Front of the Check exists for one reason: to help experienced professionals claim ownership over their income and their future. The employer/employee contract is broken. Admit it. Prep for it. Do something.

“Once you recognize that the purpose of your life is not to serve your business, but that the primary purpose of your business is to serve your life, you can then go to work on your business, rather than in it, with a full understanding of why it is absolutely necessary for you to do so.”
― Michael E. Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

You Don’t Need More Hustle. You Need Leverage.

There comes a moment for most independent professionals and if it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will.

You wake up and realize you didn’t build a business.

You built a job that follows you everywhere.

And it’s exhausting.

If you’re already self-employed and feel maxed out, read this carefully. If you’re trying to leave corporate life but think you “don’t have time,” this may be even more important.

Many of us Over 50 professionals were trained to equate reliability with doing everything ourselves.

That works until it doesn’t.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

I was doing $15/hour work while capable of producing $150/hour value.

I wasn’t saving money.
I was discounting myself.

Answering scheduling emails.
Formatting documents.
Uploading content.
Organizing files.
Following up manually.

There’s nothing wrong with these tasks. They’re simply the wrong tasks for someone whose highest value lies elsewhere.

And they’re likely the wrong tasks for you, too.

As much as I dislike managing people, I had to accept something: my business will never grow if I insist on being the only operator.

No matter what you’re building a pet sitting company, a startup, a TaskRabbit service, a nonprofit, a consulting practice the pattern is the same.

We tell ourselves revenue creates help.

In reality, help creates revenue.

When people first consider hiring a virtual assistant, the reactions are predictable:

“I’m not big enough yet.”
“My revenue isn’t consistent.”
“I’ll do it once things stabilize.”

I understand. It feels like a commitment.

But the commitment isn’t to an assistant.
It’s to your future.

Hiring a VA is not outsourcing responsibility.
It’s separating your highest value from low-cost activity.

If you’re walking a dog or painting a portrait, your client isn’t paying you to post on social media or reconcile your books.

For decades, we were taught that job security comes from being indispensable. That mindset may have worked in corporate environments.

It will sabotage you in your own business.

In independent work, growth begins when the business stops depending entirely on you.

Every successful independent professional makes this transition:

From operator to builder.
From the back of the check to the front of the check.

Operators complete tasks.
Builders design systems.

If you want a strong living from your side hustle not just income, you must become a builder.

Let’s look at a real example.

Joe is a talented painter. He shows at fairs, occasionally in galleries. His work is now commissioned for high-end homes and commercial projects. He’s creative and capable but bookkeeping isn’t his strength.

He didn’t track his 2024 income carefully.

The IRS did.

Now he’s facing penalties, debt, and stress that’s draining his creativity.

Could this have been prevented?

Yes. With support from a virtual assistant.

Across my companies, many operational tasks are handled by virtual assistants. We employ four across three businesses. They are among the best investments we make.

Most people think delegation is a hiring decision.

It’s not.

It’s a clarity decision.

Failed hires usually have one root cause: the owner never externalized the process. The assistant didn’t fail, they were handed a role that existed only inside someone else’s head.

Start here:

Now you’re ready.

Before hiring help, answer one critical question:

What is the reclaimed time for?

If you don’t decide intentionally, your brain will refill the space with more busyness more emails, more tweaking, more checking.

Reclaimed time must be directed toward high-value activity: strategy, relationships, client work, creativity, or rest.

If you need help thinking this through, schedule a free conversation.

Professionals over 50 often delegate exceptionally well once they cross the mental hurdle.

Why is that hurdle so high?

Because earlier in our careers, we equated effort with worth.

Later, we understand something deeper: clients pay for judgment, experience, and outcomes, not hours.

Accepting your value is the real shift. For help with this, follow Angus Nelson.

For many in our community, the goal isn’t building a massive corporation.

It isn’t managing dozens of employees.

It’s reaching a point where income flows from judgment, relationships, and expertise.

You still work.
You still care.
You’re still involved.

But you’re no longer just earning a living.

You’re designing one.

You’re finally signing the front of the check.

Are you ready to stop trading hours for income and start building real leverage?

If you’d like to explore what that could look like for you, schedule a complimentary call. Your Over50Pro, Sherman, is ready to connect and help you think it through.

We’re also preparing to launch our new course: How to Recruit, Hire, and Train a Virtual Assistant — just one of the valuable benefits of being part of our newsletter community. Even more resources are available to support your growth.

Learn more and book your free chat here:
https://over50pros.com/

A CONVERSATION WITH CATRON WALLACE

Nashville based abstract artist Catron Wallace represents the kind of second act creative freedom we talk about often in Front of the Check: a life built not around permission, but around practice.

A self-taught painter and instructor, Catron developed her voice outside formal art institutions, refining it through years of disciplined studio work and personal transition rather than academic critique. Her layered abstract paintings are calm, textured compositions rooted in memory, movement, and emotional atmosphere.

They reflect a philosophy that life itself unfolds in layers, and that meaning is revealed through steady attention rather than speed.

Named Nashville Art Creator of the Year (2020), she relocated to the city not to begin her artistic path but to expand it, choosing an environment aligned with creativity and independence.

Her story embodies a recurring theme among experienced professionals: confidence grows not from credentials, but from showing up long enough to trust what feels true.

I’m honored to know Catron through our connection in the promotions world. In addition to her work as an artist, she brings exceptional talent to her role as a professional brand ambassador in the spirits, wine, and trade show space.

Behind the promo table, she’s magnetic — bright, articulate, polished, and deeply knowledgeable. She represents brands with authenticity and professionalism, drawing on a rich range of life experiences that inform not only her art, but everything she does.

Brand work may be just one facet of her career, but she approaches it with the same excellence and presence that define her creative life.

Q: What first drew you to art, and how did your journey evolve into the layered abstract style you’re known for today?

A: I’ve been drawn to making things for as long as I can remember. Even when I was young, I was always noticing color, light, textures—how things felt, not just how they looked. Art became a way for me to process the world.

Over time I realized I wasn’t interested in copying what I saw. I was more interested in expressing what something felt like—movement, memory, emotion. The layered abstract work really grew out of that. Layers feel honest to me. Life happens in layers, and I think my work reflects that way of seeing.

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Q: How did you cultivate discipline, confidence, and your artistic voice without formal training?

A: Being self-taught meant I had to learn to trust myself early on. There wasn’t anyone telling me I was doing it “right,” so I had to keep showing up and working, even when I wasn’t sure where it was leading.

Discipline came from simply staying with it over the years. Confidence came more slowly—it grew through experience, through finishing work, through seeing what felt true and what didn’t. I think your voice develops naturally when you stop trying to follow trends and start paying attention to what genuinely moves you.

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Life’s Turning Points

Q: What inspired your decision to move to Nashville? How did that shift transform you?

A: By the time I moved to Nashville, I was already fully committed to my work and to living as an artist. That wasn’t a sudden decision—it was something I had built over many years, just by continuing to do the work.

Moving here was really a choice to place myself in a city that valued creativity and possibility. I wasn’t beginning my path; I was continuing it, but in a place that felt aligned with who I was becoming.

What the move changed was my sense of expansion. It encouraged me to think a little bigger and to share my work more openly. And personally, it reinforced something important—that we do have the ability to shape our lives through the choices we make, step by step.

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Q: How have pivotal life moments shaped your work? How did becoming fully independent influence your sense of agency?

A: Life experiences inevitably find their way into the work. Successes build confidence, but challenges build depth, and both are important.

There was a period in my life when I became fully independent, and that was a turning point. It required me to rely on myself in a deeper way, and that changed how I saw both life and my work. It gave me a stronger sense of agency and resilience.

I think that strength shows up in my paintings. Even in quieter pieces, there’s often an underlying sense of movement or perseverance. That comes directly from lived experience.

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Process & Philosophy

Q: How did you come to understand what is truly important to you? What are the most essential components of your life today?

A: Over time, things become clearer. You begin to see what really matters and what doesn’t. For me, what’s most important is fairly simple: integrity, meaningful work, a sense of calm, and the freedom to live thoughtfully.

In painting, every layer and every material is a choice. Life is very similar. You learn that not everything needs to stay, not everything needs to be rushed, and the things that endure are usually the things that matter most.

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Q: What emotional response do you most hope viewers experience?

A: More than anything, I hope people feel a sense of calm when they encounter my work. The world moves quickly, and we’re constantly surrounded by noise and urgency.

If someone stands in front of a painting and feels a moment of stillness or reflection, that means a great deal to me. Sometimes a quiet response is the most meaningful one.

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Recognition & the Nashville Art Scene

Q: How did being named Art Creator of the Year impact you?

A: It was very meaningful, especially because so much of an artist’s life happens quietly in the studio. Recognition like that feels less like a spotlight and more like an acknowledgment that the work has reached people.

It encouraged me to keep going and to continue building the body of work I believe in.

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Advice & Wisdom

Q: What advice would you give someone pursuing creative expression later in life?

A: I would tell them it’s never too late to begin. Creativity doesn’t belong to any one age. In many ways, having lived more life gives you more to say.

You don’t have to be fearless—you just have to be willing to start. Be consistent, be patient, and pay attention to what genuinely moves you rather than what you think will impress others. And most importantly, don’t wait for permission. That’s something we all have to give ourselves.

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Q: What has art taught you about living?

A: Art has taught me patience and persistence. It’s taught me to listen, to slow down, and to trust that meaningful work takes time.

And maybe most importantly, it’s taught me that quiet, steady effort—over years—can build something lasting.

Find Catron Wallace in the links below.

Website: https://www.catronwallace.art/

Instagram ~  https://www.instagram.com/catronart/

FB Business Page - Catron Wallace Abstract Art

Michael Gerber Quotes - From the famed author of The E-Myth.

Rolling Stones list of Best Protest Songs of All Time - Something for everyone.

Shared Spirits- Coming to your town soon. It’s like Venmo for Cocktails (Disclaimer: We have an interest in this company.)

Gen X Memes - After all, we’re not all Boomers in this community!

When you turn 50, something magical happens: A midlife crisis was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Worried about aging may make you age faster. Worried about how you worry?

Indeed knows the highest paying gig jobs: Check out Over50Pros for a quick start.

Something Big Is Happening — matt shumer : It’s that article on AI everyone is talking about.

Our conversation with Over 50 Pro Eileen Harris of Tastings and Company

The Second Act Advantage: Thriving in the Gig Economy

Turn your side hustle into a real business.(Free)

So. I’ve been told I need to be more assertive. Take a stand. Be more vocal. Plant a flag so to speak.

So here goes.

I think corporations are out to deliver returns to execs and shareholders. It’s seldom about the employees that make things happen.

Corporate culture is toxic.

Not everyone is meant to be self-employed, but we are on our way to that being pretty much necessary.

Seth Godin’s Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, should be taught to every highschooler in the country.

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Coming Next Week: “Turning any side hustle into a real business.”