in primary school. I've built a portfolio career across brand consulting and helping people with self-marketing, in order to get a job and promote their business. I run Sunny Chapter - a digital studio where we help heart-led experts become visible through conversation-led marketing - turning their stories into content that attracts the right clients. I'm also an introvert who had to teach myself video because hiding in the background isn't an option anymore. Join us as I talk to women transitioning from employee to female entrepreneurs about building a holistic health, somatic or therapist business. Learn how to market yourself, build business visibility and grow a holistic practice that respects your capacity as a mother. PS. Stop asking for permission, write your own playbook. Your Way Works (Even if it doesn’t look like everyone else’s). Bilingual podcast: Ein Teil der Episoden ist in Deutsch und auch hier spreche ich mit Frauen zu diesen Themen: Holistic Health Business, Sichtbarkeit und Selbstmarketing. What's Next: Subscribe and follow the podcast! Start with the Sunday Shift - https://mamawhatsnext.com/subscribe Contact Us: hey@sunnychapter.com

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