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From Third-Grade Teacher to Global Entrepreneur in Midlife | Gina Oliver, Wave Enterprise Co.

Gina realized teaching no longer fit, but the bigger pull was her desire to live abroad and build a life that felt more expansive than the one she had in Atlanta. This episode follows how that desire led her from the U.S. classroom to the Philippines, then into digital nomad life, expat living, and a location-independent business.

Gina Oliver shares how she and her husband chose the Philippines, learned to navigate visas, housing, remote work, and culture shock, and eventually built Wave Enterprise into a location-independent podcast and social media studio. The conversation also gets practical about building a career abroad, finding community as an expat, and making your work support the lifestyle you actually want.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Gina Oliver is the co-founder of Wave Enterprise Co, a location-independent podcast & social media management studio for female-owned wellness brands. After 7 years abroad, she’s unlearned a lot of societal norms & identified her core values: community, wellness, & connection. She hopes to inspire others to live well through her work & podcast, Ripple FX.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

  • (00:01:59)What teacher burnout actually looked like — and the decision to move abroad in search of a more expansive life
  • (00:03:34)How she and her husband chose the Philippines, downsized their life in Atlanta, and funded the move
  • (00:07:23)“Who am I without this job?” — the identity reset that comes with leaving a career you trained for
  • (00:16:34)Unlearning hustle culture from the inside out, and what shifted once she stopped performing productivity
  • (00:25:24)The emotional pattern of every big move — fear, grief, then the synchronicities — and how to trust it
  • (00:34:21)Building expat community from scratch: why it’s non-negotiable, and the rooms she walked into first
  • (00:39:06)Practical considerations of life abroad — the financial realities, cost-of-living trade-offs, housing, Wi-Fi, healthcare, and running a business with a spouse
  • (00:42:00)How Wave Enterprise became a location-independent podcast and social media studio — and how she designed the work to support the life
  • (00:45:45)“Today is the day.” — Gina’s mantra and her one piece of advice for the woman still waiting

GUEST OFFER: If you’re interested in building a life abroad, or you’re currently growing a business through social media and podcasting, you can book a free virtual coffee chat with Gina. She’d love to connect!

GUEST LINKS:

CONNECT WITH SPONSOR: Roots & Bloom

  • Instagram@rootsandbloom_studio
  • Listener promotion: Roots & Bloom 20% off plant purchase — mention “Her Intentional Reset” at checkout/to Ciera Curtis

CONNECT WITH HIR

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About the Show:

Her Intentional Reset is a midlife podcast for women navigating career change — honest, deep-dive conversations about career pivots, second acts, and reinvention with women who’ve actually lived it. This women’s empowerment podcast speaks to women in 30’s, 40, women over 50, Gen X women, working moms, empty nesters, and corporate women dealing with burnout — women redefining success and finding their why after a layoff, a career wall, or the moment work just stopped feeling right. Each episode traces a real transition story: the catalyst for change behind it, whether that’s a layoff story, career burnout, or hitting a wall; the steps and timeline behind how she actually made the change — quitting a corporate job, leaving corporate America, starting over professionally, and/or going from employee to entrepreneur; and an inside look at her industry along the way.

The conversations also get into the practical side most career-change content skips: transferable skills, upskilling and reskilling in midlife, starting a business with no experience, and career change without a degree. And because money is always part of the story, guests talk financial planning for a career change — paying yourself first, building a financial runway and safety net, income gaps, self-employed health insurance, saving for retirement while self-employed, and the money mindset it takes to trade a paycheck for financial freedom in midlife.

Guests share the career pivot lessons learned, the advice for career changers, and what they wish they’d known before quitting — then close out with a Rapid Round covering the real-life stuff: family recipes, book and show recommendations, a life motto, and a wellness or self-care tip for midlife women, because women are often each other’s best guides and teachers. It’s never too late to make a change, follow your intuition, and listen to that quiet voice — every episode leaves listeners feeling inspired and empowered to explore their own career pivot, second act, or next chapter, on their own terms. New episodes of this career change podcast and midlife podcast for women release biweekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

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