Rachael Wonderlin on Saying No, Building Recurring Revenue, and Breaking Out of a Niche That Tried to Trap Her

Some guests arrive with a polished story. Others bring a lived experience that changes how you think about business altogether. Rachael Wonderlin falls into the second category. She built a national consulting firm in one of the most specific niches imaginable. She wrote three books with Johns Hopkins University Press. She built a global audience from a Tumblr blog. And she did all of it by trusting her gut before trusting anyone else’s expectations.

This episode of the Badass Women in Business podcast is a reminder that sustainable business growth does not come from saying yes to everything. It comes from understanding your value, setting boundaries, and refusing to stay in the box other people put you in.

This is the story of how Rachael built Dementia By Day, what she learned while navigating an unregulated coaching industry, and how she is defining herself as a business leader in a space that still does not fully understand what she does. It is also a story about trusting instinct over logic and how one person’s tone deaf suggestion changed the direction of her work.

If you are a woman building a business, this conversation is a masterclass in strategy, boundaries, and self trust.

From a High School Volunteer Gig to a National Consulting Brand

Many business stories start with a business plan. Rachael’s started in a skilled nursing facility near her home. She was a teenager doing volunteer work with older adults. She discovered she liked the work and was good at it.

That experience followed her to college, where she took a class called Psychology of Aging. This was the first time she saw the word gerontology. She realized she had found a field that combined science, care, and real human connection.

She went to graduate school for gerontology. After that she became a dementia care director inside senior living communities. The work was demanding, often emotional, and rarely straightforward. Families wanted answers. Staff wanted training. The buildings themselves needed direction, programming, and leadership. In all of that complexity, Rachael found her voice.

The turning point came when she started a blog on Tumblr called Dementia By Day. She used it to share stories about her residents. It was personal, accessible, and helpful. People started sharing it. The readership grew. She realized two things. First, she had something to say. Second, there was an enormous gap in the market for clear, compassionate guidance in dementia care.

That blog laid the foundation for everything she built later. Her first book pitch landed at Johns Hopkins University Press. They understood her voice and took the project. Two more books followed. Her platform grew. People trusted her. Senior living companies started calling.

The consulting work began almost by accident. A community in Texas flew her out to train their staff. She still had a full time job, but the idea stuck. She realized she could build a business around this work. She also realized she had no framework for it yet.

Like many early stage entrepreneurs, she entered consulting the same way people enter cold water. One foot at a time. A shock at first. And then the realization that she could swim.

The Early Years and the Constant Hustle That Nearly Broke Her

In the early days, she said yes to everything. Any call. Any building. Any opportunity someone presented. She was traveling. Training teams. Doing community events. Speaking for three hundred dollars and then driving home wondering what came next.

There was no system. No predictable revenue. No repeatable model. She was surviving entirely on hustle.

This is a familiar stage for many women who start service based businesses. You have something valuable to offer. People want it. You do not yet know how to package it. So you say yes. And yes. And yes again. You tell yourself it is an opportunity. You convince yourself it is good for exposure. You tell yourself that someone might hire you again.

This is the part of the story where people burn out.

Rachael reached that point until she found a business operations class that changed her direction. It was fifteen hundred dollars. At that stage, it felt enormous. It ended up being one of the most important investments she made in her business.

She learned how to position her offer. She learned how to build six and twelve month engagements. She learned how to structure a program that clients could grow inside of instead of hiring her for one off days of training.

She realized she could stop hustling for every dollar. She built a recurring revenue model that gave her stability, predictability, and room to breathe.

Today most of her clients start with long term contracts and stay for years. Her firm functions as fractional operations for senior living communities. They build systems. Create collateral. Train staff. Support corporate teams. Show up in person. And carry the weight of implementation.

Her business has grown far beyond the early days of running around buildings with a hammer in her hand and a few hundred dollars in her pocket.

It grew because she made decisions based on instinct rather than fear.

Why She Refuses to Be Called a Coach

One of the clearest parts of Rachael’s perspective is her distinction between coaching and consulting. She does not call herself a coach. She does not want to be mistaken for one.

She believes coaching can be valuable when built on true expertise. She also believes the coaching industry is deeply unregulated and full of people who woke up one day and decided they were qualified to guide others.

Her example was simple. You would never let a neurosurgeon operate on you if the surgeon had only watched videos or read books. You want someone who has done the work and understands the consequences. Yet in the coaching industry, people position themselves as experts without any experience, without any results, and without any real understanding of the work their clients need.

Her consulting work is different. It is hands on. It is B2B. It is tied to outcomes. Her team creates deliverables. They support operations. They build programs. They advise on systems. They train real people in real buildings with real consequences.

Coaching suggests guidance. Consulting suggests ownership. Her firm does the work.

This distinction matters because it is at the core of her message to entrepreneurs. Choose people who have done the work. Choose people who have built businesses. Be cautious when someone sells you a shortcut.

And do not hand over money to someone who has never done what you are trying to do.

The Moment She Realized She Was Being Pigeonholed

Although her business grew, Rachael felt trapped. She was being recognized only as a dementia expert. Not as an entrepreneur. Not as a strategist. Not as someone who built a high performing firm.

This came to the surface when she pitched her fourth book, a business memoir called I Can’t Hustle Any Harder Than This. She found an agent who seemed enthusiastic. The first call went well. The chemistry felt right.

The second call felt like a door slamming shut.

The agent told her that her boss did not understand the concept. He did not know what multi level marketing was. He did not understand the coaching scams Rachael wanted to write about. He suggested she write another dementia book. She pushed back. He then suggested that she write a funny book about dementia.

There are moments in business when someone’s suggestion is so tone deaf that it becomes clarifying. This was one of those moments.

Rachael realized she was fighting a perception that boxed her into one identity. She was also refusing to bend to a narrative that did not respect her readers, her clients, or the people she serves.

The anger she felt became fuel for the book she is now writing. And the story made its way into the manuscript because it represents so much of what women face when they try to expand beyond the niche the world assigns them.

The Rise of Dementia Content and the Dangers of Misinformation

Part of Rachael’s growth has been shaped by changes in the dementia care landscape. When she first studied gerontology, only a handful of programs existed. Today universities offer undergraduate degrees in aging. Public awareness has increased. Social media has made dementia content more accessible.

This is both positive and dangerous.

People with no training can post content that reaches millions. Families are searching for answers. They cannot always differentiate between an expert and someone with a phone.

Rachael sees both the opportunity and the risk. She has chosen to innovate with integrity. She created a short film called Embracing Their Reality. She created web comics that recently went viral and reached hundreds of thousands of viewers. She pays artists. She invests in people. She prioritizes accuracy and clarity over shortcuts.

Her work succeeds because she respects her audience.

Why She Refuses to Let AI Replace Skilled Creators

Her position on AI is clear. She uses tools that improve operations. She does not use AI to produce content. Her team does not use it to replace human imagination.

She pays artists because their skills matter. She chooses human created content because it reflects nuance and expertise that AI cannot replicate. She has seen incorrect dementia information appear at the top of Google generated results. She knows that misinformation can harm families.

Her rule is simple. AI can assist. It should not replace expertise.

This clarity strengthens her brand because it is grounded in ethics and respect.

Hiring, Trust, and the Lessons That Come With Leadership

Rachael talks openly about the mistakes she made with early hires. She hired a friend who could not hold a job. She questioned whether she was the problem. She wondered if she was bad at giving direction. She wondered if she was unclear.

It took years to understand that it was not her. It was the wrong person in the wrong role.

She has since built a strong team. She hired someone she knew casually who has become a cornerstone of the business. Her mother now works inside the firm. She has contractors who understand their roles and deliver high quality work.

The lesson she emphasizes is one every entrepreneur must eventually learn. Trust your instincts. Fire quickly. Put people in roles where they can succeed. And recognize when something is not working before it drains your time and energy.

She now trusts herself as a leader because she has lived through the opposite.

The Most Important Lesson She Has Learned in Business

Rachael ends the conversation with a message that every business owner needs to hear.

Your gut is never wrong.

If your instinct says no, listen to it. Do not override your instinct in the name of opportunity. Do not take calls you do not want. Do not accept work that drains you. Do not give away your time because someone asks for it.

In the early years she said yes to everything because she thought she should. Today she protects her calendar. She says no quickly. She does not apologize for it.

This is the difference between burnout and bandwidth. Between constant hustle and sustainable growth. Between a business that owns you and a business you lead.

Her clarity is simple. Listen to your instinct even when your logical mind tries to argue. The instinct is the truth. The instinct is the guide. The instinct is the answer.

Why Rachael’s Story Matters for Women in Business

Women entrepreneurs are often told to be grateful for opportunities. To be flexible. To be helpful. To be available. These expectations pull people into overwork and undercharging. They create pressure to accept everything. They push women into roles that do not serve their goals.

Rachael’s story challenges that narrative directly.

She built her business by stepping out of scarcity and into strategy. She built recurring revenue because she refused to keep hustling. She built a brand because she trusted her voice. She built a team because she learned to trust herself. She broke out of her niche because she refused to accept that one label defined her.

Her story is a blueprint for women who want to grow without losing themselves.

It is also a reminder that boundaries are not a luxury. They are a strategy.

Final Thoughts

If you are building a business, Rachael’s story offers three clear takeaways.

• Trust your gut.

• Protect your time.

• Build systems that support the future you want.

The world will try to keep you in the box that feels comfortable for them. Your job is to build the version of success that feels right for you.

Rachael Wonderlin is a powerful example of what happens when you choose yourself first.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Rachael Wonderlin
Founder and CEO, Dementia By Day
Website: dementiabyday.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rachaelwonderlin
Instagram: @dementiabyday and @cant_hustleanyharder
Substack: Can’t Hustle Any Harder