This week Jeff talks with Nick and Marnie about why we want to help students stop waiting for permission and start building a bridge to a career on your their own terms.

In this episode, Jeff Utecht is joined by Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio, authors of The Business of You, a book that reframes career growth, personal branding, and leadership through a simple but demanding idea: you are already running a business, and that business is you.

Using the story of Sydney, a young professional trying to stand out in a crowded job market, Marnie and Nick explore what it means to move from passive applicant to active architect of your future. We talk about why so many people do everything "right" and still feel invisible, and what it looks like to become more intentional about the way you tell your story, build relationships, and create opportunities.

This conversation will be useful for college students, early-career professionals, career changers, and anyone who has ever felt stuck between doing what's expected and figuring out how to actually get noticed.

In this episode, we discuss:

What it means to think like a CEO of your own life and work
How to tell your story in a way people remember
The difference between networking and building real relationships
Why personal branding is really about clarity, not self-promotion
How to stay visible, strategic, and ready for what comes next

A few questions at the center of this episode:

Why do so many capable people struggle to stand out?
What makes someone memorable in a crowded field?
How can students and professionals build a network that actually matters?
What does "personal branding" look like when it's done with honesty and substance?
How do you stop chasing the next role and start attracting the right fit?

About the book: The Business of You follows Sydney as she begins to see that career success is not just about credentials or checking the right boxes. It is about ownership. Through her story, Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio offer a practical framework for building a career with more intention, more confidence, and more agency.

Why listen: This is a conversation about career strategy, but it is also about identity, voice, and self-direction. If you have ever wondered how to make your experience matter more, how to build a network without feeling transactional, or how to stop blending into the pile, this episode gives you a strong place to start.

Find the BAKE eBook: https://www.shiftingschools.com/

Learn more about our guests:

https://blueapp.ai

https://thebusinessofyou.ai

social media: @bluethebusinessofyou

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sFfpWI

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marniestockman/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-coniglio-5b62153/