Donna Marie Fullerton is the creator of Food for the Soul, a writer, and a former qualitative research consultant whose curiosity about people has shaped her work for decades. Her writing explores gratitude, joy, personal development, and what she calls Soul Flow and Soul Masculinity.

An idea that began in the 1990s with reflections on her father has evolved into a larger body of work that now includes essays and interviews with fathers. Donna Marie is still exploring whether that work will eventually become a book, podcast, program, or something else.

In this conversation, we discuss how ideas evolve, how work and life can support one another, what her father taught her about developing judgment, and why trusted mentors and peers matter when navigating uncertainty.

Donna Marie and I discuss:

• [00:04:27] Creating Soul Flow through work-life integration
• [00:09:40] How an idea about fathers evolved over decades
• [00:14:01] Learning judgment and trust from Donna Marie's father
• [00:17:23] Leading with kindness and vulnerability
• [00:20:35] How mentors and peers support evolving ideas
• [00:24:11] Exploring what Soul Masculinity might become

Learn more about Donna Marie and her work:

• Food for the Soul on Substack
• The Freedom Zone: Your Gateway to Love, Liberty and Happiness

About Smashing the Plateau

Smashing the Plateau features candid conversations with experienced professionals who are building businesses around their expertise and creating greater control over their work and their lives.

Each episode explores the decisions, challenges, and opportunities that come with independent work, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of people who have navigated them firsthand.

Take the Next Step

Better decisions begin with seeing your situation more clearly. Get the free SMASH System™ Self-Assessment at SmashingThePlateau.com/clarity.

Carol Kaemmerer is an executive branding and influence strategist and the author of LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive. After more than 20 years as a marketing communications consultant for a Fortune 500 company, she now helps senior executives get clear on what they stand for and build the visibility and credibility that lead to new opportunities.

In 2011, the company Carol had served for two decades outsourced its marketing communications work, and she realized she had looked after its brand far better than her own. She went on to build a business helping executives tell their stories. Years later, her business coach pointed out that being identified solely with LinkedIn was not serving her, and Carol began to reconsider how she describes her work. She reflects on the self-blame that can follow losing a client, on a question that changed one client’s career direction, and on the difference between work many people can do and work only you can do.

Carol and I discuss:

• [00:02:22] What losing a 20-year client in 2011 revealed
• [00:05:38] The self-blame that followed
• [00:07:29] How unexpected referrals became a business
• [00:11:25] A sales leader, a volunteer question, and a new role
• [00:16:37] Building a network beyond one company
• [00:18:19] Her coach’s advice about being identified with LinkedIn
• [00:18:54] Spending her time on the work only she can do

Learn more about Carol at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolkaemmerer

Website: https://carolkaemmerer.com

Book: https://carolkaemmerer.com/books

__________________________________________________________

About Smashing the Plateau

Smashing the Plateau features candid conversations with experienced professionals who are building businesses around their expertise and creating greater control over their work and their lives.

Each episode explores the decisions, challenges, and opportunities that come with independent work, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of people who have navigated them firsthand.

Take the Next Step

Better decisions begin with seeing your situation more clearly. Get the free SMASH System™ Self-Assessment at SmashingThePlateau.com/clarity.

Wesley Henderson is more than just a business attorney—he's an entrepreneur who understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities of running a business. As the founder of multiple ventures, including Henderson & Henderson, Driving for Downs, Inc., and Drafted Legal, he brings real-world experience to his legal practice. Wesley helps business owners across South Carolina navigate complex legal issues, from startup formation and partnership agreements to employment law and business litigation.

With a passion for serving business owners, Wesley believes these businesses are the backbone of our communities—delivering the best services and creating meaningful local impact. His goal is to provide practical, business-minded legal solutions that help entrepreneurs protect and grow their companies with confidence.

A magna cum laude graduate of Wofford College, Wesley earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was awarded the prestigious Justice J.B. Ness Scholarship. He is also a South Carolina Bar Certified Mediator, helping businesses resolve disputes efficiently.

Outside the office, Wesley enjoys spending time with his wife, Mary Katherine, and their three energetic sons on James Island. When he's not keeping up with them, you'll likely find him on the golf course with friends.

Wesley's conversation with David traces the gap between being good at legal work and learning to run the business behind it — a shift that took years, and a fractional COO, to fully take hold. He talks about the hires he wishes he'd made sooner, the weekly leadership meeting that turned good ideas into actual decisions, and the partnership dynamics he sees go wrong most often with clients. The conversation also gets into where AI genuinely helps in a law practice and where it still requires a careful, responsible hand.

Wesley and I discuss:

• [02:13] – Building Henderson & Henderson with his brother, and growing the firm from two people to more than twenty
• [06:46] – The hires he wishes he'd made sooner, and the fear that held him back from bringing in help earlier
• [08:47] – Learning to treat the business as its own project, with a rolling plan that starts at ten years and narrows down to the quarter
• [09:15] – Why stepping out of the office for a weekly leadership meeting changed how decisions actually got made
• [11:38] – The recurring theme behind the partnership disputes he sees most often between clients
• [13:45] – Building compensation structures flexible enough to adjust as partners' life circumstances change
• [15:05] – Clearing up the confusion between LLCs and S corps for people starting a business
• [15:44– Where AI genuinely helps with contracts and client work, and where it still requires careful review
• [21:17] – Where he turns for outside perspective, from friends to a fractional COO

Learn more about Wesley at: https://draftedlegal.com/legalbundle/ and https://hhlawsc.com/

______________________________________________________________

About Smashing the Plateau

Smashing the Plateau features candid conversations with experienced professionals who are building businesses around their expertise and creating greater control over their work and their lives.

Each episode explores the decisions, challenges, and opportunities that come with independent work, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of people who have navigated them firsthand.

Take the Next Step

Better decisions begin with seeing your situation more clearly. Get the free SMASH System™ Self-Assessment at SmashingThePlateau.com/clarity.