What if an empty nest wasn’t an ending—but an invitation to begin again?
For Julie Waas, that question became the foundation of an unexpected entrepreneurial journey. After nearly 40 years practicing law, Julie discovered a second calling in art, coaching, speaking, and empowering midlife women to rethink what comes next.
Through Humans of Fuzia, a global thought-leadership platform at the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, coaching, women empowerment, and socially conscious business, stories like Julie’s reveal what growth really looks like behind the polished success narrative. HOF understands the realities coaches and small-business entrepreneurs face—from finding clients and building visibility to creating sustainable growth systems.
From Law to Art, Coaching and Women’s Empowerment
Julie’s journey began long before she became an entrepreneur. As a teenager, she watched her mother struggle when her children began leaving home. Julie made herself a promise: she would approach that stage of life differently.
Decades later, after her youngest son left for college, she remembered that promise.
She began running, rediscovered her childhood passion for abstract art, and launched a website and Instagram account in 2021. Within a month, the Brick Lane Gallery in London invited her to exhibit. What followed were exhibitions across London, New York, Milan, Venice, Madrid, and Miami.
Her experience ultimately led her to become a certified high-performance coach for midlife women and write The Midlife Reboot, a framework for navigating life’s next chapter.
“I think you have to enjoy the journey.”
That philosophy now informs her work as a coach, speaker, artist, and entrepreneur.
The Business Growth Challenge: Time, Marketing and Scalability
Julie’s entrepreneurial reality is also a familiar one for small-business leaders in 2026: ambition is rarely the only constraint. Time, marketing, systems, and capacity determine how far an idea can travel.
Running her entrepreneurial ventures alongside a demanding legal career, Julie identifies time and marketing as her biggest challenges.
Her response has already begun taking shape: an online course based on her book, a planned television show, speaking opportunities, and the Midlife Reboot Day event.
The strategic lesson is clear: when time is limited, entrepreneurs need scalable assets—not simply more tasks.
Digital courses, books, speaking platforms, and content can transform expertise into assets that reach people without requiring the founder’s physical presence every time.
Leadership Development Means Designing Work Around What Matters
Julie’s story also offers a powerful lesson in women in leadership: reinvention does not require abandoning everything that came before.
Her goal is eventually to transition from law into art, coaching, and speaking full time. Until then, she is building deliberately around the life she wants.
That is sustainable entrepreneurship—not chasing growth for its own sake, but creating a business model aligned with personal values, purpose, and long-term goals.
Execution Tip
Audit your next 90 days around one question: “What can I build once that can continue creating value without requiring my time every time?”
For a coach or entrepreneur, that could mean turning a framework into a course, a book into a workshop, or expertise into a repeatable speaking or content system.
Connect with Julie Waas
Website: juliewaas.com
Julie Reby Waas | LinkedIn
Julie Waas’ journey is a reminder that entrepreneurship has no expiration date. Her story demonstrates how leadership, coaching, creativity, and purpose can become the foundation for a powerful second act.
Humans of Fuzia continues to spotlight these honest entrepreneurial journeys—offering practical lessons for leaders navigating business growth, meaningful work, and reinvention.
