The inaugural episode of the Pivot Point podcast introduces listeners to the concept of becoming self-sufficient through business ownership. Host Parnell Woodard shares his personal journey, highlighting the frustration he felt in corporate America and his desire for greater control over his career and life. He emphasizes that this podcast aims to provide actionable guidance and inspiration for those contemplating a career transition or entrepreneurial venture. Throughout the series, listeners will hear stories from individuals who have successfully pivoted in their careers, gaining insights into their motivations and strategies. Parnell invites you to explore these valuable resources as you consider taking the first step towards your own business journey.

In the debut episode of The Pivot Point, host Parnell Woodard sets the stage for an inspiring podcast dedicated to helping individuals explore entrepreneurship and achieve self-sufficiency through business ownership. Drawing from over 25 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur, franchisee, and career coach, Parnell shares his personal pivot point—leaving corporate America to build businesses that provided freedom and fulfillment.

Here's what you can expect:

💡 Real Stories, Actionable Guidance: Learn from individuals who have successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship, uncover their motivations, and gain practical tips to navigate your own career pivot.

🌟 A Resource for Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Whether you're curious about franchising, starting a business, or career transitions, each episode is packed with insights from industry professionals, founders, and business owners.

🎯 A Mission to Empower: Parnell's goal is to inspire and guide you through the journey of taking control of your career, encouraging you to embrace growth and step out of your comfort zone.

In this episode, Parnell reflects on his entrepreneurial journey—from founding a pioneering digital ad agency in 2001 to owning top-performing franchise locations and creating solutions for the franchise space. He also discusses why most people never pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and how this podcast aims to bridge that gap.

🎧 Subscribe to The Pivot Point on Apple or Spotify to join the journey. Ready to take control of your career? Listen in, learn, and get inspired. Connect with Parnell on LinkedIn to share your questions or suggest topics.

💬 Favorite Quote from the Episode:

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson

🌟 Take the first step toward a career you’ll love. Start your journey with The Pivot Point!

The inaugural episode of the Pivot Point podcast marks a significant moment for those disillusioned with corporate life and eager for a change. Host Parnell Woodard shares his personal story of frustration within the corporate structure, connecting with listeners who may feel trapped in their own nine-to-five jobs. The podcast's primary goal is to empower individuals to take control of their futures through business ownership, offering inspiration and practical resources for those ready to make a change. Parnell's enthusiasm for entrepreneurship shines as he discusses the concept of self-sufficiency, explaining that true independence comes from being your own boss and creating a business that aligns with your passions and values.

As he delves into his background, Parnell recounts pivotal moments that shaped his entrepreneurial journey, including the founding of his first company before the events of September 11, 2001. He reflects on the lessons learned from his experiences in both the digital advertising world and the franchise business, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and resilience. Parnell encourages listeners to assess their current career satisfaction and consider the possibilities that entrepreneurship offers. He poses the “Sunday night question,” prompting listeners to reflect on their feelings about work and explore whether it's time for a change.

The episode concludes with a clear call to action for listeners: to engage with the podcast, seek out resources, and take their first steps toward entrepreneurship. Parnell shares his vision for upcoming episodes, which will feature interviews with successful entrepreneurs who have navigated similar transitions. He invites listeners to submit questions and topics they want to explore, fostering a sense of community and shared learning. With a motivating quote from Thomas Jefferson, the episode reinforces the idea that stepping outside of one’s comfort zone is essential for growth and success. The Pivot Point podcast promises to be a valuable resource for anyone ready to take charge of their career and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

Takeaways:

• The Pivot Point podcast aims to empower individuals to become self-sufficient through business ownership.
• Parnell Woodard shares his journey from corporate frustration to entrepreneurship and self-fulfillment.
• Listeners will gain insights from those who have successfully transitioned to business ownership.
• The podcast will feature real stories that provide inspiration and actionable strategies for career changes.
• It's crucial to listen to those who have achieved what you aspire to accomplish.
• The mission of the podcast is to provide resources and guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Links referenced in this episode:

• apple.com
• spotify.com
• linkedin.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Emerge
• Elements Massage
• Adaptive

Hey there.

I'm Parnell Woodard, the host of the Pivot Point podcast.

Easy for you to say.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Pivot Point.

I'm really excited to have you here.

This is a just a quick introductory podcast to give you a little line of sight towards what to expect.

The purpose of the podcast really is to create a resource for people who want to learn more about becoming self sufficient through business ownership.

What does that mean, become self sufficient through business ownership?

Well, when you're self sufficient through business ownership, you don't have to rely on anybody else.

You don't have a boss.

Clients you could say are your boss, but you're your own boss.

You are fully self sufficient.

You have created a business that will support you and your family.

That's what I mean when I say being self sufficient through business ownership in this podcast is really about helping people learn about how to do that.

I named it the Pivot Point because like so many of you, at a point in my career, I became very frustrated with corporate America.

I was about 35 at the time.

I knew there had to be a better way to work, to live, to enjoy what I did and not dread every Monday morning.

One of my favorite questions to folks when I work with them is my what I call the Sunday night question.

And if it's Sunday night and you're excited to go to work tomorrow morning, that's a good thing, right?

If it's Sunday night and you're dreading going to work on Monday, maybe it's time to look at something else, right?

Throughout all these podcasts, you'll have a chance to hear more from and about people who've made the leap into becoming self sufficient through business ownership.

You'll be able to hear about their pivot points, what motivated them and what drove them to make that change and to learn from them and others in the small business industry.

So I'll give you a little bit of background about me.

As I said, Parnell Woodard, I've been a career coach only for a couple of years, but I've been in the entrepreneurial world for nearly 25.

I have owned two companies that I built from scratch.

I was in New York City at the time.

It was a company called Emerge and it was really kind of a pioneer in the digital ad agency space.

And then I got into Franchising and I was.

I had a multiple location Elements Massage franchise here in New Hampshire, and we very quickly became the number seven location in the country out of about 150.

I had great success with that.

I learned so much, great organization, a lot of fun, met a ton of people, and the network of support and your fellow franchisees is really a special, special thing to experience.

And I happened to have an idea for another business at the time.

So I kind of just said, hey, here's the number.

Not offended.

If it doesn't work for you, that's fine.

But he took it and he's done very well with that.

He's had my locations now for another 10 years and he's done very, very well.

My last company that I built from scratch was a company called Adaptive.

And Adaptive helped solve a problem in the franchise space around reporting and analytics.

So many of the point of sale systems really struggle with aggregating data from a local level up to a national level so you can get more insights into what's happening in your business.

So you might be asking, you know, throughout all of that, what was my pivot point?

And I asked myself the same question and I.

And I realized that I've had an entrepreneurial urge since I was a teenager.

I've had ideas, little businesses that I tried to get off the ground.

And so I've always had that itch.

And it's just, interestingly enough, 75% of us have thought about getting into business for ourselves, but only 5% of us do.

Why is that?

Well, it's largely because I think most people don't know what they don't know.

That's really what we're here to help them learn about.

So I had a nice career in New York City, but like so many people, I had that itch.

I had to try things on my own.

I felt like things could be better, that I could do better, deliver more value to my clients.

And honestly, I have never looked back.

I can't imagine going back to work for somebody else.

So, anyway, let me talk a little bit about the podcast's mission and why I started it.

I mentioned that I started it because I saw a need, really for professionals, for people to have actionable guidance and inspiration during pivotal moments in their lives.

It's really important for people to have resources to learn from, to talk to, to bounce ideas off of.

There's so much that we don't know going into this, into this space, and I really want to try and bring some resources to the table to help people do that.

The podcast will offer a whole series of topics around career transitions, entrepreneurship, business ownership, franchising, and really achieving your personal and professional goals.

Each episode will provide you with real stories, practical tips and strategies to really try and help you move forward with your professional career, whether it's business ownership or otherwise.

The podcast is really for anybody that is ready to take control of their career.

Explore entrepreneurs.

Find the clarity they need to make a change.

But you've got to want to do it.

As a coach, I can help you.

I can help guide you, but you've got to want to do it and you got to go in with an open mind.

Have some fun.

Go learn.

It never hurt anybody to learn things, right?

So let me give you a little bit of a sneak peek coming up in terms of future episodes.

Typically those episodes will be myself and a guest and you'll have us on screen.

I'll have a series of questions that I will be asking them.

Please feel free to write in to me if you would like me to pose some questions to them as we go.

But we'll dive into very inspiring stories of individuals who pivoted their careers.

Learn about what they did.

Here's some strategies on navigating that change.

Interviews with different people in small business.

Everything you want to hear about, from CPAs to funding partners to business owners to franchisors to franchisees and any of those related businesses.

So I plan on bringing in guests, such as clients that I've worked with who are making the change and building a career of their dreams.

Founders and CEOs of small companies, people who have done all of the things you have questions about.

My goal is really to provide you with tools and insights and motivation to confidently take that first step into your journey.

That first step might just be a coaching call.

It might just be the first step about learning more about it.

Don't have to make any decisions.

Don't put any pressure on yourself.

That's not what this is about.

This is here.

These are going to be here for you to learn.

So I hope that you'll, you know, whether you're considering starting your own business, transitioning to a new career, or really just looking for some inspiration that you'll find some value in this podcast.

If it sounds like something you benefit from, make sure to subscribe to the Pivot Point.

I will have this on Apple and Spotify.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please connect with me on LinkedIn.

Let me know what topics or questions you'd like covered.

Thank you so much for listening and watching this very first episode of the Pivot Point.

I am thrilled to have you here on this journey.

I can't wait to see where we go together.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

It's from Thomas Jefferson and he said, if you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done.

That doesn't mean go crazy, but it does mean to get outside of that comfort zone a little bit.

Maybe just talk to somebody new.

Right?

Everybody always says, you know, listen to the people around you and take their counsel.

I always say it's great to listen to people around you, but listen to the people where you want to go.

Listen to where those folks where you want to be are, because the folks that are around you aren't where you want to go.

So anyway, again, Parnell Woodard, the Pivot Point.

Look forward to seeing you next time.

Thanks very much.