The Real Biz Life Chronicles
Unedited stories of Business, Branding and Life.
Banish boring as Tracy Fryer and her guests take a ride on the rollercoaster of being a business owner - or of simply being human! Get ready to learn exactly what it takes to grow with distinction and show mediocrity the middle finger. In this podcast Tracy interview’s authentic business owners, who share their story of building a successful business, their strategies behind their success and leading the way.
RAW. Honest. Unedited.
The Real Biz Life Chronicles
#123 Ben De Jonge’s Guide to a Business Owner’s Career Reset
What happens when the business you built starts shaping your life in ways you never intended?
For many business owners, staying the course feels like the only option. We push, we endure, and we convince ourselves we are trapped because stepping away feels unthinkable. Ben De Jonge knows that feeling intimately.
After 15 years of building and leading The Cut, a respected Shopify agency, Ben realised the life he was in no longer matched the life he wanted. The pressure, the cognitive load, the side hustles and the 2am scaries were adding up.
What struck me most was how he described the moment things shifted. The trap he felt was not a trap at all. It was a perspective he had outgrown.
When he stepped back, reset his path and allowed himself to choose differently, an entirely new chapter opened.
This episode explores what it means to reset your career, redefine your identity and step into a version of work and life that feels aligned again.
Ben’s honesty about the courage it takes to walk away, and the belief that there is always something waiting on the other side when you allow yourself to look, stayed with me long after we stopped recording.
If you are questioning your path, feeling boxed in or wondering whether you can shift from entrepreneur to employee, this episode is for you.
In This Episode
(05:38) The early days of The Cut and building through uncertainty
(17:29) The mindset shift from founder to employee
(39:35) Emotional intelligence, care and showing up differently
(47:23) Boundaries, oversharing and protecting your personal narrative
(59:31) The moment a slow-burn failure became a full career reset
About Ben De Jonge
Ben is a brand and growth strategist with extensive experience across advertising, digital and stakeholder engagement. After co-founding and running The Cut for 15 years, he now leads brand and growth at Dapth, helping organisations align digital strategy with meaningful impact.
Connect: LinkedIn
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About Tracy:
Tracy Fryer is a branding powerhouse, speaker, and founder of Design Studio Perth and Trace Designs Bespoke. She’s dedicated to helping business owners and creatives build brands that truly reflect their values, passions, and long-term vision. As the host of The Real Biz Life Chronicles, Tracy brings raw, insightful conversations that push entrepreneurs to embrace bold growth, develop strategic branding, and lead with unapologetic confidence. Her approach is refreshingly real—blending deep expertise with a passion for authenticity, creative excellence, and business success.
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