Derek Schmidt Career Ownership Coach®
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Why the TES System Matters

A Structured Way to Navigate One of
Life’s Biggest Decisions.

Changing careers or exploring business ownership is one of the most impactful decisions you can make—for your income, your family, and your future. The TES Career Ownership Coaching® system gives you a proven framework, a Coach who’s been there, and ongoing support as you evaluate your options.

Schedule a No-Cost Discovery Call →
40+
Years in Business
300+
Coaches Nationwide
1000s
Career Transitions
100%
Free & Confidential

As You Consider Connecting with a Coach…

As you consider connecting with a Career Ownership Coach®, you may be asking yourself a few important questions:

  • Does this person really understand where I am in my career and life?
  • Is this a sales process, or is it truly meant to help me?
  • What actually happens when I schedule a call?
  • Am I going to be pushed toward a specific outcome, or helped to evaluate the right path?
  • Why should I trust TES and the system behind this coaching?

The sections below are designed to answer those questions directly, so you can decide whether this kind of conversation is right for you.

We’ve Been Doing This for 40+ Years

A proven system, refined since 1984.

The Entrepreneur’s Source® was founded in 1984 and has guided hundreds of thousands of people through career transitions, business exploration, and life-changing decisions over more than four decades.

Our Career Ownership Coaching® program is not just a good idea—it’s a patented system, tested and refined over years of working with real people in real situations.

You’re not just talking to a Coach with opinions. You’re stepping into a structured process that has helped generations of professionals gain clarity, explore entrepreneurship, and choose paths that better match their goals.

“Does This Person Understand Where I Am?”

Your Coach has been where you are.

Every TES Career Ownership Coach® has worked in corporate roles and knows firsthand what it feels like to be successful on paper but unfulfilled in reality. At some point, each Coach decided they needed something more meaningful, more flexible, or more aligned with their values—and used the TES system to make that change.

Today, they work with people who are in the same position they once were. They understand burnout, uncertainty, and the fear of making the wrong move. They bring both their personal experience and the TES coaching framework to help you articulate what’s not working, what you truly want, and what options could better fit your goals.

“Is This a Sales Process or a Clarity Process?”

This is a clarity process, backed by a patented system.

Career Ownership Coaching® is intentionally designed as a clarity process, not a sales funnel. There is no fee for the program, and there is no quota or requirement for you to choose a specific outcome.

Your Coach is trained in TES’s patented methodology, which focuses on:

  • Understanding your goals, values, strengths, and concerns.
  • Educating you about different career and business models.
  • Helping you become more aware of options you may never have considered.
  • Guiding you through discovery so you can evaluate what fits you best.
The system exists to help you make better-informed decisions, not faster ones.
“What Actually Happens When I Schedule a Call?”

What to expect on your first call.

When you schedule a call, you’re booking a conversation—not a pitch deck.

On that first call, your Coach will:

  • Ask about your career history and what’s driving you to explore change now.
  • Listen for what feels missing—whether it’s purpose, time, income, control, or stability.
  • Help you start naming your goals for your life and work, even if they feel fuzzy at first.
  • Explain how the TES coaching process works, and how you can move forward at your own pace.

You won’t be asked to “sign up” for anything on that call. Instead, you’ll leave with a clearer understanding of your situation, how the coaching journey works, and whether it’s the right fit for you.

“Am I Going to Be Pushed Toward a Specific Outcome?”

Guidance to evaluate your paths—not pressure to choose ours.

TES Coaches are not there to tell you what to do. Their role is to help you discover and evaluate the different paths available to you so you can decide what best meets your goals.

Using the TES system, your Coach will help you compare:

  • Staying in your current role or industry.
  • Making a career change into a new field or position.
  • Exploring entrepreneurship, including franchise and non-franchise options.
Your Coach’s success is measured by whether you reach a confident, informed decision—not by steering you toward a pre-set outcome.
Overcoming Common Objections

Worried this is “just another sales call”? Let’s address that directly.

“I’m afraid I’ll be sold something I don’t want.”

TES Coaches do not sell franchises or jobs. They use a patented coaching process to help you understand your situation, define your goals, and explore a range of options. You decide what path, if any, to pursue.

“I don’t want to be judged for where I am in my career.”

Many of our clients come to us after layoffs, burnout, stalled careers, or failed ventures. Your Coach has faced their own inflection points and is trained to create a safe, nonjudgmental space focused on possibilities, not blame.

“I’m skeptical of anything that sounds too good to be true.”

TES has been doing this work since 1984 and has helped hundreds of thousands of people explore career and business ownership options. Our approach is evidence-based, structured, and transparent. Coaching is offered at no cost because the focus is on helping you gain clarity first.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to make a big change.”

You don’t need to be ready for a major move to benefit from coaching. The system is designed to support you in thinking through “if,” “when,” and “how”—so you are prepared to act when the time is right.

Want to explore on your own first? Try the Career 2.0 Gateway →

If you’re questioning your path, talk to someone who’s been there.

You don’t have to stay stuck or make a rushed decision. A TES Career Ownership Coach® will meet you where you are, use a proven, patented system to help you clarify what you want, and walk with you as you discover the options that can help you reach your goals.

Schedule Your No-Cost Discovery Call →