"THIS BOOK
SAVED my LIFE."

CLIENT CASE STUDY

HOW CAROLINE DOWD-HIGGINS replaced her SIX-FIGURE SALARY ... and GOT HER LIFE BACK

Caroline Dowd-Higgins knew she needed to make a change. She just didn't know if she could afford to.

Twenty years in higher education. A six-figure salary. Healthcare. Retirement savings. From the outside, everything looked successful.

But she was working 80-90 hours a week — including Christmas Eve — and her health and wellbeing were breaking down. When stress-induced hives erupted across her torso and legs, her doctor delivered the warning: "Your immune system is a mess. You're harming yourself."

The question wasn't whether something needed to change. The question was:

Could she actually walk away?

Caroline Dowd-Higgins presenting on stage

The FEAR every OVER ACHIEVER knows

Caroline had been side-hustling since 2011 — executive coaching and speaking on nights, weekends, and vacation days. She loved the work, but the practical fears kept her stuck:

How do I replace this income?

What about healthcare?
What if I can't sustain a career as an entrepreneur?

"I was caught in a scarcity mindset," she admits. "I kept telling myself it was safer to stay."

Then she started working with Niche to write her second book.

And everything changed.

The Strategic Work that Came First

Most people think writing a book starts with an outline and chapters.

At Niche Press™, we start with a different question:

Who are you becoming as a business leader?

Through our Breakthru Canvas™ process, Caroline made nine strategic business decisions before she wrote a single word.

The most important one:

What does success look like to you in 3-5 years?

Her answer was clear — and terrifying:

"I would be living my dream life if I could replace my six-figure income and make my side-hustle business a full-time venture," she said.

"Nicole kept reframing my fears," Caroline says. "She'd say, 'You can buy healthcare. You can fund retirement. What if you designed your life intentionally instead of by default?'"

Six months into the strategic planning and writing process, Caroline made the decision.

She left her secure and high paying job.

WHAT actually HAPPENED after HER LAUNCH

Her book, Your Career Advantage, launched in 2023 — not as a summary of her old career, but as proof that her new positioning worked. ❤️‍🔥

Within the first year, the book helped her:

Replace her corporate income (and then some!) working with C-suite clients
Attract high-level opportunities she could never access before
Book paid speaking engagements where the book served as instant, and necessary, credibility
Convert audiobook listeners into paying clients who felt connected to her voice

"The book gave me something tangible to point to," Caroline explains.
"It said: I'm serious. I'm a subject matter expert. I've codified my methodology. I have something real to offer."

But the real transformation wasn't just about revenue.

"My book launch was a metaphor for the beginning of my new life."
- Caroline

The PART you DON'T EXPECT

Three years later, Caroline doesn't recognize her old life.

"Not a day goes by that I don't jump out of bed excited about what I'm doing. The perpetual meetings, the office politics, the exhaustion of trying to prove myself in a system that didn't honor my values — it's all gone."

Her relationships are richer. She actually spends quality time with her beloved husband. She chooses her clients. She designs her days. She honors her health and wellbeing.

That first Christmas as a full-time entrepreneur felt like living life in full color. Everything was richer and more beautiful. She experienced life with all 5 senses, and it filled her with gratitude.

"If I didn't make these changes, my life would have continued to happen by default," she says.

"Now, I am designing the future I want to lead."

WHAT SHE didn't EXPECT from
the Process

Caroline had published a book before — so she knew what traditional publishing looked like. This was completely different.

"I thought I was coming to write a book," she says. "What I got was a team of 8-11 experts who challenged my assumptions, saw my potential before I did, and helped me clarify the business I really wanted to build.

The strategic coaching sessions forced her to rethink her offers, her audience, and her positioning.

The story work with Michael Hauge helped her understand the transformation she was guiding clients through. He helped her create the emotional arc of the story and lean into the vulnerability of her own experience.

The editorial process ensured the book sounded like her — not AI, not generic advice, but her methodology in her voice.

"When you have meltdown moments — and you will — someone's there to help you navigate it ...

This was the most transformational experience of my career."

The REAL QUESTION

You're reading this because you're in transition.

Maybe you're ready to scale. Maybe you're pivoting. Maybe you're finally ready to codify what you know and step into the next level of visibility and income.

You know a book could open doors. But you're also wondering:

Is this the right time?
Will I actually finish it?
Can I afford to do this right?

Here's what Caroline would tell you:

"If it's not a little scary, it's not worth doing."

The transformation not only helped her exceed her previous salary and live a life with meaning and purpose, it gave her the path to become who she was meant to be.

Now she gets to fill her days helping others pursue the work and life they love too. As she said in her TEDxWomen talk:

"The suckiness is real. The suffering is optional."

"The process of writing the book was deeply self-reflective and provided clarity of purpose about the life I wanted to live. Immersing myself in the book writing process helped me design the life and business I was ready to lead and emboldened me to sever the debilitating tether from industry much sooner than originally planned."
- Caroline

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