947 Christine Fruehwirth:

Wings of Inspired Business Podcast EP947 – Host Melinda Wittstock Interviews Christine Fruehwirth

Melinda Wittstock:

Coming up on Wings of Inspired Business:

Christine Fruehwirth:

One of the things that I’m mostly concerned about right now is AI and how especially the larger employers are just pretending it’s not happening. They have to start embracing AI as a tool and as an operating system and how it will actually, you know, help their businesses. The companies are going to get smaller and so it’s more entrepreneur opportunities. Maybe instead of telling my, you know, college graduates that, oh, you have to really wait until you have more experience to start a company, maybe this is the time to, once you graduate is to maybe get into this trend a little bit more.

Melinda Wittstock:

Ignoring a bill in the mail doesn’t make it go away, and so it is with fast-advancing application of artificial intelligence transforming everything about the way we work—and what jobs and careers will appear and disappear in our fast-changing world. Christine Fruehwirth is a career coach, author and founder of Flex Careers Consulting and she’s spent over 20 years guiding both new grads and mid-career professionals (especially women relaunching after a career break) through the shifting landscape of work. Today we talk about how AI is changing everything for both groups, including the disappearance of entry-level white-collar jobs and new demands for adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking, and the necessity of relationship.

Melinda Wittstock:

Hi, I’m Melinda Wittstock and welcome to Wings of Inspired Business, where we share the inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, epiphanies, and practical advice from successful female founders … so you have everything you need at your fingertips to build the business and life of your dreams. I’m all about paying it forward as a five-time serial entrepreneur, so I started this podcast to catalyze an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs mentor, promote, buy from, and invest in each other. Because together we’re stronger, and we all soar higher when we fly together and lift as we climb.

Melinda Wittstock:

Today we meet an inspiring entrepreneur who is a passionate advocate for adapting to new technologies, particularly how college students and those returning to the job market can adapt to a new AI-powered world. Christine Fruehwirth is the CEO and founder of FlexCareers Consulting, and she’s determined to help students and those she calls “re-launchers” to understand, overcome challenges, and master new opportunities AI provides. Today Christine shares her journey from Wall Street to entrepreneurship, her insights on why colleges and businesses are struggling to keep pace with technological change, and how she helps her clients—new grads and re-launchers alike—build the confidence, skills, and agility to not just survive but thrive in an unpredictable world.  

Melinda Wittstock:

Christine will be here in a start music GRADUALLY under my voice moment, and first:

If you’re enjoying this podcast and what you learn from all the inspiring women I interview every week, please go ahead, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and share it with your friends. We really appreciate ratings and reviews on Apple and Spotify – it helps more entrepreneurs like you find the wisdom, tips, and epiphanies they need to grow their business. It makes a difference. Thank you. 

Melinda Wittstock:

We’re all navigating a world of rapid change, as AI transforms entire industries, eliminating some entry-level positions and making adaptability and resilience more important than ever. These are skills entrepreneurs must necessarily possess, but now it’s critical for all professionals and white-collar workers to find their inner entrepreneur. Christine Fruehwirth of FlexCareers Consulting helps young college grads and women returning to the workforce later in life adapt for the new normal, and she says the winning combination is:

• Developing problem-solving skills (not just being a “problem identifier”)
• Building a personal brand that reflects values, interests, and skills
• And, developing networking strategies and interview skills—even when virtual connection feels more natural than in-person networking

Melinda Wittstock:

With AI, employers now want people who can integrate AI creatively, not just follow instructions. For the women she helps re-launch into the workforce later in life, it’s vital to update technical skills, including AI proficiency, professionalize any volunteer or board work, and rebuild and leverage your network. In fact, it’s never been more crucial to build relationships—offline and online.

Melinda Wittstock:

Author of Surviving Life’s Storms and Thriving in the Aftermath, Christine shares her actionable framework for getting unstuck, moving from survival mode to a place where you can thrive. We’ll be talking about her four-stage plan: Survival, Stabilization, Emerging, and Thriving—and applying these to career, relationships, parenting, and more.

Melinda Wittstock:

Let’s put on our wings with Christine Fruehwirth.

[INTERVIEW]

Melinda Wittstock:

Christine, welcome to Wings.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Thank you for having me.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know, you’re taking on a major thing by helping undergraduates and recent graduates find work in a really difficult time. Everything’s changing so much with all these tech companies saying, you know what, there aren’t going to be any white-collar jobs anymore in a couple of years. How has this changed or is changing your whole approach to this work for those particular people?

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah, I mean, I’m trying to keep up with all the information that’s coming out. And I’m a big fan of AI myself as I write the second edition of my book and realizing that college students are fairly well versed in the tools and they’re using it already. But the downside to it is that certain fields are going to be extinct in a very short period of time. It is a challenge. I do have a younger son who’s going into college. I also have a daughter who just graduated from college. There’s a lot going on in terms of trying to help them, but also my clients adjust as rapidly as possible. I know, for example, like one of the, one of the best fields to study is computer science major with focus on coding, and that’s definitely getting eliminated.

Christine Fruehwirth:

And some of the creative fields and some of the marketing, definitely other areas like editing, accounting is a risk and that kind of thing. So, what I’m trying to do, particularly in this moment is just figure out how do they navigate that and then get ahead of it. And what they, what I do know is that the unemployment rate is higher for college grads right now than it, than it is for the general population, and it’s higher than it’s been in more than a decade. So, there’s a lot of anxiety out there. And so, what I try to do with my clients is, you know, build up the skills in order to really, what I focus on is, you know, coming up with their networking strategy, interview skills, but basically how to brand themselves to stand out. And then really what is it that they want to focus on that is the intersection of their values, interests and skills. And that’s the core foundation. But couple that with what’s going on in the environment and in the job market.

Christine Fruehwirth:

So that’s, that’s the balance I try to. 

Melinda Wittstock:

Because you can have a great brand and really stand out. But if that whole entry level, that whole swathe of entry-level white-collar jobs are essentially missing because this is such a big structural change, it’s hard to know, like, what are the jobs that are available. So, I mean, certainly companies right now all transitioning to AI need people who understand AI, who can help them through that transition. So that would seem to be a fairly obvious thing. But the other thing is just being entrepreneurial. It’s almost like everyone has to be an entrepreneur now in some way.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Oh, absolutely, yes, yes. So, one of the things is I’ve, I’ve also been having some meetings around our colleges, even really prepared for this, right, so, I’ve been doing a lot of, I’ve been having some meetings with some AI consulting firms, and I’ve also been doing some research around what colleges are doing to, with and trying to talk to some of their career centers and trying to find out how are they adjusting. That’s where I’m. I just don’t think that they are really prepared. So, I’m trying to brand myself as somebody who is up to speed on this. But what I do know is that you definitely want to know, not only know how to use AI and not just ChatGPT, but how it can be on the consulting side where you can go in and actually make recommendations for some of these organizations.

Christine Fruehwirth:

And I would say you should probably work for organizations that are either entrepreneurial startups or smaller because these, what I do know is the bigger companies, the Fortune 500 are just avoiding AI at all costs. They think it’s more of a technology issue and they’re waiting for like technology upgrades to really embrace it versus actually it’s really more of an operating issue. It’s not a technology issue because it’s, it’s really how do you integrate AI into your business? And if students can go into organizations and be able to speak that way and say this is how do you really leverage it? So, and be on that side of it and be on the creative like the value add, then you’re going to be fine.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. So much of this too though is a mindset like our education system has always been geared into creating employees a as opposed to entrepreneurs. And I know as a lifelong entrepreneur, five different businesses, is completely different way of thinking. You know, when you’re building essentially an asset instead of just trading your time for money. And so how much, I mean the school systems really have to change. Yeah, not just the colleges, but almost every everybody to create, help people with that sense of kind of enterprise and creativity of being able to just do things and build things kind of on your own. So how much of your work is really around the mindset issue for all the young people that you’re helping in this kind of environment?

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah, I mean I focus A lot on this and I talk about it in my book is just, you know, being adaptable, right, and definitely being on top of, I mean, it’s hard because the technology is changing weekly.

Melinda Wittstock:

I know.

Christine Fruehwirth:

And so, it’s, it’s really like it could be even a full-time job just to be, you know, on top of how it’s, how it’s changing. But I do think that one of the things is, is that colleges tend to be a little too rigid in general. Not all, but most of them where they’re like, you know, here’s the formula. This is like, here’s what you study, this is the internship you get. And then they want to spit them out. For college grads to be picked up into traditional roles where they’re just like, you know, an entry level. And what I’m trying to do, because I don’t think the college is ours, I’m trying to help my clients understand that. It’s, it’s about adaptive ability and it’s about like what, what employers don’t want are problem identifiers.

Christine Fruehwirth:

They want problem solvers. So, it’s, it’s adaptability, it’s problem-solving skills. It’s about, you know, being actually being confident to speak up about your opinions and bringing your knowledge into these organizations that are really struggling to keep up.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, I mean anybody is valuable in a company if they’re coming up with solutions. So, say in the context of AI. It was interesting just the other day, you know, my partner was telling me about his adult daughter who works for a software company, and she started playing around with chat GPT and she’s the type of person who, you know, just likes to learn, goes pretty deep. And before long she figured out all these different things that you could do with it and started essentially teaching her teammates. Like, look, you can solve time if you do it this way, if you do it that way. So, she’s made herself essentially in, in about a month into a leader within the company.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Right. That’s what I, my clients do. Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah. So, you work with other people too, like say stay at home moms who are returning back to the workforce. And so much has changed since they left. So, it’s kind of almost the same thing. So, is it essential, the same work? Tell me, tell me about. You mentioned before we started recording that you work for the launchers and the re-launchers. So, for the re-launchers are a little bit older and they really have to adapt as well. So, what’s that like?

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah, I work with women that primarily, although I’ve worked with a few men in midlife, but mostly women who are either.

Melinda Wittstock:

They’re…

Christine Fruehwirth:

…Relaunching, they’re, they’re returning to the workplace after an absence, take care of children, or they are working mothers who are trying to figure out the balance and in some cases they’re scaling back to part time work. In other cases, I do more executive coaching where I’m helping them push forward up the ladder. But one of the things that I’m trying to help that group understand is that when I just mentioned the ladder, it’s really not a ladder anymore. It’s really work is really much more of like a scaling, like rock climbing. It’s like, you know, you’re, you, you have to, it’s not the same type of thing where you would come in at an entry level or reenter at an entry level. You, you kind of need to make sure for sure that you’re familiar with AI tools and if you’re not, like, you know, there’s a lot of coursework you can start taking. So, I focus a lot on gaps. I focus a lot on making sure that their technical skills are up and running because you don’t, that will get picked up very, very easily in a recruiting process, in job interviews and things like that.

Christine Fruehwirth:

So, for, and I also work on the resume gap and, but also the skill gap. So that’s kind of my focus with my re-launchers.

Melinda Wittstock:

And so, what are some of the things, Tell me a little bit about those people when they, when they, when they come to you. So, they have a skill, you know, that they got good at and now the world is really different. So, tell me about your process and how you work with them and like sort of the before and after, if you will, and how long it takes all the stuff.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah. So, for the women that have been out for usually 8 to 12 years, I do work with women that have just gone out for a couple years. But most of the women that come to me, they’ve been out for at least a decade, and they have, they really have a lack of confidence, a professional identity and that kind of thing. So, a lot of this is trying to help them reacquaint themselves with the professional identity and sort of, not, not that you can’t, you know, you pretend you’re not a mom, but you are, you need to go back to that and reacquaint yourself to it. And then really the big thing is that the network has aged, you know, and so you need to leverage your, maybe your current network, but also reacquaint yourself through LinkedIn with your old network. And you also have to… I call it professionalize your volunteer work or your board work. I do help some women start businesses, side businesses. I’ve been able to do that.

Christine Fruehwirth:

One of my close friends, I was able to support her, and she ended up being on Shark Tank Live. And now her business is like, you know, million-dollar business. So, I do think that entrepreneurship can be a way to off ramp, but sort of still stay engaged and then build some skill sets. Because like, for example, I started this company 21 years ago when my children were young and I, when my husband lost his job in the financial crisis, I ended up then having to pivot and go to work full time for a university, GW University. And ultimately I got recruited to Georgetown a few years later. But I think that if you stay in the workplace either with, through, even if it’s like nonprofit work or leadership, you know, in your PTAs, but starting a side business or something of that nature. I know some people that, you know, they really always loved interior design, so they went and started their own business. I have other friends who started like catering businesses.

Christine Fruehwirth:

So. But it’s the women that have really like just sort of checked out are probably the ones that are the most challenging. But I still work with them, and we have to build back from scratch. Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, you know, during the pandemic, I mean, women started creating businesses at record number. And especially they tend to start very successful businesses in their 40s, 40s and 50s even. A lot of women who even have been in the workforce the entire time something happens in their lives. It could be having children, or it could be just some sort of setback or something. And that’s sort of the prime time for women in entrepreneurship where they need the flexibility of doing something on their own terms. A record number. Record numbers of female owned and founded businesses.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah, that makes sense. Sure. Yeah, I think they’ve had in the workplace before. And the fact, as you know, as an entrepreneur, it provides you a lot of empowerment and, and flexibility. Right. And I think, I think entrepreneurship and raising a family works really, really, really well. So, when my children were, you know, in elementary school and middle school, I was running this business, but I also was working at the university level teaching, you know, part time. And so, I had my summers off and it was just a really great way to Design the way that I work.

Christine Fruehwirth:

You know, I, my husband is in private equity and he was always traveling and so I had, I really couldn’t have a nine to five full time job. And a lot of my clients are in the same, feel the same way. Like if I can’t commit fully to a full-time job, then I’m out altogether. And I’ve spoken to many different groups of people, especially young women, saying you don’t have to exit out completely. It’s not a, you know, all or nothing kind of thing. You can design something in the middle where you’re staying engaged and you’re not completely out of the workplace on the sidelines for a decade. Like you can you really. And there’s a lot more back.

Christine Fruehwirth:

You know, when I started this company 20 years ago, there was almost no acceptance or very little acceptance of flexible work or working from home. And probably the only benefit of COVID was that working from home became a lot more. Well, it was a necessity at one point, but still, there’s still a lot of companies that realize that they can work with. It’s still, the work gets done with flexible schedules and some remote work. I think there’s, there’s effort to go back into the office, but I think a lot of moms are working. Moms are saying, well, I’m not going to come back full time into the office, or I still want to design some flexibility in order to stay in there. And I think it is, it is working.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, 100%. Well, one of the things that you mentioned before too is the necessity of relationship and network. And this is, this is true for both your launchers and, and re-launchers. Right. And, and when we think about, you know, young people, late teens, early 20s, they have grown up on phones, you know.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:

And don’t necessarily have the same sort of networking and relationship building skills that previous generations had. You know what I mean? Where you just did that because that’s what you did, you know. And so, I’ve just noticed with younger people, like just developing the confidence or whatever, it’s like, it’s like a new thing to them. How, how do you help those folks really, you know, build relationship? Because there’s, there’s so many, especially the COVID you know, generation, you know, developing the social skills you need because business is really about relationship.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah. So yeah, I am concerned that the social skills are lacking with the youngest generation going into the workplace. I think one of the things that I try to work on is, and this is just all the skill development but also writing skills, right? So, this TikTok generation and texting and you know, everything’s abbreviated and you know, and it’s in like little 30 second snips and things like that is, is really trying to help them with, you know, looking people in the eye, getting in building some internships where you actually go into workplaces and you get an experience. I really don’t recommend young people to work fully remote because I think they, they’re really not going to develop those skills. But going into the office and being able to ask questions, like, I really encourage my clients to be like, if you don’t understand something, ask questions. There’s nothing wrong with you asking questions.

Christine Fruehwirth:

It’s, it’s more if you assume you know what you’re doing and you, and you don’t do very well. I talk about using LinkedIn, which a lot of young people are fairly comfortable with, which is a great tool to network and build your network that way. I do encourage people, them to go to things like career fairs, they still have those and, and, and really like shaking hands with somebody and actually, even if you’re, you know, being able to really engage and, and ask, look, seek for a mentor because mentors are really, you know, prevalent still and that, you know, looking for ways to, you know, not just do your work, but work in groups, you know, don’t just do work individually, but really look for opportunities to work. And you know, even if you can collaborate well with coworkers, you need to be able to do that. So, I think that does build the social skills in all those areas.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, yeah. A lot of great businesses, Christine, are started, you know, out of personal experience. And you sort of mentioned or alluded to the fact that it was a changing circumstance in your own life that led you to launch the business. Take me back in terms of what was actually going on in your life and how you settled on, on this particular work.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Well, I used to do this type of work in college. I was a peer counselor for three years and I ran a peer counseling program at Villanova. But then I went into banking after Villanova and then I went and got my MBA at the Darden School of Business and went into investment banking, which I did not feel was, I don’t know, it wasn’t aligned with my value system, but it helped me pay some student loans off. And then I got married to my, a classmate of mine at my business school. And what really happened was I realized when we started having children how incredibly difficult it was to balance two very demanding careers and raise children. And I did want to spend some time with my kids. I didn’t want to have full time nannies and that kind of thing. So, when we, we had our oldest, who’s now turning 25 in two weeks, he…

Christine Fruehwirth:

I made this decision. At that point I was working for a startup and was one of, I went through the IPO process and was on the product development team and I asked to work part time, I asked to work three days a week. They allowed me to do that for six months and it really worked well for me, but they didn’t like it. So, after six months the COO came to me and said, you know, this was a nice experiment, but we, you either have to come back full time or you’re going to, you’re going to have to get demoted into some kind of like entry level position. So, I ended up quitting instead of making that choice. And so, but Again, this was 25 years ago and so what I really wanted to do is I saw other women struggling with work, working and being a mom. And so, I ended up starting this business. Then as I was getting ready to have our third kid, I decided something called the opt out revolution came out around then and it basically was how these like highly educated women were marrying well and then they were leaving the workplace because the workplace wouldn’t allow them any flexibility.

Christine Fruehwirth:

So. And they were getting burned out. So, I decided to focus on that group, and I’ve been doing it for over 20 years. And it was when I started working, you know, at the university level and I left Georgetown around right as Covid was happening. I just decided that that’s the other group that I really understand because I, you know, I really not only have children in that age group, but I also really love teaching and their energy and optimism and I really thought I could also help that group. So that’s why I launched that. You know, I added that group to it. Um, that’s sort of my full arc story and I’ll probably do this work for the rest of my life because I really.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, your timing is impeccable. I mean there’s so much that’s changing so fast. I mean, not just, you know, with the economy, but AI. And how that is going to change everything is, you know, profoundly significant. It changes slightly depending on who you talk to. But what do you, from your perspective and where you’re sitting right now, and you think, okay, what needs to change in society that would help your work? What would that be? Because you’re up against a lot of structural issues.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Let’s see. That’s a really good question. What do I feel like is holding me back?

Melinda Wittstock:

But what would you like to see? I mean, you know, there’s a lot of debate obviously about how what is going to need to change in society, society with, with AI, if a lot of these jobs are just eliminated, they just don’t exist anymore, right? They, they just don’t exist. And there’s just not enough jobs for people to have the kind of American dream and the lifestyle that they, they, they’ve come to expect generationally. That’s a huge structural change. There’s all kinds of stuff that has to happen in the way the education system changes and, and such. But, but I don’t know, what do you see? Where, where can governments, where can employers, where can. I mean, what are some of the things that you think need to happen to help people with this, this transition? I mean, there are debates about universal basic income, for instance. There’s all sorts of things. Because it’s one thing to be really, you can be really great at your skill.

Melinda Wittstock:

You can do all the, you know, know, relationship building and stuff and it can still be tough in a really structural headwind.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Well, one of the issues that I think that I follow quite a bit and hopefully this addresses your issue, but one of the things that I’m mostly concerned about right now is AI and how especially the larger employers are just pretending it’s not happening. They have to start embracing AI as a tool and as a, not just a tool, I’m sorry, as an operating system and how it will actually, you know, help their businesses. The companies are going to get smaller and so there needs to be like you we were talking about earlier, it’s more entrepreneur opportunities. Maybe instead of telling my, you know, college graduates that, oh, you have to really wait until you have more experience to start a company, or maybe that’s not really, maybe that’s old news. You know, maybe it’s, maybe this is the time to, once you graduate is to maybe get into this trend a little bit more.

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Melinda Wittstock:

And we’re back with Christine Fruehwirth, CEO and Founder of FlexCareers Consulting.

[INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Christine Fruehwirth:

But one of the bigger concerns that I have is that young men are really, really falling behind women. There are less men going to college, there are less men graduating from college. And so, what I would say is that we need to reframe work and help them with their own purpose. And maybe that’s more trade schools where there’s more hands-on work.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, 100%.

Christine Fruehwirth:

And it might not be everybody needs a college degree. That has always been, that’s been the case for decades. But I think we need to look at more alternatives because men are not doing very well in getting into. It’s now 60% women, 40% men. And either colleges need to make those adjustments so that it’s more fair, and more 50, 50 or it needs to, we need to have better alternatives for men who do not want to seek college education. And so that you know, you can actually make a good living with some of these trade positions like plumbers or you know, H Vac workers. I mean it’s steady employment and, and you can actually make, you can, you’re solid in the middle class but you’re, you know, you can definitely have a good life, and you can build a significant business. You could, you could then start a business.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Right. So, I think that’s the thing is just that I think work is just completely getting redefined and I don’t necessarily think the college degree is always the answer. And so, what worries me beyond the fact that young men are not doing as well as women and it’s even affecting family formation is the fact that I think these colleges are not ready to help their college graduates understand what the future is going to look like. And they’re very, you know, and so what I worry about is that they’re going to come in, some of these young adults are going to have all this student debt and then they can’t, they, they can’t get employed.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, no, that’s a huge, that’s a huge crisis. Especially when that debt can’t be forgiven. And yeah, it’s, it’s a, it’s, I mean I think with young men too, I mean that there’s rising anger in that sense. And then to find a girlfriend or a wife, you know, know if you’re not providing and like it just a knock-on effects, it’s just, it can lead to tremendous instability. That’s why like the work you’re doing is just so critical. I, you know, and gosh, you know, you know, you know, middle schools and high schools, it was really a mistake to get rid of things like shop do, you know?

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah. And like I said, most on. On the one side, my re-launchers are mostly women, but on my launcher side, the young adults, mostly men. And I have two sons and a daughter. And. But I, I really do have. I really feel that our society has done disservice to young men. And it shows up in our politics, and it’s showing up in just, you know, in, in, not just in the workplace, but in, like you said, in our, you know, more of our personal side or our family formation.

Christine Fruehwirth:

So, I definitely think we need to vote for politicians that are focused on our young people. I think we need to create structures where they can really do better. Because one thing that I follow, a man named Scott Galloway who talks about the fact that the under 30 generation is doing more poorly than their parents for the first time ever. And a lot of, you know, there’s a lot of young people, and this started at Covid, but even at post Covid, there’s a lot of young people living with their parents.

Christine Fruehwirth:

You know, let’s make it easier for them to buy a home. Let’s make it easier for them to get out of debt. Let’s make it easier for them to maybe take away some of their taxes, you know, and not, you know, I don’t know, I’m probably getting into too much, into a political conversation, but these.

Melinda Wittstock:

Things are, These things are really critical. I mean, all these policies affect. I mean, this is a show about entrepreneurship, but we live in an ecosystem, and the political decisions impact businesses in a significant way, Whether it’s tariffs or whether your entire workforce has just been rounded up by ICE or, you know. Right. I mean, it’s interesting. I’m. I’m here in Canada for the summer, and it’s interesting.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Oh, nice.

Melinda Wittstock:

It’s interesting what the government is doing here because they’re actually favoring skilled workers for immigration, not just people who, like, work in AI. I mean, that’s a way to immigrate to Canada, but the other way is being us being an actual skilled worker, like a plumber, like a house builder or whatever. Right, right, exactly. And. And the government’s actually investing in that, like, actively because it’s needed. Like, you know, there’s a housing shortage here, like there is in the States. You know, a lot of the same sort of, you know, issues in a way. Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

And. And that little bit less of a transfer of, of wealth to, you know, a tiny, you know, a relatively speaking, tiny group of people. So, it’s a much bigger middle class here, say, than in the U.S. but, you know, there are. These policy decisions are huge, and it affects all aspects of our society. And that’s why I felt like what you’re doing is, is such important work, but I wanted to be able to contextualize it in a, in a much wider environment in which you operate. Right. And I think a lot of people who listen to this show, you know, have kids and, you know, their kids are either young or they’re teen or they’re like.

Melinda Wittstock:

My kids are both college kids. You know, my, my, my son, who’s going into second year in business school, busy building a business at the same time. Right.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yep. He should. Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:

You know, it’s, it’s vital. And his school, University of British Columbia, they have a very big focus on entrepreneurship. And so, they’re making that transition. But like, I don’t know, it’s gonna, it’s gonna be an interesting, interesting time that we live in.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yes. And I’m absorbing this information on a daily basis so that I know.

Melinda Wittstock:

Well, it’s interesting. It’s not that way for folks who haven’t checked him out. I mean, he’s incredibly astute about all of these issues and particularly for young men. So, anyone listening to this that has a son, you know, super, super important. So, tell me a little bit about your book. I mean, I, I love the name of your book. Surviving Life Storms and Threats, Thriving in the Aftermath. That’s kind of like everybody’s life, really.

Melinda Wittstock:

And, and as entrepreneurs, we know this one really well because it’s difficult to start a business and it throws all kinds of stuff at you, including your own subconscious mind and limiting beliefs that you have, you know, and you’re constantly failing forward. So, entrepreneurs very, you know, understanding of this because it’s just what we live, but not everybody really is. And so, tell me about the book. What made you write it? And I, and also you mentioned you’re working on a second edition.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Yeah, So I, I wrote. Started writing this book in 2023, 2024, time frame. And basically, it came from this epiphany that I had that, you know, you hear in interviews, or you read in articles, you’re either surviving or thriving, as if those are the only two states of being. And what I realized is that there’s, there’s a lot of people that are just operating in survival mode all the time, and they’re, you know, their, their health is deteriorating, and their relationships are deteriorating and they’re not really able to, you know, really have productive lives. So, and this is also part of like some of my extended family feels is in this category. And I run into this a little bit in my practice as well and that only about 80, I found out only about 80%, I mean only 20% of people are really thriving living up to their full potential. So, what I’m trying to do is I established two other phases between surviving and thriving, and I call it the four stages of living. So, survival mode is one stage that we all are going to experience with any kind of crisis, whether it’s in your business or whether it’s in your personal life.

Christine Fruehwirth:

We all are going to, to be there at some point. But the key is to how to get out of that. And then, so the second phase is stabilization and then the third phase is emerging and then the fourth phase or stage is thriving. So I go through each of those stages and I, I just added in the second edition a, a chapter about, while stabilization is a, is a necessary stage to get out of survival mode, if you’re, if you get too comfortable in that stage where you’re like really just solid in your comfort zone because you’re afraid, afraid you will become stagnant. And so, I talk a lot about how life begins outside of your comfort zone and how to break out of your comfort zone and the whole concept of novelty and trying new things and pushing yourself out of your boundaries. And then I talk again about the emerging and thriving. And then I apply it to five areas of, of life. One is careers.

Christine Fruehwirth:

One is marriage and relationships. One is breakups and divorce. One is parenting. And then the empty nest chapter. So, and now that I’m fully in the empty nest chapter, that one I just built out is a separate chapter. So, and then at the end of the book, I talk about once you go on your survive to thrive journey, how do you mentor and help others on theirs, particularly young people. And, and how do you give back and give people second chances? And, and, and how do you basically spend your like your last third of your life helping other people? So that’s basically the book.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. Well, I’ll make sure that we have all the links to that in the show notes and anyone who, who’s listening, who has kids who need your help, or they need your help as well, what’s the best way to find you?

Christine Fruehwirth:

So, you can reach me through flex careers consulting.com and that’s all one word. Flexcareersconsulting.com I’m also on Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. Thank you so much, Christina.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Thank you for your time. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, thanks for putting on your wings and flying with us.

Christine Fruehwirth:

Great. Thanks.

[INTERVIEW ENDS]

Melinda Wittstock:

Christine Fruehwirth is the CEO and Founder of FlexCareers Consulting.

Melinda Wittstock:

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Melinda Wittstock:

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