Episode 154: Midlife Is Not a Crisis—It’s a Catalyst with Heather Hetchler
Release Date: 08/19/2025
Episode 173: What to Carry Forward Into 2026 (and What to Leave Behind)
Brand for Good
There’s something unique about the days between Christmas and New Year’s. The rush has passed, the next chapter hasn’t begun, and for a brief moment, we’re invited into stillness. This final episode of 2025 is not about goals, predictions, or productivity. It’s about intention. In this conversation, I share how I’m personally closing the year — through reflection, journaling, and sitting with the same questions I’ve been asking throughout the last few episodes: questions about impact, alignment, leadership, and what this season of business and life is really asking of us. I...
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Episode 172: Your 2026 Impact & Influence Blueprint
Brand for Good
As we prepare to step into 2026, I wanted to offer something more meaningful than predictions or tactics — a strategic blueprint for building impact and influence in a year that will demand more clarity, not more noise. In this episode, I share what I believe 2026 is really asking of purpose-driven leaders and entrepreneurs. Content will continue to accelerate. AI will make visibility easier than ever. But trust — real trust — will become the most valuable currency. This conversation is about how impact and influence work together — and why you can’t sustain one without the other. I...
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Episode 171: Impact Isn’t Accidental: How to End 2025 With Clarity and Intention
Brand for Good
As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to pause before jumping into strategy and planning — and reflect on what this year actually taught us about leadership, clarity, and impact. This wasn’t a year that rewarded the loudest brands or the busiest leaders. It was a year that revealed what was already there. Visibility increased. Content exploded. AI accelerated everything. But trust didn’t keep pace. In this episode, I share what I’ve observed — in my own leadership, in my clients, and across the market — about why clarity has quietly become the most important leadership skill of our...
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Episode 170: Blogs, AI Search & The New Rules of Visibility
Brand for Good
AI has completely changed the way people discover brands, evaluate expertise, and decide who to trust online. For the first time in more than a decade, we’re not optimizing for search engines anymore — we’re optimizing for generative engines like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot. And that means our entire approach to visibility has to evolve. In this episode, I break down the biggest shift I’ve seen since the rise of internet marketing: the move from traditional SEO to GEO — Generative Engine Optimization. I also explain why blogs — yes, blogs!...
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Episode 169: How to Future Proof Your Brand
Brand for Good
The world is changing faster than ever — platforms shift, buyer behavior evolves, and what worked two years ago rarely works today. In this episode, I reveal why most small business owners struggle to keep up and what it really takes to build a brand that stays relevant no matter what the market is doing. Drawing from the teachings inside my Category of One Brand Program and the ongoing work inside the Category of One Brand Lab, I share the identity-driven philosophy that helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs adapt with confidence, instead of reacting with panic. You’ll learn: Why your...
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Episode 168: Purdue University’s Bold Brand Moves
Brand for Good
What can small business owners learn from one of the most innovative marketing teams in higher education? A lot more than you might think. In this episode, I sit down with Kelly Hiller, Chief Marketing Officer of Purdue Brand Studio, and Bailey Leffler, Director of Brand — two women who are rewriting the rules on brand partnerships, storytelling, and creative risk-taking. Purdue University has become known for pushing boundaries: the Hello Sunshine collaboration, the Taylor Swift “STEM Era” activation with e.l.f., the record-shattering Solar Eclipse event at the Indianapolis Motor...
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Episode 167: Stop Confusing Branding & Marketing
Brand for Good
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to figure out whether you need branding, marketing, PR, content creation, or copywriting… this episode will feel like a deep exhale. Most business owners aren’t confused because they’re inexperienced — they’re confused because the industry has done a poor job defining its own terms. Everyone uses the same words to mean different things, and people end up hiring the wrong kind of help at the wrong time. To help you avoid losing time and money, I explain the real definitions behind the terms and give you a clear roadmap so you finally know what...
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Episode 166: Connection as a Catalyst
Brand for Good
After hosting this year’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Ohio Summit, I was reminded of why I love what I do — because growth doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in rooms filled with conversation, collaboration, and community. Connection is powerful. In this episode, I share how that realization is shaping everything I’m doing next — from my work at Prosper for Purpose to co-leading Everbloomer, a community for women 40 and beyond who want to grow, connect, and prosper together. You’ll hear why I believe connection isn’t a soft skill — it’s a strategy, a catalyst, and the...
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Episode 165: Focusing on Profit Can Flatline Your Business with Karl Maier
Brand for Good
If you think profit is the most important financial number to track in your business, think again. In this episode, I’m joined by Karl Maier, founder of Abunden, to discuss the real driver of sustainable business growth—cash flow. Karl’s experience as a CFO and business advisor has helped companies double their sales in just two years. He’s led multimillion-dollar acquisitions, expanded credit lines, and built the financial systems that turn growth into stability. But it all comes back to one core truth: a profitable business can still fail if it doesn’t manage its cash. We dive...
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Episode 164: 5 Ways You’re Hurting Your Brand (Without Even Realizing It)
Brand for Good
Many great leaders are doing everything “right,” yet unintentionally eroding the power of their own brands. Not intentionally, of course… and not because they’re careless, but because of subtle misalignments that quietly erode trust, credibility, and connection. In this episode, I’m breaking down the five biggest mistakes—and how to fix them before they cost you the influence and authority you’ve worked so hard to build. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why your brand energy matters more than your strategy—and how to realign it. How “professional” language can turn your...
info_outlineToday’s conversation with Heather Hetchler, MA, is one that will stick with me for a long time. Heather is an author, speaker, and communication consultant who equips women in midlife to face unexpected challenges with clarity, confidence, and courage. A seasoned relationship coach and breast cancer survivor, Heather is a master at reframing our most difficult life transitions into opportunities for growth.
We dive into why work-life balance is a myth, the power of perspective when navigating personal and professional challenges, and how grief is often the hidden thread running through so many of life’s changes. Heather shares powerful stories from her coaching practice—from stepfamily dynamics to empty nesting to navigating workplace boundaries—that show how small shifts in perspective can transform relationships.
And at the heart of this episode is emotional intelligence—the ability to be self-aware, to see situations through the other person’s eyes, to navigate the intertwining of work and life, and to respond with compassion and intentionality even in difficult circumstances.
In this episode, we explore:
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Why midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a catalyst for transformation.
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The surprising “backpack” of hidden workplace stressors many women carry.
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How to see relationship challenges from the other person’s perspective—and why that shift can be the key to reconnection.
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How the line between work and life isn’t just blurred, it’s irrevocably intertwined.
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The many forms of loss, including the natural but profound grief that comes when children leave the nest, and how to navigate it in a healthy way.
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The role of emotional intelligence in moving through divorce, co-parenting, step-parenting, and workplace stress.
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How to identify the gap between where you are and where you want to be in work and life—and start closing it.
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The single daily practice Heather recommends to clear emotional clutter and start your day with intention.
Whether you’re in midlife yourself, navigating a major change, or simply looking for tools to approach life and work with more resilience, this episode will encourage you to reframe your challenges, embrace your agency, and see this moment in your life as a launching pad—not a limitation.
Guest Links
🔗 Connect with Heather:
Website: www.HeatherHetchlerCoaching.com
Instagram: @reframingrelationships
Email: heather@learning2step.com
Register for The Women-First Financial Kickstart Live Webinar (it’s FREE!)
Brand for Good Links
Email your thoughts about this episode: connect@prosperforpurpose.com
Join the Peerless Brands Facebook community by Prosper for Purpose: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peerlessbrands
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorraineschuchart/
Follow Lorraine on Instagram: @lorraineschuchart
Follow Prosper for Purpose on Instagram: @prosper4purpose
Additional resources from Prosper for Purpose: https://www.prosperforpurpose.com