In this solo episode, Sarah Janzen unpacks the three moments that finally pushed Melissa Lanz out of a multiple-six-figure VP role — and why none of them, on their own, were enough. Her husband told her he didn't like her anymore. A boss who'd worked with her for two years didn't know she had kids. A business trip crossed a line she couldn't ignore. And when she finally gave her notice, the company offered her $75,000 more a year to stay.

She took it. Then walked it back two weeks later.

Sarah uses Melissa's story as a mirror for anyone still waiting for the right moment, the right sign, or enough certainty about what's on the other side. Because for most women, it's not one thing. It's a slow accumulation that eventually tips the scale past the point of no return.

When the cost of staying is greater than the fear of the unknown, that's when it's time to make the leap.

This episode is for the woman who's had the signs and keeps explaining them away.

That decision came after three moments hit in quick succession — a boss who didn't know she had kids after two years of working together, a husband who looked her in the eye and said "I don't like you anymore," and a final trip where she called the owner from the road and said she was done. He offered her a $75,000 raise to stay. She took it. Two weeks later, she walked back in and told him it wasn't enough.

What she built with that $2,500 was The Fresh 20 — a meal planning subscription that started at $5 a month, grew to 120,000 active subscribers, landed a HarperCollins cookbook deal, and became an eight-figure business. Her only goal at the start was to keep paying her nanny.

In this episode, Melissa takes Sarah through all of it: the three wake-up calls that forced her hand, the early years where she had no bookkeeping and no P&L but was making seven figures anyway, the hack that wiped out half a million dollars and 75% of her subscribers overnight, and why she never once considered going back to corporate — not even then.

Connect with Melissa Lanz

Website: https://www.melissalanz.com

Instagram: @MelissaLanz.

Sarah Janzen knows this firsthand. She spent three years knowing she needed to leave corporate before she finally did, not because she lacked courage, but because she genuinely didn't know what was possible on the other side. Every business owner she knew ran a restaurant, a café, or a professional practice. None of it fit. So she stayed. And the longer she stayed, the more it cost her — her confidence, her health, her relationships.

In this first episode of Her Big Leap, Sarah explains why she built this podcast and what it's designed to do: give you real examples of women who have already made the leap from corporate to business ownership… not the highlight reel, but the full story, highs and lows included. Because after coaching hundreds of women through this transition, she knows the number one thing holding most of them back isn't strategy. It's not knowing what's possible.

If you've been thinking about leaving corporate but can't picture what it looks like for someone like you, this is where it starts.

She knew she needed to get out. What she didn't know was what was possible on the other side. All of her friends were in corporate. The only business owners she knew ran restaurants, law firms, or real estate offices. None of it fit. And not knowing what was possible kept her stuck longer than anything else.

That's why she started Her Big Leap.

Every week, Sarah sits down with a woman who left a successful corporate career to build her own business. Not the polished Instagram version; the real first year, the moments of doubt, the hard parts nobody posts about, and the freedom, flexibility, and success waiting on the other side.

Because here's what Sarah has learned coaching hundreds of women through this exact leap: the strategy looks different for everyone. The network, the timing, the skill set; all of it is different. But the one thing every woman who's made it has in common is the belief that it's possible.

Before anyone ran a mile in four minutes, no one thought it could be done — so no one tried. Then one person did, and within a year, dozens followed. Nothing changed except the belief.

Subscribe, follow, come along for the ride, and let's see what's possible.