#078: Entrepreneurial Journeys: Where Are They Now With Sophia Flot-Warner

Show Notes

People over 40 years of age now account for most of the new startup activity happening around the world. As we celebrate the new face of side business CEOs, it’s time to reexamine our previously held assumptions about the journey to entrepreneurship. 
In this episode co-hosts Lori Vajda and Nola Boea check in with Sophia Flot-Warner, Senior Director of Learning and Development, actor, writer, producer, and CEO of Freelance Sophie, her Virtual Assistant business. We wanted to learn what’s changed since Covid, and the pivots she’s recently made on her entrepreneurial path.

Thanks for Listening!
​
Ready to start your business or grow your personal brand? Schedule a free 20 min. consultation call now. 

If you enjoyed this show, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you’ll never miss an episode. Want to get to know us more? Find out more about us and our services at Sticky Brand Lab

We love hearing from you! Leave or speak your message here

If you haven’t already, please connect with us on Facebook! 

Would you like to be a featured guest or have your question, comment or review mentioned? Ask Muse!

Business success strategies are in the works. Come have a listen!

In This Episode You’ll Learn 

• How the road to successful entrepreneur is agile rather than fixed.
• Why part-time entrepreneurship is a great career choice for anyone seeking a better work/life balance and more income.
• One interesting change is the increase in more individuals turning their passion into a living.
• Tips for successfully becoming a side business owner. 
• 
  

Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:
(02:47:74) Leaving a steady job to start a business requires proper planning.
(05:30:50) Her story of sharing a passion and turning it into a business has not only led to winning awards, it’s opened up more opportunities.
(11:27.23) How do you find the motivation to continue to pursue your dream? 
(14:22.30) Recommendations for anyone who is interested in switching directions or switching the focus of their career. 

Resources 

You can subscribe to Lori and Nola's show, (we love you and want to make it easy) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Connect with Sophia Flot-Warner: Sophia Flot-Warner 
Instagram Sophia Flot-Warner
Facebook Sophia Flot-Warner
Facebook at Freelance Sophie
Amazon books by Sophia Flot-Warner

ConvertKit: Our #1 Favorite Email Marketing Platform 
(This is an affiliate link)

Transcripts

[00:00:00] Lori: We wondered, what does the journey to following your career or entrepreneurial dream really look like? How do you create a life you love? So we set out to follow a few listeners as they pursue their career and business dreams. So what does the path really look like? For Sophia Flot-Warner that meant attending a meeting with her boss to let them know she decided to quit. After all opportunity, won't come knocking at your door if you don't make room for it. Right? Stay tuned friends because we're checking in as Sophia shares her progress, process, tips and the most recent lessons she's learned along the way, in our series Where Are They Now? An Entrepreneurial Journey. 

[00:00:47] Announcer: You're listening to the Sticky Brand Lab podcast, where time strapped professionals like you learn how to create a business you love in as little as three hours a week. 

[00:00:58] Nola: Making the decision to focus on your entrepreneurial journey is one thing. Actually taking the necessary steps is another. How do you get to be an entrepreneur? Much of the information you'll see on the internet focuses on the practicalities and not on the actual experiences, which is why we wanted to talk to a real person on their journey.

Meet Sophia Flot-Warner. Sophia is currently working as Senior Director of Learning and Development at CreatorUp, a global digital media education company and production studio. But her real passion is in the entertainment field. She started Freelance Sophie, a virtual assistant side business, with the intention of giving herself flexibility so she could pursue her acting dream full time. We started following Sophia on her entrepreneurial journey in Episode 34 called Where Are They Now? And we're checking in with her to get an update. Welcome back, Sophia. 

[00:01:57] Sophia: Hi. Glad to be back.

[00:02:01] Lori: We're so excited, you're here. When you were first on the show, you were acting, writing, producing while working full time. And if that wasn't a lot right there, you had gone on to start a side business as a virtual assistant with the intention to free up time, so you could focus on your acting career. But we know a lot has changed since then. So could you catch us up on what has happened since you were last here? 

[00:02:29] Sophia: About the beginning of the year in my prayer time and talking to God and trying to figure out what to do. I was like, well, where do I go now? I think I'm ready to go back into my acting full time. And I got the urging to leave the job that I was at at Creator Up and do more with Freelance Sophie. I had done quite a few things on Upwork for Freelance Sophie. It was going really, really well. It was getting a little overwhelming, it was going so well. And so I made the decision that I was going to talk to my boss around November and give them two months to replace me. So I go to talk to my boss and he had invited me to dinner and he started off the conversation and he was like, you know, we've had some great success with investments and investors, and we really want to give you a suitable promotion and a meaningful raise and, and, I'm like, I think I should stop you. You know, I have something that I want to share with you. And his face just kind of drained of all. He was like, what? I said, I'm leaving. And I said, I'm not going anywhere else. I'm not going to any other company. I said, I just need the time to focus on my acting career. I need the flexibility to be able to go to an audition when I need to. He sat there for a moment and then he said, No.

[00:04:05] Nola: But thanks. Anyway,

[00:04:05] Sophia: He said, we're just going to give you a new job. And I was like, this doesn't happen. He says, no, we're just going to give you a new job that takes you out of the weeds so that you're not tied to the logistics. You're not tied to meeting. We're just going to give you a different job and then you'll have the flexibility when you need to be off or, you know, and shoot something, you can do that. When you need to audition, you can do that. And I was like, kind of speechless and about the tear up because you know, who does that? 

[00:04:46] Nola: Yep, Yep.

[00:04:48] Lori: I know. You get a new job, more flexibility, a greater title and more money. Well, speaking of your acting, there was some updates there as well in the entertainment arena, because it's not just acting, is it?

[00:05:05] Sophia: No, it is not. I have unofficially started SRFW which is a play on my initials, SRFW Entertainment and it's, Scripts Right From the Word. And because it's faith-based and so Scripts Right From the Word. And I have already written, I wrote a feature that has won some film festival awards. And so I wrote a short as well. And I just now started entering that in that, but the other excellent part about that is, the company that I work for is a production studio. So I am in talks with them to actually help me to shoot this, to produce this short film. 

[00:05:45] Nola: Wow. 

[00:05:46] Sophia: Yeah. And as a result of me talking to them, it kind of put things into high gear for me in that area. Because I had already been thinking, I have a lot of actor friends who have been here and working and taking classes and auditioning and nothing is moving. And so the film is filled with all of my actor friends who I know have gifts and talents. And that's part of my mission. Right? And my vision. Because I know all these people who have been here for years and who are working and who have been ignored in the industry for whatever reason, ageism, racism, genderism, and I want to do away with that. 

[00:06:26] Nola: So you're employing them. 

[00:06:27] Sophia: Yes. 

[00:06:28] Nola: Wow. 

[00:06:29] Sophia: Yeah. So we're having our first rehearsal on the 25th of this month. Things are a little bit on hold with the production right now. You know, I have to do a little bit of fundraising, but that's the way it goes. That's exactly what this is all about. That's just what you do. And I'm starting back up with Freelance Sophie as part of that fundraising thing, because when I did it before it went so well. I will share this here. I made about $6,000 in maybe seven months, on Upwork. So of that is definitely one tip I would give to freelancers out there, get on Upwork.

[00:07:05] Nola: Wow. 

[00:07:05] Sophia: That's all that's going on. 

[00:07:07] Lori: Well, there was one more because, and I happened to know this, so I thought it would be for any Star Trek lovers, you need to share this one other major thing that happened. 

[00:07:20] Sophia: So there was a fundraiser for the Hollywood Food Coalition that was put on by. Well, it was called Trek Talks. And so it was a Star Trek themed day-long fundraiser. And so they were all these panels with the directors and the actors and the behind-the-scenes people. And it was amazing. I am super Star Trek nerd since I was a little kid, literally kissing Captain Kirk on the TV screen. 

[00:07:53] Nola: He was a hunk back then.

[00:07:55] Sophia: He was, he absolutely was. And there was another component of it. If you followed this gentleman on Twitter, he would ask questions. Uh, tied to the fundraiser, the panels and everything that was going on. And if you answer correctly, you would win things. You would win prizes. So I won four different items. So it was wow. Yeah. And then to top, even that, 

[00:08:24] Sophia: So one of the actors who was in Star Trek Enterprise, he played Dr. Flocks. His name is John Billingsley. He is the director of the Hollywood Food Coalition. So he put this whole thing together. And when he found out that I won the Klingon poster and that I was here in LA, he asked if I would like to meet in person for him to deliver the poster. So I got the absolute pleasure of meeting John Billingsley. He is such a delightful person. We ended up, we were supposed to be just having coffee. Comedy of errors, the coffee place was closed. And so he was like, let's just go across the street to this restaurant. We just went to some random restaurant and he bought me lunch and we sat there for about an hour and just talked and he is so delightful, just a very down to earth, really nice, man. Yeah. It's such a pleasure. So that was my exciting. 

[00:09:32] Nola: Okay. So initially you worked full time and you had your virtual assistant side business with the intent of quitting your job so that you could have this flexible income and go to bookings, go to rehearsals, auditions. And now, you still have your full-time job, your acting career has expanded to a production career and your virtual assistant side business now is acts as a fundraiser for your films under production. So it's all still there, but they've morphed. Back to the point where, you're sitting down with your employer. How did you find the courage to say, guess what? I know you really, really, really rely on me for absolutely everything, but I'm out of here. I'm taking the rug out from under you very nicely, but I'm going. Did that take a lot of courage? And how did you get that? 

[00:10:32] Sophia: You know, the relationship that. My boss and I have he's the CEO of the company. And I started with them when they were very small. And I know that he believes in me and my acting career, so it wasn't difficult. I knew he would understand. I knew that he would want the best for me. So I wasn't nervous at all. 

[00:10:52] Nola: That's awesome. How many people can say that? 

[00:10:54] Sophia: So blessed. 

[00:10:55] Lori: But even when you're sitting there in that moment with him, and you've decided I'm putting me first, which is hard for anyone to do, especially when they have such a great relationship like you have with your boss. That's I think one of the things that keeps people from speaking up for themselves. You weren't deterred by the friendship that you had and the positive relationship. You still saw that as a benefit to being transparent and honest. So from that perspective, how did you find the motivation to continue to pursue your dream? That's a, to me a really hard thing to do. 

[00:11:36] Sophia: You know, I keep focused and I keep reminding myself of the reason that I came to Los Angeles. Because if you remember, I was working at the university of Houston for 11 years. I would not have even thought of moving across the country. God said, let's do this. And things just literally dropped into place for me to make that transition. And I just keep reminding myself that I am here for a purpose and a mission. I'm not here to become a movie star. I'm here to change lives and to reach people with the stories that I have to tell. I originally thought it was just through my acting and the platform I would have through that acting. And even to the point of resisting, when God told me to start writing. I was like, I don't want to do that. I was like, no, no. No thanks. 

[00:12:32] Nola: I think you meant to say that to somebody else.

[00:12:34] Sophia: Yeah. Yeah, no, I just want to act in other people's stuff. I don't want to do that. And God laughs and here we are. 

[00:12:42] Nola: Was it easy or difficult if you didn't want to do it, but you did it because you were told to, how did that creativity flow for you?

[00:12:48] Sophia: Well, I'm a writer. I've always been a writer. I write poetry. I write stories. So it was not a difficult transition for me. I sat down and started writing what is now my feature film. I started writing it as a web series thinking I was just doing it to promote my acting career. cause everybody that I would tell about the story I was writing, they would say, have you thought about making that a feature film? And so what I did was I had just created it in all the different iterations. I have it as a web series, as a TV series, as a short film, as a feature film. Right. I was like, so whoever picks it up, whatever they want, I got it, I got it. Wow. Yeah. And so then I just started entering the feature script into film festivals and it started doing really well. And it's a strongly faith-based film. It takes a look at what it really looks like to live a life by faith. And the biggest joy for me was when it won Best Romantic Script. And I was like, yes! 

[00:13:53] Nola: Kind of just expanded past that genre box. Huh? 

[00:13:58] Sophia: Yes, I was thrilled. I was like, yes, it has transcended the faith-based box. And people see the story, which is what I really want. I don't want to hit people over the head with anything. Because people are living in their own love stories. Right. And they need to know how to live that out. If they walk by faith and it can be a challenge sometimes. 

[00:14:19] Nola: What did you just described was inspiring. what recommendations would you offer to someone who is in that position? They have a full-time career. They have a side business and they are looking to like switch directions or switch the focus of their career?

[00:14:37] Sophia: What helped me was something so simple, putting things on my calendar. What I wanted to work on when I wanted to work on it. Because in my former role at this company, there was no time during the work hours during the day to do anything. So I had to, get ready for working literally 12 hour days or more. If you're serious about doing this. So I put it on my calendar at 6:00 PM. I gave myself an hour to transition, eat, do whatever I needed to do. And I put Freelance Sophie on my calendar. And for me, that meant going on Upwork, looking for jobs. That meant doing recordings and voiceover samples. And, oh my gosh, there was so many small business programs out there. And so that was me. I was on there looking and signing up and getting free websites. And it was also social media. Right. I had to get in there and create social media content, which I love doing. As I was doing it. I was like, this really could be another business. Like no, Sophie, no, no!

[00:15:49] Nola: Now how do you prioritize your entertainment career? 

[00:15:53] Sophia: I have two agents. I have one commercial agent. I have one theatrical agent. And so I had them out there looking for me. I had me looking for all kinds of other projects, voiceover projects, just making time in between. 

[00:16:10] Nola: Would you say that you prioritize Freelance Sophie on your calendar, but knowing that, because it was a flexible type of side gig, you were able to move that if your first priority of acting or entertainment came, if you got an opportunity, right?

[00:16:26] Sophia: Okay. 

[00:16:28] Lori: I think the other part to that is she spoke authentically and from the heart in her traditional job. And her traditional job saw the value and expertise and wanted to maintain that so that they actually carved out space for her. You put it on your calendar and then you also have to take action to create the space for that?

[00:16:54] Sophia: Yeah, exactly. And at first I was like, well, what do I need to do? it was like, okay, well I know I can get the word out on social media, and I know the value of social media and being online and, and being find-able right. So I focused on that, on getting the word out there and sharing it with people that I know, going into groups and offering my services.

[00:17:18] Nola: Oh, what I like about that is you're not just putting up your website and hoping they will come. You were literally finding ways to get out there in front of people. And that's a really good way to spend your time. 

[00:17:27] Sophia: Yeah. It is. 

[00:17:29] Lori: So when you're starting something new and managing your current life, I think it's probably really easy to get frustrated either with the progress you're making or the lack of progress that you're making. Any suggestions or tips on how to avoid overwhelm?

[00:17:45] Sophia: Just self-care. You just really have to be mindful of, okay, I need a break. And one of the things that I absolutely love about the culture of the company that I work for, my traditional job, is that they believe in self-care. If you're feeling overwhelmed, you can definitely raise a flag, raise a hand and say, I need some help. 
 And then I would also help myself spending that time in prayer and praise and worship and making sure I was pulling on my source of peace because you have to have that. Really do for yourself. While you'll get frustrated, how do you get out of it? Prioritize how you get out of it, how you recover. You have to, you really have to. 

[00:18:31] Lori: It's such good advice. 

[00:18:33] Nola: Well, wrapping up the show. Since we are vicariously walking with you through your entrepreneurial and creative journey, what next steps do you plan to take, to reach your goals? Or are you literally flying on a wing and a prayer or a combination of both? 

[00:18:51] Sophia: Next steps? The plan that I have is to continue with social media promotions. I've started putting up more videos of myself acting when I do auditions. I've started to put those up because auditions are self-tapes now. We record ourselves and we send those in to the casting directors. So that's my focus. I don't think I mentioned this, but there's I produced a series of micro videos and it's called, The What If Series. And it's just little thought provoking one liners. Right. And then I put up 15 of them. I released it on social media. I released it on my website. So that's out there. And of course, continuing to enter the screenplays into festivals so that I can show the value when producers come knocking and they will, funders, investors come knocking. And prepping to roll this short film into a TV series because that's, that's the goal. I'll tell you a little bit about it, if you want to hear. It's a story about a crime family, which you wouldn't it's lightly faith-based you would not think those two things go together. Right. But they do. And so my character plays the daughter of the boss, the head of the family. And she left years ago because she just couldn't take it anymore. She did not want to be a part of the violence and that whole culture. And so she's coming back now to take over the family and to shake things up a little bit. I'll just leave her right there. So she.

[00:20:33] Nola: I'm intrigued!

[00:20:38] Lori: Sophia, you are a breath of fresh air, an inspiration, and definitely a role model in standing in your truth, in having faith in your future, and in making it happen. And we want to thank you for being our guest. If someone wants to learn more about you, your work, following your acting career or getting those one-minute messages that you've put out there, where should listeners go and how can they connect with you?

[00:21:07] Sophia: You can check out my website. It's my name: Sophia Flot hyphen Warner. And Flot is FLOT. Just like it sounds dotcom, you can search for my name. If you Google me, you'll find everything. I'm on Instagram as SophiaFlotW, Twitter, the same handle. I'm on Facebook under my name, SophiaFlot-Warner. Freelance Sophie, if you Google Freelance Sophie, you'll find all of the portals there. And it's Sophie. S O P H I E, then I'm on Instagram and Facebook for Freelance Sophie. And you want to email me, there's contact portals on my website, but you can also email me at contact@sophiaflot-warner.com. I'm on WhatsApp, everywhere anywhere you can DM me. Look for me. It's not a common name. So if you probably just put in Sophia Flot, you'll get me. So. 

[00:22:09] Lori: And listeners will have the links to connecting with Sophia on our show notes as well. We want to thank you listeners for listening to this episode. We hope it makes all the difference in you getting started on your business so you can create your best and most exciting life. If you found the information shared here today, helpful let us know by posting here where you're listening or on our Facebook page. 

[00:22:33] Nola: Not sure how to turn your idea into a profitable side business? Contact us at stickybrandlab.com/contact. We'd be happy to help you. 

[00:22:42] Lori: Be sure to come back next Tuesday and every Tuesday for another informative, inspiring and motivating episode. And remember actions create results. So tap into your desire to create a business and brand you love by taking 1% action every day. Small steps, big effects.

[OUT-TAKE]
Lori: I actually just read that wrong. 
[00:23:05] Nola: Watched you skip right over that word. 
[00:23:08] Lori: One word I skipped over and it makes all the difference. Let's start again. All right.