Ali Reznikoff on the Question That Changed Her Career: How Did I Get Here?

Ali Reznikoff was offered a promotion. A good one, steady, the kind you take. She freaked out and went to woodworking school in Maine instead. What followed was not a plan. It was a chain of things she said yes to: convincing day laborers to pick up litter at a racetrack, which turned into a staff of over two hundred and eighteen hour days. Running cleaning departments across seven hospitals. Building an industrial machinery company from a guy in a car into an actual operation. A jewelry business running underneath all of it. Then she turned thirty, sat down in her living room, and asked herself how she had gotten there. What came back was not regret. It was one sentence that reorganised everything, and it is the reason she now coaches executives and founders as The Solution Sherpa. We talk about managing people with no training and no idea what she was doing, why so many capable people get thrown to the wolves the same way, the difference between a coach and a consultant, and the answer she found on her couch at thirty. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome to The Scenic Route with Victoria Steward 01:43 She Was Going to Move to New York City and Climb the Ladder 02:11 Offered a Promotion, She Freaked Out and Went to Woodworking School 03:42 No Management Experience and a Crew of Day Laborers to Lead 04:48 A Staff of Over 200 and an Eight Hour Day Counted as a Day Off 06:45 Horses Are Easy, Humans Are Not: Learning How People Actually Work 07:57 Moving to Asheville: The One Part of the Path That Was by Design 09:03 Seven Hospitals and Her First Ever Management Training 11:35 Talking Her Boss Into Teaching Her Bookkeeping to Justify a Raise 13:58 From a Guy in a Car to a Real Company With Systems Behind It 16:23 Moderation Is Not a Strong Suit: Running Several Businesses at Once 19:40 Cutting the Five Year Plan and Going Straight to Coaching 22:38 Where the Name The Solution Sherpa Came From 30:09 Turning Thirty and Asking How Did I Get Here 30:54 The Epiphany: Every Decision That Got Her There Could Take Her Elsewhere ABOUT ALI REZNIKOFF Ali Reznikoff is the founder of The Solution Sherpa, coaching executives and founders who think differently. A former COO, self-taught jeweler and woodworker, she helps leaders find the right path rather than handing them someone else's map. If you're in the Ashville, NC area join Ali's Live workshop, 3 September 2026.Website Follow On LinkedIn On Instagram About Victoria Victoria Steward is a Corporate Exit and Financial Empowerment Coach, helping senior corporate women stuck in the 'one-more-year' loop build the self-trust and financial clarity to leave corporate on their own terms, their own timing, their own scenic route. Curious? Book a Pivot Clarity Call. Follow On LinkedIn On Instagram Resources The Can I Pivot Yet? Exit Roadmap The 5-Minute Grounding Reset