Success storyStef Tschida - Founder & CEO of
Tschida Communications
From relentless hustle and decision fatigue to thriving health, a confident leadership mindset, and doubling her revenue—while working 200 hours less per year.
Stef Tschida is the Founder and CEO of Tschida Communications, a corporate internal communications and change management consulting firm.
Passionate about transforming workplace communication, Stef helps senior corporate executives keep employees informed, engaged, and prepared to navigate rapid change.
"I used to think that more hustle meant more success. Nadine and Derek helped me see that growth doesn’t have to come at the cost of my well-being. Now, I work smarter, trust my instincts, and my business is thriving—without burning me out in the process."
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Client Goals
To scale with clarity and play
bigger in business.
To break free from feeling
trapped in the business and create a structured plan for more personal time and freedom.
To build a high-performing team
and step out of daily decisions
and service delivery.
Before Ascend to Impossible Freedom
Stef had built a successful business but was stuck in what Nadine and Derek call the Middle Zone of Success. She was grinding harder to grow her business, yet feeling increasingly stretched thin.
Despite breaking away from corporate, Stef realized she was still operating with deeply ingrained corporate habits—ones that kept her overworking, prioritizing urgency over strategy, and struggling to set clear boundaries with her time.
“I thought I had deprogrammed myself from my corporate mindset, but I hadn’t even scratched the surface. I was working long hours, convinced that success required constant effort. The reality? I was in my own way.”
She knew something had to change, but she wasn’t sure what. When she attended a conference where Nadine spoke about closing the Say/Do Gap™, something clicked. It was the exact disconnect she was experiencing—the gap between what she said she valued and how she was actually spending her time.
That moment led to transforming her leadership with Ascend Leadership Co.
The Shift: Applying the Impossible Freedom Equation
With the Impossible Freedom Equation, Stef learned to restructure her schedule, redefine her leadership
approach, and trust herself to scale her business—without adding more to her plate.
Time Mastery
The first major shift was reframing how she approached time. Instead of measuring success by how much she could cram into a day, she began designing her schedule around deep work, strategic thinking, and the high-impact actions that drive business growth.
United Team
She also learned how to sell from a place of service, not pressure—thanks to Derek’s sales expertise—allowing her to attract and close ideal clients with confidence.
The 3 Leadership Amplifiers That Changed Everything
01. Wild Wisdom: Playing Bigger Without Burnout
Stef had big goals but often found herself playing small due to limiting beliefs. With Nadine and Derek, she learned to recognize and remove the subconscious barriers keeping her from growth. This mindset shift helped her move from incremental progress to exponential scaling.
"I stopped chasing small improvements and started thinking on a much larger scale. The best part? To reach that level, I had to let go of everything that wasn’t truly serving me. It was a game changer."
02. Brave Decisions: Leading with Confidence
One of Stef’s biggest breakthroughs was rewiring her approach to sales and client acquisition. Derek helped her simplify her sales process, clarify her target clients, and redefine her value proposition—resulting in higher-quality, larger contracts and faster revenue growth.
"I used to think of sales as something I had to ‘get through.’ Derek helped me shift my mindset so that selling is now an extension of the impact I want to make. It no longer feels like ‘selling’—it feels like serving."
03. Courageous Conversations:
Creating Alignment & Boundaries
Stef learned how to choose her choices—a powerful mindset shift that allowed her to be fully present in whatever she was doing. Whether with family, clients, or deep work, she eliminated time guilt and became more intentional with how she spent her energy.
"Now, when I sit down for dinner with my husband, I’m really there. I’m not thinking about my inbox. When I work, I’m focused. I’ve stopped feeling pulled in a million directions."
Client Results
From working harder to
scaling smarter.
"I cut 200 hours from my schedule last year—that’s five full work weeks back. And my revenue has more than doubled."
From corporate conditioning to
self-trust and clarity.
"I learned how to trust my instincts and protect my time. I no longer make decisions from a place of fear—I make them from a place of power."
From struggling to close deals to landing bigger contracts with ease.
"I no longer chase incremental growth. My focus is now on landing the right clients—ones who align with my expertise and value what I bring to the table."
Advice to Others Considering Ascend to Impossible Freedom
"If you’re on the fence, just do it. I had all the same fears—‘Is this real? Can I actually work less and earn more?’ But six months in, I can confidently say: Yes. Yes, you can. If you want to stop grinding and start leading, this is the way forward."
More revenue. More impact. More time.
Stef reclaimed 200 hours, doubled her revenue, and scaled her business - without working more. What’s possible for YOU? Let’s find out.
Nadine & Derek’s Superpowers
Time Mastery & Leadership Strategy
"Nadine has an incredible ability to structure my work time into a system that actually works with my personal life. She helped me get disciplined about my time rhythm and taught me how to eliminate time guilt—for the first time in my life."
Sales Mastery & Business Growth
"Derek completely changed how I think about sales and contract negotiations. His ability to simplify the process and teach values-based selling has helped me land bigger clients and grow my business faster than I ever imagined.
"I used to believe success was about more work, more effort, more hustle. Now, I see that true success comes from alignment. It’s about making intentional choices, showing up with clarity, and leading in a way that feels both powerful and sustainable.”
- Stef Tschida
We’re Nadine & Derek Nicholson, founders of Ascend Leadership Co. We guide powerhouse $1MM+ founders and CEOs out of the Middle Zone of time stress, guilt, and overworking—while climbing to never-before-seen levels of success.
Our clients refuse to settle for business success at the cost of their personal freedom—and are ready to embrace a new way of leading themselves, their time, and their team. NOW, not someday.
Our signature Impossible Freedom Equation is a proven path to live your best life and drive next-level business growth. No trade-offs required.
The sooner you identify your biggest leadership gaps, the faster you step into a business that fuels your freedom—not one that drains it. In less than 5 minutes, the Impossible Freedom Quiz will reveal your best next step.