Sarah Janzen’s Story

From Marketer of the Year

to Founder of Her Big Leap

Sarah Janzen is the founder of Her Big Leap and a Master Coach who has helped hundreds of corporate women across North America, Europe and Australia leave their careers and build thriving businesses on their own terms.

THE ROAD HERE

It was never a straight line

I spent over a decade in pharma sales and marketing. I won national and global awards. I was named Marketer of the Year. And a year later, I left it all behind.

And, oh, how I wish I could say that I quickly figured it out and made millions in my first year.

What came next wasn’t pretty. And it wasn’t fun.

 My first business, a cold-pressed juice company, collapsed one month before launch – the manufacturing fell through. I was single, the sole breadwinner, and I had poured all my savings into a business that never launched and it felt like a slog the entire time.

That failure taught me what I now build everything around: strategy without alignment destined for failure.

My next venture followed my passion: helping women entrepreneurs with their marketing strategy. I was building and coaching women to create amazing strategies…but then they wouldn’t execute on those plans. They would get distracted following the shiny objects, or start to doubt themselves.

That taught me the importance of mindset. That you can have the best business strategy, but if you don’t believe in yourself, or have fears, doubts of limiting beliefs in your way, that business plan is going to sit on a shelf (or google drive) collecting dust.

Now, I coach women on clarity (alignment), business strategy (sales & marketing) and mindset. One without the others just doesn’t work.

The women I work with don’t just need a plan and a solid strategy. They need a plan built around who they actually are. Their experience, expertise and what lights them up. And the confidence to execute.

THE PATH

A career that didn’t follow the script

1999

Graduated high school with straight A’s but didn’t know what I wanted to do. I went into science for my undergrad – not because I loved it, but because I was good at it.

2004

BSc. in Biochemistry & Microbiology (with Honors), then fell into pharma sales at 24, where I climbed fast and won global and national marketing awards before 30.

2011

Two mergers and acquisitions later, and four bosses in five years. Kept my head down and named Marketer of the Year at the Fortune 500 company I worked at.

2012

Burnt out, traveling 3 weeks per month. Self-medicating to get to sleep. Neck and back seizing from the stress. Failed relationships because my career came first. My life was imploding.

2015

Left corporate at 35. Started a cold-pressed juice company that failed one month before launch. A year of planning and tens of thousands of my savings…gone.

2016

Started coaching and consulting female entrepreneurs on marketing strategies. I loved it but realized my clients rarely executed the plans because of their self-doubt.

2018

Became a Certified Master Coach, and discovered the both/and of mindset and strategy that most business coaches and programs miss.

Now

Founder of Her Big Leap, multiple six figures, raising two boys, helping hundreds of women make their own leap and replacing their six-figure corporate salaries and loving life again.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

The questions people ask

Who is Sarah Janzen?

On paper, I’m the founder of Her Big Leap and a Master Coach helping women in leadership and executive roles leave corporate and build businesses on their own terms. A former Fortune 500 marketing executive and Marketer of the Year.

But I’m also a wife. A mom to rambunctious two boys under 7. And a woman who believes passionately that entrepreneurship is the greatest vehicle for women to create freedom today. 

What is Her Big Leap?

An online business and coaching program for women leaving corporate, built on three pillars: clarity, strategy, and mindset. We design the life first, then build the business that supports it.

What is Sarah Janzen’s background?

A Biochemistry degree with a minor in Microbiology & Virology, a career in pharma sales and marketing, national and global marketing awards, and Fortune 500 Marketer of the Year, followed by entrepreneurship and Certified Master Coach. 

How do I work with Sarah?

Through Her Big Leap. The best first step is a discovery call to see whether the program is the right fit for where you are.

I only wish I’d done this program 5 years ago!

— Leena, Director of Operations, now an independent consultant

Ready when you are

If you have real expertise and you’re done waiting for the right time, let’s talk about what your leap could look like.

Sarah Janzen

Helping women leaders and executives leave corporate and build businesses on their own terms.

© 2026 Sarah Janzen. All rights reserved

Founder of Her Big Leap ⋅ Master Coach